Do you feel like you are on autopilot? Just going through the motions-like life is just a blur of commuting to work, calendar event and obligations.  If so then listen up.  I recently interviewed Chris Bartz-Brown the author of a new book entitled ” Wake Up-A Handbook to Living in the Here and Now“.

This is not only a fantastic book, but the book design is exceptional, it really is a handbook–please feel free to take notes on the pages provided.  Chris has provided 54 playful strategies to help the readers snap out of autopilot.  We discussed several playful strategies in our interview together, example “Kill your Television”.  As Chris states, a little television is not a bad thing, but a lot of television wastes our time and our life. What would be the payoff for watching less television?  What else could you do to entertain yourself, read a book, take a walk, exercise, meditate?   All the options seem better than watching television.

How about the idea of noticing what you notice. Most of us are in such a hurry that we infrequently notice the little things in life.  How about carrying a pen or pencil with some paper and just start writing down what you notice? These things could be people, conversations, buildings, articles or a fleeting glance from someone in a passing bus. It doesn’t matter what you find interesting; it only matters that you notice it.  So what is the payoff of this new activity, becoming more sensitized to the world in which we live and as a result enjoying a heightened sense of connectedness and vitality.

Chris’s new book “Wake-Up” is a great easy read with lots of strategies for changing your habits and behavior for the better. If you want to learn more about the book and Chris please click here to be directed to Chris’s website.  

I hope you enjoy this lively interview with author Chris Bartz-Brown.

I absolutely love how author Albert Flynn DeSilver approaches the topic of writing.  In his new book entitled ” Writing as a Path to Awakening,” Albert guides the reader through what can only be expressed as a spiritual experience.  If you have ever written a book, poetry or long-term paper you will agree that the process of writing can be an out of body experience.

The deeper you get into your writing the more open you are to just write without judgments and you will experience what I term as flow.  It is a wonderful experience, and sometimes you don’t know where the words on the paper come from–it’s is as if you were the channeled.

Albert writes that many of us struggle with maintaining a practice of staying consistent in order to develop a process.  The consistent striving for an imagined sense of perfection is one of the things that can keep us off the page.  If perfection is your jam, say this out loud, in all caps for emphasis.  THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS PERFECTION.

Writing as a Path to Awakening”  is a treasure trove of practical advice on writing and on finding yourself, for the process of creative writing always has you exploring your deep inner thoughts, and learning how to express them to the world.

I hope you enjoy this great interview with author Albert DeSilver if you want to learn more about the author please click here to be taken to his website.

How often do you beat up on yourself?  What if you could learn to apply self-compassion to that part of you that gets lashed by your ego telling you that you are not good enough?

In my interview with author Radhule Weininger MD, Ph.D. we discuss her new book Heartwork The Path of Self-Compassion.  In the interview, with Radhule she reveals the 9 practices for opening our heart up so that we can heal the pain that we carry inside, and that frequently won’t go away.

Hearwork is filled with wonderful success stories and practices so that the reader can apply the techniques to their specific issues.  She also provides various meditation and mindfulness practices that cultivate heightened awareness, tranquility and inner happiness.  As Radhule writes ” As your wounded heart begins to heal with self-compassion, it may begin to fill with generosity and kindness; the boundaries of your self-preoccupation may loosen, and compassion for yourself can naturally widen to compassion for others.  His Holiness the Dalai Lama tells us, ” Although you may not be able to avoid difficult situations, you can modify the extent to which you (and others) suffer by how you choose to respond to the situation”

So if you want to learn how to respond differently with self-compassion and compassion for others, then you are going to want to listen to my interview author Radhule Weininger MD, Ph.D.  If you are interested in exploring Radhule’s website, just click here.   You will find more about her workshops, seminars and professional services.

I hope you enjoy my interview with author Radhule Weininger MD, PhD about her new book Heartwork, The Path to Self-Compassion.

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Byron Belitsos the author of a new book entitled “Your Evolving Soul“.  Byron is one of the foremost thought leaders on the Urantia Book which prior to this interview I knew very little about.  According to Byron, we have been graced once again with a new revelation: the little known Urantia Book that has quietly sold over one million copies in 15 languages.

In Byron’s new book he synthesizes the Urantia Book into easily understandable language for the reader.  Byron argues that the Urantia Book provides a revolutionary new depiction of the human soul, the afterlife, and the nature of Deity that is commensurate with the needs of our time.   In process philosophy, the divine may initiate the action, but thereafter God and humankind are engaged in a mutually reinforced progressive pursuit of the values of truth, beauty, and the goodness. We have noted that the humans are acting at their cognitive limit when they recognize these primary values. Trust, beauty, and goodness, according to the Urantia Book, are the comprehensible elements of the Deity, and to act upon them is to do the will of God.

If you are interested in learning more about the Urantia Book you should certainly listen to this podcast with Byron Belitos.  If you want to learn more about the “The Evolving Soul” click the link to be taken to the book website.  You can also learn more at the Urantia Foundation by clicking here.

I hope you enjoy this great interview with author and thought leader Byron Belitsos.

 

It is kind of weird writing my own blog about myself and my new book, but hey what the heck someone has to do it and who better than the author.

I recently released my new book entitled “Hacking the Gap-A Journey from Intuition to Innovation and Beyond.”  I have been asked what the book is all about?

The answer to this questions is that the book is about my personal journey as a serial entrepreneur, my ups, and downs and the struggles to birth new products and or services and then take it to market successfully.  Believe me, I have had plenty of failures, but the learning lessons from the failures and setbacks provided me with the persistence to continue on in spite of the disappointments.

My podcasts program, Inside Personal Growth, set the foundation for the learnings that I share with the readers.  I’ve interviewed over 630+ authors on personal growth, business, wellness, and spirituality.  It is virtually impossible not to have a personal transformation from learning and soaking in all that information. I have weaved the learnings from many of my over 10 years of interviews into Hacking the Gap.  Everything I learned has made me a better person, more authentic, more sensitive, more understanding and forgiving of myself and others. As we work on ourselves we naturally become better people, and to me, this is the important element of the personal growth work.  If you are not improving and becoming a better person, you won’t be a better father, husband, employer or whatever you are to the world.

So remember when you read this book, listen to your soul’s calling and get in touch with your intuition.  What you are being informed to do is vital to your growth.  Listen carefully, learn how to discern between your intuition and your ego.  Once you do this and are not afraid of taking action, you will find that your world will change forever–and for the better.

I hope you enjoy the interview that my friend Reese Harris did with me.

Please go to Hacking the Gap.com to learn more about the book, and download a couple of chapters for free.  Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter and free webinars.  I am here for you please reach out want to hear from you.

I was recently was told about a Chrome extension called Momentum Dash from my good friend Lee Regan.  I don’t usually review software, but this particular software caught my attention–so much so that I reached out to the founder  Levi Bucsis and requested that we do a podcast.

If you’re like me you have lots to do and very little time to complete your work in.  Your days are filled with various projects and you are juggling between tasks.  Does this sound like any of you?

At this point, I hope I have your attention because Momentum Dash works incredibly well at increasing your focus and the outcome is improved productivity.  Levi Bucsis and his amazing software development team have created an awesome Chrome extension piece of software that it makes me want to scream at the top of my lungs–you have to get this extension software now!!!    

So what are the features, beautiful pictures of nature to look at and ponder which will take you to a meditative state of being–not doing.  This particular feature forces me to slow down and ponder, reflect and thus makes my next though that much more poignant.  It has an API to the to-do list I subscribe to which is Todoist.  I can turn it on and off at will, and add to the list when I have another to-do–the key is being able to hide it and only look at the prompts when I am ready.

Momentum Dash Podcast clock Momentum Dash Podcast percent Momentum Gift Page

The software prompts you for your daily focus for the day, and there is a countdown timer and clock if you choose to use it. It also has awesome quotes that change daily, and these quotes seem to really make a connection for me.  All the features can be turned on or off dependent on your particular workflow.

This is must try software, you can download the free version of the extension by clicking here, or you can subscribe for $29.95 and get all the features and options.

I hope you enjoy my wonderful interview with a very creative software engineer and student of psychology, Levi Bucsis.

 

 

ken

I was honored to interview Ken Wilber for his new book “The Religion of Tomorrow-A Vision for the Future of the Great Traditions.”   This is a wonderfully written book and informs the reader of the insights about what will be required to transform religions if are to stay relevant into the future.  As Ken states “Religions can only stay relevant if they embrace the discoveries of science and the insights of psychology to offer an “integral” approach: bringing together the wisdom of many paradigms and respecting the individuality of seekers.

Ken and I speak about the esoteric and exoteric religions and the great differences that these two movements have created in the evolution of religion.  As we discuss Ken states that the exoteric religions have always cooperated and shared insights and wisdom while the exoteric religions have done more to divide people and create chasms in people’s beliefs.  Experts state the 70% of the world’s population is at a fundamentalists stage of development, where their given religion is taken to be the literal word of God and mythic stories become fact. Ken explains how we can help this percentage of the population to “grow up” and embrace more inclusive views that will help curb violence and global conflict.

Ken’s long-awaited “The Religion of Tomorrow” is a definitive text on spirituality and religion in the modern world.  The Great Traditions from Christianity, to Islam and beyond have failed to evolve, unlike nearly every other dimension of modern life.  If you want to learn more about what Ken believes the “Religion of Tomorrow” will look like I encourage you to listen to our interview.

If you want to learn more about Ken Wilber you can click here to go to his Integral Life website.

 

 

richo I recently had the opportunity to interview author David Richo. This is his sophomore appearance here at, Inside Personal Growth. This time around David and I discussed his new (and may I say excellent!) book entitled, ” The Five Longings-What We’ve Always Wanted and Already Have.”

Have you ever had a vague sense that something’s missing from your life? It’s a feeling that I believe many of us can relate to. Embrace it. David explains the longing for something better is intuition, awareness of our discomforts and desires to grow are a sign of being fully alive. David states that it is when you carefully identify the things you long for–like love, meaning, freedom, happiness and growth–you not only discover deep truths about yourself, but also find the things you long for were never really “missing at all.”

In our interview this week, we explore the “five longings,” that are a prominent part of our human experience. As David says, “Life keeps showing us that what we want or cling to doesn’t last. This fact does not mean that what is impermanent is not necessary or of less value than what is permanent–a common bias. The fact that something will not last can mean that it is very precious indeed, precisely because it will be with us so briefly.”

Enjoy this insightful podcast with author David Richo about his new book, “The Five Longings“. For more information about David click here to be directed to his website.

 

I had the pleasure of interviewing author John Tarnoff; who just happens to be one of my prior classmates at the University of Santa Monica where we both graduated with Master’s degrees in Spiritual Psychology.  John’s new book Boomer Reinvention-How to Create Your Dream Career Over 50 John Tarnoffis an instruction guide for any boomer looking for ways to become a valuable asset to any employer, and as an entrepreneur.

As John points out many of the baby boomers have been the collateral damage of the economic downturn of 2008, thus they have lost a significant amount of their retirement portfolio forcing many to remain actively engaged in the workforce to support their lifestyles.  Boomers will continue to be, excellent choices for today’s and tomorrow’s workforce. But for the moment, the message from the top to the bottom of the American enterprise is that older workers need to be weaned out before they hit sixty-five.

Reinventing is about manifesting something out in the world and changing your career and by extension, your life. Reinvention implies a deep willingness to surrender the old ways that you use to live and work. It is reinvigorating, inspiring and energizing.  John provides the reader with inspiring examples of real people that have reinvented their careers and we discuss what he coins as the “boomer reinvention methodology.   This methodology works with anyone with the willingness to rebuild a new career or become a consultant.  John explains to the reader how they have to reprogram their thinking and actions to become a success in our new competitive work world.

I hope you will listen to our podcast, and more importantly, listen to the advice that John provides to boomer’s that are attempting to build a new career and or become independent consultants.

If you want to learn more about John Tarnoff you can visit his website by clicking here, or you can watch his Ted-X speech where he addresses the issues of boomer reinvention.