EPISODE DESCRIPTION:
Relationships are the most important asset we have in life, and in this episode of Travis Makes Friends, Travis sits down in‑studio with behavioral scientist and author Jon Levy to unpack the science of how to build them intentionally. Jon went from overweight, broke, and hitting snooze every morning to hosting underground dinners and invite‑only events for Olympians, Nobel laureates, Grammy winners, NBA legends, and Fortune 500 executives—and he breaks down the exact psychology behind how he did it. If you’ve ever felt stuck on the outside looking in, this conversation will completely reframe how you think about friends, status, and access.
IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT:
– How your friends’ habits are literally contagious—and why obesity, happiness, divorce, voting, and even income spread through your social network.
– Why most people land jobs and big breaks through “loose” or dormant ties, not their closest friends.
– The five social pressures high‑status people live under (time, money, access, expertise, clout) and why that makes them so protected.
– The four characteristics John uses to actually make friends with influential people: novelty, curated experiences, extreme generosity, and awe.
– The origin story of his secret dinners where 12 strangers cook a terrible meal together—before discovering they’ve been chopping onions next to Emmy winners, astronauts, and NBA All‑Stars.
– How Travis rebuilt his entire network after leaving a high‑control religious environment and starting from zero.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
– Behavior is contagious: your life will start to look like the people you spend the most time with, for better or worse.
– Influential people are overwhelmed with asks; the way in is to remove pressure, add value, and create environments they actually want to be in.
– Networking feels gross; making friends feels natural—so design experiences that create common ground, shared effort, and repeated exposure.
– Novel, emotionally intense moments (including awe) are what cement you in someone’s memory long after the event is over.
ABOUT JON LEVY:
Jon Levy is a keynote speaker, behavioral scientist, and New York Times bestselling author known for his work in trust, leadership, teams, and the AI-enabled workplace.
Jon specializes in applying the latest research to transform the ways companies approach C-Suite and employee performance, marketing, sales, culture, and training and development. His clients range from Fortune 500 brands such as Microsoft, Google, AB-InBev, and Samsung to startups.
More than a decade ago, Jon founded The Influencers Dinner, a secret dining experience for industry leaders ranging from Nobel laureates, Olympians, celebrities, and executives, to artists, musicians, and even the Grammy-winning voice of the bark from “Who Let the Dogs Out.” Guests cook dinner together, but can’t discuss their careers or give their last names, and once seated to eat, they reveal who they are. Over time, these dinners developed into a community. With thousands of members, Influencers is the largest community of its type worldwide.
Jon’s second book, You’re Invited: The Art and Science of Connection, Trust, and Belonging, was released in 2021 to incredible fanfare, quickly becoming a New York Times, WSJ, and International Bestseller. It was selected by the Wall Street Journal as a "Book of the Month". In it, he demonstrates the importance of human connection, trust, and community to accomplishing what is most important to us.
His third book, Team Intelligence: How Brilliant Leaders Unlock Collective Genius, spent weeks on the National Best Seller list and received a star rating from both Kirkus and Publishers Weekly. In it, he demystifies the science of leadership and the habits that make teams more than the sum of their parts.
In his free time, Jon works on outrageous projects. Among them, spending a year traveling to all 7 continents, or to the world's greatest events (Grand Prix, Art Basel, Burning Man, Running of the Bulls, etc.), and barely surviving to tell the tale. These Adventures were chronicled in his first book: The 2 AM Principle: Discover the Science of Adventure
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