November 27, 2023 • 32 mins
What if you could leave a long-standing career, travel the world with your family, and learn lessons that shift the trajectory of your life?
Well, that's precisely what I did.
After a 17-year career, I embarked on a transformative journey that altered my perspective and, ultimately, my destiny. Join me as I delve into my personal experience, sharing the four big questions that stirred growth and shone a light towards achieving my dreams. I'll also be discussing the power of positive association, which can undeniably shape your life.
The journey was not all rosy, though. I grappled with self-image and weight issues, which took a toll on my relationships and daily life.
However, every cloud has a silver lining. My struggles led me to the health and wellness industry, where I found my calling in helping others achieve their physical transformation goals. I'll be sharing insights from my journey, highlighting the importance of understanding the ripple effect of our daily choices and actions.
The last part of this journey was one of the most transformative. I struggled with alcohol, drugs, perfectionism, and the pressure of a growing business. But an eye-opening question from my wife set the wheels of change in motion. It led me to prioritize my health, become my own role model, and embrace the continuous evolution of my perspective and values.
The journey was tough, but it equipped me with invaluable lessons that I want to share with you. So whether you're battling uncertainty or just need a little nudge to make that small shift towards a better life, this episode is for you.
Grab your copy of Dai's chapter in From Fear to Courage, click here.
Click here to grab your own copy of the book, From Fear to Courage: 15 Insights to Achieve Your Dreams.
TEXT ME here - Have a question? Comment? Feedback? I’d love to hear from you.
A Message from Dai, host of the 2% Solution Podcast:
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Dai M.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello, hello, hello.
Di here, your host of the 2%Solution Podcast, absolutely
stoked to have you back againfor another week ahead of us.
My goodness, time sure does fly.
I'm heading into week threesince this podcast launched and
I have to start by saying thankyou.
I know I can't express thegratitude enough that I'm
(00:24):
feeling, but, wow, theoutpouring of positive messages
and supportive compliments andjust the feedback I'm receiving
is, just to be honest,overwhelming.
It's way more than I wasexpecting and I love it, and
it's definitely given me greaterconfidence to keep charging
(00:44):
forward and keep producingcontent to support and serve you
, the audience, my listeners, mycommunity, my friends, all on
the same journey together.
We're all just trying to liveour best lives and, my goodness,
it can be complicated enough.
But today, hopefully, just nicelittle segue here I'm changing
gears a little bit.
(01:04):
I know the Monday motivationepisodes are typically going to
be shorter and I was thinking ofbreaking this up over a couple
of weeks, but then I started tothink it's like nah, that's
silly.
Give the information now, giveit to people so they can have it
now, they can start to askthemselves these powerful
questions now so they can getthe clarity and the confidence
(01:26):
they can help me, at variousperiods of my life, to take more
decisive action andprocrastinate less.
So that's what I'm going to do.
I'm going to give it to you allright now.
A number of years ago for thosethat may or may not be aware
I've had some people asking foran episode and actually I'm
going to have Christy, my wife,on the episode with me and we're
going to talk about travel as afamily and some of the travels
(01:49):
we did during a five year periodwhen I left a 17 year career.
She left a career, pulled thekids out of school, started
traveling for five years andsome of the things that we
learned, some of the bigchallenges as we faced, but also
some of the cool people we metaround the world when we were
traveling.
Anyways, there's a bigbackstory to how that came to be
(02:10):
.
In what you're going to heartoday.
There is a snippet in thechapter I'm narrating where I do
touch a little bit on thatperiod, but I don't go too much
into detail.
We'll have to say that foranother episode.
But anyways, a number of yearsago, while we were living in
Bali, indonesia, that littleislands down in Southeast Asia
with our family.
While we were living there, wemet some amazing people.
(02:31):
One person in particular is acoach and speaker by the name of
Obid Abbo.
He's a wonderful European dudethat lives in Bali most of the
year and operates his businesseson a line, unless he has to go
speak physically at an event.
But he's a great dude, justsuper nice guy and very positive
(02:54):
, very outgoing.
We connected on many differentlevels because we share very
similar values, but anyways, hecame to me after seeing me speak
and actually I had him on as aclient for a little while.
I supported him with creatingsome very powerful presentations
as well as get some bettersystems in his own practice, and
so it was great.
We developed this really nicerelationship and so he put
(03:15):
together collaboration book.
This book was called, and iscalled, I should say, from fear
to courage 15 insights toachieve your dreams, and there's
15 contributors, or 14 plusObid, so 15 in total.
Different perspectives fromdifferent coaches and industry
(03:36):
leaders in their own specialtiescontributed a chapter each.
My chapter was the finalchapter in the book and it has
some very actionable items butpresents a very simple story,
which is basically a little bitof my story, but some of the
observations and the takeawaysI've had from some of those very
(03:56):
trying experiences, but alsohow they've helped me be who I
am today.
I'm not going to avoid it.
In fact, I'm going to addressit.
I'm going to share some verypersonal things when I narrate
this chapter, because, if youhaven't figured out, my wife and
I, we have a very simple mantraaround life it's Ron, real is
our deal.
You know that.
(04:16):
That's just the way we operate.
So, full transparency.
You're going to get it all andI hope you appreciate that,
because it's taken me a longtime to get here.
Okay, if you listen to my talkon vulnerability, it's something
that I've struggled with, butit's a work in progress, as
always, and I'm going to keeptrying.
I'm going to keep trying.
So today, enjoy, it is a littlebit longer, but hopefully you'll
(04:40):
be out for your morning andwalk or get into the gym for a
workout and you can listen tothis story.
And I'd love to hear from you.
Please reach out, share yourthoughts, what came to mind or
your story, especially if youhave a similar story.
I would love to hear it.
Okay, I'd love to hear it.
I'd like to know how did younavigate that?
(05:00):
What questions supported you.
So, as we get into this, bereflective, create space for
yourself to just be open mindedand as the questions land the
questions that I share with you,that I had to work through
think about how those questions,too, can support you, no matter
where you find yourselfcurrently in life, and how we
(05:21):
can give you clarity on whereyou want to be going and how to
get there.
So, with that, enjoy, listen tothe power of association,
choice and the little stuff theydon't tell you about in school.
An authentic story by Diamondthe Four Big Life Questions by
(05:44):
Diamond.
About 90% of the time I wakebefore my alarm goes off, and
sometimes I just lie therewaiting for the Beach Boys to
start echoing off my walls andvibrations crank to the max.
Spews from my iPhone, putting asmile on my face in a hop skip
and a literal jump out of my bed.
The tone from my day set.
(06:05):
I'm picking up vibrations Inthe morning.
She has given me excitations.
Good vibrations is a reminderthat we're all just energy, made
up of subatomic particlescoming into and fading out of
existence.
That's life, isn't it?
But here we are making sense ofwhat we can through our own
(06:27):
mind's interpretation of ourworldly experiences, trying to
make sense of this big,beautiful world.
I intentionally choose thismorning ritual.
It doesn't pick me.
This specific set of actionsare performed daily as part of
my morning ceremony.
Repetition is the key tomastery and vital to creating a
(06:49):
habit and for those who committo the process, eventually
creating a sustainable lifestyle.
At the ripe old age of 47, I cansay this now it took me a long
time to figure out thisseemingly basic principle.
Throughout my life, I waschallenged by situations that
have pushed me to the verge ofsuicide, to the edge of leaving
everything that I loved and togive up on the one person that
(07:13):
should matter most of my lifeMyself.
Life has been full of many upsand downs.
While walking the path to tryto figure out how to make sense
of the big questions Like who amI, why am I here, where am I
going and, most of all, what doI want, our brains, hearts and
(07:33):
spirits are challenged by someof these vast yet seemingly
simple questions, unable todefine what is that we most want
.
Much of what we want seems sofar out of reach that we avoid
thinking, talking, feeling anddreaming about it, not to feel
saddened by its lack ofexistence in our lives.
In the coming… Coming minutes,I'm going to share with you some
(07:57):
of the wisdom I've stumbledupon over the past 30 years as
I've explored the four big lifequestions.
My stories may be uniquely myown, but the themes I'll share
often plague others, and maybeyou too.
Big Life Question Number One whoam I?
From the day we can comprehendits existential meaning, the
(08:21):
question who am I torments usLike an exam stress student,
afraid that we'll compromise ourfuture.
If we are answering correctly,we may not get into the school
we want, have our dream careeror achieve the idealized life
we've envisioned for ourselves.
Until about 15 years ago, I wasafraid of the perceived
(08:45):
finality of answering thisquestion and I was afraid of the
fact that I was not able tounderstand it.
I was afraid of the fact that Iwas not able to understand it.
I was afraid of the fact that Iwas not able to understand it.
Years ago, I was afraid of theperceived finality of answering
this question, forever beingpeg-hold into living a life
(09:05):
founded on my answer.
Fortunately, I had it all wrong.
In my book, the Whole LifeFitness Manifesto, I share a
memory about my parents' divorce.
I was roughly nine years old atthe time and up until then I
thought I had a perfect life, soreceiving this news was quite
traumatic.
(09:25):
Suddenly, all I wanted was tobe liked.
I was now the kid with divorcedparents Feeling an inner void.
I withdrew from friends, family, social outings and turned to
food for comfort.
Our family dinners werereasonably healthy, but outside
of mealtimes I was hooked onjunk food.
Food was my crutch.
(09:47):
I quickly developed a bad habitof reaching for more snacks
than I should, choosing foodslike burgers, fries and other
garbage that barely landed in mystomach before I wanted more.
In hindsight, I can see that Iwas making choices without
really understanding why I madethem.
I was on autopilot, just actingon an impulse to soothe my
(10:08):
turbulent emotions.
By the time I reached the age 14, the answer to who am I
Question was simple I am the fatkid.
I was medically classified asmorbidly obese.
Now, people can be cruel, butteenagers are often downright
vicious and they're ridicule.
(10:28):
My peers found it hard to lookme in the eye and I was well
aware of their snickering behindmy back and right in my face.
Though it was hurtful, Iunderstood.
I avoided looking at my ownbody.
When I stepped out of theshower, I wore baggy clothing in
an attempt to camouflage myprotruding belly, and shorts oh
(10:48):
man, I never wore those, nomatter how hot the weather was.
I said no to everything.
I tend to pool party where Iwould To wear a bathing suit.
Are you kidding me?
No way, participate in gymclass out of the question.
Go to a school dance no, thankyou.
I avoided anything physical,leveraging my asthma as an
(11:11):
excuse to opt out repeatedly.
Through these lifestyle choices,I soon became freighted with
low self-esteem.
I approached rock bottom,feeling depressed and isolated.
I can admit now I even hadsuicidal thoughts occasionally.
And then one Sunday morning, Idecided to do something that I
(11:32):
usually avoided I looked at myreflection in the mirror.
Up to that point, I was able topretend that things weren't as
bad as they were because Iwasn't looking the problem in
the eye, deny Facing up.
However, I broke down in tears.
I never felt so low in my life.
At that moment, I experienced anepiphany.
(11:53):
I didn't like where my life wasgoing and I hated the person I
saw in the mirror.
I got really honest reallyquickly and I began to own my
daily choices and actions.
I knew that I enjoyed life.
At least I had enjoyed itbefore and I wanted to once
again.
I faced a simple choice I couldremain this way forever or do
(12:18):
something about it.
I hit the library and I pouredover books on health, nutrition
and fitness.
I started eating a little lessand moving a little more.
I started slowly with walkingdaily, then mountain biking.
I strapped on my cassetteplayer with an audio tape
playing on an endless loop.
I'd ride until I'd exhaustedboth the audio tape and myself.
(12:41):
Only then would I ride home.
Little by little, I added moreand more daily activity,
eventually joining a gym.
In over just 20 months.
I was transformed.
This time, adolescence itselfwas on my side, as I shot up to
around 185 centimeters 6 to 1, agross spurt that undoubtedly
(13:03):
helped to burn some extracalories.
My weight didn't change thatmuch, but I saw body fat melt
away as newly muscle massappeared.
Now, with a betterunderstanding of the science and
biology of health, I know thatmy physical changes resulted
from a combination ofcardiovascular and resistance
training.
I strengthened my body and Iincreased lean muscle, which
(13:26):
cranked up my metabolism, mybody's natural furnace.
I felt stronger, healthier andmore confident in my abilities
to tackle whatever physicalobstacles stood in my way.
Rather than saying no to poolparties and gym class, I started
asking people to join me in theactivities.
I felt good.
I felt alive.
(13:47):
I've never gone back to thatstate of obesity, but I don't
forget how it affected my life,and remembering this time in my
life helps me relate to myclients who battle their
self-image challenges.
I know how it feels when peoplestare at you.
I know what it's like to be outof breath from climbing a
flight of stairs or strugglingwith something as simple as
(14:07):
tying your shoes.
When you're fighting with yourphysicality, sometimes it's the
little things that seem thehardest to do.
If this describes you right now, I want you to know that you're
not alone and that it doesn'thave to stay this way.
Going through the physicalchanges was both empowering and
enlightening.
(14:28):
I thought by looking good, Iwould feel good.
Who doesn't have the desire toreinvent themselves from time to
time?
At age 18, I graduated highschool, moved from one side of
Canada to the other.
I thought if I went someplacewhere no one knew me, I could
shake loose the fat kid stigmathat seemed to follow me around.
I changed my physical home, butall of the emotional baggage
(14:52):
came right along with me.
I dabbled with school butultimately fell into a career in
the health and wellnessindustry and found that I had a
real talent for it.
I was great at helping peopleget the results they wanted.
My career became my cornerstonefor who I was.
It defined me and it gave me aboost in confidence.
It masked a lot of myinsecurities and made me feel I
(15:15):
was worthy of something better.
My career took priority much ofthe time.
As much success as I wascreating, I still sought out
acceptance and accolades anychance I could.
Daily, I would tell myself thatthe guy in the mirror was
successful, a great man,somebody who has got it all
(15:35):
together.
Truth be told, I think you haveyour shit together.
You're probably just standingin it.
Two of the most significantevents in my life were the days
both my daughters were born.
I would tell myself I need toprovide for my family, be a
great dad, a fantastic partnerand successful in my career.
Who am I?
(15:57):
I sought the answers outside ofmyself.
I am.
Statements were defined byprofession, economic status and
virtual anything other than thereflection in the mirror.
To me, success wasn't owningthe cars, the home, having our
kids in every activity possible,being an outstanding
entrepreneur, having all thetoys and flash, so people would
(16:18):
think I was making it.
I wanted perfection, but themore I strive for this idea of
perfect, the further I pushmyself away from attaining it.
Alcohol and drugs became my wayof numbing the pain of failing
to meet my expectations ofsuccess.
I noticed the more I drank, themore people seemed to like me.
(16:39):
They wanted a party, and soon Istarted living two separate
lives.
One night, after attending awork function that turned into
an after party, I found myselfracing home Yet again.
I had let my wife Christy down.
I had a habit of telling herI'd be home by a particular time
and as someone who believed inkeeping my word, I hated that I
(17:02):
was rarely following through onmy commitments with her.
The next thing I knew I waswaking up at the wheel of my car
deep in the woods, havingmissed the large trunk of a tree
.
I should have died that night,but I didn't.
A couple years later, aftermultiple mess ups and numerous
unfulfilled promises to change,my wife was at the end of her
(17:24):
rope.
She sat me down and asked meone question.
Some people will think that mybiggest mistake was leaving a
thriving career after 17 years,getting rid of everything I own,
packing up suitcases, employingmy kids out of school.
We had little savings and,instead of putting down a
payment on a home, christy and Idecided to put a down payment
(17:48):
on our dreams.
We self-published a book andset off to be a full-time family
, and we haven't looked backsince.
But this didn't happen overnight.
It's been over 14 years sinceI've had a drink of alcohol.
Drinking was my way of numbingmuch of the pain I felt in the
(18:09):
struggle to achieve theidealized version of myself.
There was a massive chasmbetween being who I was striving
to be and who I was being, butalcohol had a nice calming
effect which distracted me fromthe pain of not feeling good
enough.
Alcohol eventually led tonarcotics and promiscuity
(18:30):
followed.
All the while I was starting afamily, trying to be a good man,
leader, father, husband, butnever living up to any of them,
I was numbing my failures, thepain, the shame, the blame, the
discontent and the depression.
One morning, after an all-nightbender, christy sat me down and
asked me the question thatchanged everything Big life
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questions number two when am Igoing.
She looked me in the eyes andshe asked I could be in the type
of man that you would wantdaughters to marry?
It was like I was being punchedin the nose and kicked in the
jewels both simultaneously.
And you know what I deserved it?
The saddest thing was I knewthat I wasn't being the man.
(19:16):
The man I could be Not evenclose.
I'm grateful every day that mywife saw in me more than I saw
in myself.
She continues to challenge meto be a better man than I was
yesterday.
I immediately began making alist of the things that weren't
serving me.
This list included people too.
I realized that many of myfriends were just people that I
(19:39):
drank with and partied.
If you are reading this rightnow and wanting to change
something in your life, I haveone recommendation Make a change
right now.
Sounds so silly, right?
Things don't happen overnight,but they will happen.
That question prompted me tochoose my life that fateful day,
(20:00):
january 1, 2010.
I committed to stop drinkingalcohol for one year and clean
myself up.
It was a start, but I soonlearned it wasn't the alcohol or
drugs that were the real issue.
It never was.
A few months later, I watchedChristy aggressively stomp on
(20:20):
every step.
As she climbed the stairs toher neighbor's home With iron
fists, she hammered on theirfront door like a woman trying
to resuscitate someone back tothe living.
The door opened and wham,christy winded up and knocked
that woman flat on her butt.
Seeing this all unfold in frontof me is when I knew deep down
(20:41):
that the last changes I had tomake needed to happen right now.
Everything was out in the open.
There was no more lies in it.
For the first time in ourrelationship, I was 100% me.
I owned all the good, all thebad and, most of all, every bit
of the ugly.
In hindsight, something uniquehappens when you are sober, with
eyes wide open, not lying toyourself and everyone else
(21:03):
around you.
The created void opens up a lotof space for creativity,
connectivity, growth andlearning.
I owned every one of my ethos.
I confessed that I was a fatkid who needed people to like
him.
I acknowledged that I was adrunk.
I owned that I was a crappyfather.
I confessed that I was aperfection junkie.
(21:26):
I also held that I was not thenet sum of all my past
transgressions.
I owned that nothing ispermanent and everything is
changing.
I believed that I was worthchanging and that, being the
type of man I would want mydaughters to marry, was a choice
up to only me to make.
No more running, no moredenying it.
I owned every little thingabout me and this marked the
(21:51):
beginning of my journey ofprogression.
Big life question number threewhy am I here?
I was a co-founder of one of themore prominent specialty
fitness equipment retailers inNorth America, supplying
equipment, apparel, supplementsand pretty much everything
equipment related under the sun.
(22:11):
My business partner was 20years my senior, I meant to
remind.
For some years, while I wasgetting my feet wet in this
industry, I loved what I wasdoing because it provided
in-home and commercial solutionsto my communities.
I saw fitness equipment to helpfacilitate lifestyle goals by
achieving a higher level ofhealth and fitness.
I loved it.
(22:33):
To me, it was like selling toys.
After many years, I could startto see where the path was going
.
My business partner's kids werefinishing up university and he
and his wife were at a point inlife where they wanted to travel
more and enjoy more time awayfrom the business.
The writing was on the wall andthe pressure was being applied
to start assuming many of hisCEO CFO responsibilities, with
(22:55):
the plan to transition intorunning the company.
Meanwhile, it had been almost10 years since I started my blog
and created a platform to helppeople improve their lives
through health, fitness,nutrition and life coaching.
I had read Gary Vaynerchuk'sfirst edition of Crush it and it
opened my mind to a new form ofonline marketing and building
(23:16):
communities.
I began to build an onlinepresence for my business,
knowing that I had something toshare which couldn't be done on
the corporate brand's platform.
Fast forward a few years.
I was diagnosed with anautoimmune disease called
autoimmune neutropenia and atfirst thought that it would be a
chronic condition I would needto live with.
(23:37):
Like many autoimmune issues,lifestyle habits play a huge
part in controlling symptoms andmanaging the condition itself.
This disease caused me tobecome obsessed with improving
my health.
The more I focused my effortson helping others with their
lifestyles, I realized I neededto be my own best role model.
I had already decided to followa path of self-improvement,
(24:01):
focusing on personal andprofessional development.
Learning became my new hobby,and boy did I study life.
When you embark on a journey ofimproving your body, mind and
spirit, you will quickly realizethat you step into a lifestyle
of continuous evolution.
As you evolve, yourperspective's, beliefs and often
your very being will shift too.
You will see things differently.
(24:22):
More importantly, you willvalue things differently.
For the first time in my adultlife, I started to question the
path I was on.
As pressure mounted to assumemore professional
responsibilities, I started toenvision my life playing out
over the next 20 years in thesame way my business partner's
life had.
All I could see was his life,and I knew I didn't want it.
(24:45):
I asked myself what do I want?
Why am I here?
As I wrote a personal manifestofor my life, I realized the
path I was on was not the rightone, and it was terrifying A
terrifying place to find myselfafter 17 years of doing what I
believed was my calling Big life.
(25:06):
Question number four what do Iwant?
In 2018, we traveled the worldas a full-time family One more
item to check off our live list,a shared family highlight, was
spending nearly two full yearsin Bali, indonesia.
On that beautiful island, wecontinued fostering
relationships and nurturingcommunities.
(25:27):
I started facilitating men'smeetups and Christie ran women's
groups.
And I can't forget my girls.
The kids had a wonderfuladventure meeting other local
children while attending variousinternational learning centers.
As the end of 2020 approached,our teenage daughters desired to
finish their schooling back inVancouver.
(25:48):
So back to our roots we go.
Today, the whole family isthriving as we reconnect with
friends, family and a few of ourcommunities.
As we re-establish our home backin Vancouver, I continue my
life's purpose as I strive topositively impact one million
role models worldwide in leadingfunctionally fit lives mentally
(26:08):
, physically and emotionallythrough education, encouragement
and, of course, community.
I love being able to serve.
Life is a great adventure andI'm filled with gratitude and
fulfillment.
Isn't it amazing to think howmuch life can change when we ask
ourselves the right questionsAt the right time for the right
(26:30):
reasons?
Clarity leads to confidence andwhen we feel confident, we're
ready to take immediate action.
And the best time to takeaction is always right now.
Remember, don't be a collectorof tomorrows.
What are the biggest challengesyou've grown through or maybe
(26:51):
going through right now?
What are you learning?
What are you actively choosingto do about them?
I find, more often than not, weknow the answer to what we need
to start doing to see ourselvesprogress and change, but one
excuse tends to trump all othersProcrastination.
I'll start that journeytomorrow.
(27:13):
I'll make those changestomorrow.
I will start living a littledifferently.
Tomorrow, don't be a collectorof tomorrows.
One day, you will wake up andrealize that all these tomorrows
you've been collecting arenothing but a bucket full of
empty yesterdays.
Rather than collectingtomorrows, I encourage you to
(27:35):
start living today.
Own your choices, even theF-Ups, because they're beautiful
in so many ways.
Learn to see the beauty ofliving in the present.
Choose you, connect withcommunities that challenge you
to be better every day, andremember that, whatever you
think you can be or do, you'reabsolutely 100% right.
(27:56):
So take action and staypositive in your pursuit of not
just a better life, but a greatone filled with no regrets.
Amazing Gosh, it was so much funto actually re-read this.
(28:18):
Narrate it quite literally forall of you.
It was a number of years ago, Iguess almost five years ago.
I actually wrote this, and whenI think back, that's like
basically 10% of my entirelifespan.
At this point, it's not a hugeamount of time.
It's, in fact, even less than10% of my life.
However, in that 10% of mytimeline, so much has changed.
(28:41):
I actually found this exercisevery cathartic, but also very
introspective and reflectionary,so here's my invitation to you.
I shared some big questionstoday and I know they're not
easy questions to address.
But questions that create anemotional sort of response
(29:02):
inside of our body rarely areeasy to answer.
That means you're getting tothe right part, okay, because it
does require a bit of heart,not just the brain, to logically
figure out how to answer thosequestions.
You do have to feel into thosequestions.
So my invitation now you mayhave the habit, or want to have
it, to diarize or to create adaily journal.
(29:25):
It's something that I haven'tbeen able to do consistently in
my life, but I do it from timeto time and it is amazing at
creating space to reflect andask the appropriate questions.
So some of the questions that Ishared with you in that chapter
I just narrated, just to recapthem.
Big life question number onethat you're going to spend some
(29:46):
time thinking about is who am I?
And then, once you start to geta little bit of clarity on that
and trust me, it's one of thosequestions you'll forever be
asking, there is no perfectanswer but start to identify
some of the things that you useto identify yourself.
Because after you start to getsome clarity around that, you're
going to move to number two,which is where am I going?
Where am I going?
(30:07):
And then, why don't you getthere?
You're probably going to askyourself well, why am I even
here?
And then, lastly, what do Iwant?
Now, they're all challengingquestions, let's just call them
what they are, but often themost challenging of questions
are the most worthwhile to ask.
So again, I'm going to inviteyou create some space to ask
(30:29):
some of those questions, maybejournal about it Even sometimes
what I'll do is, in my morningwalks I'll throw on some music
that doesn't have a lot oflyrics, so it's more
instrumental, like some jazz orblues or even some trip hop, so
something that's got a littlebit of a beat, but it doesn't
overpower.
But then I'll ask myself thequestion and I'll just think
about it as I walk.
(30:49):
Just think about it.
The amazing of what happenswhen you start funneling a bunch
of oxygen into this mind ofours.
Creativity will run and if yougive yourself that intention,
the subconscious can also alignwith the conscious to help you
discover the answers and realizethe answers may change as you
(31:10):
change.
Don't worry about it, it's justpart of the life that you're
living and it's pretty awesomeIf you enjoyed today.
You guys know the drill.
Please like it.
Share it.
Share it with somebody thatneeds to hear these questions
now.
Maybe they're dealing with aperiod of uncertainty, a lot of
big changes, and they're up inthe air on where everything
(31:32):
lands.
Give them a little bit of asofter foundation.
Help them be able to see theirfooting.
Maybe provide them with thispodcast as a first step in them
starting to get the clarity theyneed to create the confidence
to take decisive action as theynavigate the changes.
Maybe that's you too.
If it is, please leave a reviewlike subscribe.
(31:55):
I love the love that I've beenreceiving.
Thank you all.
The support has beenoverpowering, quite literally.
It's been just amazingreceiving some of the feedback,
emails and whatnot, and I justwant to say thank you.
I am so honored to have thisopportunity to support you, to
connect with you and, of course,to align with you, as we're all
(32:16):
trying to live our best livesright now.
This has been another episodeof 2% Solution Podcast.
This is Die Manwell signing offand again, remember, even the
small, simple 2% shifts matter,because you matter, you're worth
(32:38):
it and, man, you're freakingawesome.
If no one's told you, I'm hereto tell you, so enjoy your day,
have a great week, keep livingyour best life.
Hello, hello, hello.
Di here, your host of the 2%Solution Podcast, absolutely
stoked to have you back againfor another week ahead of us.
My goodness, time sure does fly.
I'm heading into week threesince this podcast launched and
I have to start by saying thankyou.
I know I can't express thegratitude enough that I'm
(00:24):
feeling, but, wow, theoutpouring of positive messages
and supportive compliments andjust the feedback I'm receiving
is, just to be honest,overwhelming.
It's way more than I wasexpecting and I love it, and
it's definitely given me greaterconfidence to keep charging
(00:44):
forward and keep producingcontent to support and serve you
, the audience, my listeners, mycommunity, my friends, all on
the same journey together.
We're all just trying to liveour best lives and, my goodness,
it can be complicated enough.
But today, hopefully, just nicelittle segue here I'm changing
gears a little bit.
(01:04):
I know the Monday motivationepisodes are typically going to
be shorter and I was thinking ofbreaking this up over a couple
of weeks, but then I started tothink it's like nah, that's
silly.
Give the information now, giveit to people so they can have it
now, they can start to askthemselves these powerful
questions now so they can getthe clarity and the confidence
(01:26):
they can help me, at variousperiods of my life, to take more
decisive action andprocrastinate less.
So that's what I'm going to do.
I'm going to give it to you allright now.
A number of years ago for thosethat may or may not be aware
I've had some people asking foran episode and actually I'm
going to have Christy, my wife,on the episode with me and we're
going to talk about travel as afamily and some of the travels
(01:49):
we did during a five year periodwhen I left a 17 year career.
She left a career, pulled thekids out of school, started
traveling for five years andsome of the things that we
learned, some of the bigchallenges as we faced, but also
some of the cool people we metaround the world when we were
traveling.
Anyways, there's a bigbackstory to how that came to be
(02:10):
.
In what you're going to heartoday.
There is a snippet in thechapter I'm narrating where I do
touch a little bit on thatperiod, but I don't go too much
into detail.
We'll have to say that foranother episode.
But anyways, a number of yearsago, while we were living in
Bali, indonesia, that littleislands down in Southeast Asia
with our family.
While we were living there, wemet some amazing people.
(02:31):
One person in particular is acoach and speaker by the name of
Obid Abbo.
He's a wonderful European dudethat lives in Bali most of the
year and operates his businesseson a line, unless he has to go
speak physically at an event.
But he's a great dude, justsuper nice guy and very positive
(02:54):
, very outgoing.
We connected on many differentlevels because we share very
similar values, but anyways, hecame to me after seeing me speak
and actually I had him on as aclient for a little while.
I supported him with creatingsome very powerful presentations
as well as get some bettersystems in his own practice, and
so it was great.
We developed this really nicerelationship and so he put
(03:15):
together collaboration book.
This book was called, and iscalled, I should say, from fear
to courage 15 insights toachieve your dreams, and there's
15 contributors, or 14 plusObid, so 15 in total.
Different perspectives fromdifferent coaches and industry
(03:36):
leaders in their own specialtiescontributed a chapter each.
My chapter was the finalchapter in the book and it has
some very actionable items butpresents a very simple story,
which is basically a little bitof my story, but some of the
observations and the takeawaysI've had from some of those very
(03:56):
trying experiences, but alsohow they've helped me be who I
am today.
I'm not going to avoid it.
In fact, I'm going to addressit.
I'm going to share some verypersonal things when I narrate
this chapter, because, if youhaven't figured out, my wife and
I, we have a very simple mantraaround life it's Ron, real is
our deal.
You know that.
(04:16):
That's just the way we operate.
So, full transparency.
You're going to get it all andI hope you appreciate that,
because it's taken me a longtime to get here.
Okay, if you listen to my talkon vulnerability, it's something
that I've struggled with, butit's a work in progress, as
always, and I'm going to keeptrying.
I'm going to keep trying.
So today, enjoy, it is a littlebit longer, but hopefully you'll
(04:40):
be out for your morning andwalk or get into the gym for a
workout and you can listen tothis story.
And I'd love to hear from you.
Please reach out, share yourthoughts, what came to mind or
your story, especially if youhave a similar story.
I would love to hear it.
Okay, I'd love to hear it.
I'd like to know how did younavigate that?
(05:00):
What questions supported you.
So, as we get into this, bereflective, create space for
yourself to just be open mindedand as the questions land the
questions that I share with you,that I had to work through
think about how those questions,too, can support you, no matter
where you find yourselfcurrently in life, and how we
(05:21):
can give you clarity on whereyou want to be going and how to
get there.
So, with that, enjoy, listen tothe power of association,
choice and the little stuff theydon't tell you about in school.
An authentic story by Diamondthe Four Big Life Questions by
(05:44):
Diamond.
About 90% of the time I wakebefore my alarm goes off, and
sometimes I just lie therewaiting for the Beach Boys to
start echoing off my walls andvibrations crank to the max.
Spews from my iPhone, putting asmile on my face in a hop skip
and a literal jump out of my bed.
The tone from my day set.
(06:05):
I'm picking up vibrations Inthe morning.
She has given me excitations.
Good vibrations is a reminderthat we're all just energy, made
up of subatomic particlescoming into and fading out of
existence.
That's life, isn't it?
But here we are making sense ofwhat we can through our own
(06:27):
mind's interpretation of ourworldly experiences, trying to
make sense of this big,beautiful world.
I intentionally choose thismorning ritual.
It doesn't pick me.
This specific set of actionsare performed daily as part of
my morning ceremony.
Repetition is the key tomastery and vital to creating a
(06:49):
habit and for those who committo the process, eventually
creating a sustainable lifestyle.
At the ripe old age of 47, I cansay this now it took me a long
time to figure out thisseemingly basic principle.
Throughout my life, I waschallenged by situations that
have pushed me to the verge ofsuicide, to the edge of leaving
everything that I loved and togive up on the one person that
(07:13):
should matter most of my lifeMyself.
Life has been full of many upsand downs.
While walking the path to tryto figure out how to make sense
of the big questions Like who amI, why am I here, where am I
going and, most of all, what doI want, our brains, hearts and
(07:33):
spirits are challenged by someof these vast yet seemingly
simple questions, unable todefine what is that we most want
.
Much of what we want seems sofar out of reach that we avoid
thinking, talking, feeling anddreaming about it, not to feel
saddened by its lack ofexistence in our lives.
In the coming… Coming minutes,I'm going to share with you some
(07:57):
of the wisdom I've stumbledupon over the past 30 years as
I've explored the four big lifequestions.
My stories may be uniquely myown, but the themes I'll share
often plague others, and maybeyou too.
Big Life Question Number One whoam I?
From the day we can comprehendits existential meaning, the
(08:21):
question who am I torments usLike an exam stress student,
afraid that we'll compromise ourfuture.
If we are answering correctly,we may not get into the school
we want, have our dream careeror achieve the idealized life
we've envisioned for ourselves.
Until about 15 years ago, I wasafraid of the perceived
(08:45):
finality of answering thisquestion and I was afraid of the
fact that I was not able tounderstand it.
I was afraid of the fact that Iwas not able to understand it.
I was afraid of the fact that Iwas not able to understand it.
Years ago, I was afraid of theperceived finality of answering
this question, forever beingpeg-hold into living a life
(09:05):
founded on my answer.
Fortunately, I had it all wrong.
In my book, the Whole LifeFitness Manifesto, I share a
memory about my parents' divorce.
I was roughly nine years old atthe time and up until then I
thought I had a perfect life, soreceiving this news was quite
traumatic.
(09:25):
Suddenly, all I wanted was tobe liked.
I was now the kid with divorcedparents Feeling an inner void.
I withdrew from friends, family, social outings and turned to
food for comfort.
Our family dinners werereasonably healthy, but outside
of mealtimes I was hooked onjunk food.
Food was my crutch.
(09:47):
I quickly developed a bad habitof reaching for more snacks
than I should, choosing foodslike burgers, fries and other
garbage that barely landed in mystomach before I wanted more.
In hindsight, I can see that Iwas making choices without
really understanding why I madethem.
I was on autopilot, just actingon an impulse to soothe my
(10:08):
turbulent emotions.
By the time I reached the age 14, the answer to who am I
Question was simple I am the fatkid.
I was medically classified asmorbidly obese.
Now, people can be cruel, butteenagers are often downright
vicious and they're ridicule.
(10:28):
My peers found it hard to lookme in the eye and I was well
aware of their snickering behindmy back and right in my face.
Though it was hurtful, Iunderstood.
I avoided looking at my ownbody.
When I stepped out of theshower, I wore baggy clothing in
an attempt to camouflage myprotruding belly, and shorts oh
(10:48):
man, I never wore those, nomatter how hot the weather was.
I said no to everything.
I tend to pool party where Iwould To wear a bathing suit.
Are you kidding me?
No way, participate in gymclass out of the question.
Go to a school dance no, thankyou.
I avoided anything physical,leveraging my asthma as an
(11:11):
excuse to opt out repeatedly.
Through these lifestyle choices,I soon became freighted with
low self-esteem.
I approached rock bottom,feeling depressed and isolated.
I can admit now I even hadsuicidal thoughts occasionally.
And then one Sunday morning, Idecided to do something that I
(11:32):
usually avoided I looked at myreflection in the mirror.
Up to that point, I was able topretend that things weren't as
bad as they were because Iwasn't looking the problem in
the eye, deny Facing up.
However, I broke down in tears.
I never felt so low in my life.
At that moment, I experienced anepiphany.
(11:53):
I didn't like where my life wasgoing and I hated the person I
saw in the mirror.
I got really honest reallyquickly and I began to own my
daily choices and actions.
I knew that I enjoyed life.
At least I had enjoyed itbefore and I wanted to once
again.
I faced a simple choice I couldremain this way forever or do
(12:18):
something about it.
I hit the library and I pouredover books on health, nutrition
and fitness.
I started eating a little lessand moving a little more.
I started slowly with walkingdaily, then mountain biking.
I strapped on my cassetteplayer with an audio tape
playing on an endless loop.
I'd ride until I'd exhaustedboth the audio tape and myself.
(12:41):
Only then would I ride home.
Little by little, I added moreand more daily activity,
eventually joining a gym.
In over just 20 months.
I was transformed.
This time, adolescence itselfwas on my side, as I shot up to
around 185 centimeters 6 to 1, agross spurt that undoubtedly
(13:03):
helped to burn some extracalories.
My weight didn't change thatmuch, but I saw body fat melt
away as newly muscle massappeared.
Now, with a betterunderstanding of the science and
biology of health, I know thatmy physical changes resulted
from a combination ofcardiovascular and resistance
training.
I strengthened my body and Iincreased lean muscle, which
(13:26):
cranked up my metabolism, mybody's natural furnace.
I felt stronger, healthier andmore confident in my abilities
to tackle whatever physicalobstacles stood in my way.
Rather than saying no to poolparties and gym class, I started
asking people to join me in theactivities.
I felt good.
I felt alive.
(13:47):
I've never gone back to thatstate of obesity, but I don't
forget how it affected my life,and remembering this time in my
life helps me relate to myclients who battle their
self-image challenges.
I know how it feels when peoplestare at you.
I know what it's like to be outof breath from climbing a
flight of stairs or strugglingwith something as simple as
(14:07):
tying your shoes.
When you're fighting with yourphysicality, sometimes it's the
little things that seem thehardest to do.
If this describes you right now, I want you to know that you're
not alone and that it doesn'thave to stay this way.
Going through the physicalchanges was both empowering and
enlightening.
(14:28):
I thought by looking good, Iwould feel good.
Who doesn't have the desire toreinvent themselves from time to
time?
At age 18, I graduated highschool, moved from one side of
Canada to the other.
I thought if I went someplacewhere no one knew me, I could
shake loose the fat kid stigmathat seemed to follow me around.
I changed my physical home, butall of the emotional baggage
(14:52):
came right along with me.
I dabbled with school butultimately fell into a career in
the health and wellnessindustry and found that I had a
real talent for it.
I was great at helping peopleget the results they wanted.
My career became my cornerstonefor who I was.
It defined me and it gave me aboost in confidence.
It masked a lot of myinsecurities and made me feel I
(15:15):
was worthy of something better.
My career took priority much ofthe time.
As much success as I wascreating, I still sought out
acceptance and accolades anychance I could.
Daily, I would tell myself thatthe guy in the mirror was
successful, a great man,somebody who has got it all
(15:35):
together.
Truth be told, I think you haveyour shit together.
You're probably just standingin it.
Two of the most significantevents in my life were the days
both my daughters were born.
I would tell myself I need toprovide for my family, be a
great dad, a fantastic partnerand successful in my career.
Who am I?
(15:57):
I sought the answers outside ofmyself.
I am.
Statements were defined byprofession, economic status and
virtual anything other than thereflection in the mirror.
To me, success wasn't owningthe cars, the home, having our
kids in every activity possible,being an outstanding
entrepreneur, having all thetoys and flash, so people would
(16:18):
think I was making it.
I wanted perfection, but themore I strive for this idea of
perfect, the further I pushmyself away from attaining it.
Alcohol and drugs became my wayof numbing the pain of failing
to meet my expectations ofsuccess.
I noticed the more I drank, themore people seemed to like me.
(16:39):
They wanted a party, and soon Istarted living two separate
lives.
One night, after attending awork function that turned into
an after party, I found myselfracing home Yet again.
I had let my wife Christy down.
I had a habit of telling herI'd be home by a particular time
and as someone who believed inkeeping my word, I hated that I
(17:02):
was rarely following through onmy commitments with her.
The next thing I knew I waswaking up at the wheel of my car
deep in the woods, havingmissed the large trunk of a tree
.
I should have died that night,but I didn't.
A couple years later, aftermultiple mess ups and numerous
unfulfilled promises to change,my wife was at the end of her
(17:24):
rope.
She sat me down and asked meone question.
Some people will think that mybiggest mistake was leaving a
thriving career after 17 years,getting rid of everything I own,
packing up suitcases, employingmy kids out of school.
We had little savings and,instead of putting down a
payment on a home, christy and Idecided to put a down payment
(17:48):
on our dreams.
We self-published a book andset off to be a full-time family
, and we haven't looked backsince.
But this didn't happen overnight.
It's been over 14 years sinceI've had a drink of alcohol.
Drinking was my way of numbingmuch of the pain I felt in the
(18:09):
struggle to achieve theidealized version of myself.
There was a massive chasmbetween being who I was striving
to be and who I was being, butalcohol had a nice calming
effect which distracted me fromthe pain of not feeling good
enough.
Alcohol eventually led tonarcotics and promiscuity
(18:30):
followed.
All the while I was starting afamily, trying to be a good man,
leader, father, husband, butnever living up to any of them,
I was numbing my failures, thepain, the shame, the blame, the
discontent and the depression.
One morning, after an all-nightbender, christy sat me down and
asked me the question thatchanged everything Big life
(18:52):
questions number two when am Igoing.
She looked me in the eyes andshe asked I could be in the type
of man that you would wantdaughters to marry?
It was like I was being punchedin the nose and kicked in the
jewels both simultaneously.
And you know what I deserved it?
The saddest thing was I knewthat I wasn't being the man.
(19:16):
The man I could be Not evenclose.
I'm grateful every day that mywife saw in me more than I saw
in myself.
She continues to challenge meto be a better man than I was
yesterday.
I immediately began making alist of the things that weren't
serving me.
This list included people too.
I realized that many of myfriends were just people that I
(19:39):
drank with and partied.
If you are reading this rightnow and wanting to change
something in your life, I haveone recommendation Make a change
right now.
Sounds so silly, right?
Things don't happen overnight,but they will happen.
That question prompted me tochoose my life that fateful day,
(20:00):
january 1, 2010.
I committed to stop drinkingalcohol for one year and clean
myself up.
It was a start, but I soonlearned it wasn't the alcohol or
drugs that were the real issue.
It never was.
A few months later, I watchedChristy aggressively stomp on
(20:20):
every step.
As she climbed the stairs toher neighbor's home With iron
fists, she hammered on theirfront door like a woman trying
to resuscitate someone back tothe living.
The door opened and wham,christy winded up and knocked
that woman flat on her butt.
Seeing this all unfold in frontof me is when I knew deep down
(20:41):
that the last changes I had tomake needed to happen right now.
Everything was out in the open.
There was no more lies in it.
For the first time in ourrelationship, I was 100% me.
I owned all the good, all thebad and, most of all, every bit
of the ugly.
In hindsight, something uniquehappens when you are sober, with
eyes wide open, not lying toyourself and everyone else
(21:03):
around you.
The created void opens up a lotof space for creativity,
connectivity, growth andlearning.
I owned every one of my ethos.
I confessed that I was a fatkid who needed people to like
him.
I acknowledged that I was adrunk.
I owned that I was a crappyfather.
I confessed that I was aperfection junkie.
(21:26):
I also held that I was not thenet sum of all my past
transgressions.
I owned that nothing ispermanent and everything is
changing.
I believed that I was worthchanging and that, being the
type of man I would want mydaughters to marry, was a choice
up to only me to make.
No more running, no moredenying it.
I owned every little thingabout me and this marked the
(21:51):
beginning of my journey ofprogression.
Big life question number threewhy am I here?
I was a co-founder of one of themore prominent specialty
fitness equipment retailers inNorth America, supplying
equipment, apparel, supplementsand pretty much everything
equipment related under the sun.
(22:11):
My business partner was 20years my senior, I meant to
remind.
For some years, while I wasgetting my feet wet in this
industry, I loved what I wasdoing because it provided
in-home and commercial solutionsto my communities.
I saw fitness equipment to helpfacilitate lifestyle goals by
achieving a higher level ofhealth and fitness.
I loved it.
(22:33):
To me, it was like selling toys.
After many years, I could startto see where the path was going
.
My business partner's kids werefinishing up university and he
and his wife were at a point inlife where they wanted to travel
more and enjoy more time awayfrom the business.
The writing was on the wall andthe pressure was being applied
to start assuming many of hisCEO CFO responsibilities, with
(22:55):
the plan to transition intorunning the company.
Meanwhile, it had been almost10 years since I started my blog
and created a platform to helppeople improve their lives
through health, fitness,nutrition and life coaching.
I had read Gary Vaynerchuk'sfirst edition of Crush it and it
opened my mind to a new form ofonline marketing and building
(23:16):
communities.
I began to build an onlinepresence for my business,
knowing that I had something toshare which couldn't be done on
the corporate brand's platform.
Fast forward a few years.
I was diagnosed with anautoimmune disease called
autoimmune neutropenia and atfirst thought that it would be a
chronic condition I would needto live with.
(23:37):
Like many autoimmune issues,lifestyle habits play a huge
part in controlling symptoms andmanaging the condition itself.
This disease caused me tobecome obsessed with improving
my health.
The more I focused my effortson helping others with their
lifestyles, I realized I neededto be my own best role model.
I had already decided to followa path of self-improvement,
(24:01):
focusing on personal andprofessional development.
Learning became my new hobby,and boy did I study life.
When you embark on a journey ofimproving your body, mind and
spirit, you will quickly realizethat you step into a lifestyle
of continuous evolution.
As you evolve, yourperspective's, beliefs and often
your very being will shift too.
You will see things differently.
(24:22):
More importantly, you willvalue things differently.
For the first time in my adultlife, I started to question the
path I was on.
As pressure mounted to assumemore professional
responsibilities, I started toenvision my life playing out
over the next 20 years in thesame way my business partner's
life had.
All I could see was his life,and I knew I didn't want it.
(24:45):
I asked myself what do I want?
Why am I here?
As I wrote a personal manifestofor my life, I realized the
path I was on was not the rightone, and it was terrifying A
terrifying place to find myselfafter 17 years of doing what I
believed was my calling Big life.
(25:06):
Question number four what do Iwant?
In 2018, we traveled the worldas a full-time family One more
item to check off our live list,a shared family highlight, was
spending nearly two full yearsin Bali, indonesia.
On that beautiful island, wecontinued fostering
relationships and nurturingcommunities.
(25:27):
I started facilitating men'smeetups and Christie ran women's
groups.
And I can't forget my girls.
The kids had a wonderfuladventure meeting other local
children while attending variousinternational learning centers.
As the end of 2020 approached,our teenage daughters desired to
finish their schooling back inVancouver.
(25:48):
So back to our roots we go.
Today, the whole family isthriving as we reconnect with
friends, family and a few of ourcommunities.
As we re-establish our home backin Vancouver, I continue my
life's purpose as I strive topositively impact one million
role models worldwide in leadingfunctionally fit lives mentally
(26:08):
, physically and emotionallythrough education, encouragement
and, of course, community.
I love being able to serve.
Life is a great adventure andI'm filled with gratitude and
fulfillment.
Isn't it amazing to think howmuch life can change when we ask
ourselves the right questionsAt the right time for the right
(26:30):
reasons?
Clarity leads to confidence andwhen we feel confident, we're
ready to take immediate action.
And the best time to takeaction is always right now.
Remember, don't be a collectorof tomorrows.
What are the biggest challengesyou've grown through or maybe
(26:51):
going through right now?
What are you learning?
What are you actively choosingto do about them?
I find, more often than not, weknow the answer to what we need
to start doing to see ourselvesprogress and change, but one
excuse tends to trump all othersProcrastination.
I'll start that journeytomorrow.
(27:13):
I'll make those changestomorrow.
I will start living a littledifferently.
Tomorrow, don't be a collectorof tomorrows.
One day, you will wake up andrealize that all these tomorrows
you've been collecting arenothing but a bucket full of
empty yesterdays.
Rather than collectingtomorrows, I encourage you to
(27:35):
start living today.
Own your choices, even theF-Ups, because they're beautiful
in so many ways.
Learn to see the beauty ofliving in the present.
Choose you, connect withcommunities that challenge you
to be better every day, andremember that, whatever you
think you can be or do, you'reabsolutely 100% right.
(27:56):
So take action and staypositive in your pursuit of not
just a better life, but a greatone filled with no regrets.
Amazing Gosh, it was so much funto actually re-read this.
(28:18):
Narrate it quite literally forall of you.
It was a number of years ago, Iguess almost five years ago.
I actually wrote this, and whenI think back, that's like
basically 10% of my entirelifespan.
At this point, it's not a hugeamount of time.
It's, in fact, even less than10% of my life.
However, in that 10% of mytimeline, so much has changed.
(28:41):
I actually found this exercisevery cathartic, but also very
introspective and reflectionary,so here's my invitation to you.
I shared some big questionstoday and I know they're not
easy questions to address.
But questions that create anemotional sort of response
(29:02):
inside of our body rarely areeasy to answer.
That means you're getting tothe right part, okay, because it
does require a bit of heart,not just the brain, to logically
figure out how to answer thosequestions.
You do have to feel into thosequestions.
So my invitation now you mayhave the habit, or want to have
it, to diarize or to create adaily journal.
(29:25):
It's something that I haven'tbeen able to do consistently in
my life, but I do it from timeto time and it is amazing at
creating space to reflect andask the appropriate questions.
So some of the questions that Ishared with you in that chapter
I just narrated, just to recapthem.
Big life question number onethat you're going to spend some
(29:46):
time thinking about is who am I?
And then, once you start to geta little bit of clarity on that
and trust me, it's one of thosequestions you'll forever be
asking, there is no perfectanswer but start to identify
some of the things that you useto identify yourself.
Because after you start to getsome clarity around that, you're
going to move to number two,which is where am I going?
Where am I going?
(30:07):
And then, why don't you getthere?
You're probably going to askyourself well, why am I even
here?
And then, lastly, what do Iwant?
Now, they're all challengingquestions, let's just call them
what they are, but often themost challenging of questions
are the most worthwhile to ask.
So again, I'm going to inviteyou create some space to ask
(30:29):
some of those questions, maybejournal about it Even sometimes
what I'll do is, in my morningwalks I'll throw on some music
that doesn't have a lot oflyrics, so it's more
instrumental, like some jazz orblues or even some trip hop, so
something that's got a littlebit of a beat, but it doesn't
overpower.
But then I'll ask myself thequestion and I'll just think
about it as I walk.
(30:49):
Just think about it.
The amazing of what happenswhen you start funneling a bunch
of oxygen into this mind ofours.
Creativity will run and if yougive yourself that intention,
the subconscious can also alignwith the conscious to help you
discover the answers and realizethe answers may change as you
(31:10):
change.
Don't worry about it, it's justpart of the life that you're
living and it's pretty awesomeIf you enjoyed today.
You guys know the drill.
Please like it.
Share it.
Share it with somebody thatneeds to hear these questions
now.
Maybe they're dealing with aperiod of uncertainty, a lot of
big changes, and they're up inthe air on where everything
(31:32):
lands.
Give them a little bit of asofter foundation.
Help them be able to see theirfooting.
Maybe provide them with thispodcast as a first step in them
starting to get the clarity theyneed to create the confidence
to take decisive action as theynavigate the changes.
Maybe that's you too.
If it is, please leave a reviewlike subscribe.
(31:55):
I love the love that I've beenreceiving.
Thank you all.
The support has beenoverpowering, quite literally.
It's been just amazingreceiving some of the feedback,
emails and whatnot, and I justwant to say thank you.
I am so honored to have thisopportunity to support you, to
connect with you and, of course,to align with you, as we're all
(32:16):
trying to live our best livesright now.
This has been another episodeof 2% Solution Podcast.
This is Die Manwell signing offand again, remember, even the
small, simple 2% shifts matter,because you matter, you're worth
(32:38):
it and, man, you're freakingawesome.
If no one's told you, I'm hereto tell you, so enjoy your day,
have a great week, keep livingyour best life.
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