Inspiration Reimagined – How to Tap Into the Magic of Everyday Life

Inspiration Reimagined: How to Tap into the Magic of Everyday Life

Wendy: [00:00:00] And so when we tend to gravitate to what speaks to us, if it aligns with your values, that’s typically a good sign that you’re on the right path.

Eric: I think when you commit to being your best self and continuous improvement and learning, the universe is going to truly conspire with you.

Rob: We talk often about childlike wonder and how much we embrace that.

And boy, I wish I was born just to embrace life and childlike wonder. In doing that, you allow every experience. Every opportunity is a source of growth.

Kate: That was a total random act that impacted my day that I am now going to pass on. And that was inspiring.

Rob: Hey, and welcome back to the Living Richly podcast. We’re so glad that you are here with us again today. We are going to be revisiting in a very different way a topic that is seems to be one of the favorites that we do and [00:01:00] that is about inspiration to things. That inspire us, but we’re going to look at it from a very different, a point of view that we have in the past, rather than just talking about the books and the pod the podcast episodes or whatever it is that we get inspiration from, we’re going to start explore different types of inspiration and how we really allow ourselves to be inspired in the day to day.

And I want to maybe open it up with a question around just what is the impact of staying open to unexpected and different sources of inspiration?

Eric: I would respond what’s the impact of staying open? What’s the impact of being closed? I think when we talk about inspiration and we did a show on this last year where we did share each of us, like books and podcasts and people and.

Things that we draw inspiration from and we’re gonna share some of that today too. But I think those are [00:02:00] your usual suspects. I think if you are, I’m actually really looking forward to this conversation because curiosity is one of my four core values. And I think when for me, it’s about staying open right?

Cultivating that childlike curiosity cultivating that beginner’s mind cultivating that sense of awe and wonder that you approach each day with. There, I’m going to be surprised with something that is going to light me up today. And when you approach life that way, you’re going to find that you, find inspiration.

All around you.

Wendy: What about for

Rob: you too?

Wendy: Yeah, I think when we become so used to the familiar sources, that’s almost always a guarantee that’s going to keep us in our comfort zone. And I think being in your comfort zone is okay sometimes, but when you’re able to focus on new challenges. That forces you to create and think about new perspectives.

Yeah,

Eric: I love that. It’s I [00:03:00] remember years ago when I was young, my brother and I, we were like a force to be reckoned with. And by that we used to trash my parents house all the time. And we had put a big hole in the wall chasing each other. My brother had been chasing me up the stairs.

And at the last second he dove to grab my legs. I deeped right. Our Left and his head went right through the drywall, and of course we thought we’re going to be in so much trouble, so we went and grabbed my parents laundry hamper, thinking this was our thinking as 13 year olds.

We’re going

All (2): to

Eric: put the laundry hamper in front of the hole they’ll never notice. Of course, the first thing you notice when they come up the stairs is, what’s our laundry hamper?

All: I remember my dad, they go in

Eric: French, of course, but over time, what happened is my dad was real busy in his business, whatever, and he didn’t fix the whole right away.

And over time, it’s like we just got used to it. To your point, like sometimes the things that we rely on. They start to, they can start to lose their edge because they just become too familiar. And I’m not suggesting you go [00:04:00] put your head through a drywall, but the unexpected can surprise.

Kate: Yeah, I think we can get stuck in the rigidity, right?

Of like our day to day and that rigidity can, sometimes just really keep us super confined. We’re just not open. We’re not going with the flow. We’re not out there trying to like, just allow it to come up. at you. Like growth can come at you in the most unexpected times. If you’re open to receiving it.

All: We talk often about childlike wonder and how much we embrace that and boy, I wish I was more just embrace life and childlike wonder. In doing that, you allow every experience, every opportunity is a source of growth. It’s a source of learning, of discovery, and being able to embrace things just by simply being in awe in every moment.

And I think that can be very certainly a very powerful way to, to explore things. Why do certain Let’s talk first about books and podcasts and the [00:05:00] usual suspects when it comes to inspiration. Why is it that we gravitate and some resonate so deeply?

Kate: Yeah, I, for me, it’s when I connect with what they’re saying.

It’s I can see my story in there. story. So, there’s a part of me that is connecting to, or I’m like, oh, I just don’t get that. Help me through this. So if I can connect I’m more likely and I’m never going to go into that closed mindset, but if I’m listening to Joe Rogan or I’m listening to Oprah, like I’m probably relating more to Oprah just because I can relate more to her situation than I can relate to Joe Rogan.

It doesn’t mean I can’t hear something from Joe, but it just means I think, I really can relate when I hear an Oprah talking about what feels very familiar. Yeah. I think those

Eric: trusted resources that we turn to regularly, they’re familiar, they’re comfortable. We know what to expect when we turn to them and they have produced for us time and time again moments of inspiration and enlightenment.

So we turn to them. For me, movies have always been a big [00:06:00] source of inspiration. Actually recently, probably in the last year, two movies that not only were really inspirational. But I found myself at the end. You were there both times. They were part of a healing journeys, a major breakthroughs. I wasn’t expecting it.

I was just watching a fucking movie. But one of them was a man called auto, with Tom Hanks. And then the other one funnily enough is called Eric. It’s on Netflix, right? What else? It’s not a movie. It’s a, series, but with Benedict Cumberbatch of Doctor Strange fame and really powerful shit went down in there.

But for me, the, still the most powerful, probably movie moment was from Lord of the Rings, Return of the King and Samwise, have reached the base of Mount Doom and Frodo can’t. Go on. He’s the weight of the ring. The weight of that burden has just worn him out and he’s lying on his back and he wants to give up.

And Samwise had tried to carry the ring for him earlier in the story and that didn’t work out so well. So he knows he can’t do that for Frodo and most powerful [00:07:00] words. And I will still that I watched that scene. I’m describing it now and I’m getting chills about the power of friendship and the power of supporting someone where he says to him, I can’t carry the ring, but I can carry you.

And he picks Frodo up over his shoulder and carries him. Most of the rest of the way, right? So again, inspiration can literally find you if your heart is open.

Wendy: Yeah. Yeah. And I think such great stories like that really tie to, not just our goals and our experiences, but our beliefs and so often our values, which I think sometimes we tend to forget what our values are.

And so when we tend to gravitate to what speaks to us, if it aligns with your values, that’s typically a good sign that you’re on the right path. Yeah. You’re right. You go back

All: to, and some of those, they’re so moving and the reason they’re so moving is cause story. is so compelling and moving, right? And we are suckers for story.

We are absolutely suckers. So what is one of your [00:08:00] favorite resources? What would be for you something that you you find yourself going back to over and over again. It’s really shaped a lot of where you are today.

Kate: Yeah, Brene Brown, Daring Greatly, is like one of my pieces I will always go back to whether I’m reading, whether I’m watching a podcast, and Daring Greatly is all about vulnerability and, shame, right?

It’s, about what I learned from that was to have an open heart and. And in short, it really, the message really is wouldn’t you rather try being vulnerable and truly connect to a human than to live alone your entire life? Like it’s the fear of not trying, fear of not doing, and like what’s worse?

And for me, it’s just, I don’t know. I heard it in a way which was like, what have you got to lose by being vulnerable and truly connecting with another human or humans? Yeah. And I use that. all the time, whether it’s work, whether it’s my [00:09:00] kids, whether I just daring greatly is just

Eric: Talk about in an upcoming show, we’ll be talking about courage and daring to be brave.

And we’ll be talking about emotional. Yeah. Very connected. All about. Yeah.

All: I know for me Ben Bergeron and of course we had him, he was one of our first guests that we’ve had. Yeah, that was the show where we were eight minutes in, and we realized that we hadn’t hit record. We were recording, yeah.

So it is tough.

Eric: Ben, thanks for showing up. Can we just start over? Yeah. Yeah. And,

All: and Wendy introduced me to Ben Bergeron. I didn’t know who he was I knew CrossFit and, the CrossFit Games prior to that. But I’d never heard anything of his. And you introduced me to his book, Chasing Excellence.

And it’s a book that I think whenever I need to just light a fire under myself and around mindset, it is the book that, that triggers that for me, that sets me on that course again and going, yep, it is this little bit around focusing in on the things that you [00:10:00] have control over and just the way that he words it in the stories that he tells.

Wendy: Yeah. Yeah. John Gordon is one of my favorite authors. And his books are so incredibly easy. I know when I’m, working with clients, I recommend some of his books often because he’s a storyteller but in a way that can really tie to, what’s, impacting your life right at that time.

And one of my favorites, I just reread it. I’ve read it so many times because you can read it in a couple of hours is the energy bus. And I often turn to it. Yeah. And I, turn to it often too and it, all it is it’s just, it’s the 10 rules to fuel energy in your life and it speaks a lot about making sure that the right people are on your bus.

It speaks about some people are going to get off your bus and as your bus continues on and new people are going to get on and which ties to community, which is also one of my core values, but yeah, his his style really resonates

Eric: I, I don’t think, I’m not a guy, I’m not one to go back and re read a book from [00:11:00] cover to cover if I’ve already read it, I just not, like it’s just not how I do things, but I, certainly certain books have become like a resource to me, so the framework or the concept or the principle, and so I hang on to them for that reason and often I try to embrace that, but a recent book that has been really great for me has Dan Martell’s Buy Back Your Time, and what’s really fascinating is someone recommended this book to me, well over a year ago, and it’s been sitting on my Kindle.

I bought it when it was recommended. It’s been sitting on my Kindle. And as I was we’ve been reshaping our business, our coaching business, and reinventing the entire business model. And here I was creating now our new compelling offer and how we’re going to help leaders. And, then I. I’m like, we’re 90 percent there creating everything, like revamping everything.

And then I finally decide, Oh I should probably crack open this book. And I start reading it. I’m like, what did I text you? It’s I could have wrote this. So for me, it was, I have so many of those moments where it’s the right book at the right time in the right [00:12:00] moment. And often it. Yeah.

There’ve been some that have been the catalyst that got me going in a certain direction and others have just been, you’re on the right path. Keep going. This is good. But highly recommended for any business leader that is stuck in the weeds and struggling to truly lead their business forward great, resource.

You

All: mentioned it was about the right book at the right time. So is there a right source? for growth, or is that just something more about finding what resonates personally? And the reason I ask that is because I do know this is I do think there are wrong sources for inspiration. I think there are times when people embrace something that is just the fallacy behind it.

I think of cult leaders who could be incredibly inspiring, but also incredibly misguided and people just put all their energy and their inspiration into what that individual is saying or whatever. So I do think there’s wrong sources. But

Eric: is

All: there

Eric: a right source or how do we [00:13:00] look at that? On the wrong source, if I could just add, the reason people fall for that stuff is because they often don’t have much of a sense of self.

They haven’t figured out who they are. They haven’t figured out what they stand for. And as a result, they’re incredibly susceptible to anyone who’s inspirational and has a strong conviction of about something to buy into it. I think the more self defined you are, the harder it is for, wrong sources to show up on your doorstep.

Now, with that said, I think it’s important that you expose yourself to things that are outside of your circle. Yeah, for sure. It’s problematic if you’re always just keeping your sphere of learning very, small. But I agree with you, there’s wrong sources and right sources. Yeah.

Kate: Yeah, and I think it’s finding the source that works for you. It’s also I’ve talked about this, find the format that works for you, too. It can, if you read, if you want to watch a video or you want to listen to a podcast, figure out what is the right source for you? I think it’s just what resonates with you?

Great. Okay. It might [00:14:00] resonate with you for today and it may not tomorrow, but if it’s resonating with you, then dig into it a little bit. And yeah, absolutely. Sometimes

Wendy: it can be what people, and refer, which I think is. Good. Yeah. But then I think sometimes you need to figure out what season you’re in.

Yeah. And a lot of it is just trial and error to what you end up liking, but also what resonates with you. Yeah. Like Joe Rogan. You have to

Kate: play around with it. I’m picking on Joe Rogan today, but Joe Rogan might work for Eric.

Eric: I think you can handle it. I think the podfather can handle it.

Kate: But like Joe Rogan might work for you and not work for me. I know, but I’m just saying there is that to your point Wendy, just because someone refers something, you might look at it and be like, I don’t get it at all. Or it’s like somebody

Wendy: saying it’s, oh, this is a great movie and you watch it and you’re like, We’re not,

Eric: we’re not taking context into consideration, right?

So your context is everything. I think when you commit to being your best self and [00:15:00] continuous improvement and learning, the universe is going to truly conspire with you and surprise you. I’ve told you the story several times. We’ve had conversations as of late on the show. I’ve talked about my first and second great awakening.

The second great awakening was really a period of. personal awakening and deep healing work that in many ways led to the creation of the Living Richly podcast and the rest of it. I am currently, it took me a while to figure it out, but I’m very aware that I’m currently living my third great awakening right now.

It’s interesting that And it’s been less inspiration from outside, although there’s been some of that. It’s the I think when you, again, when you commit, it’s amazing what’ll happen when you commit to the healing journey purpose will emerge, deeper purpose will emerge.

All (2): Yeah.

Eric: I’ve told my clients, I said, I’ve never felt more on mission.

I’ve never felt more focused, I’ve never felt more on point I even told a bunch of clients this week, expect more from me this year cause I am committed to taking things to a whole other [00:16:00] level. Yeah. So inspiration is, an interesting beast in that it’s often influenced from external sources, but when you get a fire in your belly, when you get a fire in your spirit, Man, those external sources, you’re not dependent on them so much because you’ve got you’re intrinsically motivated to move towards the dream or the vision or the passion that is burning in your heart.

All: Absolutely true. And let me throw out a counter argument to what you just said a moment ago, Kate, around finding those sources, the things that resonate with you. You’re going to be contrarian. I’m going to be contrarian. The idea of, so how do we, because often that’s, What we do is we lean into the things that resonate.

So we end up sticking with the same tools and the same sources, and we have trouble opening up to other sources and option opportunities or for inspiration. That’s a difficult word. Got more than two stones. This gonna be, it’s gonna be a hard show because it’s about [00:17:00] absolutely inspiration. The and I’ll go back to, I remember Wendy and I just were just dating for a very brief time and we went out for dinner.

Dude, you’re married now and we are married now. Yeah. So this is a few years ago. And, one of the things you had, we were going out for dinner. You were there and we were at SaaS for, you had said, what can I get? As a gift, tell me, and I said Wendy’s a big reader, give her maybe one of your favorite sources of of, inspiration for books, a book that really impacted your life.

And you came with a couple of books. One of the books was The Untethered Soul. And I remember I had tried to read The Untethered Soul before that. And I got through about 10 pages and thought, this is the dumbest, most fluffiest, stupidest thing. And I cast it aside and I said never like this.

And then I come to this. Oh, yeah. You were so

Eric: closed back then, Rob.

All: It didn’t resonate. No. And then, here’s somebody who I have [00:18:00] incredible respect and trust saying, one of the two most impactful books for me in that season for you, and you’re giving it as a gift to someone. It caused me to say, I need to go back and revisit this with an openness, if it affects somebody I trust, I need to now look at it.

So let’s talk, what’s it like for you, how do, what kind of, what’s your thoughts around it? Sticking with the tried and true versus the opening to new resources and tools and opportunities.

Eric: I think mixing it up is part of the adventure. It’s what keeps it fresh and alive. Think of hitting the gym.

If I love to work out and I know enough about it to know that if I’m hitting those muscle groups exactly the same way all the time, I start to get diminishing returns. I’m not getting. My muscles get used to it and all of a sudden the resistance training isn’t quite hitting it the same way. So you got to mix it up.

You got to you might have chest day today, chest day tomorrow. You shouldn’t do that, but but you want to hit it differently, right? So different exercises, different [00:19:00] equipment so it’s, I think it’s the same in our learning journey. I think if we get too rigid and again, I’m not a fan of chaos either.

I think those trusted sources and resources that we know we can turn to

Rob: that

Eric: have been, they just keep. producing for us when we need it. I think that’s important to have, but it’s that exploring, being willing to, venture beyond the safe borders of the Harbor. And, adventure a little bit that also is part of that.

Kate: Yeah. I think it’s like ebbs and flows. It’s I think if I use meditation, there’s times where I meditate. all the time and I’m in it and I love it and then something happens and I’m out of it and I don’t do it as like as much as I used to do it and then I’m back in it. I feel like it’s the same.

Like I can listen to, I was about to say this, but I don’t want our listeners to never not listen to us, but you can listen to a podcast, like one specific, let’s say I’m listening to Oprah podcast. And after a while I’m like, Oh I’m just I’m not feeling as jazzed about it, it’s not really sparking me and then I jump [00:20:00] off to another podcast, that’s why, but just listen to Living Richly podcast all the time.

Oh, religiously. Every

Eric: week you should be downloading those episodes. Every two weeks. Every two weeks, sorry. But

Kate: You can get really inspired by something and then move, just like instinctively you’re like, oh, I think I’m going to try something else and then you try something else and then you get really you can get a little wowed by the shiny thing too, I’m aware of that.

But oftentimes for me, it’s those ebbs and flows. I’ll be really into this and then I can move over here, but then I come back to my staple and then I might move over here and I might bounce around. But for me, because curiosity is one of my core values, I’m always looking at it with that openness. But I will say I still have my staples that I come

Eric: back to.

It’s like a menu, right? Yeah. A menu of a trusted restaurant that you go to regularly and there’s two or three dishes on there that you love. That’s good. That’s great. Because if you’ve had a busy day, and sometimes we get together for dinner, the last thing we want to do is.

All: Make a decision. Make a decision.

Eric: No, just, I’m just going to have that because I know I can trust it. Yeah. But then there’s the, adventure of picking something on and you’ve never tried and asking the waiter, so what would you highly [00:21:00] recommend? And so I think it’s just that, that was it Dan Siegel in Mindsight that talks about.

Finding balance between chaos and rigidity, right? And both those things, both extremes are unhealthy. But as you’re floating down the river, there are going to be times that maybe you’re, leaning up a bit towards more chaos. Get comfortable with that. It’s okay, a little bit of chaos isn’t going to kill you, right?

And sometimes you’re moving more towards rigidity because that’s what you need. But don’t get hung up on either of them. Totally.

Wendy: Yeah. Pretty much the same, I think. Decision fatigue is a big thing for people. We do spend an enormous amount of time getting ready to get ready. I know Kate and I have talked about this before on our Real Women, and I’m sure men go through this as well, but I know for a lot of women, we I’m going to do this and then I’ll start.

I’m going to do this and then I’m going to start, right? Doesn’t matter if it’s You’re trying to find a new source of inspiration or a new gym routine. Or I was going to say, you look like you’ve been training the same, but the same over and over. Oh, I was like a

All (2): backhanded [00:22:00] publish. She really right in, cut the legs out for me.

That’s it. I quit.

Eric: I’m just kidding. I’m just kidding. That was great. That really was. That’s like a, go to move for me. I would have done

Wendy: the same. Yeah, but I think on the flip side and I see this. All the time in the work that I do is nothing will stick if you’re changing everything every three weeks.

So I think it’s good to change, but you have to give it a little bit of time to sink in and resonate. And then, if we’re changing too much, then you’re just, are you really giving it a chance? Yeah.

All: Why you said you use the language. The shiny new object, and I do, I agree. I sometimes somebody will say to me, Oh, you need to read this book or you got to listen to this podcast and I’ll appreciate it.

And I thanked them and I don’t, because I also recognize when I’m exploring and when I’m doing this, I get a stick. To this, because there’s many ways to [00:23:00] get there and I need to pick a path and I’m choosing to do that while still being open to opportunities. It really is a balance between finding how you, both of these.

And I love that the the, continuum there between chaos and rigidity. I think it’s so important. We do have people though, we have people jumping in at all kinds of different times, listening to this podcast. And for those that are maybe just beginning the journey of discovering, or maybe they’ve been stuck in the same sources of inspiration, what’s a good go to that you have that you would be recommending to people as, Hey, this is something you could check out or listen to.

Kate: Yeah Eckhart Tolle and New Earth is a phenomenal book. It’s not like the easiest of reads, but it’s the first You would

Eric: love it, Robin.

Kate: Yeah. Okay. Yeah.

Eric: I will take that under advisement. It’ll be like the one that you were talking about earlier. I’ve never

Kate: heard of it. Oh it’s such an amazing book.

So this book came out over 20 years ago.

Eric: It’s a classic

Kate: now. Yeah. [00:24:00] And it’s, like I said, it’s not the easiest of reads, but it’s the first time I was ever introduced to the sense of ego and what ego is. And the book is all about living your richest your best life. That’s what the book’s about.

But it’s the first time I’d ever, heard anyone talk about ego and what the ego state is. And I remember being like, I don’t understand. And it really challenged my thinking around ego. And it really challenged my thinking around how you’re not your thoughts. And so Eckhart Tolle is just this brilliant if you see him, you’re just like, how are you so he’s zen, he’s just so calm.

And he’s been like, had a really difficult life. And so that book for me was the first time that allowed me to just see my thoughts, my ego, my brain in a different way. So just, you talk about changing

Rob: a

Kate: little bit of a reset and changing the way you think. I highly recommend that book.

Eric: Mine for me, by far, for someone early in the journey, even [00:25:00] someone who is wanting to accelerate the journey, would be Kelly Flanagan’s

All (2): Loveable. So good.

Eric: Yeah. Yeah. It’s again, we believe we’ve said it so many times on the show, radical self acceptance is such an important component to your growth journey that unless you’re working on that, you’re going to really struggle.

And he helps you overcome the power of shame and self doubt and and it’s, again he’s a beautiful writer and it’s easy to read. It’s easy to understand highly recommend.

All: And the more we’ve gotten to know him, and of course he’s been a guest on the show a number of times, and we’ve just enjoyed that.

We’re about to have another show with him. And we’re about to have another show with him. He, just comes, he’s a beautiful writer. He’s a beautiful human being. And you really get that sense with him.

Wendy: I think, so it’s funny because a lot of people will say, Oh, like I’m not much of a reader. And a lot of that stuff is just frou, And it’s just too, my mind just doesn’t go there or whatever. I have one person who has said I don’t, [00:26:00] like those make yourself better. And I think, again, it’s finding something that resonates with you. I think the book, it’s been out for a while now, You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero.

Sincero? Sincero? Sincero, I think. Sincero, I think. But it’s,

Kate: it’s light. Wow. Sad to have a play on words. You’re welcome. I don’t think she said thank you.

Wendy: Oh,

All (2): gee. I was anticipating that.

Wendy: But it’s light, funny, and conversational. For somebody that maybe doesn’t love to read. It’s a great book, but it also helps be able to build, it helps people be able to build self confidence with like super practical exercises, but also kicking your ass at the same time.

All: Yeah. All right. So we started out the show by saying, we’re going to talk about some of the non traditional, we just ways that we find inspiration. We just, Spent some time talking about a traditional way that we find inspiration, source of inspiration, books, podcasts. How, first of all, I guess the question I’d have [00:27:00] is how does growth come from places where we’re not expecting it and, does it is this something that, in what ways have you experienced that?

And so just talk about that a little bit about finding inspiration in the unexpected.

Kate: Yeah, it’s having those aha moments like you can hear something a million times and for some reason at some moment you hear it again and you just hear it differently. You’re like, Oh, and you have that aha moment. I think it’s about being open.

Yeah. Like I can openly admit that I was watching Jersey Shore the anyways, the new one. I like my reality TV when I’ve had a long day anyway. But there’s Mike, the situation and we’re not going to

Rob: judge you. If you ever

Kate: watched Jersey Shore in the early days, they’re just like, they’re drunk. They’re messy.

Like he’s a womanizer. He later in life had massive addiction issues. Like you would just look at this kid and be like, you’re a total disaster. Now is gone to rehab. He went to jail for tax evasion and he’s come out and he’s completely reinvented his life. He’s sober. He helps other people [00:28:00] get sober.

He’s an inspiration to a lot of addicts has a wife. He has. Three beautiful children. And I’m, I was, you talk about finding inspiration in a weird, I remember just looking at him going, okay, if Mike, the situation from Jersey shore can get to where he’s at I can, you can have if you’re just open to it, sometimes you can just get those little nuggets anywhere.

All: Yeah. And I like that idea. It is about training yourself. To be open to those moments, to finding them and to be looking for them. Far too often we go through life with such blinders on, not paying it. And we miss out that opportunity in so many places.

Eric: Most of the adult population, and here’s the harsh truth, most of the adult population is asleep at the wheel of their own life.

They’re busy numbing, running, hiding and distracting. And are not paying attention to, they’re missing the magic. Because they’re, closed and [00:29:00] living a protectionist I’m just trying to get through. I’m just trying to get by. I think one of the greatest pandemics of our era is boredom.

And this is why we scroll our lives away on social media because we’re bored.

All (2): We

Eric: lack purpose. We lack passion. We, lack a sense of meaning. And I, inspiration and motivation are different to me. Inspiration is something that, that a source that can get you fired up. Motivation is something that comes and goes in your life.

Yes. Some days you’re motivated to go to the gym and other days you’re not motivated and you’ve got to drag your ass down. What I would say to people is what you don’t, need motivation. What you need is a discipline. Your why has to be backed up by your work. And so even as we talk about inspiration we, it’s understanding this notion of, stop just trying to numb your way through and open your eyes to the beauty of the world around you.

Yeah, there’s a lot of dark things happening in our world [00:30:00] right now. And, but I, you could go back to most generations and point to shit that’s going down, that’s really not very, positive and can be very disheartening. But if you have a certain lens and you choose to say there is possibility potential all around me, then you will walk around with a tank full of inspiration from the.

Even Mike, the situation will inspire to go, if he

Kate: can do it, I can do it. Yeah.

All: So much truth to that. And I’m going to start with you on this one. Is when we think of kind of unlikely sources of inspiration, let’s talk about a little bit. Let’s have some fun. What are some ways, what are some places and times, where we’re going to have fun Rob.

Fun Rob is here. Oh, wow. Wow. Can you help us? Steve’s I don’t know what just happened. I don’t know if I can edit that out of the show. I was about to ask him, can you edit Fun Rob out of the show?

Kate: Fun Rob is great. I wanted to ask, can we isolate Fun Rob? Can we use it over and over again? We’re

All: going [00:31:00] to create like a boomerang.

So what are some, where do you get inspired that seems to be a little bit unlikely?

Wendy: Oh, when Fun Rob comes out at 10 o’clock at night. Whoa! That’s a whole

All: different

Wendy: show.

All: It’s a different podcast. It’s a different show. Only trans.

Wendy: I’ll tie it back to a movie I just, this one always, and I’ve watched it so many times, but G.

I. Jane, 1997, Demi Moore shaved her head. But it, speaks so much to me about just resilience, breaking barriers, following your path, even when you’re walking alone. There’s so many parts in the movie where she’s walking alone. She’s obviously in a veer, she’s in SEALS training, a very male dominant type of training and, just that self discovery, with your untapped potential.

So yeah, I watched that

All: this weekend. Your favorite [00:32:00] line in any movie in history is from that.

Wendy: Suck my dick. Ha

All: Ha

That’s going to show up as suck my pee. And that wasn’t even the line I was thinking. Ha

All (2): Ha

All: Ha Sorry mom and dad.

Eric: Sorry Nation.

All: No! It was when she was having the argument with her boyfriend.

Get your dick back in here.

All (2): Oh,

Eric: wow.

All: So moving along. We will edit all this out. No, we won’t.

Eric: So an interesting one for me surprised me several weeks ago. I’m training in my gym and I, came across this YouTube channel called Modiversity. And it’s a series of inspirational talks and clips of different speakers and athletes and talk.

Now there’s, a bit of hustle culture stuff in there, and in the past I would have never even listened to this. What I realized [00:33:00] is as much as the hustle culture takes a message, perhaps too far, there is a lot in there about resilience and picking yourself up and not making excuses. And if it’s going to be, it’s up to me.

And so I find myself now here I am pushing heavy weights and I’m listening to these truths and the whole experience has become like this mind body thing. Like my mind’s getting charged, my spirit’s getting fired up even as I’m pushing my, muscles. So we’ll, put the link to that in the show notes.

Kate: Yeah, I love that. I had a, my, one of my moments of inspiration that was unexpected was when I was in, Tim Hortons, like through the drive thru. Tim Hortons for our non Canadian, I guess it’s U. S. owned now, Tim Hortons. Anyways, it’s a, it’s, I’m getting coffee. It’s like a Starbucks. There’s a lot of extra information.

By the way, Tim

Eric: Hortons was a founder in England.

All: Store number one is in Hamilton, Ontario. My

Eric: favorite Tim Hortons coffee for many years was a triple. Tim Hortons was a hockey player for the

All: Toronto Maple Leafs. Triple, triple.

Eric: Triple,

[00:34:00] Oh, that’s back in the day. Wow. Okay. And then I stopped, it was sugar, so then it was So cake.

Anyway, back to you.

Kate: Back to Tim Hortons. So I was in the drive thru, anyways, and I had pulled up and I went to go pay for my order, and the Tim Hortons person said to me, they’re like the car in front of you paid for your order. And there was a time where that was going through the city, and I remember just being so blown away by the act of kindness that I was just like.

Wow. So I definitely did pay it forward. It’s you’re praying that it’s not like person behind you is not buying for like a whole hockey team, but but I did pay it forward. Yeah, but it did. What it did is it inspired me to be kind and the power of kindness. And I remember how I just remember. feeling, that feeling within me was like, that was a total random act that impacted my day that I am now going to pass on.

And that was inspiring. Love that. Yeah. I

All: know for me we’ve, a couple of us have mentioned movie, you mentioned g. I., [00:35:00] Jane The Martian. And I don’t know what it is about that movie that resonates so much with me. One, I guess it’s It’s just the idea that when you focus and put your mind to it, you can accomplish great things.

And it just, every time I read, I get emotional at the end of the movie. I know what’s going to happen and yet I still get teary eyed. And I remember it wasn’t that long ago. We, I was showing it to Wendy for the first time and she asked the question. I said it’s based on this book. And have you read the book?

No. I can do that? So I did. There are these things called books. They have covers and pages. The book is as inspiring to me. I’d like to read that book again. Did you

Eric: cry at Little House on the Prairie when the girl ran down the hill? No. I don’t

All: think I ever really watched it. I didn’t watch it either. I was forced to watch it because I had an older sister.

But I never cried. She did. Peeps people. From being able to embrace [00:36:00] inspiration in the unexpected.

Wendy: Oh, I think they have their minds made up as to how it is, or a lot of people think it’s frou, frou, kumbaya or they just have a vision in their head rather than being open to creating it however they want.

Kate: Yeah, I think we’re busy. I think being busy, I think our society values productivity over being present. So I think if you’re far more present, then you’re, likely just even going to see it. I think because we’re so busy doing and not being half the time that we don’t even see it when it’s right in front of us.

That busyness can just take over. There’s a lot of noise. There’s a lot of noise. And we make a lot of our own noise.

Eric: We do, 100%. Yeah. I think it’s, it’s about more than just being open to inspiration. I think it’s just about being open, more open, period. Yeah. That’s a great way to put it. We have in our society, think of how closed and [00:37:00] fragmented our society is right now, right?

People are so polarized. Everyone’s convinced they’re in the right. Everyone convinced, are convinced it’s my way or the highway.

The more convinced you are as a human being, and I’m not, saying you shouldn’t have your convictions or your beliefs, but embrace them loosely. Have conviction, believe strongly, but if as soon as you get to a place where you’re closed to new input and that you can’t listen to another point of view, or you can’t I, like part of being even courageous that perhaps we’ll cover on the show is have the courage to read something you normally wouldn’t read, watch something you wouldn’t normally watch.

What are you afraid of? You don’t have to embrace it. You don’t even have to believe it. You might read it and think this is shit and I don’t want to ever read it again. But there is something about that openness and that curiosity that is an absolutely necessary component to evolving. You can’t evolve with a closed mindset and convinced.

Is closed.

All: [00:38:00] Yeah. Cause I and I mentioned the Martian a moment ago as a source of inspiration and I know I’ve had, even people say Rob it’s not real. What? Yeah. Yeah. And it’s like sci fi is not. Are you going to tell me next that Star Wars isn’t real? Wow. No,

All (2): because you’re afraid I’ll have a

All: meltdown on the show.

Why would I believe that? I would of course, it’s real before us, right? I’m going to move your cup right now, but it is this idea that so what? It’s a make, yes, it’s a makeup story. And yes, you can be inspired by it. That’s the idea that we limit ourselves to what that source, the only, only these sources are allowed to be inspirational is, closed.

It’s such a closed minded. So how do you get. People, how do you encourage people to create that space to allow for the unexpected [00:39:00] inspiration?

Wendy: I think being okay with not everybody’s going to get it. I don’t, you don’t need to seek approval, like to your point on cares if the movie’s up, right?

If it resonates with you and It moves you in a way that allows you to be inspired. I think in a society where we’re always seeking approval from so many people on everything, somewhere along the way we forget to have our own voice on, but I like this, so this is what I. And this might not be for you, but this is for me.

And so I think just be okay with, you don’t need to justify or explain yourself to anyone. Yeah.

Kate: Yeah. And I think just being open without judgment, like to build on what you were saying is we are in a very polarized world right now, but to, truly we used to sit around a table and discuss politics and it was a discussion, it wasn’t this divide at the table.

And so I think genuinely listening to someone else’s point of view or. different [00:40:00] inspirational feed, whatever it looks like, and listen without judgment, without having a point of view on it, without defending how you feel about it. Just listen openly to what you’re hearing. And I think we’ve lost the art of being able to listen without defending, without judging.

judgment.

Eric: A hundred percent. And I think I would add to that again, coming back to curiosity, cultivate curiosity, cultivate a curious mind and a curious spirit. Never stop asking questions. Never stop looking for answers. Never stop. being adventurous. I said it earlier, one of the greatest pandemics of our time is boredom and people are bored because they’re seeking the wrong things.

They’re seeking entertainment over purpose. They’re seeking to pass the time as opposed to make the time count. But as the good book says, ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock, the door will get open. When you have a curious spirit the world opens up before you. When you’re closed, [00:41:00] you live a very small life.

Yeah.

All: And it ultimately, it’s a belief. Yeah. It becomes a belief. We hear people talk about how they can find that inspiration anywhere. They there are every moment is an opportunity to learn. There’s no losing. There’s only learning. Yeah. All of these kind of catch phrases all stem out of a belief that we have.

Some have, some don’t have. Yeah. And if the belief isn’t there, it’s change your beliefs. You want to change your actions. You want to change your results, change what you believe. And I think it’s making that. really shift to believing that every situation and experience is an opportunity to grow and to learn.

We’re slowly starting to wrap everything up. But one last question around this. Talk about a time when you were maybe surprised in a difficult moment and how that brought about and led to an opportunity for growth or clarity.

Wendy: Mine is more of a Personal experience, but it’s when I [00:42:00] asked for a divorce and decided that it was just a little thing, right?

Something small, but it was, time for me to decide to put myself first, grow and be happy with what I wanted and not what others wanted. And, what was expected from me. But yeah. That was such a difficult situation, but I, look at how much I’ve grown from it and I’m still growing from it.

Eric: Yeah. Amazing. Yeah. Yeah. Amazing. Yeah. For me it’s been the season that we’ve been in of taking the business to the next level. Again, we had a very successful business before it. We could have coasted very comfortably in what we had, but got a vision for something better and more.

Impactful that would provide for an even greater lifestyle for us. And, but that has caused me it’s, been like going back to school. So many new skills that had to be learned and starting in many [00:43:00] ways, it’s not from zero, but no one likes to feel. incompetent. No one likes to feel like you’re a very small fish in a very big pond.

And so that whole process of pushing myself beyond perceived limits of, putting myself in that discomfort of learning something new and saying, okay, oh, I’ve got a track record of when I apply myself, I’ll learn it, but I don’t like how I feel right now about it because I feel like a novice. But all of that has led to tremendous inspiration, tremendous motivation.

Like I said, my third great awakening I, attribute to. To putting myself in that context and being okay with being not okay and what emerged from that. Again, I wasn’t expecting what has resulted, but what has resulted is a new vision and purpose for my life that I’ve never been this on purpose.

That’s amazing.

All: And it shows up in almost every conversation that we have. I see it, it’s so genuine in you and it’s something that I applaud. I know you know that I celebrate [00:44:00] it. It’s scary as fuck and as exciting as What did you say to me the other day?

Eric: I’ve made a commitment this year to not try to get into your head.

All: Yes. It’s a scary place. Good call. Good call. I know for me, and we’re recording these, this episode today, we do often record a number of episodes. We’re recording it on the anniversary of my daughter’s death, a story that I’ve shared and I’ve told. It’s interesting. I put out a post today and it’s the first time where I’ve shifted because it’s only been in the last few years where I’m realizing.

And that moment and how significant it is, but the growth and the learning that came out of it. And I shared in a post that I put on, some social medias today about the lessons learned from going through that and the way that resonates I’ve been getting all day today, direct messages, private messages where in the past it would be a lot of people just [00:45:00] going, Oh, I’m so sorry.

Which I don’t need that. I’m done. Yeah. I’m done. It’s not where I’m, not, it’s not a sad day for me. It’s, a, you used the word for me this morning that I didn’t have, it’s a reflective day. It’s a reflective on the things that I’ve learned. It is as, okay, this is going to sound a bit weird, but it is now become a source of inspiration, right?

The tragedy of losing my daughter is now a source of inspiration for growth that I have today. And that’s what we’re really talking about in this episode, right? So, I think that’s wonderful.

Eric: Amazing.

All: Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Quick, what’s one, two words? Let’s, final thoughts, something you would leave.

If you want to encourage people who are really in that place, they’re living their best life. What would you say to them today about unusual sources of inspiration? Eric’s giving you a big no. Clearly. You are going. That’s you. That’s you. I’m giving you a cue. Kate. Kate. What would you have? Wow, you’re your

Kate: subtlety

All: is blowing my mind.

Eric: I’m so [00:46:00] subtle.

Kate: He’s so flawless.

Eric: No one even noticed. No, no one even noticed.

Kate: Just be open and try and be present. It’s just we talked about it so much, but try to stay open. If you can keep that openness, you keep that curiosity. Inspiration will find you love

Eric: that. I love that. I’d say get out of your comfort zone, push yourself beyond your perceived limits, because when you do, you will rely less on external sources of inspiration.

You will light a fire in your belly that will keep you warm and keep you moving forward. Yeah,

Wendy: I think it’s important to remember that everyone wants to have the best view at the top of the mountain, but the no one wants to climb it and the happiness and the growth only occurs when you’re actually climbing it.

So true. And I

All: would say never stop listening to this podcast. That is the most important. That

All (2): wasn’t self serving at all. Yeah, exactly.

All: Just to reiterate what Kate said [00:47:00] earlier, this podcast should never be put on this. Never. Never. Never. In all seriousness, we do appreciate so much all of you that do continue to listen to and support and share.

We want to encourage you to check out the website, livingrichly. me. You’re going to find all the information about all of the things that we’re doing, including every episode that maybe you missed or put aside in the past that you can go back and look at, find your best sources of inspiration as well.

And so we want to thank you for being a part of this, being a part of the Living Liberty with us. Until next time, get out there and live your best life.