#280: Blake Mycoskie, Founder, TOMS Shoes and ENOUGH – Stay connected to your why

Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of How Leaders Lead with David Novak. Today's guest is Blake Mykowski, and you might remember Blake as the founder of Tom's Shoes, which is a brand that really helped redefine how people think about business and impact. Blake grew Tom's shoes to a $700 million business. Based on a simple idea, sell a pair of shoes and give a pair of shoes away to a child in need. Now that success didn't protect Blake from a seven-year battle with depression.

And after he sold Tom's, he really lost his sense of purpose and nearly lost himself. Today Blake is back with a new mission. He's tackling the mental health crisis through his brand. enough, which seeks to empower people to talk about how they're really doing so that everyone in this world feels a little less alone and everybody knows that they are enough. For Blake, staying connected to your why is absolutely critical in business and it is essential in life.

Enjoyed this conversation between David and Blake, and I will see you at the very end of the episode for the debrief. Before we get into Tom's, you know, and and what you're doing with enough, both fantastic causes, you know, I want to take you take you back a little bit. What's the story from your your childhood that shaped the kind of leader you are today? I mean, I think it really was just having amazing parents. You know, my my dad was a doctor and a great leader in his community and in the hospitals that he helped, you know, run.

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