Podcast 26: Mastery with George Leonard

George Leonard I had the wonderful opportunity to be introduced to George Leonard through my good friends Joel and Michelle Levey. A couple of years ago I happen to be in the San Francisco bay area for a Bioneers conference when I called George to see if he would grant my son Sean and myself an interview. He gracefully accepted, and what a honor it was to meet the father of the human potential movement . George at the age of 83, is vivacious, outgoing, authentic and incredibly wise. He is still practicing Akido and is dedicated to helping individuals transform their lives through a program called the “Integrative Transformative Practice.”

George Leonard along with Michael Murphy are the original founders of Esalen in Big Sur, CA, a beautiful retreat center of which over 300,000 people have visited to learn how to integrate mind, body and spirit. Esalen offers over 400 courses per year in a wide range of topics relating to greater human capacity.

In my interview with George we dialogue about his book, “Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment.” We explore the five master keys of: 1) Instruction 2) Practice 3) Surrender 4) Intentionality 5) The Edge. In our dialogue you will learn how to apply these keys to assist one on their path toward personal mastery. We also discuss the five tools of Mastery: 1) Be aware of the way homeostasis works 2) Be willing to negotiate with your resistance to change. 3) Develop a support system 4) Follow a regular practice 5) Dedicate yourself to lifelong learning.

I throughly enjoyed my interview with George, the father of the human potential movement. It is packed full of wisdom and advice which is invaluable to anyone on a path of personal mastery. I encourage every listener to visit George’s web site to learn more about Integrative Transformative Practice, and his many books.

Podcast 25: New Agreements in Healthcare with David Dibble

David DibbleI first attended one of David Dibble workshops a few years ago. He had just written a book called “New Agreements in the Workplace.” Some of you might recognize the similar sounding name to don Miguel Ruiz’s book entitled ” The Four Agreements.” This is by no means an accident for David studied the Toltec under don Miguel from 1990 to 1998. don Miguel ultimately kicked David out of his program and told him it was time for him to teach.

David has recently written a new book entitled, ” New Agreements In Health-care”, which focused on how to reform the systems and the thinking of the individuals in the health-care industry. David decided to apply his business knowledge and spiritual wisdom to helping reform health-care in the US. David articulates that the health-care system in this country is in dire need of resuscitation, yet when the questions of what needs to be fixed is thoroughly examined, we find that it’s largely a matter of simply acknowledging and addressing basic system problems. He states that we have become a nation of “sick-care” not health-care.

In David’s new book he stresses that we need to focus on the whole mind-body-spirit connection. That health-care in America as we know it, appears to be careening toward a terminal condition. The source of this disease is a slow and invisible killer that only exhibits its full potential for dysfunction toward the end of the life cycle. The pathogens that are making health-care so sick are the legacy health-care systems in which we are forced to deliver care. Like all systems that resist change in a changing environment, they become more complex and dysfunctional by the day.

In my interview with David, we explore his viewpoint as to what steps needs to be taken to reform the system. His simple but powerful new agreements are already having an effect on several hospitals and health-care providers. David has four simple yet profound agreements: 1) Find Your Purpose 2) Love, Grow and Serve Others, 3) Be a Systems Thinker 4) Practice a Little Every Day. David’s model for transformation of health-care is a combination of best practices, systems optimization, and universal spiritual principles.

I encourage you to visit David’s web site by clicking here to learn more about his consulting services, books and workshops. I hope you enjoy this engaging interview with a bright, articulate man who’s mission is to reform our health-care system.

Podcast 24: Leading Beyond Excellence with Dr. Lisa Williams

Lisa Williams Ph.DDr. Lisa Williams is a wonderful, bright, articulate and loving soul. She has blessed our planet with her great energy and zest for life. I was invited to attend one of Lisa’s talks, but was not able to make it. My intuition told me that I needed to meet her, so I telephoned her to discuss her book and consulting practice, Williams Research. I was so impressed with Lisa just from our telephone conversation that I asked her to lunch so we could engage in a more deep and meaningful dialogue. I soon realized that her knowledge was vast and she had a deep passion for helping people transform their lives. During our first meeting I asked her to sit on an advisory board for my company, eLuminate, Inc ., which created, Digital Seed software, an interactive learning platform. She gracefully accepted, and the rest is history, for we have been friends ever since.

Lisa’s book, “Leading Beyond Excellence: Learn 7 Practical and Spiritual Steps to Spiral Yourself to the Top“, is a wonderful easy-to-read book packed full of wisdom about becoming a better leader. It focuses on helping leaders look within to become better leaders and human beings. Lisa states that, “Leading beyond excellence is the process of moving from fear-based self-denial to love-based self-appreciation.”

She uses a wonderful tool called the “Spiral of Influence” to describe the various levels that leaders find themselves. Those levels are survival, security, social, self-esteem, search, surrender, significance. She explains the characteristics that leaders possess at each of these levels and provides concrete actions and steps that can be taken to continue our movement up the spiral to become better leaders. Lisa has short 10 minute exercises throughout her book that ask the reader to reflect on insights to particular questions, what action steps we can take, and personal observations to identify areas we would like to improve. Lisa quotes Oprah Winfrey as saying ” As you become more clear about who you really are, you’ll be better able to decide what is best for you–the first time around.” I love this quote for Lisa is helping leaders everywhere in deciding what is best for them, the first time around.

I know you will appreciate applying Lisa’s wisdom and knowledge without any heavy lifting. Leading Beyond Excellence: Learn 7 Practical and Spiritual Steps to Spiral Yourself to the Top is a quick read and packed full of ideas and practical knowledge on personal and professional transformation and mastery. You can learn more about Dr. Lisa Williams and her workshops, books, CD’s by clicking here.

Podcast 23: Loving What Is with Byron Katie

Byron KatieIt was a pure pleasure interviewing Byron Katie for this podcast. She is engaging, authentic and wise beyond her years. Her book, “Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life“, is the focus of this podcast, and I think you will find our interview together to flow in complete harmony.

Katie’s personal story on how she came about doing what she refers to as, “The Work,” is quite fascinating. I ask her during our interview to give a little history on how she came upon “The Work” and her personal revolutions. The dialogue that I engaged in with Katie was open, loving and downright beautiful. When I finished our interview, I knew that I had been touched by a very special soul.

We discuss the four questions that can change your life. And those questions are, Is it true? Can you absolutely know that it is true? How do you react when you think that thought? Who would you be without the thought? If there are any issues in your life that are unresolved and are challenging you, Katie asks you to ask yourself the preceding questions. Her book is filled with wonderful stories of individuals who were stuck and as a result of going through “The Work” were able to transform and re-frame their current stories and see their issues and circumstances from a new light.

To do “The Work” is quite a spiritual process. If you visit Katie’s web site you can watch video’s of her interacting with various individuals that volunteer to have her work with them. As Katie starts asking them these very important questions you can actually watch them transform right before your eyes. “The Work” is powerful and transforming, and does not have to be done with Katie. As a matter of fact she points out that anyone anywhere can ask these questions and it will shift their perspective about the issues or problems they might be faced with.

Once you are willing to re-frame your issues and see them from a different perspective your whole world becomes free and filled with light. You feel like a 50 lb weight has been lifted from your chest and you can breathe again. Everything in your world looks new, exciting and life is fun again.

I encourage everyone to read “Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life” for it will have a profound impact on how you view your current life challenges. The stories of the individuals and reading how Katie guides them through “The Work” are wonderfully revealing, and will provide you with a prospective on just how powerful this work is. If you would like to learn more about “The Work” then go to Katie’s web site by clicking here. You will find information on upcoming workshops, her books, and talks.

Podcast 19: The Art of Original Thinking with Jan Phillips

Jan PhillipsI first met Jan Phillips about eighteen months ago at a workshop that she was facilitating. The workshop was entitled “The Original Think” Seminar titled after her new book “The Art of Original Thinking: The Making of a Thought Leader“. I immediately fell in love with Jan and her philosophies about life. She is definitely an out of the box thinker. I love people who are continual learners and enjoy exploring new ways of seeing the world.

In her new book “The Art of Original Thinking: The Making of a Thought Leader“, Jan is a masterful storyteller as well as a visionary thinker testing how we think, and bringing greater awareness by asking us to explore deep personal questions about our assumptions. Jan does not waste anytime in her first chapter as she focuses on freeing ourselves from illusion. She states that illusions are false beliefs. They are notions and ideas that we have inherited from our culture, our families, and almost every institution which we’ve been associated. She states that to be thought leaders we need to be free and original thinkers, capable of focusing on how we are thinking as well as what we are thinking.

The premise of this book is to advance the evolution of thought, of human sensibility, of our own personal potential to be more than anyone ever said we could be. Its intention is to inspire thought leaders who are willing to be visible, vocal agents of evolutionary thinking for global good. The focus is the triple bottom line: People, Planet and Profits. A quote from the book from Paul Hawken, “Business is the only mechanism on the planet today powerful enough to produce the changes necessary to reverse global environmental and social degradation”, is so accurate. I hope that this book and podcast will inspire you to take action, to question your thoughts and assumptions and create a future for yourself and others that is filled with hope, inspiration and positive change.

My podcast is a powerful interview with a fascinating woman who is on a mission to assist others in changing their thinking and create greater awareness. To become thought leaders requires that we liberate ourselves from the old modes of thinking so that we can release our imaginations and live more authentically. Jan’s book explores how you can release the past, embrace the present and create a better future. I highly recommend this wonderful book. I know that it will change your life, and the lives of everyone with who you working with and are in relationships with. If you would like to learn more about Jan and her workshops, CD’s, retreats and speaking engagements just click here.

 

Categories