back from California | vol. 21(b)
Hey there,
As I shared last Sunday, I was in Huntington Beach, California for the FutureProof Festival with a bunch of my financial advisor peers. It was a great time...the first time in over 2 years of seeing so many of my friends and I also had the opportunity to finally meet folks I'd gotten to know virtually during the pandemic--some of these have become extremely close friends and it was so great to give them hugs, dap it up, and laugh in person with them.
I also was able to live up my California Dreams for a few days...I bought a skateboard to make my trip from my hotel to the festival. I ate fresh acai bowls each morning. I soaked up the Cali vibe. AND, I went surfing, well tried, three days in a row with the final surf trip starting in the moonlight at 5:30 AM.I'm happy to report that I was able to make it up on my board a couple of times. But I also had this:
The conference was just what I needed from a personal standpoint...I made a decision prior to the conference that I have since pivoted back from. Here's a little vulnerability for you..leading up to the conference I was feeling a little frustrated and under-appreciated. I won't go into the details because they aren't important. However, I will share that I was aware of my feelings, how I was letting my ego mess with my head, and I was working through those them. No one is immune to the ego 😀.
I came up with a plan was to go "dark" on social media for a while. You know by now Kendrick Lamar is a huge source of inspiration and he went away for almost 5 years after his album "Damn". I didn't plan on disappearing for that long but I thought a break from being on social media would allow me to direct more energy toward creating. Going into the festival I hadn't decided if I would drop social media altogether or just use it to distribute content and use a third party app to stay off the apps. But I was certain a break was necessary.
Shoot, I even had a message from The Universe telling me to keep on with the path I was going down:
For those keeping track at home, yet another bald eagle sighting.
Well, the good news is I don't have to put too much thought behind what my post-festival plan would be...
I had multiple inspiring conversations and received the confirmation that I was seeking that I was still impacting the lives of others. I even cried on the phone to Ang after I told her what a couple of my friends shared with me about my relationships with them--these were unprovoked conversations and there were more than just a few. The Universe knew I needed a little confidence boost and delivered enough to snap me out of my funk and reinvigorate me to keep being ME and doing what has made me happy for so long.
Coming back from the festival, I do plan to adjust my social media strategy. Instead of hopping on and off throughout the day, I'm going to do my morning "I see you" tweet and then carve out 30 minutes to hop on and engage with people. That's it...30 minutes a day to keep connecting, inspiring, sharing, and meeting people.
As I mentioned earlier, The Universe had sent me a sign to keep going down the path I was on with the bald eagles...initially, I interpreted the sign to mean go dark. However, the FutureProof Festival showed me I don't need to go dark, just refine my strategy to be extremely effective in a short amount of time. The bald eagles were telling me I was close to figuring out what I was supposed to do. Once you tap into nature and are aware of Universal messages, it's amazing what you can uncover if you're open to it.
Before we get to the rest of the email, here are a few memories from the festival:
Ok, let's get to The PRST...
passion. relationships. self. time.
Each week this section will consist of curated blog posts, articles, podcasts, videos, etc. that address Passion, Relationships, Self, and Time--the components of PRST.
P
All It Takes Is A Goal Podcast with Eric Thomas "Life Is An Emergency, Live Accordingly"
I had a friend from Twitter send me this podcast episode because he heard ET mention "pursuit"...not this PRST but he talked about pursuing the life that we want. I'm sure you've seen social media clips of ET's inspirational talks. This episode complements PRST nicely and will entertain and inspire you at the same time.
You can listen to the episode here:
Spotify
R
Bob Proctor "Let It Go!"
Whenever Bob says "something", replace it with "someone". Don't hold on to anything or anyone that is not serving you..reject it! I'm not saying it's easy but it's important.
S
Wim Hof Breathing
A friend of mine introduce to the Wim Hof breathing method years ago but I never tried it. This week I finally gave the breath work technique a try and I was blown away by the experience. My friend, Scott Frank, led a breath work session on the last morning of FutureProof and he busted out his Wim Hof app and led the group through a few rounds of breathing. The short version of the breath work is to take anywhere between 30-40 deep inhales and shallower exhales with the goal of bringing in more oxygen than you are pushing out. At the end of the reps, you hold your breath for as long as possible--my longest breath hold was 2:30. I don't think I could come close to holding my breath that long if I tried but doing it after the Wim Hof breathing was extremely easy and peaceful--it was almost like a 2:30 meditation. When I decided to take my first breath, I did not gasp for air. Instead, I just took a normal breath.
Check out this old interview with Wim and if interested check out his app. I'm not a doctor so it might be worth a quick consult with yours to make sure there isn't anything to be concerned with when it comes to Wim Hof breathing. I have read that people with extreme anxiety might not want to do Wim Hof because it's close to making yourself hyperventilate and could trigger an episode.
This is a new part of my daily routine...I plan to do 3 or 4 rounds prior to my morning meditation.
T
Infinite Loops Podcast with Vitaliy Katsenelson "Soul In The Game"
I listened to this episode a couple of weeks ago when I was driving to Cincinnati for Leo's soccer tournament. As soon as I reached the hotel I sent Jim and Vitaliy a DM on Twitter letting them know how much I enjoyed the conversation. There are multiple sections of the convo that are great but I want to point out the "The Thinker and The Prover" part, along with the short part where they talk about being able to reprogram our internal software.
Here's the entire thread Jim wrote about the Thinker and The Prover...it's so good and really highlights our ability to influence what happens to us--dare I say manifest.
I also recommend looking into Vitaliy's book Soul In The Game: The Art Of A Meaningful Life. It's next up on my reading list.
This Week's PRST
The PRST: Life Planning > Financial Planning
Spotify
PRST Spotify playlists
Did you know we have multiple playlists on Spotify? We just added our latest which consists of podcasts from outside The PRST network that are PRST-themed. Click the images to head over to PRST to check them out and I'll continue to add to them as I come across new songs or podcasts.
