Work Life Play with Aaron McHugh

This episode is powered by the new Joy Bus T-Shirt in the Work Life Play store.

Last year, our city was unfortunately ranked among the highest for teen suicide. We were directly impacted. We knew our pending move-in day was going to be impacted by the grief and loss. We decided to shift the story-disrupt the inertia by infusing our day with joy and fun.

We gave away free ice cream to one hundred of our friends, strangers, new neighbors, kids from school and construction workers. We set up two VW buses, one with adult beverages and one Scoop Bus. Instead of taxing our closest friends with the crummy obligation of helping us move our stuff, we decided to reframe the story instead. Instead of "Hey can you help us move?" we reframed the offer to "You should stop by for some FREE ICE CREAM".

Free ice cream from the Scoop Bus I've helped a lot of friends move and I've hired moving companies. It is never really fun to move. As part of our Reboot, we decided to start our new move in a story like a carnival. "What if we rented the Scoop Bus and gave away free ice cream to everyone who even stops by?"

My wife was down with it. Josh and the Scoop Bus rolled up and we chalked the sign to read "FREE ICE CREAM". Boom. You should have seen the crowds of kids that turned up. I had friends text to see if their wife could stop by with their pre-schoolers just to get a taste.

We had bikes and trucks and mini-vans stacked with our remnant belongings. I learned that day that any story can be reframed and transformed. No longer was it a moving day, it was a full-blown circus with all you can eat ice cream. What story are you living that could use to be reframed?

Podcast Highlights

• The inertia risk: do something different to disrupt the existing state.
• Reframing can redirect the path your story, your job, your relationships are on.
• Causation vs. prevention: purposing to cause something to occur vs. expending the same or similar energy attempting to prevent.
• Authorship & empowerment are more powerful than powerlessness and loss of control.
• Architect a life you want to be part of.

Last year, our city was unfortunately ranked among the highest for teen suicide. We were directly impacted. We knew our pending move-in day was going to be impacted by the grief and loss. We decided […]

I wanted to give you a Reboot recap from our live event a week ago. I think the best way to start is to share a few quotes from Rebooters,

"The world needs to hear this."

"Excursions were amazing & life-giving!"

"This changed my life. I'm leaving with a whole new perspective on life and how I need to change it."

"IT was awesome to step away from the insanity of our lives for a bit and reflect upon the life we want to craft."

It is a big deal for people to brave change, even the idea of change scares a lot of people. The beauty of the Reboot experience is that you get to define your version of a well-lived life.

Here are some of the big questions we tackled

-What makes you come alive? -When you were eight years old, what did you do for fun? -What is the story you tell yourself every day? -What do you value most in life? Money? Freedom? Relationships? -Where in your life do you feel stuck in a rut? -How sustainable is your current life right now? -Which relationships in your life are life-giving? -Which relationships suck life away from you?

Have you started the 7 Practical Steps to Restoring Balance yet? I'd love to hear how it goes!

Keep up with future Reboot happenings here.

Joe was a recovering alcoholic who upgraded his addiction from booze to running. He told me if I tucked in close to his elbow and ran hard, he promised it would be tough, but he […]

Joe was a recovering alcoholic who upgraded his addiction from booze to running. He told me if I tucked in close to his elbow and ran hard, he promised it would be tough, but he wouldn't drop me. He'd won duathlon world championships, and I was trying to complete a Xterra off-road triathlon. Predictably every day there was a workout-no two-days the same. There was banter before the run and color commentary and coaching afterward.

Drafting behind his 150lb frame eased my pain while my legs and my mind trained to sustain the pace on my own. I became known as the apprentice, "Schoolboy." On his elbow, I became capable of running faster than I could accomplish on my own. The principles of aerodynamics made it possible, but his commitment to pull me along changed my life.

Where are you drafting, gaining an advantage provided by someone else?

Whose elbow could you tuck into for a time? Where could you become the apprentice for a season?

This episode is powered by my book Fire Your Boss: A Manifesto to Rethink How You Think About Work. Download your free chapter here.

I yelled his name printed on his race bib, "Tim, YOU'VE GOT THIS." I didn't know him, but he picked his head up, stared 1,000 yards ahead and got going again. I was working an aid station at the Hawaii IRONMAN World Championship triathlon. These athletes were thirteen miles into the final leg of the 140.6-mile race. He had hours to go before he'd cross the finish line, but his eyes were fixed beyond the present moment, the pain and the fatigue. He had a vision for what was waiting at the end. The party, his family, settling the profound life questions.

I've found incredible strength when I can look beyond what is immediately in front of me to the more profound truth, the more significant goal. I believe we can transcend predicaments, setbacks, upsets, disappointments, and detours when we can gain a grip on the truths that keep us going. Sometimes we just need someone, anyone, to yell our name and call us back into the game.

This episode is powered by my free course 7 Practical Steps to Restoring Balance. Sign up here.

In this episode, I caught up with Jack O’Neill and Cary Pierce from Jackopierce in Napa Valley from the Motor Lodge Inn in Calistoga, CA just before their live destination show. We talk about their […]

In this episode, I caught up with Jack O'Neill and Cary Pierce from Jackopierce in Napa Valley from the Motor Lodge Inn in Calistoga, CA just before their live destination show. We talk about their music, their thirty-year journey, and the grit it required to get here.

Twenty-five years, we talked, they sang, played and Jack blew his harps. They tell stories of their blue VW bus adventures and driving their 27' foot RV across the US one university town to the next.

In 1988, Jack O'Neill and Cary Pierce, the "Jack O" and "Pierce" who make up the seminal acoustic duo, Jackopierce, were playing cover songs in a dingy club with a crummy PA in their hometown of Dallas, Texas. In a moment of young-musician desperation, they whipped up a tune on the spot called "Three of Us In A Boat" to elongate their set. That became a signature track for a decade-long career wherein the two-piece sold 500,000 records over six albums (two for major label A&M) and toured three continents, nine countries, and 44 states. After a five-year breakup, in 2002 the duo reconvened as Jackopierce.

Today Jack O'Neill and Cary Pierce have a renewed creative vigor, mutual respect, and deep gratitude for their Jackopierce heritage. These good vibes shine through on JP's euphoric new album, Everywhere All The Time, out August 28.

My check engine light is on in my 2004 Honda Pilot. I've had it checked, but they said it was okay but for how long? How long can I drive with red lights flashing warning signs? A couple of years ago, my life's dashboard was flashing red also. I kept pushing hard and ignored the symptoms assuming they too were "fine."

Dashboard lights help inform us of hazards, problems, early indications of pending issues. For most of us, we assume something must be wrong with the indicator light. In reality, the blinking lights deliver essential messages that warrant our acknowledgment.

-Slow down -Pay attention -Stop -Check performance -Take it easy -Pullover -Repair -Perform maintenance.

I made this dashboard for my life to gauge in simple terms how things are going. Red-bad, Yellow-needs attention, and Green-good. Give it a try and see if any of your dashboard lights are flashing or if all systems are healthy and operational.

Get Your Free 7 Day Crash Course to Restoring Balance. Rediscover your path to more joy. www.aaronmchugh.com/7steps/

You used to know how to play, but people like us can get pretty serious about life and forget how to really play. Remember when you’d jump on your pogo stick in the driveway until […]