What idea have you been sitting on lately? What’s been holding you back from starting? Today, Jay sits down with engineer, innovator, and YouTube creator Mark Rober to explore the unexpected life experiences that shaped one of the internet’s most beloved minds. Mark shares the childhood moments that ignited his passion for building, breaking, and understanding how the world works, moments nurtured by a mother whose love, imagination, and encouragement helped lay the foundation for his life’s mission. He reflects on how her influence continues to ripple outward, inspiring millions of young people who learn, explore, and dream through his work today. Jay and Mark explore the mindset that carried Mark from NASA engineer to innovative educator, unpacking what it really means to “think like an engineer:” experiment boldly, embrace failure, and treat every setback as an opportunity to learn. They follow Mark’s unusual pivots, from designing Mars rover hardware to crafting Halloween costumes, to ultimately shaping a career that blends curiosity, storytelling, science, and play. Together they reveal the deeper lessons behind Mark’s most viral experiments: why creativity thrives when we stay childlike, how passion reveals itself through repetition, and why the most meaningful work grows from genuine excitement rather than algorithms or expectations. In this interview, you'll learn: How to Think Like an Engineer How to Stay Curious as an Adult How to Follow Your Passion Practically How to Build Ideas That Actually Work How to Find Creativity in Everyday Life How to Recognize Your Real Calling How to Inspire Others Through Your Work Keep following the questions that excite you, keep trying the things that scare you, and keep believing that you’re capable of far more than you realize. Your next breakthrough might be just one experiment, or one brave attempt away. With Love and Gratitude, Jay Shetty Join over 750,000 people to receive my most transformative wisdom directly in your inbox every single week with my free newsletter. Subscribe here. Check out our Apple subscription to unlock bonus content of On Purpose! https://lnk.to/JayShettyPodcast What We Discuss: 00:00 Intro 00:23 Were You Always Creative? 03:04 Understanding the Real Impact of Your Life 05:58 What It Really Takes to Work at NASA 08:52 Learning to Think Like an Engineer 11:24 How Rovers Are Tested for Mars 12:27 Follow What You Truly Love Doing 15:13 If You Can Imagine It, You Can Build It 16:25 Practical Wisdom from a Lifelong Tinkerer 20:00 The Pivot from NASA to Apple 22:37 Turning Ideas into Actionable Success 23:48 What is the Engineering Design Process? 27:32 Why Embracing Failure Matters 30:20 Relearning Trust and Finding Love Again 34:23 The Power of Immersion Weekends 37:08 Making Learning Engaging Through Creativity 40:53 Why Mastery Is Worth Pursuing 42:05 Balancing Business with True Creativity 45:16 How Communication Shapes Great Storytelling 49:24 Two Common Mistakes Creators Make 52:54 Staying True to Your Creative Style 54:29 The Importance of Focusing on One Passion 57:09 The Hidden Failures Behind Viral Success 59:59 Giving Kids Room to Be Creative 01:04:55 Curiosity as the Root of Creativity 01:06:32 Inside a Real Creative Process 01:09:03 Where Do You Get Your Big Ideas? 01:12:03 The Mind-Bending Question of Life in the Universe 01:16:19 The Promise and Peril of Rapid AI Growth 01:20:40 Focusing on What You Can Truly Influence 01:25:15 Mark on Final Five Episode Resources: https://x.com/MarkRober https://www.instagram.com/markrober https://www.facebook.com/MarkRoberYouTube/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-rober-a56a6b99/ https://www.tiktok.com/@markrober https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY1kMZp36IQSyNx_9h4mpCg https://www.instagram.com/jayshetty https://www.facebook.com/jayshetty/ https://x.com/jayshetty https://www.linkedin.com/in/shettyjay/ https://www.youtube.com/@JayShettyPodcast http://jayshetty.me