Podcast 372: (1) How Many People Does It Take to Make a Difference? with Dan Zadra

 

Dan ZadraI am doing a series of interviews with author Dan Zadra on what I am referring to as his number series books.  In this podcast we are going to be speaking about his book entitled “(1) How Many People Does It Take to Make a Difference?“.

In my humble opinion the best part about Dan’s books are the amazing simplicity, yet positive impact they have on the reader.  Yet again, in his book (1) How Many People Doe It Take to Make a Difference, Dan inspires the reader to believe in themselves and reinforces that we are not here by mistake–we all have a grand purpose in the greater scheme of life.  This statement has such significant importance if you are going to make a difference.  You are not here by mistake and you are here for a reason.  The key is in finding your purpose and living it out.  I know easier said than done, but we all have to start looking for our purpose and be brave enough to live it.

Think about this little statistic that Dan so carefully placed in the book.  Odds of bowling a 300 game 1 in 11,500.  Odds of being hit by lightening 1 in 575,000. Odds of getting a royal flush on your first five cards 1 in 649,740. Odds of becoming the U.S. President 1 in 10,000,000. Odds of winning $340 million jackpot in MegaMillions lottery 1 in 175,000,000.  Odds of being born in this particular time, place and circumstances: about 1 in 400,000,000,000.  Amazing isn’t it.  Best we make something of this wonderful life we are given.

One of the greatest ways of making a difference is to be of service.  Yes, being of service now matter what we do is truly how we make a difference.  In an address in 2007 to the graduating students Bill Gates so eloquently stated ” I hope you will judge yourself not on your professional accomplishments alone, but also on how well you have addressed the world’s deepest inequities…on how well you treated people a world away who have nothing in common with you but their humanity.”  So nicely said–what to make a difference in your own life, then help make a difference in someone else’s.

If you want more information about Dan and his series of books please click here to be directed to the Live-Inspired website or click here to watch a great Youtube video.

 

Podcast 371: (5) Where Will You Be Five Years From Today with Dan Zadra

Dan ZadraHow many of you have ever asked this questions ” Where Will You Be Five Years From Today“?. Great question isn’t it.  Not only is it a great questions to ask yourself, but a wonderful questions to start to go to work on and explore the possibilities.

During my interview with Dan Zadra we discuss the importance of defining your personal values, and how this can be an amazing guide to helping someone ground themselves and get really clear as to what is matters most to them.  I know that years ago I did this exercise, and I was amazed as how much power is in this little exercise.

In the (5) book you are given lots of wonderful quotes, stories and mini-exercises.  The layout  is exceptional, as a matter of fact in all the personal growth and mastery books I have ever read, I have never found any as engaging, thought provoking and as easy to warm up to as the one that Dan created in “Where Will You Be Five Years From Today?”.   The whole series of Dan’s books of which we are  doing podcast for,  all have a similar layout and intuitive design–easy, fun and engaging just the way you want a book to be.

An important aspect of defining where you will be five (5) years from today is you ability to get in touch with you imagination.  Dan and I discuss the importance of imagination and creativity and how to get back in touch with this aspect of ourselves that often gets supplanted the older we grow.  It is so important to tap into our dream gene and take risks again-live, love, laugh and enjoy and dream the possible.

Thinking big seems to fly over the heads of many of us.  I know almost everyone has read the quote ” the greatest danger for most of us is not that are aim is to high and miss, but that it is to low and reach it.”.  This quote says it all, aim high really high–who knows what synchronicity just might occur that will allow you to achieve your goal.

We need to break our routines and do something new for the first time.  All of us get to comfortable and are not willing to break out of the mold.  It is time, we are in the dawning of a new age and abundance in all forms is all around us.  As the Nike ad states “Just Do It“.

I hope you enjoy this interview with an author that not only writes about possibilities, but he lives them.  If you want more information about “Where Will You Be Five Years From Today” you can

 

click here to  be directed to the Five (5) website, or you can join Dan on Facebook by clicking here.

 

Podcast 370: Platform Get Noticed in a Noisy World with Michael Hyatt

Michael HyattIn my recent interview with Michael Hyatt the  CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing, and the author of a wonderful new book entitled “Platform-Get Noticed in a Noisy World” we discuss what is required for someone to get noticed in this very noisy and crowded world we live in today.

Michael is one of the top business bloggers and holds the #1 spot as a Leadership blogger. No doubt he is extremely well qualified to speak about getting noticed and building a platform.

He states that “competition has never been greater and people are more distracted than ever.  That being said, never before have there been so many ways you can connect with people if you do it right.  Michael states that there are two critical parts of the success equation: a compelling product (the what) and a significant platform (the who). 1) Create products that people would love to use 2) Create products that solve problems in unexpected ways 3) Create product that exceed your customers’ expectations.

We also speak about what Michael refers to as the WOW Experience, of which he states has some combination of the following ten (10) elements:

Surprise , Anticipation, Resonance, Transcendence, Clarity, Presence, Universality,  Evangelism, Longevity, Privilege.    He says that being successful means becoming the expert in recognizing WOW when it shows up.  More importantly, it means being able to recognize it when it is absent–and insisting that you ask yourself to deliver it.

Michaels’ new book is loaded with tips and ideas to help anyone who is attempting to develop a platform.  What I really enjoy about Platform, Get Noticed in a Noisy World is that the chapters are short 3-4 pages, easy to digest and filled with very useful tips and information that you can put to use immediately.  If you are someone wanting to get noticed in this noisy world, then reading Michael’s new book is a must.

If you would like to download a free chapter and watch an informational video about the book, then click here to learn more.  You can also click here to be directed to the Facebook page.

 

Enjoy this wonderful interview with author Michael Hyatt.

 

Podcast 369: Firetask with Gerald Aquila

Gerald AquilaIf you are a Mac user, then you are in luck.  I recently came across an amazing productivity software by the name of Firetask that I personally believe will help almost any busy person get organized.  I read a magazine entitled “Productivity”, and it is loaded with great ideas, stories and recommendations on software productivity tools and they mentioned Firetask software in one of the issues of the magazine.

Firetask is a company based in  Austria, and in my podcast with Gerald Aquila the founder we speak about the benefits and features of the Firetask software he developed with his partner.  Gerald is also the founder of OnePoint, a comprehensive project management system, which by the way is very well designed and a cloud based project management software.

Firetask is exceptionally well designed, an the user interface is wonderful—very intuitive.   Firetask is simple, fun and easy to use with a set of features that any busy person will appreciate. It allows you to create and manage projects as well as view the your tasks in what Gerald refers to as the organize view.

Firetask follows the system thinking that David Allen has made popular called “Getting Things Done“.  It is also customizable with allowing you to name categories as well as drag and drop your created tasks into the categories sections.  There is a wonderful calendar view allowing you to take a birds eye view of your tasks and projects on a monthly basis.   The software  built in filters, so that you can view just the tasks that are top of mind.

Firetask has something that Gerald refers to as a Scratchboard.  This is designed to assist you when something comes across your desk, and you don’t have time to deal with it, just place it in the Scratchboard and save it until you can reference it and categorize the item.   The best part of Firetask is that it is easy, fun and very intuitive to use.

If you are an iPad user Firetask has the companion application for the iPad which synchronizes with the desktop version using a cloud based system.  Believe me you are going to love this simple, inexpensive productivity tool from Firetask.

 

For more information please click here to be directed to the Firetask website, or send an email to firetask@gmail.com Gerald and his team will be more than happy to assist you.

Enjoy this great interview with Gerald Aquila the founder of Firetask and Onepoint

 

Podcast 368: Your Best Just Got Better with Jason Womack

Jason Womack

I learned about author Jason Womack through a connection with author David Allen and an article which appeared in Productivity Magazine.  I read the article about what Jason was doing, and thought he would be an excellent guest for Inside Personal Growth.

In my interview with Jason about his new book entitled ” Your Best Just Got Better” we discuss what is required in our fast paced world what is required to work smarter, think bigger and make more.

Jason and I both attended University of Santa Monica, and an idea that we speak about in our interview is something called the “Ideal Day” that we need to give credit to Ron and Mary Hulnick (our professors) at USM.

I bet this is a foreign concept to most people, just what does an ideal day look like in your life. If you were asked to write it down, could you?  If all you get from reading  “Your Best Just Got Better“, is this concept then it is worth the read.  Really, write down what an ideal day looks like for you and attempt to live it-it is amazing what will change in your life.

Jason speaks about “thinking bigger“. Just what does thinking bigger mean, and why should you practice the art of thinking big.  Jason states ” ask anone who works at the highest levels of professionalism—from business to athletics to government institutions–about the secrets to their success, and they are bound to tak about their mind-set. Mental rehearsal–that is, visualizing something before it actually happens–is a great way to set yourself up for success.  It establishes the foundation for the results to come.  This practice of visualization and thinking bigger is so very important to raising your level of success and reaching for a new goal,  unfortunately this simple practice is not engaged into enough, and it really works—it also produces amazing amounts of energy giving the drive to accomplish the dream.

There are  lots of power packed ideas in “Your Best Just Got Better“, and two of them we speak about in our interview is the IDEA card, and what he refers to a MIT (Most Important Think).  Jason  carries a small note book and he has what he refers to as an IDEA card in the notebook, the acronym stands for Identify, Develop, Experiment and Assess. He recommends spending time everyday writing your ideas down on paper, capture them for they are the gold that will propel you into a new businesses, product development and collaborations with others.

The MIT concept is quite simple–are you focusing on the most important thing.  We all know how our in-boxes get full of stuff, but really how important is it.  Get in the habit of focusing your attention on the most important thing.

I highly recommend ” Your Best Just Got Better” the book is filled with great ideas, stories and practices to stimulate you to shift how you process physical stuff as well as how you deal with shifting your mental perspective about life and living.

If you would like more information please visit Jason”s website by clicking here, or watch one of his YouTube videos by clicking here.

 

Enjoy this wonderful interview and podcast with author Jason Womack.

 

Podcast 366: The Unfoldment with Neil Kramer

Neil KramerIf you are looking for the uncommon and philosophical approach to  life, then Neil Kramer’s  new book entitled ” The Unfoldment-The Organic Path to Clarity, Power and Transformation” is a must read.

I was throughly impressed with Neil’s approach to life, living and finding its true meaning.  As Neil states in the book ” the purer the mind, the deeper the consciousness that passes through it.  The purity of naturally arises from the practice of the unfoldment: the clarity of the inner work, the power of conscious will, the transformation of authentic heart.

Neil says that we need to get our hands dirty, and in so doing we can develop the discernment necessary for true unfoldment. He speak about something called gnosis, which means to have living knowledge that presents itself through direct contact, as opposed to abstract learning from books or computers.  It is closely aligned to discovery.

One thing that “The Unfoldment” stresses is the one universal truth from which all sacred knowledge flows.  Every authentic philosophical, religious, scientific and mystical system is attempting to rediscover the essence of that original emanation.  Such is its brilliance and luminosity–that its reflection can be found in all forms, both physical and non-physical.  The purer the reflection, the closer it feels.  It points the way to growth and integration, and it reassures us in the adventure of separation as we live as human beings.

Truth is a perennial discovery– states Neil, each reflection of truth can be regarded as having three main elements to it: wisdom, part thing, and part observer. The wisdom represents one strand of the original emanation of truth.  It is an encoded route map back to source/the divine, lending insight and discernment to any given subject. The thing is the energy configuration that casts the reflection.  It can be a poem, as piece of wood, a glass of water, or a memory. Anything.  The more authentic and uncorrupted it is–the more organic–the clearer the reflection it will give. The observer is the consciousness of the person.  You. Me. Your mother.

So no matter your beliefs, and you will certainly start to question them while reading “The Unfoldment” and most likely you will disgard most of them along the way.  Neils’ book allows the reader to explore, awaken and unfold by providing though provoking questions and ideas for consideration.  I recommend his book wholeheartedly, it is one of the deeper and more provocative book on personal and spiritual growth.

Enjoy my interview with author Neil Kramer, and for more information you can visit his website by clicking here or click here to be directed to his Facebook page.

Podcast 365: A New Way To Be Human with Robert V. Taylor

Robert V. TaylorIt was a pleasure interviewing Robert V. Taylor about his new book entitled ” A New Way to Be Human: 7 Spiritual Pathways to Becoming Fully Alive.”   This book is not just about another way to find your spiritual path. Through Robert’s story you get to learn about his own personal spiritual path, which by the way is truly fascinating.

Robert was born and raised in South Africa and had the distinct pleasure of working along side Desmond Tutu’s during the apartheid movement.  He also graduated from seminary school at Union Theological School and become the highest ranking openly gay clergy person in the Episcopal Church.   As you can already imagine his own personal spiritual journey makes him uniquely qualified to write and speak on this topic.

One of the important things that Robert advocates within “A New Way To Be Human” is to share your own story.  As he states sharing your story reveals the Holy present in you, speaking through your story to yourself and others.  If , on the other hand, you choose not to share your story, you choose to dishonor, devalue, and disbelieve the truths that your life reveals.  How right he is about stepping into your own and being proud of your story–it is the foundation of who and what you are, it is your authentic-self being expressed.

Robert makes reference within the book about stepping stones, and you will hear us speak about these stepping stones throughout the interview.  He discribes Stepping Stone Two as: Accepting the Invitation.  He states when you are secure in your own story, you discover that the stories of others offer you an invitation. As you accept these invitations, the vibrancy of the Holy at work infuses your life as you love, live, and celebrate your connection with others.  Transformation happens.

Throughout the book Robert has provided the reader with wisdom and invitations to explore their own spiritual life at a very deep level.  He also provides “Spirited Practices” designed to inspire you to awaken to your own spiritual expression and path.   These are just friendly reminders at the end of each chapter that jolt you into awareness about your spiritual journey and practices.

If you are on a spiritual path, and want to explore “A New Way To Be Human” I encourage you to read, practice and open up your heart to the ideas and stories that Robert has carefully crafted into his book.  If you would like more information about Robert V. Taylor you can click here to be directed to his website, or you can click here to be directed to his Facebook page.

Enjoy my wonderful interview with a great author and spiritual leader-Robert V. Taylor.

Podcast 364: The Real Rules of Life with Ken Druck

Ken DruckThis wonderful new book by author and good friend Ken Druck, is filled will the “Real Rules of Life“.  Most of us have read books about the rules of life, but Ken rules takes the reader to new depths of understanding about how life “really” works.  In my interview with Ken we discuss the 23 rules that he outlines in the book, but we also discuss their meaning and the story behind the rules.

I love Ken’s first rule (1st): “Life is Not Fair, It More Than Fair.”.  Some of you might be thinking that is a misprint, just how could he say that.  Let dissect what Ken is referring to here. Life is a mystery, and when we experience unbearable pain, heartbreak or loss we can all be asking ourselves “Why”?  Yet, we can also be asking “Why” for the blessings and gifts in our lives.  The truth is that it’s all mystery.  We have no way of knowing why sometime our hearts are torn asunder, and other times, they are filled to overflow.  Sometimes genuine hopefulness comes from the hardest moments in our lives–a phoenix rising from the ashes of our loss.  As thirteenth century poet Rumi wrote, “Grief can be the garden of compassion.”

Ken asks questions at the end of each chapter as well as provides the reader with simple actions that they can implement into their lives.  For instance he mention to sharpen our self awareness about rule number one (1), ask the questions ” Do I expect life to be fair?” Am I holding a grudge against life–for hurting me or letting me down?.”    What great questions for reflection–this will surly create more awareness about how we are thinking about how fair life is treating us.

Ken’s new book “The Real Rules of Life” has 23 “Real Rules”.  They are all designed to open up your heart and get you engaged in life.  He provides the reader with great stories as well as examples of how if applied these rules can change your life.  I recommend this book for anyone wanting to create real love, hope, joy , health, and forward movement in your life.

 

If you would like to learn more about the “Real Rules of Life” you can visit the book website by clicking here. Or you can learn more about the Jenna Druck Foundation by clicking here.

I hope you enjoy this wonderful interview with one of the most heartfelt men I know–Ken Druck.

Podcast 363: Happy Together with Bill Cloke

Bill ClokeI don’t believe that their is a person either male or female who has been in a relationship that at one point or another has not had challenges in communicating effectively, and finding harmony and bliss in their relationship.

In my interview with Dr. Bill Cloke who has been a couples’ therapist for over 30 years he reveals some very important tips and strategies for staying “Happy Together” the title of his new book. Bill states that the basic building blocks for a loving connection need to consider the following:

1) Boundaries-Understanding what is acceptable and what is not is vital for love to grow. We need to take time to outline what our boundaries are so we can live within them. 2) Consideration: To be considerate about the things that are important to your mates essential for harmony. 3) Fairness: Being fair helps keep a relationship balanced.  Share chores, vacations, spending, friends, and responsibilities toward relatives creates more harmony and positive feelings 4) Tolerance: Our ability to tolerate our partner’s foibles and flaws is important for lasting peace. Tolerance for differences in feelings, way of doing things, parenting styles, and the other opposing view that all couples have is a key component of creating love. 5) Responsibility: Being able to own our part of a problem is essential for conflict resolution. 6) Support: Support takes many forms, from helping your partner fulfill reams and aspirations to providing care when he or she is sick or defeated.

Bill points out that we also have many roadblocks to love, and some of them include: blame-shifting, victimhood, entitlement, denial, displacement, guilt, shame/blame, stonewalling, projection, devaluation. He states that to truly understand what healthy communication is all about, we need to consider the complexity of what may be causing conflicts with our mate.  An argument about putting the cap back on the toothpaste may actually contain clues to buried feelings.  The core of conflict may be a sense of feeling invisible or needing to control, but the cap is the way our feelings are ignited, so the toothpaste is where the argument is focused.

If you are in a good relationship and all is going well, then wonderful.  But don’t think that you cant’ learn from Bill book “Happy Together“.  This book is for anyone in a relationship whether things are going great, or if you believe it needs work.

This is one of the best books on relationship counseling I have read.  You just might be able to save and or improve your relationship by reading, understanding and applying some of the great wisdom that Bill teaches in “Happy Together”

 

I hope you enjoy this interview, and if you would like more information about author Dr. Bill Cloke please click here to be directed to his website.

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