A Productive Conversation

Giving and Growing with Philip McKernan


Listen Later

This episode is brought to you by Your Clockwise Week—a personalized weekly structure built around your actual life, not an ideal one. If your week feels full but not fitting, you can learn more at mikevardy.com/yourclockwiseweek.


My guest for this episode is Philip McKernan. He is an inspirational speaker, philosopher, writer, and filmmaker who works with entrepreneurs and leaders to live a life that benefits all aspects of their lives. This is one of the most impactful episodes I’ve ever had. We had a very refreshing conversation that covered so much it can get you to see things in a different light.
He talked about letting go, alignment, consumption of information, and authenticity. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg!
Some highlights of this episode are:
The mindset that puts money on a pedestal, the freedom people think it provides, and how that doesn’t equate to peace of mind, sense of fulfillment and purpose.
How long it took him to realize that what he was chasing was out of alignment with who he really was.
How "busy-ness" and chaos indicates an underlying pain, how staying busy is just a rationalization of the feeling of disconnection, and how society evolved such that busy became socially acceptable.
Indicators and manifestations of a life that is not aligned.
The problem with people consuming so many how-to-guides and information instead of trusting their internal wisdom, gut, and intuition.
His insights on retreats and conferences, and finding those that actually resonate with an individual in a way that can serve them emotionally and intellectually.
The film he put together titled Give & Grow, his definition of what gifts are vs. talents, what drove him to create a film, and why he used this specific medium.
The two core things human beings want to do.
Strategies to let go on an emotional level and what things that we carry deep down end up sabotaging ourselves.
How being aligned is a human possibility that creates fluency making things easier, instead of thinking that life must be hard and hard work is necessary.
His thoughts on minimalism as not merely letting go of material things but is deeply rooted in alignment and emotions.
The overwhelming expectation for perfection, productivity, and success people are subjected upon – which may not necessarily be their personal truth but a reflection of their family’s, friend’s, or society’s expectations.
His thoughts on consumption of information – whether online or offline and how to move from mere information to knowledge, wisdom, and awareness.
How he spent a huge chunk of his life suppressing his real self.
His advice on how everyone should deal with life.
Relevant Links
Philip McKernan (@PhilipMcKernan) | Twitter
PhilipMcKernan.com | Are you destined for more?
Uncover Your Gift | GIVE & GROW
A 5 Minute Plea to Do by Gary Vaynerchuck - YouTube
Stoicism 101: A Practical Guide for Entrepreneurs | The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss
Stoic Optimism: Ryan Holiday at TEDxUChicago 2014
Thanks for listening. See you next time!
Want to discover some of the books mentioned on the podcast? Check out Scribd, my reading app of choice.
If you enjoyed the episode, please leave a rating and/or review wherever you listened to the episode. Also don't forget to check out all of our podcast sponsors found on our podcast sponsors page.
If you enjoyed the episode, please leave a rating and/or review wherever you listened to the episode. And if you want to have easy access to the archives of the show and ensure you don't miss the new episodes to come then subscribe to the podcast in the app you're using.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices


If this episode resonated, I’m exploring ideas like these more deeply in my upcoming book, Productiveness. You can follow along as it takes shape at mikevardy.com/productiveness.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

A Productive ConversationBy Mike Vardy

  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2

4.2

102 ratings


More shows like A Productive Conversation

View all
Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics Radio

32,246 Listeners

The Tim Ferriss Show by Tim Ferriss: Bestselling Author, Human Guinea Pig

The Tim Ferriss Show

16,174 Listeners

The Art of Manliness by The Art of Manliness

The Art of Manliness

14,296 Listeners

Good Life Project by Jonathan Fields / Acast

Good Life Project

3,375 Listeners

How to Be Awesome at Your Job by How to be Awesome at Your Job

How to Be Awesome at Your Job

1,036 Listeners

The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett by DOAC

The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett

8,876 Listeners

Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee by Dr Rangan Chatterjee: GP & Author

Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee

3,903 Listeners

Everyday Better with Leah Smart by LinkedIn

Everyday Better with Leah Smart

355 Listeners

anything goes with emma chamberlain by emma chamberlain

anything goes with emma chamberlain

62,601 Listeners

The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos by Pushkin Industries

The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos

14,324 Listeners

Best Laid Plans by Sarah Hart-Unger

Best Laid Plans

821 Listeners

Huberman Lab by Scicomm Media

Huberman Lab

29,272 Listeners

Jillian on Love by Jillian Turecki | Daylight Media

Jillian on Love

1,401 Listeners

The Mel Robbins Podcast by Mel Robbins

The Mel Robbins Podcast

20,222 Listeners

HBR On Leadership by Harvard Business Review

HBR On Leadership

170 Listeners