696: Dr. Zeke Emanuel - The Six Rules for Health & Longevity, The Harvard Study on Happiness, The Truth About Biohacking, Social Connection, and How to Avoid Being a Schmuck

**Ryan Hawk** (0:00)
I don't know if it's always a good idea to rank somebody on a 1 to 10 scale, but for the purpose of this example, I'm going to.
If you view yourself as an 8 or a 9 who wants to be a 10, if you're the type of person who wants to put a positive dent in the world, then I have something for you. My next book comes out soon. It's called The Price of Becoming. I love it. If you would preorder it now, go to Amazon or learningleader.com. All the details on my book, The Price of Becoming, preorder it now. Thank you. Let's get on with the show.
Welcome to The Learning Leader Show presented by Insight Global. I am your host, Ryan Hawke. Thank you so much for being here. Go to learningleader.com for show notes of this and all podcast episodes. Go to learningleader.com. Now, on to tonight's featured leader, Dr. Zeke Emanuel, oncologist, vice provost at the University of Pennsylvania, architect of the Affordable Care Act and author of the new book called, Eat Your Ice Cream, Six Simple Rules for a Long and Healthy Life. During our conversation, we discussed Zeke's famous essay from 2014 titled, Why I Hope to Die at 75 He shares what he actually meant by that and whether he still believes it now that 75 is closer than ever. And then, what specifically his parents did to raise three sons who are putting a massive dent in the world. There is Zeke, a leading oncologist, Rahm, the White House Chief of Staff for President Obama, and Ari, the most powerful agent in Hollywood. I love the three things he shared his parents did. And then, why social connection is a stronger predictor of how long you live than diet, exercise or sleep. And what that means for how you should spend your time. Ladies and gentlemen, please enjoy my conversation with Dr. Zeke Emanuel.
I need to learn more about your dad, man. I actually want to learn more about both your mom and your dad. But your dad, who you dedicate your most recent book to, you said, he modeled and thus taught me how to be curious, speak my mind without fear, be social, care about people less fortunate, walk fast, be frugal, drive poorly and hopefully not be a schmuck. Tell me about your dad and what you learned from him.

**Ezekiel J. Emanuel** (2:50)
Well, my dad was born overseas, so he's an immigrant, came to the United States to do internship in residency, met my mom and they went back home and then came back to the United States, they settled in Chicago. My dad was, he's deceased, but he was first of all, an incredibly hard worker. He could just work and work and work, and he was incredibly dedicated to his patience.
But he was also very, they would call him Speedy, and Speedy for two reasons. I highlight one in the book, which is my dad never exercised. The idea of exercising and pulling out time to go running or riding your bike or swimming, that wasn't his idea of fun. But he would walk fast, and he was the fastest walker. So on the weekends, we would go on hospital rounds with him, and we'd go in and see a patient.
In 60 seconds, he was finished, and then he'd start walking to the next patient. He would just zoom in the nurses, and us kids would be literally running after him. That was his form of exercise. He loved hiking in the mountains. We would take trips out west to Montana, Wyoming, and he loved the hiking. But again, he was just a fast walker. He was also fast as a doctor because patients where it was routine, and he would just do it quick or removing stitches, take seconds, and he'd be on to the next patient.
You would think, well, people would feel like they didn't have a connection. But in fact, he would take call 24 hours a day, and anytime there was a difficult patient, he would really think on it. And at his memorial service, there were just scores and scores of grateful patients coming and remembering him. And I still get, you know, walk around Chicago and I say, oh, you're Dr. Emanuel's son. You know, he was my pediatrician, and you know, he was great. I just loved him. And he was that lovable guy because he was extroverted, interested in people. And even though he was fast, he would listen to you and have a good conversation with people. And so that I think was, he was very warmhearted, and very concerned to understand people. And so I think that was the heart and soul. And, you know, he also had this rule that, you know, family had three children, the fourth one was free. He just wouldn't charge. He recognized the financial strain on the family, and it just, all right, you know, we're not making money on the fourth, fifth or sixth. And, you know, he took care of a lot of immigrants, and a lot of them had large families, and that was just his way of, we don't need to make money that way.