Posts Tagged ‘Motivation/Inspiration’
030 Outer Order, Inner Calm w/ Gretchen Rubin
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How do you become happier in life? On today’s episode, four-time New York Times bestselling author Gretchen Rubin joins us for a fun, insightful conversation. How do you turn feeling envy and lying into tools for our own growth?
Relationships for Happiness
There are two ways to achieve happiness, depending on the mental framework that you use. One of which is that to be happy, we need to have enduring, intimate bonds.
“Ancient philosophers and contemporary scientists would agree that relationship is key to happiness.” – Gretchen Rubin
We have to feel like we belong, be able to confide a secret, get support, and give support. Anything that broadens or deepens our relationships is something that would make us happier. When we look at people who say they’re happier, they tend to have more relationships.
Self-knowledge is also Key
From a different vantage point, you can also say that the key to happiness is self-knowledge. We can build a happy life on the foundation of our own nature, interests, values, and temperament.
“It’s really by knowing ourselves that with this knowledge we can shape our lives to better reflect what is true for us.” – Gretchen Rubin
It should be fairly easy to know oneself when you hang out with yourself all day long, right? But the truth is that it’s not very easy at all. This stems from how we sometimes wish that we were different from who are or from how we are different from what other people expect or want us to be.
Envy and Lies are Helpful
Gretchen is keen on finding questions or indirect ways to help us understand ourselves better. For instance, whom do we envy? People don’t want to admit they feel it, but envy is actually helpful because it shows us what we wish we had.
Another question we must ask ourselves is, what do we lie about? Oftentimes when we lie, what we do doesn’t match up with what our value is and this is really important information to reflect on.
“The fact that you’re not being truthful about it means that somehow, you’re not comfortable with what your real answer is and that’s a sign—hey, maybe I need to get my actions and values into better harmony.” – Gretchen Rubin
To hear more about how we can achieve inner calm and peace from Gretchen, download and listen to the episode.
Bio:
Gretchen Rubin is a writer who relentlessly explores human nature to understand how we can make our lives better.
She believes there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for becoming happier, healthier, more productive, or more creative; when we know ourselves and what works for us, we can change our habits and our lives.
She’s the author of the bestselling books (The Happiness Project, Happier at Home, Better Than Before, The Four Tendencies),
And she hosts the award-winning podcast Happier with Gretchen Rubin,
The New York Times calls her “the queen of the self-help memoir.”
Links:
We hope you enjoyed Gretchen Rubin on this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!
021 Q&A with Lochhead
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How do you know when to quit? Is there still a place for creative minds in the marketing industry? On today’s Q&A with Lochhead, Christopher answers these two questions sent by his listeners.
Category Leaders’ Share
Should you quit a company that’s starting to fail at the category king game? In writing Play Bigger, Christopher and his co-authors conducted a research project where they analyzed every venture-backed company found in Silicon Valley from 2000-2015. They tracked how these companies grew in value.
They looked into the data for an answer to an important question. What percentage of the market cap goes to the category leader? It turned out that the number was a whopping 76%.
Winner Takes All
In businesses today, there exists a winner takes all game. And you would want to be part of that company. It’s a bitter pill to swallow.
We learn so much by winning. There is also the halo effect that comes from being part of a legendary team, and these halos last forever. Christopher would know.
“The minute that you think your company can’t win the category king or queen game in your space, that’s when you need to start looking.” – Christopher Lochhead
When considering companies, you must also ask yourself these important questions: Can this company do product, company, and category design right? And can you make a contribution to that?
Creativity in Marketing
How about people who want to live off creative work in marketing? Is creativity still a fundamental asset in this landscape?
In business today, data and technicals are becoming increasingly important. Even so, creativity still comprises half the work in marketing, especially concerning new skills that companies require in new CMOs.
“Category design is now the number one skill that CEOs are looking for when they are recruiting new CMOs.” – Christopher Lochhead
To hear more about the role of creativity in the marketing landscape, download the listen to the episode.
Links:
Harvard Business Review Article – How Unicorns Grow
We hope you enjoyed this Q&A with Lochhead
016 Startup Founders Mental Health
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On today’s episode, Christopher talks about a relevant TechCrunch article on startup founders mental health written by Jake Chapman. He also shares how he’s able to go through his own mental health concerns.
“Just like we can proactively design our life and our business, we can proactively design our mental health.” – Christopher Lochhead
Entrepreneurs and Founders: Mental Health
In a study by Michael Freeman, it is said that 50% of entrepreneurs are susceptible to a mental health condition. Some specific conditions are prevalent among young startup founders. These include depression, ADHD, substance abuse, bipolar disorder, psychiatric hospitalization, and suicidal thoughts.
Indeed, Aristotle once said that there’s no great genius without a touch of madness. While some of the wacky can help a person be creative, it’s also quite hard to deal with. To address this, there first needs to be mental health awareness within ourselves and also in our entrepreneurial leaders.
“The second thing I tried to do is to create a structure for myself and for my life that acknowledges who I am.” – Christopher Lochhead
Becoming Self-Aware
Christopher has personally gone through a lot of training and therapy to become a self-actualized person. He trained himself to increase his self-awareness. He used his own intelligence to manage his emotions and prevent them from getting the best of him.
“Even if I’m feeling really shitty, at least in some level, I know that this is an overreaction and that this, too, will pass.” – Christopher Lochhead
Getting Help from People
He also surrounds himself with people who know and love him for who he is. When he’s in a dark place, they know how to support him and love him through it. Most importantly, they know when to stop putting up with it and give him a nudge whenever he wallows in his self-pity for too long.
Professional help, of course, is always an option and nothing to be ashamed of.
To hear Christopher Lochhead share more insights into mental health, download and listen to the episode.
Links:
Investors and entrepreneurs need to address the mental health crisis in startups
Entrepreneurs Touched with Fire
Suicide Prevention Lifeline Chat
Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Follow Your Different™ on Startup Founders Mental Health! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!
015 Best Year Ever: 7 People Share Their Strategies
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On today’s special episode, Christopher gets together with seven people from the leadership team of the Best Year Ever Blueprint event hosted by Hal Elrod and Jon Berghoff. What are their goals for 2019? And how will they overcome the things that might hold them back this year?
Accountability, Community, and Passion
Determined as she is, Stephanie knows that not all her goals for the year will be achieved. But to get there, she underlines the importance of surrounding herself with people who will hold her accountable. This comes coupled with consistency and being clear with her why and passion.
“It’s the accountability, it’s the community, and it’s holding back to the core of the passion.” – Stephanie Courtillier on how to achieve goals
She thinks it’s easier to do something for other people than doing it for herself. Ultimately, it all boils down to the impact that she has in someone else’s life and how she transforms them.
Not About Meeting Goals
Alissa Daire Nelson talks about one of her key takeaways from Dr. Shawn Stevenson. According to Shawn, it doesn’t matter if you don’t meet your goals. It is far more important to have them.
A goal-oriented person, Alissa has grown a lot shyer of putting out her goals in fear of failing. But being part of the Best Year Ever Blueprint made her realize the things that really matter. She looks forward to recalibrating her goals for the New Year according to these.
“It matters whether I shoot high. It matters whether I have the why behind it and that I’m measuring the things that actually matter to me.” – Alissa Daire Nelson
Alignment with Oneself
Stephanie Wankel came up with a theme to make 2019 her best year. When she makes her goals, they must align with her true self Whether they’re health or career-related, goals need to resonate with her first so she can achieve them.
To hear more strategies from 7 wonderful people of the Best Year Ever Blueprint, download and listen to the episode.
Bios and Links:
Stephanie Courtillier
Founder, Integrous Women
As founder and CEO of Integrous Women, Stephanie is paving the way for the next generation of entrepreneurs. She is on a mission to inspire, educate and empower heart-centered women to create their own purpose-driven futures through a supportive, forward-thinking and compassionate community.
In parallel with helping women lead purpose-driven lives that enhance their professional and personal goals, Integrous Women seeks to take these skill-building tools to empower young women in Guatemala.
- IntegrousWomen.com
- st********@in************.com
- (949) 529-0181
Alissa Daire Nelson
Alissa Daire Nelson is regularly featured on television news segments, inside major blogs and publications, and on podcasts from all over the globe.
She’s an accomplished Success Coach, Speaker, host of the Frickin’ Awesome Entrepreneur podcast. She is also a published Author of the book, From Frustrated to Frickin’ Awesome: 4 Steps to Achieve the Success You’re Wired For.
Rachelle Niemann
Rachelle of Nourishing Worthiness is a wife, dog mom, ultra-marathoner, outdoor enthusiast, blogger, and author.
Rachelle has been a student of personal growth and dealt with debilitating anxiety for decades. Now, she wants to share what she has learned and is on a mission to inspire individuals to make the transformation from fear to self-love.
Stephanie Wankel
Founder, New Heights Investment Group
The people at New Heights are passionate about connecting accredited investors to the very best real estate syndication opportunities in the industry. They help busy professionals learn about private investment opportunities that protect and grow your wealth effortlessly.
Reach them at: st*******@ne***********************.com, or visit www.newheightsinvestmentgroup.com
Coming February 2019: Frenzied To Financial Freedom Podcast:
Klaus Luhta
Klaus Luhta is a U.S. Coast Guard licensed Master and a licensed attorney. He currently focuses his efforts in the areas of maritime policy, legislation, and regulation, both domestically and abroad.
Klaus regularly serves as a delegate at the International Maritime Organization in London, U.K., to advocate there on behalf of seafarers across the globe.
KC Hunt
Linda Merrill
Linda Merrill is a software enthusiast and a former software quality manager.
Links:
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Follow Your Different™ on the Best Year Ever Blueprint! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!
011 Bob Evans – Tech Industry Thought Leader
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Communications guru and podcaster Bob Evans joins us once again for today’s episode. He and Christopher have a thoughtful conversation on movies, technology, being direct and so much more.
Pondering the Past
Nowadays, watching the news entails being freaked out by the realities of the world. Given all that, would you consider revisiting the film classics like One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Cool Hand Luke? Bob says that it might be a good idea if we did.
Remember the iconic scene where Jack Nicholson’s McMurphy tried lifting a water fountain? He couldn’t do it, but at least he tried. Then there was Paul Newman’s Luke who swore death against defeat and who thought nothing was a mighty cool hand.
“We are in a time now when so much of our life is restricted. We’d let our fear shrink our world. We let fear, you know, crush our dreams.” – Bob Evans
Beyond What You’re Dealt
The culmination of all these, Bob says, reflects how it’s not what’s around you that determines what you become. Your fate turns out the way you play yourself. Not much depends on the hand that you’re dealt.
“I think it’s good to go back and look at some of those things and realize we get to parts where we are today by letting it happen. Declining’s a choice.” – Bob Evans
Merits of Technology
When Bob left the media industry to jump into technology, a lot of people said that he was coming to the dark side. When he asked them why they thought so, they would say it was because tech people were dishonest. But to Bob, the change was like coming into a brightly-lit place coming out of the dark side.
People have plenty of valid reasons to “bitch about technology”, but there’s a big but, and Christopher has a few choice words for them.
“Innovation overall has massively increased the well-being of human beings, the lifespan of human beings, and the quality of life of human beings.” – Christopher Lochhead
To hear more about technology, the virtue of being direct, and the downside of judgment-free zones from Bob Evans, download and listen to the episode.
Bio:
Bob grew up outside of Pittsburg with hardworking parents and his 6 siblings. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1978 and entered the business world, flowing his passion for information technology and writing.
He rose to become the editor of Information Week, one of the top two publications in technology at the time. Then he became the SVP and Content Director for Information Week’s parent company TechWeb/CMP.
After thirty years in the media business, he left to join the world of software vendors. Following a quick stop at ERP vendor SAP, Bob was recruited by the world 5th richest person, a legendary category designer and entrepreneur Larry Ellison the founder of Oracle.
At Oracle, Bob served as SVP and Chief Communications Officer for Larry. Today, Bob runs his own strategic communications firm, is a prolific writer, a tech industry commentator, public speaker, and a legendary guy.
He hosts the widely popular Cloud Wars Live Podcast.
Links:
We hope you enjoyed Bob Evans on this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!
010: How To Get and Stay Fit with Joey Wolfe
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New Year resolutions have been made. How do we keep from being part of the 6% of people who can’t follow through? Professional athlete turned fitness trainer and entrepreneur Joey Wolfe joins Christopher on today’s episode for some practical ideas to make fitness stick in our lives and improve our well-being.
“I was doing all these other stuff more so than putting my health first and that is completely changed, and I honestly don’t feel like it’s ever going to change again because it’s part of who I am now.” – Joey Wolfe
Coming Up with a Plan
Joey is the founder of Paradigm Sport in Santa Cruz, California, the gym Christopher personally goes to. Every beginning of the year, new faces fill the gym. Then by February, the same people disappear — a trend across the gym business.
You need to have a plan so you don’t become the person that’s done by Valentine’s Day. Everybody has good intentions at the beginning of the year, but you must be clear on what your goals are. And goals are different from results.
Important Behavioral Changes
When planning your fitness routine, you must focus on the goals and the measures you will have to take to fulfill them.
“What are the behavioral changes we need to make in order to get you to achieve those goals… what are the behavioral changes I can be making to make my goal a reality?” – Joey Wolfe
In order to make these changes, you must get into a routine. This is what most people find most troublesome since routines are difficult to establish.
Workout Buddies and Realistic Plans
Joey has never been a morning person, and it remains true until now. But he found a workout group composed of other goal-driven and like-minded entrepreneurs. They helped him ease into the routine of working out first thing in the morning.
An “accountability partner”, along with a realistic plan catered to your fitness level, will help you follow through your plan.
To hear more fitness tips from Joey Wolfe, download and listen to the episode.
Bio:
Founder & CEO Paradigm Sport
A native of the Central Coast of California, his talent and passion for baseball took him to the professional level where he worked with some of the country’s best trainers. As an ACSM-certified trainer, he now shares his experience and enthusiasm with world-class athletes and fitness clients alike.
Joey has built a business with the goal of bringing the most advanced techniques and the highest levels of individualized athlete training to the Central Coast community.
- 30-minute workouts will suffice.
- Share your goals with those closest to you, or if you’re up for it share it on social media.
- Get a gym membership or outfit your garage with exercise equipment.
- Have a large visible calendar or “accountability mirror” to track your workouts in advance.
- Have workouts written in advance.
- Find a workout partner who can motivate you.
- Don’t get caught in the mental trap that “going to the gym” is the only way to workout.
Links:
004 Andre Iguodala – NBA Legend
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What does it take to become an NBA World Champion with a team built on a culture of fun and dedication? Finals MVP Andre Iguodala of the Golden State Warriors joins us today to give an insider’s view. How do you come up with a thoughtful life design?
Finding His Way to the Bay
Before he joined the Warriors, Andre had seen his fair share of rainy and muggy days. It was during that time that he chose to sit back and watch basketball a lot. Seeing his opponents and the certain kind of joy they had, he soon realized that he wanted to be in a place where he could enjoy basketball.
“I just paid attention and it’s kind of being aware of your surroundings. That’s what kind of brought me here.” – Andre Iguodala
Strengthening the Team’s Core
Warriors’ head coach, Steve Kerr understood the ups and downs of playing in the NBA. The environment and mood of the team ultimately affect performance on the court. As coach, he gave the players the freedom to enjoy what they do.
Everyone appreciates this mentality that the coach has. He’s all about supporting everyone and wanting them to succeed. This strong core enables them to build a culture that is key to their success as a team.
Success from Building Culture
A lot of people would say that in order to have success, you need to have the best talent. This is true. But Andre has seen other teams with strong individual talents that fall apart from the lack of a great match of personalities and well-founded culture.
“You can have all the talent in the world but if you don’t have the right culture, their personalities don’t fit, there’s just gonna be a lot of dysfunction.” – Andre Iguodala
There’s plenty of factors that come into play when aiming for success. And a team should act like a machine, with its members on the same page, on the same path, and moving at the same pace.
“What the team has been able to do here is find the right personalities to fit the culture that we have built here.” – Andre Iguodala on the Warriors
To hear more about the Warriors, Andre’s business sense, and his investment in Silicon Valley, download and listen to the episode.
Bio:
Andre Iguodala is a professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was an NBA All-Star in 2012 and named to the NBA All-Defensive Team twice.
He won a championship with the Warriors in 2015. Andre was also named the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player that year. He was also a member of the gold-winning national team at the 2010 FIBA World Championship and 2012 Summer Olympics. (Source: Andre Iguodala- Wikipedia)
Links:
We hope you enjoyed Andre Iguodala on this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!
001 TJ Welch – How Heroes Fight Wild Fires
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How do you mobilize thousands of firefighters to tame a terror that could ravage lives and billions? On this episode of Follow Your Different™, Retired Battalion Chief TJ Welch tells us how. He shares a riveting story of leadership applicable to real life, how preparation is key to saving thousands, and so much more.
TJ Welch – Starting Out in the City
TJ spent the first years of his career dealing with brush fires and structural fires. He also had his fair share of wildland fires as a chief officer. But he and other city firefighters pretty much only stood guard in front of the houses.
It wasn’t until the late ‘90s when they made full use of city firefighters. They went to timber and brush areas to stop fires and perform other operations.
“This was my moment where it kind of changed my perspective of my role as a chief officer.” – TJ Welch
Wildland Fire in Numbers
Back in the day, the biggest of wildland fires reached up to 160 thousand acres, which is equal to the same number of football fields. This number has been expanding in recent years, reaching up to 200 thousand acres of wildland catching fire.
The terrifying numbers make sense when taken in the context of the number of residences, the timber that is involved, how exposed the wood is, and how quickly it burns. These wildland fires burn a couple of football fields per second. They are impossible to outrun and risk many lives.
There’s a lot of reasons as to why wildland fires catch so quickly. On the other hand, timber could take a while to dry and get moisture back. With the drought that has gone on for so many years along with other forest products left out in the open, the wildland fires have become more gigantic.
A Turning Point
There was one fire that forever changed TJ. This gave way to a collective effort to train firefighters in the art of effective mobilization when tempering these massive fires.
“When I left that fire, I said I’m not gonna be so ignorant when I come to another wildland fire.” – TJ Welch
To hear more about how California firefighters move as a unit and how TJ dealt with the massive responsibility of being a leader, download and listen to the episode.
Bio:
TJ Welch is a 32 year veteran of the fire service. Throughout the course of his career he served in volunteer, industrial and municipal fire departments.
TJ was a member of CAL Fire ICT 3 from 1997-2005 and a founding member of CICCS. He was a qualified Type OSC2, OPBD, DIVS and STEN.
TJ retired in 2014 as Battalion Chief with Alameda County Fire Department. He currently teaches and writes Officer courses for OSFM, and is an Firefighter Safety Specialist for California Department of Public Health and NIOSH where he investigates firefighter line of duty deaths.
Links:
How to donate to victims of the Butte/Camp Fires in California:
Northern California fire victims
Survivors of Butte County’s Camp Fire
Background on the Butte aka the “camp fire”:
The deadliest, most destructive wildfire in California’s history has finally been contained
Paradise lost: the town incinerated by California’s deadliest wildfire – video
After a Wildfire, Rebuilding Life Can Be Hardest for the Oldest
We hope you enjoyed TJ Welch on this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!
000 Welcome to the Follow Your Different™ Podcast
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From unfolding legends and losery, Christopher Lochhead moves on to unpack stories of how people embrace what makes them different. On this episode, he sits with his dear friend Jaime Jay to share the story behind the show and what people should expect from Follow Your Different™.
“The number one question that I have for myself is why would you change something that isn’t broken?” – Christopher Lochhead
Product of Evolution
Starting a new show is both exciting and scary. But according to Christopher, Follow Your Different™ is a representation of what Legends and Losers, his previous podcast, has become.
For a long time, Christopher stuck to the theme he started with when he first launched Legends and Losers. But he also began to feel a little straitjacketed by how people viewed the show as a life and business podcast.
“When I took a hard look at it, the theme that really seemed to run through the podcast was the… celebration of different, if you will.” – Christopher Lochhead
Celebrating Different
People readily embrace the mantra of following your different. According to Jaime, when Christopher first talked about the idea of the podcast, he didn’t know what to expect.
Legends and Losers requires some explanation, and that is something that Christopher hopes to do away with in Follow Your Different™. The new podcast itself actually has a double meaning. The diversity of Legends and Losers inspired this.
Firstly, the podcast is a celebration of different things, of people and companies with different ideas that may not be exposed in mainstream media. These make for very gripping stories for this very reason. Secondly, every episode is different.
“We’ve been called the Internet’s box full of chocolates.” – Christopher Lochhead
Different in a Lot of Ways
With the theme so deeply embedded in Legends and Losers, you never know what you’re going to get. Sometimes it’s a top-tier venture capitalist, sometimes a CEO, sometimes a doctor who’s designing a legendary death. Other times, a convicted killer turned motivational speaker.
These two kinds of different should resonate with the audience of the brand new podcast. To hear more about how Christopher turns over a new leaf and launches Follow Your Different™, download and listen to the episode.
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Follow Your Different™! Christopher loves hearing from his listeners. Feel free to email him, connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and subscribe on iTunes!
