'Timmy Failure,' 'Pearls Before Swine' Creator Stephan Pastis on Creativity
Ever get so absorbed in your work that you forget to eat?
That's nothing compared to best-selling author and cartoonist Stephan Pastis who told me, " I kid you not, when I'm coming out of a writing session, when I walk out the front door of the studio, I don't always do it, but I will often look down to make sure I have pants on. That's how lost in my own brain I get."
Pastis's pants-optional procedure is peculiar, but it is productive. (Try saying that five times fast.) The man has written eight books for his hilarious children's series "Timmy Failure," he co-wrote the script for the film adaptation, and at last count, has written, drawn, and published 41 collections of his Pearls Before Swine comic strip.
I spoke with Pastis for our show How Success Happens, because, well, he's pretty damn successful in two markets that are insanely hard to crack. And while his achievements should give him license to live a my-poop-don't-stink existence, he is down-to-earth, thoughtful, curious and has just the right amount of gleeful madness you want in a comedic genius.
A few things I was delighted to learn during our conversation:
His career is based on a burning desire to quit his career.
" I was a lawyer for 10 years, and I didn't want to be a lawyer. So in the early days, success for me meant making a living by doing cartooning and being able to quit the law. In that, I succeeded."
Creative success is all in your head.
" Rick Rubin wrote the best book I've ever read on creativity. He gives this definition of creative success: When the work you can hear in your head is executed to the best of your ability and you're satisfied with it. When you reach that point, that's it. Everything that happens after that, commercially, critically, whatever, you can't control that. So he shifts that point of success, and I love that. That has sort of been my thing ever since I read that."
Forcing it never works.
"Finding an idea or a joke is kind of like you're trying to pet a cat in a room. If you run at that cat and say, 'Come here, cat!' that is not gonna work. The muse is like that cat, you have to sit there still in a room, relax, and in her own time, that cat will come to you."
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CBS News
20-07-2025
- CBS News
Restaurateur Keith McNally on why he regrets "almost everything"
Restaurateur Keith McNally hates New Year's Eve – he doesn't like being told to have a good time. "I don't like to be forced to enjoy myself," he said. The "least hospitable man in hospitality," as he calls himself, is not a big smiler, either. "Inside," he explained. It doesn't seem to have hurt. Over 40 years, he's opened some of New York City's most popular restaurants, among them The Odeon, Balthazar, and Pastis – institutions almost as well-known as some of the bold-face names that frequent them. But McNally himself has never been much of a publicity hound, even less so after suffering a stroke in 2016. "Naturally I'm a bit embarrassed to be on TV talking like this—who wouldn't be?" he said. "But it's good for me to do it, because it gets me free of my embarrassment. Actually, I'm embarrassed talking about embarrassment!" But the British-born McNally has largely overcome his embarrassment in a new memoir, "I Regret Almost Everything." "The drawback for me with most memoirs [is], if you're not embarrassed by what you write, you've probably not spoken the truth," he said. "If you don't cringe over every word, it's not the truth." The hardest part to write, he said, was about his suicide attempt, "because my kids. I didn't want to leave them at all." That suicide attempt was two years after his stroke. He was found by his younger son, George. "He was supposed to not find me," McNally said. "Like most teenagers he would sleep until noon. But that day he woke up early, at 8:00 o'clock." "You expected him to be sleeping later, he woke up early, he saw you?" I asked. "Yeah, the bastard just woke up early and saved my life!" he laughed. McNally might joke about it now, but the father of five was suffering with an immobile right arm (he was right-handed), back pain, and aphasia (which causes his slurred speech), and his second marriage was falling apart. But as he writes, some sobering words from a doctor made him reflect: "He said that children who lose a parent to suicide were far more likely to kill themselves than the children of parents who don't. That stopped me in my tracks." Because he had such trouble communicating verbally after his stroke, McNally began using social media. "I was so embarrassed by my speech and the way I looked, I didn't go to my restaurants for one year," he said. "I was ashamed. But eventually I realized, nothing to be ashamed about. So, not only did I admit it wasn't a bad thing, but I went in on Instagram." McNally went viral in 2022 with a post criticizing former late-night host James Corden for allegedly being rude to the waitstaff at Balthazar. But now, McNally confesses in his book he isn't so sure calling out Corden was fair. He wrote: "For someone who's hyperconscious of humiliation since suffering a stroke, it now seems monstrous that I didn't consider the humiliation I was subjecting Corden to. I felt like I'd hit the jackpot of a slot machine and thousands of gold coins were spilling out in front of me. That night I ended up with over 90,000 followers. I was intoxicated with self-righteousness." "Uh-huh, it's true," McNally said. "But afterwards, I felt really bad." Corden later apologized. But the 73-year-old McNally has continued creating a stir online. Take this recent post he wrote about his friend, ABC News' Diane Sawyer, describing a weeklong affair the two had in the 1970s. The story made news … except that it was completely made up. I said, "Some people say, 'Listen, Keith, you know, it's really not cool for you to be sharing this.' And so, did you enjoy that back-and-forth with them?" "Yes. Yeah, I'm afraid, I did, yeah," he laughed. "And I wonder, do you think that the stroke – I don't know, is that, does that …" "Say what you think," said McNally. "Well, is it that you feel a little trapped inside of yourself?" "No," he replied. "I've always been a little like this inside. But since my stroke, and now on the outside." McNally grew up in the East End of London, one of four children born to Jack, a dockworker, and Joyce, a house and office cleaner. The family had little money. "I got angry inside at my parents," he said, "because we had no books in the house, no pictures on the walls. But they couldn't help it. They were working class who grew up with nothing." McNally says he didn't eat in a restaurant until he was 17. "Most of the time, when we were on a holiday, we would go to the restaurant, they would look the prices outside, and then she'd go, 'Not for us.'" And yet, when McNally moved to New York City in 1975 as an aspiring filmmaker, he made ends meet by working in restaurants. "I didn't eat asparagus until I came here," he said. "And the next day, I went to the doctor because the smell of my …" "That was so pungent from eating the asparagus?" I asked. "Yeah, I thought I was sick! So, I went to the doctor. He said, 'What'd you eat last night?'" McNally laughed. "You know what? You gotta put that in the paperback," I said. In 1980, McNally opened his own restaurant, The Odeon, in the neighborhood of Tribeca, in what had been a no-man's land. An immediate sensation, it established certain McNally "musts," such as the importance of having a hamburger on the menu. "I don't like hamburgers much myself," he said. "But it's a sign of snobbery not to have a hamburgers." McNally prides himself on putting his staff above even his diners. Some of his employees have been with him for over 30 years. And ever since returning to work post-stroke, McNally has come to appreciate how they feel about him. "I had to talk to my staff and was really nervous," he said. "They were really kind. In the end, kindness is really essential." I asked, "The stroke lifted the veil on what they thought of you?" "Yeah, yeah," McNally laughed. "They made me feel good." READ AN EXCERPT: "I Regret Almost Everything: A Memoir" by Keith McNally If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or a suicidal crisis, you can reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. You can also chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline here. For more information about mental health care resources and support, The National Alliance on Mental Illness HelpLine can be reached Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.–10 p.m. ET, at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or email info@ For more info: Story produced by Kay Lim. Editor: Carol Ross.
Entrepreneur
02-07-2025
- Entrepreneur
'Timmy Failure,' 'Pearls Before Swine' Creator Stephan Pastis on Creativity
The author of the hilarious "Timmy Failure" book series and longtime cartoonist of "Pearls Before Swine" dives deep into his creative process. Ever get so absorbed in your work that you forget to eat? That's nothing compared to best-selling author and cartoonist Stephan Pastis who told me, " I kid you not, when I'm coming out of a writing session, when I walk out the front door of the studio, I don't always do it, but I will often look down to make sure I have pants on. That's how lost in my own brain I get." Pastis's pants-optional procedure is peculiar, but it is productive. (Try saying that five times fast.) The man has written eight books for his hilarious children's series "Timmy Failure," he co-wrote the script for the film adaptation, and at last count, has written, drawn, and published 41 collections of his Pearls Before Swine comic strip. I spoke with Pastis for our show How Success Happens, because, well, he's pretty damn successful in two markets that are insanely hard to crack. And while his achievements should give him license to live a my-poop-don't-stink existence, he is down-to-earth, thoughtful, curious and has just the right amount of gleeful madness you want in a comedic genius. A few things I was delighted to learn during our conversation: His career is based on a burning desire to quit his career. " I was a lawyer for 10 years, and I didn't want to be a lawyer. So in the early days, success for me meant making a living by doing cartooning and being able to quit the law. In that, I succeeded." Creative success is all in your head. " Rick Rubin wrote the best book I've ever read on creativity. He gives this definition of creative success: When the work you can hear in your head is executed to the best of your ability and you're satisfied with it. When you reach that point, that's it. Everything that happens after that, commercially, critically, whatever, you can't control that. So he shifts that point of success, and I love that. That has sort of been my thing ever since I read that." Forcing it never works. "Finding an idea or a joke is kind of like you're trying to pet a cat in a room. If you run at that cat and say, 'Come here, cat!' that is not gonna work. The muse is like that cat, you have to sit there still in a room, relax, and in her own time, that cat will come to you." Speed Round!
Entrepreneur
05-06-2025
- Entrepreneur
Tom Brady Releases GOAT Gummies
Tom Brady may have retired from playing football (twice!), but the man is clearly not looking to sit back, polish the seven Super Bowl rings he's won over his incredible 23-year NFL career, and relax. There is no "chill switch" on the all-time winningest quarterback in NFL history. He owns the wellness brand TB12, the apparel company Brady Brand, the media company Religion of Sports, and he is also a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders and Birmingham City Football Club. And on an upcoming episode of the How Success Happens podcast, he talked about his latest venture, GOAT Gummies, an organic vegan gummy snack he developed as part of his ongoing multi-year partnership with consumer goods and food delivery company Gopuff. Tom, as most people know, is extremely serious about nutrition, but he let his hair down (and took his shirt off) to get the word out about GOAT Gummies. I didn't get a ton of time with Tom, who spoke with me from what appeared to be a very stylish SUV. But as anyone who has ever watched him play against their team knows, this man can get an awful lot done in a very short amount of time. Here are some highlights from our conversation — check out How Success Happens next week for the full conversation and a post-chat analysis from a very special guest. (This interview has been edited for length and clarity.) Dan Bova: Tom, I wanna start by apologizing to you for all the terrible things I've said to you through the television scream while you're playing the Jets. Tom Brady: Oh man, I'm sorry. You're a Jet fan. That must have been rough growing up. Holy cow. But you know what? I appreciate your loyalty. You never left them. There's something to be said for that. Talking about preparing for a football game, you've described yourself as "hyper competitive" and "a psychopath." Is that the same way you approach business? Actually, no. That's what I need help with. And that's why I have business partners who are psychopaths. They cross every t and dot the i's. I approached football in a very different way — I was into the nuances of the sport I understood so well. And I'm realizing that in business, those details are what matter, too. Especially against tough competition. Partnering with great people in the end is what matters the most. You've got to bet on people who have vision, experience, a great work ethic, and great teamwork. And you know that in business, just like sports, things don't always go your way. So you're always going to have to figure out ways to overcome adversity and beat the competition. Subscribe to How Success Happens: Apple | Spotify | YouTube So, when you think about Gummi Bears, do you look at them like the Jets, and you just want to kill? Yeah. I was hands-on from the start with GOAT Gummies. It was super important to develop something that I would eat. that my kids would eat. I want things to be accessible, fun, and with Gopuff, they're delivered to you in 15 minutes, so what more can you ask? How does hoisting a bag of GOAT Gummies compare to hoisting the Vince Lombardi trophy? Oh man. The Vince Lombardi trophy. Seven times in 23 years is pretty great, but it's only less than a third of the time. Hopefully, we hoist these GOAT GUMMIES up much more than a third of the time. We'd love to have these in people's hands every single day. There are great flavors. There's a sweet version, a sour version, a tropical fusion. And they're way better for you than the crap you mentioned earlier. Credit: GOAT Gummies If you could share one piece of advice for entrepreneurs who are looking to level up their business game, what would it be? Just assume that things will never work out, and that you always have to continue to reinvent yourself and find different ways to succeed. So even when things are good, always look for where the problems could come from and never take your eye off the ball. You don't want to spend all the time looking in the rearview mirror, but you'd better understand and learn from all your mistakes. And, you know, that windshield up ahead of you is big and wide, and that's where you need to focus, but also know that there are always people tracking you down. And it's the same way in sports. You've got to stay ahead, don't ever think you've got all the answers and things are figured out. I spoke with Shaquille O'Neal recently about how he set the tone in the locker room when he went to a new team. He said, "I tell them to do things my way or I'll punch them in the face." What's the Tom Brady approach? Well, I'm not 7' 2" and 350 pounds, so it's not necessarily my style. Mine is probably to introduce myself and to get to know the other person so that they can develop some trust in the way that I see things as well. I think there's a collaboration. It's always about understanding what people want and their motivations. That's what teamwork's all about. And that only comes from trust and shared experience. What does the word success mean to you? I think everyone has different versions of that. And your actions reflect your priorities. Everyone has different goals in life. Some people want to win seven Super Bowls, some people want to be in business, some people want to be in politics. When you wake up, whatever priorities you have, do you work your day toward what you want to accomplish? Do you eat, breathe and sleep it? And if it's an off day, is it a good off day? And if it's a travel day, is it a good travel day? So I think those are all the important things. And no punching anybody in the face.
