Contagious Voice (A.K.A. The Time Travelers Guide To Dragon Riding)

This episode is an example of what happens when you give up control and consciously enter the "flow" state. When I set out to host a podcast, I made no excuses about the fact that the entire purpose was to dig up all my stories and practice telling them in a transparent way both to get the "gunk" out of my system, and maximize the......contagion factor of my voice? That sound right. We'll call it the contagion factor. I caught myself "in my head" about topics vs. doing what I promised myself, which was just letting go and trusting the words to find me. And so....as soon as I noticed I was reaching for topics I stopped, pressed record, and started talking. And "I" think...this is one of the most authentic episodes I have put together. If you want to know what I talked about....well....it was a little about mindfulness, and a little about true wealth, and purpose, and authenticity. But you can find all that out for yourself. Give it a listen. See what you think.

I'm not gonna lie...this episode wanders a bit. I gave my best effort at explaining what I mean by Dragon Riding, and spent some time on how negativity bias does it's best to prevent us from leaving the well worn path of the status quo. I shared some of my truly ridiculous beliefs as to why I would be an utter failure at public speaking. This, in particular I think you might find comical or at the least ironic. I look back now at the reasons I had for holding back and I just have to laugh. Hopefully you will too.

In this episode I tell the story about how a Ferret named Odie saved my life in an effort to explain how pattern interrupts work. WARNING...this is about a very bleak time in my life. If you don't like to hear about betrayal, loss, catastrophic failure, suicide, and drunken trips to the pet store, you don NOT want to listen to this one.

I think we all have moments in life where a window opens into a different future. Something grand. Something meaningful, filled with passion and purpose, and at times....very nearly magical. The trick however, is stepping through while the window's open. Because if it's allowed to close, it may never open again, or if it does...it won't be to those same green pastures. That particular opportunity is lost forever. As they say "destiny waits for no man". This....is the story of the very first time I stepped through the window. To be fair, in hindsight I think I was pushed, but it doesn't really matter. The point is I stepped through, and my life was never the same again.

Did I tell you about the time I found myself bent over and screaming in front of 500 soldiers? No? Ok...well this is that story. Enjoy!

Perhaps the most powerful single word in any language is a person's given name. From a time before your earliest memories it was attached to all powerful emotions, lessons, and events significant to your life. It is the literal cornerstone serving as the foundation of every person's personality. In fact...I think it would be fair to say...(you can decide for yourself) that if you couldn't recall your name, you would be hard pressed to form a clear picture of who you are. In this episode, I tell the story about how I was given a new name, and in the process, an entirely new personality and ultimately...a new life.

I thought this podcast was going to be a progression through time and events as I unearth all the skeletons in my closet and use them to develop "my voice" in anticipation of a speaking career. That still is the purpose, but today I'm flashing back to the very earliest memory I have to share a profound truth I uncovered about myself during a 100 hour Tony Robbins Date With Destiny event.

This podcast isn't turning out at all as planned. It's quite a bit messier and considerably more touchy feely than I intended setting out. I'm having revelation after revelation looking back. In this episode I talk about what happened when I signed up for my high school reunion facebook group and popped in the say hello to all my teenage demons.

It seems to me that perspective is far more important than reality. I might even go so far to say that "reality" is 100% perspective, and the idea that there is an "objective" reality is only useful in theological discussions and has no place in every day life. Let me ask you a question to ground this topic in more practical terms. What would you have done if you (as a high school junior) found out your family was splitting down the middle and you were going to be moving to a new school in a different state....and...."oh by the way......you and your 2 sisters are going to live in a campground...in a camper". Well...what would you do? In this episode I'll tell you what "I" did when my parents told me that very thing. Ahhh....life....it truly has limitless capacity to challenge and surprise. :-)

So I lied to you. Let's just get that clear. But what's worse, I've been lying to myself, and in the process, denying the power of what really happened the second time I was held at knife point. It seems to me that the beginnings of awakening are messy, and you spend just as much time falling down as you do learning to rise. Is it possible we all learn to stand twice? First, physically, as a child...then later as an emotionally mature adult? I don't know, but I think there's a truth in there somewhere. You be the judge as you listen to this episode.