Joining me today is my longtime friend and colleague Myles Eldreth, College Professor, and Senior Manager with Transunion. He is an absolute ROCKSTAR. In 2014, he was given the “Outstanding Service to the College” award by The Northern Virginia Community College Educational Foundation. In 2016, he was nominated for the George B. Vaughan Leadership award by the Virginia Community College System (VCCS).

He has a surprising blend of superpowers. By day he is a government contracts and compliance expert, and by night he teaches business, finance, economics, international affairs, management, accounting. He also is podcaster, career coach, and avid gardener. He is also one of the most astute observers of current events that I’ve ever known. You’ve heard of Futurists? Myles is the consummate Now-ist.

Purpose/Intention:

The world is going through a hard time right now, and and Myles shares experiences and observations for dealing with tough times in light of his own recent challenges.

In this interview, we cover the following (time cuts are approximate):

01:58 Myles shares about some of his own challenges over the last few years06:39 How to get through hard times11:50 The purpose of difficulty, pain, suffering, challenges, and hard times15:02 The good in suffering17:45 What we learn from challenges20:34 How Myles absorbs and moves forward through challenges22:20 (through 24:40) Myles shares an insight about how your identity changes when you go through difficulty22:46 Sometimes you need to actively avoid certain emotional triggers – maybe even move away24:40 The importance of personal responsibility and getting through hard times25:00 Micro-decisions and their cumulative effect25:35 …more on getting out of unhealthy patterns / habits / vices when we go through hard times26:09 The current health, political, and social environment stems from a lack of empathy and personal responsibility27:37 Why we go through hard times29:15 The need to get help from others, and the consequences if we don’t31:53 Myles shares more than one secret of success34:34 The circle of Kharma35:30 The greatest life lesson Myles has ever learned38:00 Myles takes about what he wants most for his life40:15 Myles one piece of advice to the world43:10 How Myles wants to leave the world better45:20 Your first job will not be your last46:10 Myles final thoughts on digging further into what makes you truly happy, taking calculated risks, dopamine, and life’s positives

To connect with Myles:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/myles-eldreth-6063724/

To connect with Mark:

https://markabotros.comInstagram: @markabotrosTwitter: @markbotrosLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mbotros/Email: [email protected] LIFE WORKS Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-life-works-podcast/id1475582936

Podcast Music Credit:

Track: Memories — INOSSI [Audio Library Release]Music provided by Audio Library PlusWatch: https://youtu.be/GePAKPB6vQYFree Download / Stream: https://alplus.io/Memories

Photo Credit: Chip Vincent