WTF- What The Flow

Human as we are, we can’t help but compare ourselves to other people. It is so easy to think that they have it better than us, that we can’t ever be in the same place and mindset as them. Tony Lister is well familiar with this feeling. In this episode, he spills to us the times he used to simultaneously envy those who seemed to always be in flow and condemn himself for frequently falling out of it. But it was not until he started coaching guru after guru that Tony quickly discovered that they are just like us. Here, he breaks down the myths and lies that surround the flow state, moving us out of the illusion that anyone is always in the flow. Tune into this great episode to get past the fake news of social media and learn how to consistently get back into the flow after life happens.

We spend so much energy demanding that life shows up the way we think it ought to show up that we forget to just be and let life naturally unfold and show itself up for us. After a lot of talk about the flow state, in this episode, Tony Lister finally dives into the practical steps you can take in real life to drop into the flow. Just for fun, he decided to record this episode while standing in the very cold Boise River in October. He takes us into this great episode to provide the daily tools we need that will quickly get us back in the flow.

The insecure overachiever is a person who pushes themselves relentlessly to improve, but never quite arrives. Corporations love this personality because they work extra hours, keep giving more and more, and often self-manage. The end result is a burned-out leader who hides behind a lifetime of trophies, awards, and titles. In this episode, Tony Lister explores the ways to break the habit of overachieving and how to actually enjoy the journey. He shares with you how you can learn to live by the flow and connect with yourself to become what you truly want to be.

When Tony Lister received the invitation to ride a motorcycle through Kathmandu, Nepal, he was immediately afraid. Where traffic flowed in the opposite direction from his country, in Kathmandu, there seemed to be very few traffic rules. The roads were loaded with hundreds of other bikers swirling around each other. In this experience, Tony learned something about flow—one that he could never have otherwise seen without jumping all the way into the insanity of the moving, living organism that is the traffic of Kathmandu. Tony expresses his gratitude for Gerald Rogers, who encouraged him to experience new aspects of life. Indeed, Legendary Spiritual Adventure retreats are like nothing else!

Many of us tend to sit in a dark room and try to sort out everything that has gone wrong with our lives alone. To be able to experience radical self-transformation, however, we need to have the right external support structures. Right in the middle of quarantine, Tony Lister spent two days doing strategy sessions with a variety of people whose lives have been disrupted. He got to have several deep-dive conversations into what made them tick. Each of these people had a “story” that they didn’t quite measure up. Today’s episode explores what would happen if we went back and did a “rescue mission” on our younger versions and intervened just before we decided we weren’t good enough. Tony encourages us to get out of the darkroom, open ourselves to transformation, and rewrite our story in our own terms.

What do you do when you have some face paint on hand coupled with some music and backlights? For Tony Lister and everyone at the Legendary Spiritual Adventure Retreat, dancing the night away is just the natural answer! Brainstorming what they could do for the kids at the orphanage they stayed in, Tony and the other retreat participants realized that most of the kids had never attended a party. So in their traditional Nepali dress, they all experienced a night to remember. The kids didn’t want the night to end and wore out the older folks. It was epic to witness their unguarded joy that reminded Tony of the wonder of being a child. Dive into this great episode that is even worth watching on the YouTube channel, “What The Flow”.

The thing Tony Lister looked forward to the MOST about the Legendary Spiritual Adventure Retreat in Nepal was the chance to meditate with monks who had dedicated their lives to inner stillness. What he actually experienced was a mirror to his own trauma of a dogmatic religious upbringing that emphasized ritual over connectedness. Come along for the ride on this episode where Tony projects all his shit on these unassuming monks who are just living how they want to live…

Sometimes, it takes a totally different experience to prompt you to rethink about what you currently have in life. Tony Lister shares how his world transformed by getting deep into the world of another human being, in this case, an orphan. As part of his Legendary Spiritual Adventure Retreat, Tony stayed the night at the Mountain Children Home Dadagaun orphanage high in the Himalayas in Nepal. A boy named Yurad offered to let him sleep in his bed while he slept on the floor. He gave it a five-star review on Airbnb.

This is the “Airbnb” review he left regarding his stay:

Orphanage in Dadagaun

The dinner of rice and cooked spinach was delicious, but there were no utensils – which turned out to be fine as everyone here just uses their fingers. The steel doors to the shared room didn’t seal, so it was quite cold, even with several blankets. I had to wear my jacket and wool hat all night. It had a shared bathroom. Very shared- with fifty other people. The view of the Himalayas was spectacular, but since two tigers had been spotted on the property, a chainlink fence had been built, and it was hard to get a good selfie with that fence in the way.

But I’m really giving it five stars because of the bed. The bed possessed magical properties. Maybe it had been blessed by one of the monks next door or something… I’m not sure exactly how, but it rid me of all of my complaints. It was quite simple in design—a steel bunk bed with a mattress made of a plywood board with what felt like an inch or two of cardboard on it. It was very firm and supportive.

But as I laid there, something very unusual happened—everything that seemed to be a problem in my life evaporated. Don’t get me wrong—the bills still need to be paid. My five kids still need to be fed. The physical realities of my life remain the same. But all of my complaints magically disappeared.

I’ve heard that walking in another man’s shoes for a mile does wonders for the soul. But a night in a guru’s bed cleansed me of my self-pity.

I highly recommend it.

Thank you Gerald Rogers for inviting me into the Legendary playground of the gods.

On today’s show, host Tony Lister walks a socially dangerous line. The fine line between acknowledging the reality of this illness and the tragedies people have experienced and the fear of the unknown that is far scarier than most realities. Tony teaches high stakes negotiations, and leaving the other party in the dark to face their own fears of the unknown is far more effective than giving them the facts. In this episode, he is traveling home from a trip on a near-empty plane and shares some in-the-moment thoughts about how the world has changed and what we can do in our individual lives to manage the new world.

There are people who have become sick. Some have died, and many have lost a loved one. There are far more dreams that are the casualty of COVID-19. Tonight, Tony Lister mourns the losses that extend beyond the lives of those directed infected by the virus. He gives tribute to the dreams that are disrupted, to the lives that have been poured into the countless businesses and jobs that have been lost, and to the possibilities that have been disrupted.