Langdon is the head of the Hero Construction Company which runs character-building classes for students of all ages. He has tailored programs to meet the understanding level of elementary school age children, middle schoolers, and high schoolers.

Moreover, his program focuses on the everyday nature of heroism that ordinary people can do every day in their lives. Students learn how to support one another and help people in their communities from holding a door open for someone to wearing pink t-shirts in solidarity to support a bullied student, as happened in one school he spoke at.

So how did Matt Langdon become the head of an inspirational company that is out to change the world for the better? What inspired him? Where did he find the way to seize his opportunity to be the hero that he is today?

Enjoy!

1. Hi Matt, Your company The Hero Construction Company works primarily in school settings. How did you get your company known by the school districts?

I had worked with dozens of schools at camp, so I knew (and was friends with) a lot of principals and teachers. That certainly helped with the initial launch. Since then, though, it’s been all about referrals. It’s a tough market to crack as there are literally thousands of people trying to get their “thing” into schools. Principals have an impossible task trying to sift through them all, so they rely on recommendations from their colleagues.

2. You were a young man in Australia in a computer science program, knowing that wasn’t for you. What happened that led you to the path you are on now? What was your inspiration?

I had become absolutely uninterested in computer science after three years. I knew I needed a break – I wasn’t going to classes at all. One day I was reading the local newspaper and saw an article about a guy who had just returned from working at a summer camp in America. That intrigued me, so I went to a couple of information meetings and within six months I was landing in Detroit to spend three months at a camp. That three months turned into twelve years, during which I met hundreds of new people, learned skills that I’m still appreciating today, and went through countless challenges that have made who I am now. At some point I decided I wanted to work for myself and The Hero Construction Company was born.

3. You mentioned on your website that you have rooted much of your program at The Hero Construction Company on the philosophies presented by Joseph Campbell in his book “The Hero’s Journey”. Obviously this book was a big inspiration to you. If you could sum up in just one sentiment what this book and Joseph Campbell represent overall, what would that be?

Ultimately, the reason I use the hero’s journey is to show kids that they are the heroes of their own stories, just like every hero they’ve ever read or seen. They go through the same steps as Harry Potter, or Dorothy, or Katniss. With that realization, it’s then easier to challenge them to be heroic. It allows me to ask the question, “If you’re the hero of your own story, what are you doing that’s heroic?”

4. For those who are unfamiliar with your work, what does it mean that the opposite of a hero isn’t a villain, but is a bystander?

One of the most common images of a hero is that of a superhero. The problem with that is we can’t be superheroes – it places the role of hero in an impossible place. The reality is that heroes are just ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Most heroic acts you read about are special because most people do nothing when they see something wrong. Most people are bystanders – heroes choose to do something.

5. You call yourself a ‘social entrepreneur’. Could you explain what that is? How is it different than just a regular ‘entrepreneur’?

Simply put, I’m not trying to make a bunch of money. I’m trying to make change while supporting myself. I could be charging a lot more money. I could be a nonprofit working through grants all year. I chose to give myself the independence to do what I want.

6. You are a hero everyday to these students that you are inspiring to be heros themselves. You show them what actions they can take in their lives today. What is that like? How do you feel when you see how you have uplifted these kids?

It is pretty amazing to hear feedback from kids. Last month I received hugs, thank you lines, and a standing applause at one school. That’s just unmatchable. It shows that I’ve hit on something with them. I know from my camp days that kids appreciate genuine people who don’t talk down to them.

7. Do you have a favorite experience you can share with us about one of the times you have spoken with a group of kids?

One of the workshops I run asks kids to create solutions to problems they see in their school. I’ve had some great results from that with small groups attacking problems such as bullying, littering, and negative behaviour. The most memorable for me was a group of three boys who believed the dress code for teachers was too strict. At first, I was confused, thinking it was a joke. But these boys were seriously upset that their teachers had to stress over what to wear to school. They worried about the impact the dress code had on their mental wellbeing. It showed me that kids are often thinking outside of themselves and we don’t give them credit for that.

8. What inspired you to create The Hero Handbook for adults?

Basically, a lot of people asked for more information for how they could prepare for heroism. It was a pretty good example of responding to a demand.

9. You also speak to adult groups about heroism. You mentioned groups such as teachers, sororities, fraternities, summer camps, and sports teams. Are these the same programs you use for The Hero Construction Company geared toward an older audience or something else altogether?

I use similar theories and activities, but the examples and tone are different. Obviously adults can handle deeper conversations about the topic and can appreciate risk in a different way.

10. How can people who are interested in contacting you about your programs best get in touch with you?

They can call at (810) 689 4376 or email matt@theherocc.com. There’s also Twitter and Facebook, but they’re more for finding out about hero stories.

11. On a personal note, do you feel that you have had to make any sacrifices being an entrepreneur?

I think, objectively, I could say I’ve made sacrifices in regard to steady and higher income, but there’s no way you could convince me I made the wrong decision. This decision was the right one, for sure. I’ve met more people, been able to follow my own impulses, and probably most importantly, I’ve been able to stay at home with my daughter and be a major part of her life.

12. What advice would you give to others considering becoming entrepreneurs?

You need to study your area all the time. You need to reach out to people. You need to work out what income you can survive on and then make sure your business can provide that. Everything else is gravy.

13. Do you have any plans for the future with The Hero Construction Company or for yourself as an entrepreneur?

I plan to take myself out of the equation a bit, by creating resources that schools can use themselves. That will be books, videos, courses, etc.

14. You work in a close business relationship with Dr. Zimbardo from Stanford University. How did you meet Dr. Zimbardo and what influenced the two of you to work together in this manner?

I read an article by Phil and Zeno Franco a few months into my hero work. Their article was basically stating everything I’d decided to do, so I felt compelled to let them know what I was doing in schools. I googled Phil’s email address and told him what I was up to. He responded straight away and said that we needed to work together. At this point, I had no idea who he was. My wife, who had studied psychology, pointed that out to me.

Phil’s been studying heroism from a research and academic point of view, while I’ve been working to create practical trainings around the topic. We’ve been able to complement each other well that way. I appreciate his input and I think he likes that I’m out in the world putting things into practice.

15. What one little piece of advice would you leave for people wanting to make a difference in the world as you do?

Don’t do what everyone else expects you to do, do what you want to do.

Thank You

Watch Matt’s TEDx talk: “Let’s Build Pro-Hero Schools Instead of Anti-Bully Schools”

———

Matt Langdon is the founder of The Hero Construction Company. You can also find him on Twitter @theherocc

Constructing Heroes – Matt Langdon’s Journey to Train Kids to Become Heroes is a post from: Below Zero to Hero - Get Inspired.

A better measurement, perhaps, is doing work that matters. Michael Bungay Stanier, an Aussie with a Rhodes Scholarship, has been helping others learn to do just that through his bestselling books and inspirational talks.

The writer of books such as “Do More Great Work”, “Get Unstuck and Get Going”, “Presentation Genius”, and “End Malaria”, Michael tackles the complexities of the working world and presents them in a clear, precise, understandable path to innovative productivity.

Michael’s book Do More Great Work was an Amazon.com best seller, with original contributions from renowned thought-leaders like Seth Godin, Leo Babauta, Chris Guillebeau, Michael Port, and David Ulrich.

Doing great work, as Michael portrays it, is doing work that is meaningful. He has found for himself what work is meaningful to him and found great success doing it.

As a much sought after keynote speaker, Michael brings both wisdom and hopefulness to his audiences. He inspires them, shows them processes that are proven to get them from where they are to where they want to be, and keeps them engaged with his comfortable style.

But not all was always smooth. Michael was banned from his high school reunion, was sued by one of his Law School lecturers for defamation, was fired on his first shift as a garage attendant and has held a number of jobs where he had little or no impact.

So how did Michael Bungay Stanier, boy from Australia, become the highly desired, wise coach he is today with credits such as Canadian Executive Coach of the Year in 2006? How did he create a business that enables him to do what he does so well – spread his valuable knowledge to those whom really benefit from it?
‘
Check out my interview with this inspiring, intelligent man and learn about how you too can ‘do more great work’!

1. You have written a number of inspiring books to help people get motivated and figure out how to pursue their paths to more meaningful work. Your highly popular book “Do More Great Work: Stop the Busywork. Start the Work That Matters” emphasizes this idea of great work versus just good work. What is the difference between good work and great work?

Here’s the quick and easy summary:

Bad Work: waste of time, life-draining and soul-sucking work. Anything that makes you go: What on earth am I doing this for?

Good Work: Your “job description”, whatever that might be. So it’s likely to be productive, useful and getting things done. It’s also a bit of a comfortable rut for you, and it no longer pushes and stretches and challenges you

Great Work: Work that has an impact, work that makes a difference, work that you care about.

And of course Work isn’t just limited to your work. These are definitions that stretch across everything you do in your life.

2. You have created a life for yourself in which you get to do great work on a regular basis as a keynote speaker and motivational coach. How did you discover that this was your talent – the great work that you wanted to do?

It’s all about experimentation and reflection. Try a little something. Step back and ask: is this really what I want? So in fact, I do very little coaching now because my Great Work is more focused on creating cool stuff. Coaching was fulfilling for a way but became more Good Work over time

3. How did you get started as a keynote speaker?

One speech at a time. I now speak to crowds that can number more than a thousand, but I started off giving small workshops and speeches to small groups. Sometimes, really really really small groups.

4. What motivated you to write your first book?

A combination of frustration at some of the business books I was reading (and how predictable they were), together with frustration about how coaching sometimes works (and coming up with a process that I thought could make coaching more accessible to more people) and someone saying to me “I like the idea of the book you told me about 4 years ago, and I’m going to take it if you’re not using it…” which finally kickstarted me!

5. In 2006, you received the distinction of Canadian Executive Coach of the Year. Were you surprised by this honor? Back as a young Rhodes Scholar, did you think this was where your life would be today?

One of the reasons I’m not so keen on 5 year plans is just how impossible it is to guess how the future unfolds. It’s useful to have goals and aspirations of course. But it’s also useful to have a foundation of values and a flexibility to go where the heart takes you (and where opportunities show themselves).
So in short: it was absolutely impossible to guess that I’d be here in 2006.

6. What advice would you give to someone who wanted to become a motivational coach or speaker like you?

Start now and figure out two things: first, what’s your “voice”. What’s the authentic way you speak to the world through your writing and through your speaking. Try on other people’s styles and through that find your own.
Second, what do you stand for? What’s your point of view. Most successful people in this game – me included – offer “old wine in new bottles”. The truths are timeless, but how you frame them is all important in making your work distinctive.

7. Do you have plans for the future of your business? Any particular aspirations?

I want to keep doing cool stuff I’m proud of – my own Great Work. So I keep asking myself, what’s the best idea I’ve got as a Great Work Project right now.

8. Do you feel like you have had to make any sacrifices being an entrepreneur?

I think any life you lead involves sacrifice. Being an entrepreneur sometimes makes those sacrifices a little more obvious, but everyone’s life comes down to this question: What am I saying Yes to? And therefore, what am I saying No to? And in everyone’s Yes is the possibility you’re getting it wrong, and in the No lies the sacrifice you’re making to really commit to your Yes.
So get clear and be mindful and be courageous about what you’re saying Yes to!

9. Looking back on the beginnings of your entrepreneurial life, is there something you would do differently now that you’ve had the experiences you have had?

I love the quote: Inspiration is when your past suddenly makes sense. You can’t change your past and you never know how your past decisions have got you to where you are now. So it’s not really a question I engage with. I’m trying to be focused on the here and now.

10. As a business, what is the one best thing you have done to build your business?

Asked for help and got support from coaching, mastermind groups, colleagues and team members. Taken my fingers out of too many pies, so I could concentrate on the stuff I’m best at. Thought about scaling and created systems to help me do that. Removed myself from the hub. Reminded myself that the business is only one part of my life.

Thank You Michael

—

Watch a clip of Michael Bungay Stanier from February 24, 2011as he speaks about his book Do More Great Work. Michael was invited by Google to be part of their Authors@Google lecture series, which brings innovative authors to discuss intellectual topics.

Michael Bungay Stanier is a motivational speaker. He speaks regularly to businesses and organizations such as Google, IBM and AOL. He is also a popular speaker at business and coaching conferences around the world. You can find more about him on his website boxofcrayons.biz and on Twitter at @boxofcrayons

How to Do More Great Work is a post from: Below Zero to Hero - Get Inspired.

Well, that is exactly what Dotan Negrin did last year. To top that off, he came home with $2,229 in his pocket.

How did he do it? He played his piano for the public and lived off their generosity.

Dotan Negrin is a true artist at heart. He originally wanted to be an actor and did some off off Broadway, but in the end realized that his true destiny was to use art to inspire people via a different route. He plays piano and entertains as a street artist.

According to Dotan, “The Essence and Purpose of the Theater goes back thousands of years ago to the Greek Philosophers who didn’t want to merely entertain but to become catalysts for change in the world, to put up the mirror to society and say, this is who you are! In the last 2 years, my passions have changed. With Piano Across America I would like to go beyond the surface and into the core of Life. Using Music, Theater, and my personal experiences, I want to become that catalyst for change in the world. I want to help people find their true meaning in life of which goes beyond their individual selves but in helping others and challenging the self. I want to meet people of the world and understand where they come from, their beliefs, their troubles. I want to use Music to bring people together and create a dialogue between neighbors… And I want you to come with me on this journey.”

Across America with a Piano

Having currently completed three solo roadtrips across the Americas playing his piano, Dotan is currently doing his 4th trip. However, this time he hopes to bring a crew with him to document his travels from New York City, to Panama!

The theme of the journey is Music in Society and he hopes to explore the importance of music in people’s lives. The title of this documentary web series is Language of The Universe and is part of his Piano Across America project.

Enjoy!

1. You’ve traveled to over 50 cities at this point, playing your piano as a street artist. Many people cannot even imagine this. How would you describe what it is like to do what you do?

I’m currently on my 4th road trip, this time going down to Panama from NYC. This entire project has been one big experiment trying to figure out how I can make a living doing what I love most in life: Travel, Performing, and meeting people. I’ve been living on the road mainly out of my van (I used to have a 12 ft box truck). I usually don’t stay at hotels because they are expensive and spend my time Couchsurfing. I live very minimally and actually sold most of my possessions on eBay in the last 5 months. At the moment I pay for gas and food by playing piano on the streets in the cities I visit. Lately I’ve also been getting gigs at restaurants that pay really well since I bring my own piano. I get to meet new people and make lots of friends in every city I visit, Occassionally I will stop at a National park to visit the sights and do some hiking, practice piano, and soak up the land. It’s a very freeing experience and although I currently dont make as much money as my friends who are in finance, I’m doing what I love, I’m incredibly happy, and I live by my own rules.

2. You mentioned that on your journeys you sometimes get invited to people’s homes. What’s that like? Do you find your lifestyle has really shown you a lot about people in general?

I get invited into peoples homes all the time. One time in Aspen I met this couple who were visiting for the week and they loved what I was doing and when I finished playing on the streets they took me int their timeshare gave me a shower, did my laundry, and we had dinner together. They even introduced me to their friend Aron Ralston (from the film 127 hours)
There was another time I was invited to an Annual Family Gathering on Vinal Haven Island in Maine. I showed up right when they started dinner and there I was sitting at the table with 3 generations of this family (About 14 people). It turned out that many of them were musicians. After dinner the sons had a gig at the local bar with 2 of their friends who play Bass and Alto Sax. They asked me to join them and set up a keyboard for me without me knowing. I thought I was going to play one song with them but I ended up playing an entire 4 hour set without knowing any of the songs (they fed me the chord changes and I did a lot of playing by ear). By the end of the night the eldest son handed me $200 for playing the gig with them. And all this without really knowing what was going to happen. I just sort of went with what came my way. It was certainly one of the greatest moments in my life.

3. Your About page at Piano Across America mentions how theater can be a catalyst to change the world. With your own version of street art playing your piano, you hope to use music to bring people together and create a dialogue. How has that been going so far on your travels? In your experience, does music establish a point of connection?

There was a moment in NYC where I had a small crowd of creative folk hanging around the piano. We were all talking music, I would play a song and then some guy with a guitar showed up and we jammed on a few tunes. An opera singer was hanging around and she sang a song for everyone. It was as if all these normal “blocks” that we put up as New Yorkers were lifted and we all connected upon a similar theme of Music. Sometimes I like to take a break from playing and just talk to the people around me. I’ve had some really in depth conversations about Politics, Music, the Environment, Health and Food, and Travel. I even had a conversation with a man who was convinced that he was abducted by aliens multiple times throughout his life- That was pretty wild!
Part of what I really hope to do with Piano Across America is inspire people to create interesting and remarkable social projects that go beyond the self and help to give something back to society. I’m really not sure where it will take me at the moment: perhaps a non-profit, or an Artist collective, who knows. This is still a very fresh adventure for me. I’ve been doing this for 2 years now.

4. What made you decide to go to the cities you have gone to so far?

I choose the next city based on where I am and where the next closest city is with people. Sometimes I’ll do some research online or ask people on social networking. Sometimes I’ll decide to take a detour and head into the mountains first. I find that the best way to travel and know where to go is to just ask as many locals in the area. They always know whats best.

5. Have you had a favorite city so far? If so, what about that city makes it your favorite?

I would have to say that New Orleans is definitely one of my favorite cities. I love it so much mainly because it’s a music town and there are so many people to learn from and collaborate with. New Orleans is unlike any other city in America because it really has a cultural feel to it rather than just concrete and glass buildings and generic tourism. I love that New Orleans is a big city with a small town feel. I can walk through the French quarter and see the same person that served me coffee the week before or that vocalist I saw at that venue last weekend.

6. What is your favorite part about what you do? Traveling? Playing piano? Meeting new people?

My favorite part about what I do would have to be the people. I’ve probably met close to a few thousand people already in the last 2 years and have made so many friends from all over the world. I got to see how people of all varieties live their lives and even get to experience important cultural events in their lives. I got to spend some time with an indigenous Mayan family in Comalapa, Guatemala recently. They have 7 children who were all learning how to play the Marimba and different musical instruments. We had lunch and spoke about what its like to live in Guatemala, how much money they make, what they pay for taxes…
Of course music is my life and without it, I wouldn’t be able to connect with the people I meet and be doing what I do. I will forever get enjoyment from Music because of the challenge and the limitless exploration there is with it. What makes all this even more amazing is when I get to connect with other musicians and then play music with them. Its exhilarating playing music with someone you just met that second..

7. Your next trip is the one you hope to have a crew along to help document the experience and the importance of music in people’s lives as you witness it in your travels. You picked traveling down through Mexico and Central America. Was there any particular reason for this choice of destinations?

I really wanted to head over to Europe this year but when I said that to my brother, he said, “you haven’t finished the America’s yet.” And he was right. But deep down, there was this fear of heading south of the border. I was really scared of coming down here simply because of all the stories in the news and all the things people were telling me about in America. Little did I realize that most of the people that were telling me all these negative stories have never been there and were just relaying ideas that were told to them. I learned through this experience that unless someone has been these, they really don’t know much.
Part of coming down here was to face my fear and challenge myself to go beyond America. I also have a very strong interest in Latin culture. I’ve been to Dominican Republic many times and love the language, the music, and the people. I wanted to explore more of that.
The idea with bringing down a camera man was to meet with different musicians from all over Latin America and to see what their process is, how they learned the music and then to collaborate with them. It was pretty rough coming down here. It seemed as if we had an endless amount of problems as we drove down through mexico and into Guatemala. I got sick the first day in Guatemala and had to go to the hospital due to a bacterial infection, The camera broke on the first day of shooting with this Guatemalan band, and then my camera man got sick. All in all it was a serious challenge and I took some serious losses. But we did get to meet with some interesting musicians to see what life is like for them.

8. How do you think this trip with a crew will differ from your solo experiences?

Usually when I’m by myself, there is no conflict. Its just go with your intuition, meet people, play on the streets to make some food and gas money, and enjoy my time. This time around there was an agenda. We had an objective and almost always, things NEVER go a planned. There were also some conflict between me and the cameraman about planning and organizing. It was definitely a bigger challenge working with someone on this than when I usually travel alone.

9. On your kickstarter webpage Language of the Universe, where you are hoping to raise enough funds for your trip, you offer a lot of interesting incentives to people who donate. One is a private Skype session with you while you are on the journey. Have you done this before? What is that like? What do you find people who do this are most interested in hearing about?

I actually haven’t done a private skype session with anyone before. But I’m curious to do this more and meet some of the people that are following my blog.

10. You wrote about yourself as having a “free spirited approach to life.” Can you explain more what this means to you?

I love living life on the edge. Sometimes its ok not to know everything or have justification for everything that happens in life. I like to improvise when I play piano. So much of music making is about letting go of thought and just going with the feeling and flow of things. When you let go of some of the questions in your head, you realize the answers to life are already in your intuition.

11. Your faithful companion on your journeys has been your dog. Who is this little guy you take with you? What is he like?

Brando is a small dog of about 13 pounds but with a big personality. Sometimes i feels as if he is a human being in a dogs body. He clearly loves meeting people although sometimes he is a bit protective. He is certainly not shy and likes to be the center of attention. He can be a great companion to have on the road, especially when I’m alone. But sometimes he can be a bit of a hassle when I’m traveling. Its sort of like having a child with me at all times. I need to care for him. So leaving him at home on this last trip down to Panama has been a big release of effort.

12. If people are interested in reading more about your trip or viewing your web series Language of the Universe, where can they go? How can they get to read and/or view this?

They can follow my page on Facebook or Tumblr blog:

–> facebook.com/pianoacrossamerica
–> http://www.pianoxamerica.tumblr.com

I update these more often than the other social networks.

13. Do you have any long term plans for after your travels down to Panama? Do you plan on always staying in the Americas as your project is titled Piano Across America?

Yeah I didn’t think of that when I first made my project. I didn’t think it was going to be something that I would do long term. I hope to one day travel to Europe or Asia and see what life is like for people out there. During this trip I’ve been developing my skills as a musician and doing a lot of writing. I hope to put out an album after this Panama trip and put together a band.

14. Do you have any other future goals for your life in general?

I really want to start a band now and form some collaborations. I’ve been a solo pianist for a while and want to expand my learning by playing with new musicians.
In the future I’d like to create a free children’s workshop about music to inspire people to learn musical instruments and explore other styles of music.

15. As an artist, what would you say to other artists wanting to find a way to use their art to inspire others?

I think its important for artist to ask themselves WHY they are making art in the first place. We all have different goals in life, but I think its important to be clear to yourself why you are choosing to pursue something outside of the “normal” spectrum of jobs. There are so many artists who quit because they lose focus or get so caught up in the fear of being an artist. Most of the time if you keep making art and be persistent, eventually success will come your way. Of course, then success is unique to each artist.

Thank You

—-

Dotan Negrin travels across the United States with an upright piano in a truck. Visit him at pianoacrossamerica.com or on twitter at PianoXAmerica

From New York to Panama – Travelling Across America with a Piano on Wheels is a post from: Below Zero to Hero - Get Inspired.

A traveling man who enjoys life and pursuing his own path, Agin has found his life’s passion in living his life according to what is important to him, all the while inspiring and helping others to do the same. As a blogger, speaker, author of many guides and soon to be published cookbook, Agin shares his knowledge about finding your true interests, pursuing your passions, and maintaining, or regaining, your personal health while travelling.

Once an actor in Los Angeles and Seattle for 11 years, Nathan Agin decided he wanted something different for his life. He decided he wanted to travel and learn about the places and people of the world. So he started off on his first journey and three short years later, he is happily living a life he finds meaningful, enjoyable, and productive.

So what are Nathan Agin’s secrets to living a healthy and awesome life? With the pace of a traveling life, how does he maintain his health while traveling? Is it possible for others to maintain healthy living while travelling?

Find out in my interview with this awesome guy.

Enjoy!

1. You take healthy living to a whole new level by incorporating more than just physical health. Why is that important? What do you do in your own life to maintain your health?

The simple answer is that I could not do what I want without total health, of mind, body, and spirit. As a traveler, if I weren’t taking care of myself the way I am, I would have gotten sick and gone crazy a long time ago. Just because I travel regularly doesn’t mean I don’t face challenges, and they are the same ones that any challenger (short or long-term) encounter, such as exhaustion, stress, and anxiety. Because of my practices, I’m able to have more good days than not—and fortunately, the “off” days have been very few.

The four pillars I incorporate into my life are: Nutrition, Movement, Mindfulness, and Gratitude. So that covers what I eat (and don’t), exercise, meditation, and positive attitude. I eat largely plant-based, because of everything I’ve learned and how it makes me feel; I exercise about 5-6 days, with light-to-moderate routines that take 20-30 minutes: tai chi, yoga, strength training, flexibility/stretching, etc.; I meditate every day (1000+ and counting); and I journal on what I’m thankful for. Without those practices, I wouldn’t be the person I am.

“We first make our habits, and then our habits make us.” ~ John Dryden

2. Your website Nonstop Awesomeness seems to be geared primarily towards fellow travelers, yet a lot of your advice could be found useful to anyone really. How can a non-traveler benefit from your healthy living advice?

We are all travelers on this journey of life. So whether you’re carpooling or commuting, taking the train or flying, we’re all on the move. We’re all busy, and life always changes. Even if you’re waking up in the same place, things are going to be a little different every day. We can always count on that. Nonstop Awesomeness is the idea that life always can be awesome, no matter where we are, when we show up 100% to life—that whatever life throws at us, we can maintain a consistently high energy and thrive. To do that, you need some kind of routine in your life, a foundation and something you can come back to that will maintain, sustain, energize and inspire you.

Healthy habits can start now, and in fact, are going to be much easier to develop while you’re home, rather than trying to create something on the fly when traveling. If you can create a new routine—whether that’s with food or exercise or whatever is important to you—before you travel, you are going to be infinitely more likely to keep that up wherever you go.

The main items to keep in mind are to be 100% Committed to your habit (for example, “I will exercise”), and then Flexible with how that shows up (10 minutes of yoga, long walk, lifting weights, swim in the ocean, etc.) Things might be exactly the same as when you’re at home or look totally different—the point is that you’re doing the activities you know allow you to show up how you want to in life.

3. Your soon to be published cookbook, “Nonstop Awesomeness in the Kitchen” features recipes that are free of refined sugars and flours, non-GMO, non-processed, and gluten-free foods. Are these important factors to consider in maintaining a healthy diet?

Absolutely. The sad truth is that these ingredients are what is responsible for the majority of health issues we see today: obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, etc. These are all life-style diseases—and are completely preventable, with proper diet (meaning “what you eat,” not “a short-term fix”) and exercise (even walking every day can change your life)!

It wasn’t long ago that whole, natural food (what grew on trees and came out of the ground) was the ONLY choice—in the last 100 years, and largely because of greed, so many products have been created to help with convenience, and at the same time, have stripped foods of their nutrition and replaced it with items toxic to our body—literally.

Of the list above, you *definitely* want to avoid refined sugars and flours, and any foods that contain GMO’s (genetically modified organisms)—because frankly, we have no idea what might be in those “franken-foods,” and I don’t want that in my body. You want to limit your consumption of processed or packaged foods as best you can; if it comes out of a box, it’s processed. With gluten, many people experience inflammation and other illnesses because of this, and so it does make sense to cut out wheat products. I would state that even if you don’t experience any immediate effects, so experiment going gluten-free (no breads or pastas) for two weeks and see how you feel.

4. You personally have found traveling to be a passion and a lifestyle that you enjoy. How did you know that traveling would be that for you?

I had no idea. And I had no idea what I was getting myself into. When I left Los Angeles (where I had been living), all I knew was that I enjoyed traveling, even with the tiny amount I had done up to that point. I had no expectation that I would be moving from place to place as frequently as I have, and that I would be able to thrive in those conditions. It all just seemed to come together organically, and I can definitely say that I love traveling just as much today as I did three years ago when I set off.

5. Have you had a favorite place you have travelled to so far? What made that place stick out as so memorable for you? Where do you think you want to go next in your travels?

I have been very lucky to have experienced some truly amazing sights, like on Kauai or at Glacier National Park in Montana—such stunning beauty that I had never imagined. Very cool indeed. The other places that tend to come to mind quickest, though, are the spots where I made really great connections with people, whether it was friends, strangers, or fellow travelers. I think back to a family I stayed with in Columbia, SC; a new friend and host in New Orleans; the happiest smoothie guy I’ve ever met in Sayulita, Mexico, and others. I am very blessed and grateful.

For me, the next frontier is international. I’ve spent most of my time around the US and do not regret one second of it. I would actually recommend to any traveler to explore your own country, regardless of how well you think you know it. I had only been to a handful of states before this life change, and I’m just in awe of the diversity in this country, both geographically and culturally.

To keep learning and growing, and because I’ve just heard what amazing things are going on out there, I definitely am excited to experiences faraway places—and a little nervous. I’m sure that’s why it’s taken me this long. Because I’ve never done it, I don’t know what to expect—and of course that’s natural. Whether international travel turns into a permanent thing or not, I do believe it will be great to immerse myself in a culture where I’m the minority—that kind of switch sounds fun to me.

6. Do you have any advice for someone who would like to try traveling as a lifestyle?

Here are my top 5 lessons from nearly three years of traveling:

1. You don’t need to pack as much as you think.
2. Be gracious and humble with everyone you meet.
3. Keep a positive outlook and always look for the good.
4. Your health is the #1 priority—everything else will follow.
5. Every moment is an opportunity for adventure, growth, and joy.

Amen

—

Nathan is a health blogger at NonstopAwesomeness.me. You can also find him on Twitter at @nathanagin

Healthy Living while Travelling is a post from: Below Zero to Hero - Get Inspired.

Terry is the mastermind behind SOBCon Conferences now in its seventh year. The conferences give business leaders the opportunity to learn, develop skills, plan, and strategize with a small group. Each session includes time for attendees to apply the concepts and ideas to their own businesses with the help of other business leaders attending.

Let’s see if we can capture some of Terry “Starbucker” St. Marie’s wisdom and energy, in asking him about his life, his leadership, and his business.

Enjoy!

1. Hi Terry, Can you tell us a bit about yourself? How did you become an entrepreneur? How difficult was the transition from a corporate job to pursuing your personal business interests? What ultimately led you to make a lifestyle change?

I started my career as a CPA back in 1982, and then a twist of fate put me into the cable TV industry, and executive management, in 1987. I served in several executive capacities in cable for the better part of the next 23 years. My bosses were long-time entrepreneurs that I grew to admire, because of their guile, acumen, and fearlessness. When my last cable gig ended (successfully) in 2010 I decided to make the jump to entrepreneur myself, and I’ve not looked back. It was time.

2. In the corporate world, one’s identity is often defined by one’s title and job description. Did that change when you started your own company? In your mind how is your identity evolving? How does that impact what and how you do things?

That’s a very interesting question – the identity thing does change. Now, I’m outside “context”; that is, a previously defined corporate situation. As an entrepreneur, I have to create my own context. And that’s an entirely different conversation. I’m basically learning how to do that as I go along, but I’ve been blessed with sitting in the middle of a pretty robust startup community here in Portland, and that has been inspiring.

3. Your “Crash Davis Belief Statement” is a wonderful combination of values, family, business, faith, and joy. Toward the end you list “the incredible wisdom of my grandmother?” What was that wisdom? How has your grandmother and her wisdom impacted your life?

When my grandmother was celebrating her 100th birthday about 6 years ago, she leaned over to me and said – “live, laugh and love Terry – that’s what I’ve tried to do all these years, and it’s what has sustained me”. It’s had a huge impact on me. What a great lady she was.

4. What do you think is the most important quality a business leader needs to develop? Why? If that does not come naturally, how can one nurture that quality?

It’s really about honing and developing your common sense – that is, a natural barometer of figuring out the “right thing” to do, that goes beyond the objective facts that are presented. All too often this quality is not used in decision-making, and that often leads to an unhealthy working environment – there’s no humanity injected into the equation.

5. As you work with business leaders, what do you think the top common struggles are? Is seems like what presents as a problem is sometimes really more of a symptom of a different issue. Do you find that to be the case? If so, how do you help leaders to get to that deeper level vision?

The top struggle, in my view, is wrestling our fear to the floor – not out of sight, not out the door, but on the floor. What I mean by that is it has to be controlled – fear can be quite motivating, certainly – but the paralysis that fear can cause just HAS to be avoided. A lot of bad decisions really come down to NOT keeping fear on the floor.

6. It is clear through your writing that you believe and operate in a servant leadership style. Has that always been the case or is that a style that experience led you to? How do employees react?

I had to learn about servant leadership the hard way – that is, I made a lot of mistakes when I was thrust into an executive role in 1987. I came to realize that it wasn’t about me – it was about them, and I needed to fulfill the book definition of “lead” – show the way. When you are showing the way the RIGHT way, employees will follow you.

7. You are an advocate of making customer service a priority. What does “good” customer service entail? Is poor customer service an issue in very many businesses?

Good customer service should come naturally – after all, there are humans involved. I use the “Golden Rule” a lot when I make presentations about this – “One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself”. You wouldn’t want to be treated rudely, or unfairly, or dispassionately – so why do it to someone else? Once teammates fully understand this, and buy into it, and can put it in the context of their own fulfillment as an employee, the sky’s the limit on customer satisfaction and loyalty.

8. There is a SOBCon conference coming in May in Chicago. Tell us about the conference. Who is the conference designed for? Are there things people can do in advance to be better prepared to get the most out of the gathering? What do people take away from the gathering? Are there any changes to the program this session?

Yes, we’re having another SOBCon (the SOB stands for Successful Online Business) in Chicago this May (May 3-5). It’s designed for people who are looking to take their dreams and ideas, and turn them into real action. There’s a lot of interaction – attendees are put into Mastermind groups of 4 or 5 people, and we leave a lot of time in the program to foster some real and deep conversations. We also have great speakers who put out a ton of awesome ideas that can foster the push to action. It’s a transformative experience that can change your life. This year’s theme is the Customer Centered Business.

9. Another conference is held each year in Portland. Is the program design the same for both? Do you notice any difference in the people or the needs of the people attending the two conferences?

The design is the same for both events –it’s only the location and general theme that is different.

10. In one of your blogs you mentioned the importance of work being “fun.” Do you think that is a consideration in most businesses? Why is it important? How does one make work fun?

If work isn’t fun, it isn’t worth doing. You know the quote by James Michener ? That says it all– it’s one of my favorites: “The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he’s always doing both.” That’s what I’m shooting for!

11. Terry, you made a lot of services available to people who are looking to take their business further. What are you planning next?

I’m writing a book on leadership that I’m hoping to publish soon – it’s a distillation of my 30 year journey into some very practical advice to take your leadership, and your business, further. Stay tuned!

Thank You!

Thank YOU Tal, it’s been a pleasure!

—-

Terry “Starbucker” St. Marie is a business consultant, strategist, coach and angel investor. He is in the business of helping businesses fly. Terry operates from an understanding that a successful business is dependent on successful leadership. His website includes blog posts and other materials which instill very practical ways of becoming a effective leader. Inside Out Thinking is his consulting and coaching service which helps businesses create a solid model, get the right people, implement the best policies for sales and customer service, and develop social media outlets. You can find him at terrystarbucker.com or on Twitter @Starbucker

Creating Successful Online Businesses Through Effective Leadership and Most Importantly, Fun is a post from: Below Zero to Hero - Get Inspired.

Adam Shepard exudes that kind of energy. Adam dedicated a year to accomplishing as many of the things on his “List O’ Good Times” he created during a snow storm in college. During that year, Shepard bungee jumped in Slovakia, worked in a day camp for kids in Honduras, fought bulls in Nicaragua, mended barbed wire fence in Australia, rode an elephant in Thailand, went wakeboarding in the Philippians, hiked the Abel Tasman in New Zealand. Along the way he met a number of interesting people, visited 11 countries and maybe found his Eve. The book recording his adventures, One Year Lived, is available now at Amazon.

The trip comes only a few years after he made national headlines for taking a year to test the idea of the American Dream . With less than $25, a sleeping bag, and the clothes on his back, he settled in a homeless shelter in strange city to seek his fortune. His book about the experience, Scratch Beginnings: Me, $25, and the Search for the American Dream , was originally self-published and then picked up by HarperCollins. Before long he was being interviewed by major news organizations and being invited to do motivational speaking in a variety of venues. His book is part of the curriculum at a number of colleges and universities.

Shepard’s energy to live life to the fullest springs forth as he shares the stories of his adventures and lessons learned. As you share this interview with Adam Shepard, you may well find yourself working toward the adventures of your dreams!

Enjoy.

1. Hey Adam, Can you please tell us a bit about yourself. What was the biggest dream that you went after?

Born and bred in North Carolina, I went off to college in Massachusetts. Basketball was long my dream, from age nine until I finished off my very (very!) brief professional basketball career in Germany.

You have come a long way from your days in a homeless shelter. Where did the idea of setting out with basically nothing come from? How did your friends and family react?

The idea for Scratch Beginnings came from reading a book called Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich. She wrote on the death of the American Dream, and I thought, “No, no. This can’t be right.” It wasn’t the politics or social issues or financial issues that I was attacking (though she and I would disagree on those, too, likely), rather her tone was so discouraging that I found myself kind of crawling through the book wishing she would stop complaining. And then, after I finished, I said, “I’m going to write the rebuttal to this crap.

3. How did you choose Charleston as the place to attempt the American dream? Did you know anyone in the city? Did you do anything to prepare yourself for the move to Charleston?

I had twelve southeastern cities in a hat. I picked Charleston on a Monday and was on a train on Tuesday. (My mom was SUPER pumped to get me off the couch.) No, I did not know anyone, and those were two of the parameters: I couldn’t have ever been to the city I chose and I couldn’t know anybody.
I literally did nothing to prepare. I had the clothes on my back, a sleeping bag, a tarp, $25 cash, and my journal.

4. What did you miss the most from your old life? Did you ever doubt your ability to accomplish the goals you had set? Was there any point at which you just wanted to go home?

I missed Ma’s cheesy hashbrowns more than anything. I never did doubt my ability to succeed but only because I was able to draw inspiration from the guys around me; I thought, “If this dude can have a good attitude, and he comes from a far, far worse situation than me, then there is no excuse for me to give up or not achieve what I set out to achieve.”

5. Your book, Scratch Beginnings, is currently being used in a number of colleges and universities. How did that come about? Did you write with the intention of appealing to that audience? At what point did you create the book guide and other study materials?

The interesting thing is that when I wrote Scratch Beginnings, my first book, I didn’t have a target audience. I was younger and new to the writing game, and I didn’t even understand that one was supposed to have a target audience.
This ultimately worked in my favor, because an audience—high school and college students—emerged who was attracted to my facile writing style.
Now, here with my new book, I’ve tried to maintain my same writing style while hoping to create the vivid scenes that don’t really exist in my first book.
After I got the first offer to speak to a college for an hour for about 6 times what I was making in a week, I dropped everything and started to strategize how I could more effectively target the school market. The first thing on the list was a study/reading guide.

6. Your first book was self-published. What was that process like? How was the book discovered by the media? How long was it before it you were approached by HarperCollins?

If you do it right, the process of self-publishing is a brutal one, and not something I recommend for everyone. (Of course, it’s easy to just put your book on Amazon for about $100, but to self-publish right takes time and money.)
The story of my first book is the story of rejection. I couldn’t get any media attention (even locally), and so I got a list of the top 100 newspapers in the country and started emailing each editor/journalist I could find. I got rejected all the way up to number 11, and Andrea Peyser, at the New York Post, said she would love to write the article.
And that article opened a floodgate of national media.
Interestingly, though, as I approached agents at that point, all 70 rejected me. Still. Even with all of my forthcoming media.
I was having lunch with my boy Dave, and his golfing buddy Steve was with us. I gave him a couple of books and he passed one along to his neighbor. His neighbor knew Shelly, who was a music agent in New York. And Shelly knew Dan, who is presently my agent. So, I kind of fed through the system there after getting rejected by so many other agents.
And then Dan did a number of great things with the book: sold it to HarperCollins, sold the Chinese rights, optioned the movie writes, etc.

7. Your second book, One Year Lived, will be released shortly. Can you tell us a bit about it? What inspired you to write it?

One Year Lived is the account of the year I spent traveling abroad. I went to 17 countries on 4 continents over the year and spent $19,420.68. Just a wonderful, wonderful year.
I was inspired to live the experience in high school when I read an essay in one of those (too many!) Chicken Soup for the Soul books. This guy had made a to-do list of his own, and then actually spent his life doing them. I thought that was pretty neat.
As for the book, I was inspired to write it after living through some crazy times.

8. How did the process for the writing and publishing of One Year Lived differ from your first book? Was it easier? Or more difficult? How much material did not make it into the final book?

This book was definitely much more difficult to write than my first book. My first book was easy to write: nobody respected me and nobody had ever read my work, so I had no expectations to meet. No pressure.
The publication of this book is a way different experience. It is important that I recognize that I’m held to a higher standard now, and so I must spent the time (and money) to do the publication right: editing thoroughly, sheek design concepts, a bulky publicity campaign.

9. How difficult was it to adjust to being back in the States? Are there things you miss about being on the road? Are you planning another foreign adventure?

Adjusting back to the States was super easy, but I knew that was going to happen. When I left to take the trip, I knew I would be back; and when you have that attitude, you miss everything a little less.
I love the life of being on the road. The food, the culture, the conversations, the nature, and the dude who has DVDs for sale of movies that just came out last weekend.
Travel is in my blood, but I’m not going to go abroad again until after I’ve effectively pushed One Year Lived out there.

10. How much writing did you do on the road? Did you keep a journal? What technological devices did take with you?

I did all of the writing of the manuscript on the road. (So when I got home, I was done and ready to move forward with editing.) This was important—VERY important—because you cannot write with complete integrity if you’re writing about something from late 2009.
The only technological device I had was a little Asus notebook computer. That baby has smoked a lot of cigars in a lot of countries.

11. You seem to be internally motivated to challenge yourself. Do you think that is true? Tell us more about that internal process.

My internal motivation has been nurtured by my parents, no question. And I think the way that they have been able to inspire both my brother and me to be internally motivated is by allowing us our independence. Since we were children, they have allowed us to carve out our own path in the world, and the confidence that comes with that builds internal motivation.
When you fend for yourself (whether by force or by choice), you really have no other choice than to be internally motivated.

12. As you have undertaken the many challenges you have confronted, you had to have faced your own fears countless times. What is or are some of the scariest parts for you?

Fighting bulls in Nicaragua were by far the scariest moments of my life. Video is here and the full essay is here.

13. How much motivational and inspirational speaking do you do? How often do you travel? Popular speakers are often requested to do presentations pro bono. How do you handle those kinds of requests?

I do quite a bit of speaking. The summer is a slower time for me this year because I’ve been abroad and haven’t been in the game, but I’ll do forty paid gigs in the fall based on the success (or not) of One Year Lived.
For the next three years, my travel will revolve around my speaking gigs. My wife knew that after the year was done, “We’re going home to the United States, and we’re going to work,” though I’d say speaking in front of audiences is a very loose definition of the word “work.”
I never do pro bono gigs. I will negotiate with places where I can see that they clearly can’t afford it. I love speaking to high school students, for example, but high schools don’t have big budgets to just write checks to a speaker. I get that.
I don’t do pro bono gigs, because that is how you get taken advantage of in the speaking world. Anyone and everyone has the means to get some money together, and if they are at least making the effort, if they clearly want it, I’ll consider doing the gig.
So, I handle pro bono requests by making a note of the various ways that money can be raised.

14. What kind of marketing strategies have you developed for your books and speaking engagements? Were there any approaches that you did not find helpful? What has worked well?

I will say this to any aspiring author or speaker: present quality work. Scratch Beginnings was a good story, and it got media attention, but the reason its Amazon ranking is so devastatingly low now, is because it isn’t a high-quality book. (It’s not terrible; it’s just average.)
And so I learned from that experience. Now, whenever I speak about One Year Lived, I solicit immediate feedback on how I can improve, no matter how much I might think I killed it on stage. When I write a book, I have four editors going over it over four different drafts. And I listen to them. This is important.
So, you can send out postcards and emails and everything else, but in the end, if you are a great speaker, people will hire you. And if you’re a great writer, people will tell their friends about your book. So, focus on the quality of the content first.

15. Many writers advocate the use of a blog, and I noticed that you do not have one. What is your view of the use of blogs?

A blog is a GREAT resource for keeping in touch with fans of your work, to exchange different ideas with them.
I just simply do not have the time to maintain one!

16. What does “living the dream” mean to you? Is there a specific formula someone needs to use to live his or her dreams?

“Living the dream” to me is a matter of moving forward on an endeavor (or two, but not three, for me) with every little bit of soul I have inside of me. To give everything I’ve got without regard for what success might look like on the back end. To inspire and be inspired. To hold a product in your hand to which you know you could not have dedicated another touch of energy.
My endeavours, at present, are One Year Lived and maintaining a wonderful relationship with my wife.

17. Adam, you have done some amazing things. What is next? Before you left for the year, you said you wanted to do it before you had job and family responsibilities. Are you thinking about settling down or are there more adventures calling to you?

I’m just waiting on my ticket to the moon. What year are they supposed to do that again? I’d volunteer in a second.
I am married now—I met my wife Ivana on my trip around the world—though children aren’t coming for another 7 years and 2 months.
So yes, travel plans in the future. She and I have both pretty much decided that South America is next on our list.

18. Finally, What is your message to someone who’s about to embark on his dream?

Bloody well get on with it, and stop second guessing yourself.

Amen.

Thank you Adam

——

* As mentioned above, Adam was kind enough to share his book with me and the readers of this blog. If you would like a free copy of the book, simply press the big LIKE button below and the book will be instantly available to download to your device.

* If you cannot seem to get the above LIKE button to work for you, just contact me and I will take care of it..

One Year Lived: Adam Shepard’s Yearlong Journey Around the World to Fulfill his Bucket List is a post from: Below Zero to Hero - Get Inspired.

Jodi’s blog grew from a place where close friends and family checked in on her to an online presence filled with pictures, advice, personal musings, and interesting travel stories. Her following grew exponentially and people started to solicit her for writing, speaking engagements, and even to purchase her photographs. What Jodi found is that she could make a living off doing what she enjoys to do – traveling and eating around the world.

Now the author of her own book, “The Food Traveler’s Handbook”, Jodi shares her thoughts about cuisine around the world and the role it plays in bridging cultures, plus helpful tips for those who have food restrictions.

Please enjoy my interview with this inspiring woman.

Hey Jodi, What was the biggest dream that you went after? What ultimately led you to the decision to make a lifestyle change?

The dream I went after was to travel around the world for a year, taking the time to see and explore. I had long wanted to do this (I’ve written about a documentary on the Trans-Siberian trains as being a big influence for that), but I didn’t quit my job to be something else. I just thought I would take a career break and return to the law in a different sphere – in the public sector, or in-house. The “Lawyer burns out. Lawyer quits job to travel and be a travel writer” trope exists, but it’s not me. I understand how it’s a compelling narrative, though!

I had long planned to do this trip, so nothing specific ultimately led me to it. It was a slower process of saving up to travel, thinking of where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do, and when I had saved enough, taking the plunge. When in New York and the culture was skewed toward consumption, I certainly partook in many ways. I just measured my purchases in terms of how far they would get me on the road. E.g. “that pair of shoes could very well be an air ticket somewhere fun”. Now that I’ve been on the road for close to five years, I realize just how much more cheaply I could live abroad. At the time, I didn’t know it – but the opportunity cost measurements certainly helped make this trip a reality and kept me to my goals of saving to travel.

When did you realize that you were not going to go back to lawyering in New York? Was it a sudden epiphany or something that slowly crept up on you?

It was neither, really. I just started receiving more options to do work and I figured that I would see where it took me. It isn’t that I said “I’ll never be a lawyer again” – one never knows what comes next! But given that I was enjoying a newfound way to exercise my brain, getting new opportunities to get better at it and still making it work while living in new places, I thought I would follow the opportunities. If it doesn’t work out, so be it. But it’s been extremely rewarding thus far and I’ve been very grateful to live in a world where I can build this kind of life.

What does your lifestyle look like today? In total, how many hours do you work every week? Do you have a fixed work routine?

I don’t know how many hours I work, but it’s more than I ever thought I’d be working. It’s satisfying when it’s something you love, however. Sure, I could be working less hours in a more traditional job, but then I wouldn’t be building out a business of my own.

Writing the book took me many, many long days of writing and nothing more, and now that it’s done I am able to plant myself somewhere specific (in this case, Vietnam) and work on other projects. I do try to set a routine of work and often find co-working spaces in town in lieu of cafes, trying to improve on productivity and the like while also affording myself a chance to explore where I am temporarily based.

The original trip was one or more years of travel without working. I didn’t even have a laptop with me when I left in 2008. But now that the travel is less travel and more “writing somewhere fun”, I’ve slowed down considerably. I try to get up and do some exercise and then start working on a creative task early, tackling the bulk of the emails later in the day. After I eat some soup, of course.

Why food? You mentioned that you got the urge to travel when you were in high school and saw a documentary about trains. This sparked your imagination to wonder about where those trains could take people around the world. How did you get the desire to sample foods from around the world and more than that, to write often about these culinary experiences?

It just happened gradually as I travelled. Bit by bit, my days were focused on food, my thoughts were drawn to it and I wanted to learn more about the history of a place through its meals and food traditions. There wasn’t anything in particular, other than seeing how different cultures ate and comparing them in interesting ways. The curiosity to see and do still exists, but in a way it has transferred to doing so through the lens of food.

Your book “The Food Traveler’s Handbook” is a hands-on guide to how one can find cheap, safe food in countries around the world. You also mentioned on your blog that your handbook also “addresses why food matters and how travelers can explore the world through the many ingredients we find on our plates.” Can you explain more about this concept?

The first part of the book is primarily dedicated to this phrase. It’s nothing new – people travel for UNESCO sites or they travel to visit certain types of buildings or historical settings. I travel for those things too, but through the lens of what people eat. So Vietnamese food, where I am now, includes its popular Pho soup. In looking at pho – why it is different in the North and the South, how people’s attitudes differ one versus the other place, the recipes, the traditions and how they’ve changed for those who left the country during the war – all of that comprises the history/culture aspect but it’s examined through eating.

It’s not for everyone but I think many people overlook food as a learning tool, so the book was a chance for me to advocate just that.

You have a lot of great advice on your website about the “how tos” of traveling. What would your say to someone who asked “Why do you travel so much?”

I would say “I don’t really travel any longer” I started out traveling in a traditional “year around the world” sense, but now I am living 4-5 months somewhere to really get to know a place. I use those places as a base to see the surrounding region, and my bigger travel spurts actually come when I go back to North America for conferences or family obligations. For a food focus it is also necessary to stay in a place for at least a few months. After just a few weeks, you can’t say you really understand how a place eats or why – the time is needed. Plus, many more things to eat.

If your question is more why would anyone travel, well, it’s my belief that it truly puts your own life and choices into perspective, and helps you see the world as a more interconnected place, something that is very important as a global citizen. But long term or frequent travel is not for everyone, and I do not begrudge anyone who prefers to stay in a stable job but take shorter trips. I’d never say my lifestyle is better; it’s just what happens to work for me.

There are some real fears that women might have about traveling alone around the world. What would you say to them that might ease their fears?

I have just written a long post about this, so I would refer them to it -> http://www.legalnomads.com/2013/02/female-solo-travel.html

There are valid fears, of course, but solo travel tips are applicable to both genders, not just women. Common sense applies to all travelers, but the fears are understandable. I think it is daunting to travel alone, but in many countries I feel safer as a woman than I do in North America.

Out of all the places you have been, where has been your favorite so far and why? When you first started traveling, how did you decide where you wanted to go?

Too many favourites to narrow it down. I’ve loved my time in almost every country, to the point where my parents now roll their eyes when I say “I love it here!” (Them: yes, Jodi – of course you do.)

I decide based on what’s going on at the time – is there somewhere I want to go, some food I want to learn more about, or a place friends are congregating in the near future? Very last minute decisions, usually!

Finally, what is your message to someone who’s about to embark on his dream?

Like anything, it’s a highly subjective decision and my message would differ depending on the person’s goals and what that dream actually entailed. Overall, though, I’d say that there’s no shame in not having a fixed plan so long as you’ve built out a worst case scenario if things go wrong. The rest is all about learning as you go, taking things that come your way and making decisions then, and trying to learn as much as possible from everyone you meet.

Thank You

—-

Jodi Ettenberg is a former lawyer currently traveling (and eating!) her way around the world, one country at a time. You can find her at legalnomads.com and on Twitter @legalnomads

From Full-time Lawyer to Full-time Traveler: Jodi Ettenberg’s Journey to Living and Eating Abroad is a post from: Below Zero to Hero - Get Inspired.

I want to do extraordinary things,

and help others do them.

I want to feel what the epic heroes felt

Even when they were scared.

With a title of “Rogue Priest”, Drew Jacob is definitely not the clerical collar and crucifix kind of priest. He is a philosopher and adventurer whose spiritual practice is travel and adventure.

Following his own Heroic Faith, he is on a quest to meet the gods. He is not afraid to challenge himself, his gods, and popular culture. But he is not a warrior set to do battle. Instead he is a man who seeks to fan the flames of the hero spirit within himself and those he encounters.

I can’t get you in the same room with the Rogue Priest but grab a beer and join me in a personal interview with him. Drew talks about his unconventional quests, leading a life of adventure, and making a living from his passions.

Enjoy!

1. I have to start by asking about the title “Rogue Priest.” The word “rogue” conjures negative images of a scoundrel. You are anything but that. How and why did you pick that title? Has it caused any problems for you?

I love being a rogue. I’m not one for rules. Or rather, I’m skeptical of how we use them in our lives. I respect the importance of rules – they keep us organized and make things run smoothly. But they must always serve a purpose and we should look at what that purpose is. Rules don’t help us do the right thing, they make us more effective at doing whatever we’re doing, right or wrong. They can also limit imagination, individuality, and critical thinking. Particularly in the context of religion. The idea of the rogue priest, a rogue piety, is very appealing to me.

Occasionally I’ve had some apprehension from people who have witnessed scandals in their church or temple. A Zen practitioner told me the name was difficult for them because they had just had misconduct from a priest. But I think people can see the idea behind the name. More priests should be rebels.

2. You are a priest of the Old Belief. Tell us about that journey. Where did it start? How did you become a priest? How has it impacted the rest of your life?

The Old Belief or Seancreideamh is a term for the polytheistic beliefs of ancient Ireland as they’re practiced today. But it’s not important what religion someone is. What’s important is a relentless process of questioning and challenging yourself and your beliefs. I believe we can be more than our upbringing, our beliefs, our nationality. The best religions exist to support and nourish that process.

I became a priest because the practices involved – meditation, fasting, making offerings – help me do that. For me personally they are useful ways to continue that frightening, liberating process. I also became a priest out of necessity, because people in our religion needed clergy and teachers. It was a way of giving back to a tradition that had given me so much.

If a religious tradition has value for you, consider how you can give back to that tradition.

3. More recently you have been involved in the old Vodou tradition. Are there similarities? Are the traditions ever at odds with each other? Are there different aspects of your spirit feed by the different traditions?

Every religion is different. They are not all roads to the same place and they don’t all share the same core beliefs. There is something unique and powerful about Vodou and related African traditions. It’s very much rooted in this world, this life, today.

Vodou is a private experience in a group setting. You are all singing together, dancing together, the drums carry you all. But all this exists to open the door. The individual will have their own unique, private experience of the divine that speaks to only them and cannot be interpreted by anyone else. Sometimes the divine speaks through them, to the group. The priest stands aside and lets the experience speak for itself. Everyone comes to their own understanding.

It is a beautiful counterpoint to more doctrinal religions, yet it has an organized community. It is a very New World religion, that comes out of cultural fusion and sharing. No one understands Vodou until they dance in it.

4. It is obvious that your art is an integral part of your spirituality. Is it possible to describe the relationship between art and spirit for you? How has your spiritual journey changed your art? Has your art changed your spiritual journey?

Writing is my main art. I also paint. To me, these are vehicles to try to communicate what I discover. The challenge of any adventure, spiritual or otherwise, is how to share what you experience.

5. You describe yourself as an “adventurer.” What does that mean to you? How has that mindset impacted the choices you make and the subsequent life path you are leading?

Adventure happens when you attempt something so difficult it’s literally impossible with your current skill set. It will absolutely require you to grow, change, adapt, evolve in order to get through it. Some of us have adventures by accident which can become a sort of crisis and it’s frightening. But I believe in attempting adventure voluntarily. I seek it out on my own terms.

That makes adventure into a living practice. It becomes a lifestyle of self challenge, of demanding undertakings, of holding lightly to expectations, of breathtaking unplannable moments of discovery and beauty.

6. Through your writing it is clear travel is a spiritual practice for you. You are in the midst of a journey to Brazil. What prompted you to undertake this quest? Why Brazil? So far what has been the most helpful thing you did in preparing for the journey? If you were preparing for the journey now, it there anything you would do differently?

It’s not Brazil specifically, though that’s where I’ll end up. It’s the whole process, the whole quest. I imagine the biggest adventure I could and I’m not going to live my life without doing it.

I don’t have any regrets about my journey so there isn’t much I would do differently. Everything was carefully thought out and planned, thanks to my readers and the people who care about me. I’m really bootstrapping it, so there’s more equipment I would drool over, but that’s about it.

If there is one thing I would do differently it’s change how I spoke about it to my readers. A lot of people thought I was going to do some kind of marathon – how quick can you bike, walk, paddle 8,000 miles? But the point is to travel slowly, to actually meet people and learn things along the way.

I’m a journeyman priest on a quest to meet the gods.

7. Has the journey been what you expected? How has the journey impacted the way you think and live? What have been some of the unexpected gifts along the way?

The journey is only what I expected in the sense that I knew I couldn’t possibly imagine what it would be like. It has included the hardest and happiest moments of my life.

This kind of adventure rebuilds you. It taught me to savor the small pleasures, like hot dark coffee on a cold windy morning, or a nap in the sun. It also made me calm in the face of overwhelming odds and impending disaster.

I want to be clear that I have meditated for 12+ years, I have done any spiritual practice you can name. While I value them all, none of them led to as much growth as traveling like this.

8. I noticed that your blog posts from the road have a different style and feel than your other articles. They have a very interesting poetry feel. Is writing from the road different?

Ha! It’s different in that there’s no time! I committed to publishing once a week for my blog readers, at a bare minimum. But how often do you get computer time on the road, or internet? And I had to spend most of that doing paying work to stay in trail mix.

So I had to find a way to deliver an experience, a mood, a moment from the journey in a short, rapid piece with a lot of impact. I developed this stiletto style of writing and that’s what you see in those posts.

I still write long form, essay style posts from time to time. But the stiletto is my special tool.

9. Part of your income comes from creating spell cards and panels. They are more than a piece of art and very different from prayer cards of other religious traditions. What is involved in creating these? How do they impact the lives of your clients?

Yeah. News flash, if anyone out there doesn’t know: magic spells are alive and well in 2013. It’s an art form unto itself. I personally do not believe there is any supernatural force involved, but some practitioners would disagree with me. I believe it is a powerful, engaging art form that has a lot of impact on the people involved.

Magic spells can change lives. If you get a spell for true love chances are you are going to meet someone and start a fulfilling relationship. If you need more money and you get a spell for that you are going to start earning more. Is it psychological? I believe it could be. But it is also profound: you will feel it when a spell is made for you, it will be tangible. And it does affect people who say they don’t believe in it.

10. You also do other personal art pieces for clients. What kinds of requests do you receive? Are these general intended as a gift for someone else or for the person requesting it? Other artists experiences seasons when art sells and times when it is hard to sell anything. Do you have a steady flow of clients requesting special pieces?

My site, altmagic.com, has been an experiment. Most people purchase pieces for themselves with a specific purpose in mind, though they’re also great gifts for someone else. I wouldn’t describe it as a steady flow – I stopped promoting altmagic when I began my journey, because it’s hard to make art on the road. I still get orders here and there.

I love getting emails when people receive their spell and feel its effects.

11. You spend time providing personal instruction and spells for individuals in need. What are the most common concerns? If it is possible to respect confidentiality, what is the most unusual problem or request you have received? How does the plight of others impact your journey?

I actually set up altmagic specifically to focus on the art market. A struggling single mother who wants a spell to help find a second job is not going to go to a high-end art dealer and ask for an expensive handmade scroll. She’s going to her neighborhood botanica to get a simple charm or ceremony.

So many of the clients I have are more affluent, and their needs are reflected in that. I’ve had several requests to help the search for a new home, for example, and I’ve done pieces to boost businesses and profitability. I love working with businesses because there are so many different ways to have an effect. They put this giant handmade art piece in their board room or front entry and none of their clients know it’s actually got a spell on it.

I’ve also had several requests to help clients turn off their feelings for someone – an ex they still love, for example. Kind of the opposite of what most magicians deal with, which is love spell after love spell.

Recently I’ve started work on a program to treat magic more as a social service to help people without charging any fixed fee. We call it Magic to the People.

12. You are involved in a number of different pursuits. How do you find time to write both for your interests and to earn steady income, create, work with individual clients, and make an international trek by bike? Do you have any advice for others trying to juggle such pursuits?

It’s hard, but it involves more than just willpower. You need some kind of self-imposed structure and you need to make it habitual.

In order to manage everything, I recently had to change my personal routine. I’m not a morning person at all but I had to start getting up earlier and being more structured. Here is my routine: I set my alarm clock for 6 and actually get up by 7 every day. I make coffee and morning offerings to my spirits, then I sit and read something mentally engaging while eating granola and yogurt. By 9 I start my work, focusing on client work first (I write articles on a freelance basis, which is how I make most of my income). I do not respond to emails in the morning.

By noon or 2 pm I am hopefully done with client work. I take a bike ride or a walk. Or I read something fun, or all of the above. By 4 I am ready to work on creative projects. I usually work till 6 or 7 and then I have my evenings open.

I don’t stick to this religiously but it’s my general pattern, and it helps me make time for everything including friends. It’s hard to take a day off – I usually work weekends – but I force myself to whenever I have a chance to do something unique or new. The advantage is I can take off anytime, even middle of the week, if I have an opportunity.

When I was on the road I cut back all of my projects and I usually worked 3 days a week at a coffee house or a host’s home while traveling or exploring the other 4 days a week.

13. How do your clients find you? How important is word of mouth? How have you guided your sites through the jungle of cyberspace? Was there anything that you thought would be a great marketing tactic that turned out to be a waste?

My main business is writing. I used to reach out to prospective clients but now I have so many I need to turn some away. Of course, in the world of freelance that could change at any time. I prioritize working on projects that are creative and interesting, and where the client cares about quality. For instance if you need blog content or magazine articles written, or a book ghost written, I will likely consider the project even if it means refusing some other prospective work.

My most common work consists of press releases, marketing and PR copy, and sales copy.

My own websites could benefit from being more optimized but I have never focused on making them really “professional” and I don’t use the usual blog marketing tactics. There is a deep conflict when an author creates a blog around an ideal and then tries to monetize his audience. It becomes impossible to know whether he really believes in his philosophy or whether it’s just a gimmick.

I used to put affiliate links on Rogue Priest and I considered other ways of monetizing it. I pulled the plug on all that. If you have a idea you want to share then share it. If you believe in something then preach it. There’s no call to make a mailing list with a free ebook for joining and a product pitch after 4 emails and a consulting pitch after 10. Be a human being.

I just realized I said all that without looking at your own website first. I hope I didn’t insult anybody.

14. You are also working on a new book, Lúnasa Days. How is it coming? Have you set a deadline for writing it? You are giving people the opportunity to invest in the project by becoming a patron. That is an interesting idea. How supportive have people been? Has it changed how you view (added pressure or may be feels like a community project) the book?

Gods willing that novella will be finished by the time this interview is published!

It’s long overdue. The original idea came as I biked through mile after mile of failing corn crops last summer. It was a time of year when people should be celebrating the harvest. Instead farmers were going bankrupt. Whole fields were being mowed down as a waste.

Lúnasa Days captures that beautiful time of late summer but with this deep sadness and worry. It’s about corn, magic spells, and desperate fucking.

I sought to crowdfund it because, at the time, I couldn’t afford to take time away from paying client work. I ran it as a patronage program on my own website instead of using Kickstarter because for a writer with a small audience that is the smarter way to do it. We successfully reached our funding goal rapidly, and while finishing the book has been much slower, my readers have been very understanding. I also send out an extra free story to all my patrons when work slowed on the novella.

Of course, having backers like this does add extra pressure for an author, but pressure is not a bad thing. And I think I’m really lucky to have readers who care about my overall mission and philosophy, and are willing to be patient. I apologized at one point for the delay and all these people, who could have been clamoring for the book they paid for, basically said, “We want you to make it exactly the way it should be. Don’t worry about us.” They trust me to finish it and they want it to be inspired, not rushed.

My readers are the best readers in the world.

15. Recently you began a campaign called “Magic to the People.” Please tell us about the project. How did the vision develop? How are people reacting to the project?

It’s something I’ve always struggled with. Working with clients to cast spells for them can be exhausting work and very time consuming so most magicians charge a lot of money. That’s fair but it means it’s not accessible to the people who need it the most.

Now for the first time I’m living in a community with a huge cultural history of magic and a chronic issue of poverty. In New Orleans there are people who want and need spells who can’t afford them. Magic to the People will fix that.

We’re going to open the door on a magic shrine at set times each week and I will be there casting ceremonies for anyone who walks in. Nobody is turned away, period. Drop some money in the jar if you like. If you can’t, put in a symbolic penny so that you are contributing something toward the effort.

When someone comes to us for help, they’ll be present for the ceremony and they will leave with a physical talisman or sigil. I will ask them to make daily offerings over it for a set number of days, putting their own focus and work into it. Often, they will experience profound and sometimes abrupt changes in the days and weeks after activating the spell.

As far as I know no one has done anything like this before in this country. It’s magic as a community resource. I hope people will check us out on Indiegogo and help us launch this thing. There are some really cool perks for backers. Even if you don’t give, help spread the word.

16. With the new launch of “Magic to the People” and the anticipated publication of Lúnasa Days, have you begun to think about what might be next? Where will your travels lead next?

I will be writing a book a month in April, May, June. In late June I get back on my bicycle and leave behind my cottage and new friends in my beloved New Orleans. I’ll bike in the summer heat to Texas where I will spend many months learning to sea kayak. When I’m ready, I will paddle along the Mexican coast for over a thousand miles. I will either die or meet the gods.

Thank You

—-

The Rogue Priest, Drew Jacob is the author of the book, Walk Like a God and the blog RoguePriest.net. His spell cards and panels and his personal attention to client’s needs and dreams are available at his website, altmagic.com.
He is currently working to make the services available to all people through a grassroots movement called “Magic to the People.”
In addition he is working on his second book called Lúnasa Days. His business is helping other people do extraordinary things through his writing, his spells, and his art. You can also find him on Twitter @Rogue_Priest

Living a Heroic Life in a Modern World – Interview with Drew Jacob is a post from: Below Zero to Hero - Get Inspired.

James Clear, an entrepreneur, weightlifter, and travel photographer, believes that ordinary people can do extraordinary things and be part of changing their corner of the world. He shares his thoughts, experiences, and insights on his blog, jamesclear.com -The Art of Becoming Better.

I met James last year at the World Domination Summit in Portland and was impressed with his sense of purpose and ability to immediately connect with others.

James is here to do great things and it’s truly an honor to be interviewing him. Please join me in welcoming him as he shares his beliefs and his work in this interview.

Enjoy!

1. James, thank you for taking time for this interview. How long have you been working on your website, jamesclear.com? What prompted you to start it? Have there been any surprises along the way?

The website has been in the “pre-launch phase” since November 12, 2012. It will officially go live on April 8, 2013. The time between November and April has been spent designing the website, getting the content structure in order, and making sure that I can stick to a consistent writing schedule. I publish new content every Monday and Thursday, and I wanted to make sure that I could do that consistently for a few months before I let everyone know about the website.
The central question that our community attempts to answer is “how do you live a healthy life?” For my part, I focus on how to use the psychology of behavior change and habit formation to make it easier to live a healthy life.
There haven’t been any big surprises yet, but I’m sure there will be many as time rolls on.

2. In one of your blog posts you describe your baseball background. As a high school athlete you went from being a mediocre player to a star. What caused the change? How has that experience impacted how you approach business?

Baseball has played an important role in my life. Most notably, it taught me to believe in myself. Without the confidence that I gained from sports, I’m sure that I would be doing something different than I am right now.
As for what caused the change, there were many factors. I had good coaching, great teammates, and I’m sure there was a lot of luck thrown in there as well. That said, there were plenty of things that I did as well. You can read more about the changes that led to my success here.

3. What was your first entrepreneurial adventure? How did it go? What did you learn from the experience? What advice would you give someone who would like to start a business?

I built an iPhone application. Well, I didn’t build it. I paid a development firm from India $1,600 to build it. The app tanked. In total, it made about $100 — so I lost $1,500 at the end of the day. Since it was clearly a loser, I didn’t bother updating it, so you can’t even find it in the app store anymore.
The main thing I learned is that real business success comes from a lot of hard work and is a slow grind. I started with the app because I wanted it to blow up and be an amazing success. I already knew that, but my emotions got the best of me and I still chased the idea of “making money fast.”
If you’re thinking about building a business, then don’t do it for the money. Money will always come later (after a lot of hard work) and it will always cost more to get going than you think it will. Start a business because you want to live like an entrepreneur, because you want to make the world a better place, because you want to solve a problem, or because you see a group of people you want to serve. And ideally, do it for all of those reasons.

4. James, you write about “superhumans” who are ordinary people who push themselves to act beyond what they might otherwise. Is there a “superhuman” that influenced you in this direction? Who are the people who inspire you?

I’ve noticed that there are a lot of ordinary people doing incredible things. The single mother who loses 40 pounds while raising 3 kids. The entrepreneur who builds a successful business despite the odds. And all sorts of other examples. I wanted a way to celebrate those people, so I started calling them “superhumans” because they do something beyond the typical human.
The people who have influenced me the most are the ones I’m close to — specifically, my parents and grandparents. I owe them a lot.

5. You primarily focus on people’s physical health and its impact on the rest of life. For many people that requires a reordering of priorities. Why do you think developing a more fitness oriented approach should be the first priority? Would someone who has no interest in fitness find your work helpful?

First, I think that most people would find some value in the things I talk about. Even if you’re not interested in fitness or health, you can apply many of the lessons and ideas I share to other areas of life.
Secondly, in my opinion, your health is the greatest single tool you have for creating an impact on the world. Healthy and happy people have more of a chance to change the world than anyone else. And on a more individual level, I find that when my health is at it’s best, I’m also at my best — physically, mentally, and socially.

6. In one of your blog posts you discuss the need to claim a new vision of one’s identity in order to be successful in changing behavior and habits. Why is this important? How does one go about changing the core understanding of who they are?

The basic idea is that when we set most goals, we try to achieve some performance based metric (i.e. “lift 50 more pounds”) or some appearance-based metric (“lose 20 pounds”). The result is that focus all of our energy on the result and not on forming the habits that could eventually lead to those goals. By starting with your identity (“this is the type of person I want to become”) you can stick to your habits to the long-term and achieve the performance or appearance-based goals along the way.
If you’re interested in more, you can read the whole post here.

7. Taking that concept a little further, will people making changes in how they think about themselves and in their behavior be met with resistance from friends and family? For example, someone who has a history of spending a time each week with friends at a bar might well have some pressure to continue that tradition even while changing an alcohol habit. How can someone resist that pressure until everyone has adopted the new identity?

Good question. In some cases the best answer might be to leave your friends, but I don’t think it always has to be that extreme. Most of the time, I think you can stick to your new identity simply by finding new friends rather than ditching your old ones. Find a group that supports the changes you want to make and hang out with them more often. If you like the person you are when you’re with them, then hang out with them some more. Repeat until you’ve found the right balance for your life.

8. You have taken some great photos, James. What kind of photo opportunities do you enjoy the most? Do you approach photography the same way you do writing? How does this art form contribute to your well-being?

Another great question. I don’t approach photography the same way I approach writing — but I should. I should set a schedule for myself and make sure that I get out into the world and take photos on a consistent basis.
That said, I guess I look for two things. If it’s just a cityscape or landscape, then it’s just a composition thing. So I look for good lines, angles, shapes, etc.
If the scene has people, then I look for opportunity. The main thing is to find your composition and then be patient. Something interesting usually happens if you wait long enough.
For a health perspective, photography plays multiple roles. It allows my analytical brain to shut off, which is a nice change of pace. It gets me out and moving around, which is good exercise. And it allows me to contribute something beneficial to the world — not for money, just because I love it.

9. There are a lot of approaches to the photography business. How do you operate this part of your work? What kind of needs do your clients have? Do you have a formula for figuring the pricing of photos?

I don’t have clients and I’ve never done paid work. I’ve had photos published in Travel & Leisure magazine, featured on the homepage of Flickr, and I have been nominated for the Travel Photographer of the Year Award … but I’ve never done it for money.

10. James you juggle writing, working out, photography, and business. What does a typical day look like for you? How do you set priorities? How do you balance immediate concerns and long term projects?

Photography is something that I usually do when I travel, so that rarely makes it into my “normal” day.
Writing is the main part of my business, so those are one in the same. And working out keeps me sane.
Typical day: Write from 8am to 1pm. Workout. Eat. Send emails, do interviews, and write from 3pm to 6pm.

11. Do you have any difficulty separating your personal life from your business? How do you protect your personal time?

Another great question. I’ve found that I’m great at shutting business off if I never get started. In other words, it’s not hard at all for me to take a whole day or a whole week off from business. If I don’t start it, I can usually leave it alone.
However, shutting off at the end of a workday is tough. Right now is a great example. I’m answering these questions at 8:51pm and I’ve been working off and on for most of the day. Once my brain gets going it’s hard to shut down.
Overall, my work on jamesclear.com is about my life and what I want to contribute to the world. It’s a business that’s centered around what I care about and who I want to help. Most of the time, I try to align my work and my personal life, rather than separate them.

12. Given the inspirational nature of your work, do you do any presentations or motivational speaking? Are there plans for any kind of gathering for the community you are building?

Yes and yes. I’ve given speeches to audiences as large as 2,000 people in the past. Not many though — perhaps 10 or 12 overall. In the future, I’d like to do more speaking, but I like close connection even more than being on stage.
I’ll be doing all sorts of community meetups in the future. Meeting people in person is a huge goal of mine. I can’t wait to shake hands with my readers.

13. What things do you think are key to your business success? What kinds of things do you worry about? How do you approach those issues?

1. Put passion and purpose over profit. Making money matters, but if that’s your first reason for making a decision, then you’re doing it for the wrong reason. Put your mission first.
2. It’s all about habits. Everybody wants the overnight success, the big splash, the huge success. In reality, the people who end up crushing it are simply better at making good daily decisions.

14. What is the most rewarding part of your work? How do you or do you try to build on that?

Connecting with people in person. There’s nothing like one-on-one impact and interaction for me.
And you’re providing a good suggestion — I should try to build on it more.

15. What do you hope to accomplish this year? What dreams do you have for your business?

This year I just want to put myself on the map. To say to the world, “hello, I’m here for real and for good.” My only goal is to help as many people as possible through my work — and that starts with getting the word out.
I’ve got all sorts of dreams — redefining the way that medicine and healthcare is provided, putting power back in the hands of individuals, and building a community of people who can do far more than I ever could — and we’ll get to them all soon enough.

Thank You James

James is an entrepreneur, weightlifter, and travel photographer. You can find him at jamesclear.com or on Twitter @james_clear

Becoming a Superhuman: How to Do Extraordinary Things – Interview with James Clear is a post from: Below Zero to Hero - Get Inspired.

Bridget spent 15 years in product development and strategic marketing management before realizing her passion for helping others create a life-shift. She uses her intuition, critical thinking skills and emotional intelligence to empower people to enact positive change. Her life’s mission is to help others shape their lives in ways that are meaningful and useful to them.

Check out my interview with this inspiring woman and learn more about the best way to make a major life shift so you can also enjoy the fruits of being aligned to your high purpose.

Enjoy!

1. Hi Bridget, would you briefly discuss the circumstances that led you to your own personal life-shift?

It’s an extremely long story. I gave up my dreams when I was 20, because I had an unplanned pregnancy with this new little baby to raise, and a big fear that I would never amount to anything.
I worked my way up the corporate ladder until I had a well-paying, important job. I was in a terrible relationship (the kind that when we split up, every one of my family members and friends said, “Oh thank God, we never liked him.”).
I worked long hours, rarely spent quality time with my kids, and was an emotional mess. I couldn’t figure out why my life looked so great from the outside, but I was so unhappy on the inside.
I wish I could say that I had the bravery and foresight to leave it all behind and positively make change happen.
I didn’t. Life had to happen to me.
I did have a few intense intuitive moments during the last few years of my corporate career. I remember sitting in my living room and saying, “God, I am not the right person for that. There’s no way I’m doing that. Stop with the psychic stuff.”
Life sent me messages in more and more ridiculous packaging, until I had no choice but to learn about who I was, what I liked and what I was here for. My partner and I split up. I was laid off at my job.
It wasn’t pretty. I didn’t do it all perfectly. It was completely messy.
But, through a lot of experimentation and validation, and quite a few pushes from the divine, I learned about myself and my life, and I found myself in love with myself. And then I found the love of my life.
And then a dog talked to me.
And over time, I realized that I wasn’t crazy. I validated my work. I became a pet psychic. And then I realized that the biggest problems pets have are caused by people, so I started doing intuitive work with people.
I’ve always been the kind of person who is a good listener, a down-to-earth problem solver and someone who can be discerning without being judgmental. So, I combined these strong people skills with my intuitive skills and became a life-shifter.
I’ve been life-shifting since 2009.

2. In your previous work, you were in product development and strategic marketing management. How would you say this previous experience helps you with what you do today?

I would have answered this question very differently a year or two ago. I would have talked about strategy, and business models and marketing.
At the heart of it, I think my career in corporate America helps me in two important ways.
First, I look at everything as a process, a spectrum of experience, temporary circumstances. I spent a lot of time helping products go from conception to use. So, when a person wants to make a change in their lives, I’m very good at helping him or her identify where they are in their lives, and where they think they want to go. That’s just from watching the messiness of creation. I understand the value of obstacles.
And secondly, having worked with the heads of conglomerates and banking systems, and other people in high places, I know that at our cores, we are all people who are trying to be happy, working at getting through life, struggling in spots, succeeding in others, feeling or not feeling our way through life.
The idea of a social hierarchy or even a soulful hierarchy is gone. There aren’t old souls and new souls. There aren’t people who are better than others. In leadership and service, one is not a higher calling than the other. We all have roles to play, many of which are of our own choosing.
This insight takes the false perception of hierarchy out of the equation. I don’t relate to people differently because they have a good title or no title, because they are rich or poor, smart or less smart. All God’s Creatures Got a Place in the Choir.

3. Have you always been intuitive? Do you feel you have a gift for reading people and knowing how to help them?

Yes. I’ve always been intuitive. We’ve all always been intuitive. It’s like saying, “Have you always been breathing?” or “Have you always been able to smell?” Yes. Of course.
Yes. I have a huge gift for understanding the energy of people and knowing how to help them. And I think my favorite gift is taking the intangible and making it tangible.
I like to say, “Here’s where your problem is, energetically/emotionally, and here’s how to play with that in your real life.”
A couple of years ago, I was working with a client who is very successful in her career. And she suffers from a debilitating need for people to like her. She knows this. She was surprised that I could see that because she does such a great job of covering it up. She didn’t know how to change it.
We talked about the gift of allowing others to form their own opinion of her. And I gave her the homework of giving this gift in low-risk, low-reward situations. Letting the barista have her own opinion of her. Letting the grocery clerk have his own opinion. Not controlling situations from the get-go, but pausing and observing. We can’t control situations anyway. But we can make the social situation match our inner need.
She came back a few months later, a different person. She tried it in small, temporary relationships first, and then she moved up to bigger ones. Once she saw that she could give the gift of that, letting go of the fear that people won’t like her, it went away.
That “making the emotional things tangible”, that’s what I’m very, very good at.

4. What’s your best advice for people who desire a major life shift?

Trade judgment for discernment. Observe your behavior for a long time before you try to change it. Find the need that the behavior is helping. Find a more healthy way to meet that need. In time, you’ll change. And if you’re observing this change, you’ll see it, and know.
Understand that we all, on some level, remember our perfect selves, and feel shame for being the limited beings we are. Being limited is not the same as being broken. You’re not junk. You’re a tiny piece of divinity, put in a limited situation to do good work.

5. Who are your typical clients? Do you find people looking for anything in particular?

My clients tend to be people who are very successful in some aspects of their lives, and not so great at others. They tend to be at a crossroads where they just can’t accommodate something anymore. They tend to be people who are trying to move forward, who are very motivated, and something needs to click for them. They’re looking for a key, or a set of keys.

6. You help people to align physically, spiritually, and cognitively. Do you think that of these three aspects one is more important and integral than the others? Or are they really all necessary and interconnected some way?

They are all important and integral. They are three ways of experiencing this thing called life: the mind, the body and the spirit. As humans, we learn to pick the mind as the most important aspect. We value smart people. And of course, we love our athletes. The spirit is a sticky subject. It’s so important to be spiritually well, but it’s the least clear thing to do. We have to feel our way there.

7. What would you say is the best part about being an intuitive consultant?

Watching people experience happiness and freedom.

8. As far as growing your own business, how do you market yourself and your ventures?

I write a lot. I’ve spent a long time trying to brand myself, and now I am at the point where I’m not trying at all. What you see is what you get. And I’m finding that people are responding so positively to this.
Most of my clients find me by word of mouth. So, I don’t really think I market at all anymore. I am going to start sharing my philosophies more, but as experiments and ideas, and only in a limited way as products.
Hustle is over-rated.

9. If you had unlimited funding tomorrow, what would you do differently in regards to your current business?

I’d create a retreat house, a quiet place where someone can spend 4 or 5 days getting their needs met without having to do anything but show up. I’d let people use it for free.
I’d fund the work of others. I’d become a spiritual adventure capitalist.
I would definitely spend money on having an organization that shared the intuitive tools and ideas that I’ve discovered.

10. Do you have a favorite work moment that you can publicly share?

Yes. I have had several clients say, “You just got me through something I’ve been struggling with for decades”. It feels so good to watch them put the burdens down.

11. What one piece of advice would you give to other people who maybe are not feeling so positive about themselves or their lives right now?

I’d tell them a story. I’d say that one time I was dealing with a very hateful, angry man who liked to whip horses. And I asked God, “You have people you like better than others, right?” And God said, “I love everyone more than you could ever comprehend. So it doesn’t matter if I love people more or less, or in different ways, because it’s all more than you could ever imagine.”
The world is not falling apart because of you. And the world needs you. And you are loved. And your work is supported.
(PS- it doesn’t matter if your spiritual reality includes an anthropomorphic conceptual understanding of the divine. The universe, all that is, all that happens, it’s moving towards love. You are loved. You are important.)

12. Lastly, what is next for you? Do you have any plans for the future with your business?

My current experiment is called 90 Days to Hot. I’m spending 90 days trying different things to see how they help my body to feel happy, healthy and hot. I’m curious to see how my body responds to changes in diet and exercise, to a tattoo, to a Brazilian wax, all that stuff. I want to explore feminine power, and the mixed messages we get from society. I want to find the truth and beauty.
I’m also going to Minneapolis to teach a workshop on May 4th called “Write your Way In”. This workshop uses interactive games and writing exercises to help people learn to use and trust their intuition.
And I’m starting a group called “The Wave”. It’s version 3.0 of my Intention Circle, a 9-week experience that brings people from intention idea to completion, on a physical, mental and spiritually integrated path.
Finally, this year is all about growing my business and my platform locally. My beautiful city, Portland Oregon, needs help from me. I’m here for them.

Thank You

Bridget Pilloud is a professional intuitive and a practicing human. Founder of the Intuitive Bridge, you can find her at intuitivebridge.com, where she’s currently sharing her new experiment: 90 days to Hot. You can also find her on Twitter at @intuitivebridge

How to Make a Major Life-Changing Shift from Stuck to Unstoppable is a post from: Below Zero to Hero - Get Inspired.