Jewel: When I Was Poor, I Rejected $1M and Built a Plan for My Happiness

The Great Creators with Guy Raz

Singer-songwriter Jewel shares her incredible life story, from yodeling in bars as a kid to becoming homeless as a teenager and shortly thereafter becoming one of the most sought-after musicians in the world. She tells Guy about the mental exercises and Stoic philosophy she relied on as she climbed out of homelessness; why she declined a $1 million signing bonus; her "business plan" for her career and happiness; the conversation with Bob Dylan that may have saved her career; and why she's still making music but choosing not to publish it.

Links from the show:

• Discovery show about Jewel's family's Alaska homestead
• Writers who inspired Jewel: Anais Nin, Flannery O'Connor, Anton Chekhov, Charles Bukowski, Immanuel Kant, Plato, Socrates
• Her debut album, Pieces of You
• "Who Will Save Your Soul" video
• "You Were Meant for Me" video
• New 25th-anniversary edition of Spirit, Jewel's sophomore album
• Innerworld, Jewel's online platform connecting people to mental health counseling anonymously

Photo credits: Dana Trippe, Brendan Walter

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