Your Life On Purpose

Since it’s the beginning of a new season, I  think it’s only right that this episode dives into a very deep and personal story of mine: one that I haven’t shared public before. One that took me four years to be able to tell anyone besides my wife. I’m talking about one of the biggest upsets in my life. I’m drinking a hot cup of coffee on this fall-like day in New York and if coffee is your thing, grab your cup and join me. All right, here we go. The story I’m about to tell you involves a job interview at both Apple and Stanford in the spring of 2014 that rose my spirits to the heights of Mt. Everest and quickly slammed them down into the Pit of Sarlacc. And for those who don’t know what the Pit of Sarlacc is...well, it’s the terrible toothed sand monster that digests a human for 10 thousand years. But first, let’s go back... The snow had melted, the trees had begun to bud, and Apple sent me an email.  It was 2014. They’d like to fly me out to Cupertino to their headquarters, the email read, to meet with their

I took a bit of a sabbatical from the podcasting world to focus on other ventures and am so excited to be back here with you. I just poured a cup of coffee and if coffee is your thing, grab your cup and join me. It’s summer time and just before recording this session, I listened to the New York morning orchestra: traffic hummed in the distance while birds and crickets sang in harmony. Simple everyday things that add spark into my life. To my right, however, I see yet another garbage bag full of stuff. Stuff that no longer gives me spark. Since flying back from San Diego, I’ve filled my car with more garbage bags and boxes than I knew was possible. Books, clothes, paintings, cups, plates, bikes — these are just a few of the items I’ve said good-bye to. Why? For starters, it’s because I’ve lived out of a suitcase for four weeks while house sitting in San Diego and realize just how little I actually need in my life. Second,It comes down to one simple question: Does this add spark to my life? In her bestselling b

All right change makers. I have little bit to share some news with you. When I first launched this podcast in May of 2015, I had no idea it would garner such attention and pull together some of the most passionate and happy people I’ve have ever met.In June when I started getting emails from people thanking me for starting this podcast, I knew I had to pick it up and turn it into a daily podcast.And I did just that. I didn’t know if I could do it, but trusted in myself that I’d find a way to make it happen.It’s been 50 episodes and nearly 50,000 have tuned in. Over 200 hundred people have reached out to me directly and shared their stories.From a brilliant yoga teacher in Canada to an almond farmer in California, I’ve somehow tapped into a network of truly incredible people who don’t want to just settle. We want to suck out the marrow in life as Thoreau would put it and live so as we’re not just existing, but we’re living. We’re learning. We’re growing.We’re walking down our heroic paths and following the be

This past weekend at Omega Institute, I had the privilege to listen to the words and sing with some of the happiest people I have ever met in my life.And I learned something that I’d like to share with you to start this episode. It’s simple and it’s only one question.When you strip away everything — all the fat — all the things that don’t matter — what is the narrative that you’re telling yourself? What is the story you’re telling yourself?I found myself at breakfast and joined in on a passionate conversation about writing and life. When it came to my turn and someone asked me “What do you do, Mark?” I hesitated like always because I hate getting asked that question. Which I’m not quite sure really why.I said what I always do: “I write and I teach writing.” If they ask for more, I tell them that I run an online platform called Your Life on Purpose.But here’s where I learned something interesting about myself.I asked Susan, the woman to my left, how we can find the narrative that we’re secretly telling oursel

Last night, I took part in a kirtan ecstatic chant led by the Grammy-award nominee Krishna Das then camped under the stars.  For those who don’t know what kirtan is, my  beginner understanding is that it’s a call and response type of singing that aligns vocal sounds to our chakras. I don’t really know the ins and outs, but what I do know is that it makes me feel really good and keeps me on the positive. And that my friends is a good thing, right? Krishna Das and Radhanath Swami  talked a bit about the ripple effect and the collective consciousness. Like others have said before — including the Dalai Lama — the way we react to external stimuli (good and bad) directly influences those around us.  Some have even gone so far to say that our energy transmits a ripple throughout the ether, so that even people you don’t come in contact with are influenced by your energy. Interesting, right? All that aside, there’s tremendous power in projecting an optimistic and positive mindset when our dots don’t really line up the

As I get my tent and sleeping ready for a kirtan festival I’m attending this weekend, I’d like to break down a few of the concepts I explored this week.   Here’s the weekly wrap up. If you just tuned in for the first time, make sure to check on the past four episodes to see the longer version of these concepts.   Or there are some people who don’t have 10 minutes in their day, so they only tune in on Fridays. That’s cool with me. So, for those crunched for time, here’s four purpose-filled boosts to live more intentionally and connect the dots.   Surfing and Mindfulness   There’s a lot we can all learn from surfers. The next time you’re near the ocean or have some time to Youtube, watch surfers. They’re often ridiculously happy.    This is what they know: - To be grateful for when a wave comes - To celebrate your friends when they ride their own wave and you have to sit on the sidelines and cheer them all. I know that when I was trying to make it into the New York City personal training circuit and landed a re

 5 Reasons to Unplug  The crimson Costa Rican sun dipped beneath cerulean blue Pacific as I peered out from the yoga studio atop Blue Spirit mindfulness center in Nosara, Costa Rica.  Perched high on a cliff, I flexed by quadricep and stood firm in Warrior Two in this yoga studio that looks like a bird’s next nestled atop a jungle canopy.  Howler monkeys screamed through the air and birds of paradise soared at my eye level -- majestic and graceful in their freedom.  Time seemed to stand still and it felt like an endless summer.  How I came to find myself at Blue Spirit on a yoga retreat is a story for another time, but there I was in a yoga retreat led by Amy Dannheim and Dawn Feinberg: two hardcore and loving yoginis from Miami.  I came to Blue Spirit, not to vacation, but rather to level up my life. The word “vacation” burns my vocal chords. It’s acid for my soul. I don’t believe in vacations. I don’t want to vacate my life. I want to enhance my life.  And unplugging for a week on this endless summer retrea

  5 Unconventional Ways to Find Your Purpose   Joseph Campbell reminds us that if we follow our own bliss, doors will open that will lead us down our path on purpose. He said, “When you follow your bliss... doors will open where you would not have thought there would be doors; and where there wouldn't be a door for anyone else.”   But you can’t find your purpose. It’s not out there. Your purpose has been with you all along. It’s deep inside you.   To help you unlock the potential inside of you, here are five unconventional ways to find your purpose. They stem from ancient wisdom and modern science and they all have one thing in common. It’s not so much what’s outside of you, but how to unlock what’s already inside of you. Past-Life Regressions   After graduating from Yale, Dr. Brian Weiss began his psychotherapy practice. However, through using hypnosis to help his patients unlock repressed memories, he found that his patients began speaking about realities that were very different from the present one they

Sometimes there are moments in our lives that force us to redefine ourselves. A concrete wall can -- at times -- pop up just as we are joyfully walking down our heroic journeys. And man....can this be frustrating or what? Today I’m thinking about Redefining You and would like to share three tips to help you define yourself.  Today’s mantra: “Trust in discovery. Be open to where your feet will land next."  Whenever a concrete wall pops up in our lives, look carefully at the wall. If you look close, there's often a little arrow sketched into the wall pointing us in another (and often times more beautiful) direction.  Or a beautiful new person meets you at the wall and takes you down a new path for a short time. Or sometimes you can pull out your waist belt grappling hook and haul yourself over that wall if it’s not too high (childhood Batman fantasy anyone?). But when you can’t climb that wall, here are three tips to become aware of your new direction. 1. Stop Carrying So Much Tim O’Brien has a beautiful book c

Today I’d like to talk about surfing and what it can teach us about living our lives on purpose.   I had not surfed in ten years and eagerly looked forward to getting up at 4:30 in the morning to surf dawn patrol in Costa Rica.   Little did I know that I’d see all the lessons I’ve been learning in meditation unfold before me in the white foam of heavy surf.   As I float out there in the Pacific Ocean and watched the Costa Rican sunrise, I started to think about what we can learn from surfing and how it could influence our happiness and productivity regardless of whether or not you catch a wave.   So, today I’d like to break down six tips we can learn from surfers   1. Paddle Hard    One of the hardest things when surfing, especially if it’s a beach break and not a point break, is busting through the white foamy surf. It looks easy but duck diving under an incoming wave or turtle rolling a long board takes some serious practice.    You have to learn technique and have to keep going.   So many people never make

Okay — a lot of awesomeness this week. But I’ll tell you, it’s really hard coming back juggling work and responsibilities after spending an entire week at a mindfulness center focusing on building long-term mindfulness practices.    I don’t like vacations because I don’t have a life I want to vacate from. I have a life I want to enhance, so throughout the year I invest in myself to learn about something new, whether that’s a new skill or a deep practice.   Spending a week focusing on mindfulness helps me practice mindfulness in my daily life. That doesn’t mean it’s easy, but what it does is it gives me a reflecting diving board. It forces me to readjust and think anew about what’s important and reprioritize my life.   It forces me to really think about how I’m spending my time. It always gets me to really think about what words am I choosing to say and what actions I choose to act upon.    So, this week reflects a few of the thoughts that have been on my mind since coming back from Blue Spirit in Costa Rica. 

I just came back in from kayaking on the Hudson River and would like to share with you a few of my thoughts while out there. Like I often do, I thought about Einstein. He once said,   “If you ask a fish to climb a tree, he’ll spend his whole life believing he’s an idiot.” Einstein is spot on, but unless someone reads this quote or hears it from someone else, he more than likely will never know he’s a genius. We’re all geniuses in some way, but not everyone finds it. To find it, you need to look beyond what the classroom and school typically asked of you. Genius isn’t about memorizing data or performing a task faster than everyone else. It’s not found in a test. Genius, on the other hand, can be broken down into two separate tracks. There are geniuses like Daniel Tammet, the autistic savant who can master a language in just weeks, and then there are geniuses like Steve Jobs and Steve Woznisk who think conceptually and are so creative that they turn the box society stays confined in into a soccer ball for a g

We all have an unfair advantage — it’s your unique genius. It’s that thing that you have that no one else has.   It’s a combination of what you have done in your life and what has happened to you in your life.   It’s a blended smoothie of nature and nurture. What you were born with when you came into this world mixed with how the environment you grew up in and the environment you now live in influences you.   Michael Phelps was born with paddles for feet and orangutang arms. He then put in a hardcore amount of effort to master the technique of swimming. This balance of nature and nurture amplified Phelps’ ability to dominate at the Summer Olympic games.   The same goes for Lance Armstrong. All steroid talk aside, when Lance was diagnosed with cancer, his body was destroyed. After intense bouts of chemo Lance could barely cycle down the street or walk to the mailbox. His body shriveled and any muscles that he had worked hard to develop were now gone from the intensity of cancer. He had years of practice to dev

Sometimes writers find themselves like I was this morning: staring at a blank screen listening to dubstep hoping magically that words will fill the screen. (And that's when my cat Yoda walked across the keyboard and words did actually fill the screen. They just didn't make any sense.) Here are three writing prompts to help you find your creative juice or kick you out of writer's block thanks to some good old friends like Jack Kerouac. You can also use these writing techniques to identify your passion and purpose because all of these writing strategies are meta-cognitive in nature, which is a big fancy word that means you call attention to your thoughts and think about your own thinking. 1.) The Beat Word Sketch This is something my wife and I do often when we go on a date. It's fun. You should try it. The idea comes from Jack Kerouac, one of the most famous Beat Generation writers, who loved exploring the world around him through the art of language.  Kerouac believed that grammar and punctuation constipa

Today I’d like to focus on time. When we live knowing that our future is uncertain, it allows us to experience the present of the now.   You see, I’ve learned that I need to develop a better relationship with time.    I’ve spent the past week at Blue Spirit -- a meditation and yogic lifestyle center nuzzled in the jungle of Costa Rica. It was only 6 days, but felt much much longer. And the reason for that is because we spent precious minutes focusing on the present, not dwelling on the future.   With the help of a group of mindful yogis and yoginis to help keep me accountable, I spent my time intentionally, knowing exactly what I was doing for every minute of the day. There was very little zoning out or busy work. No television. No water cooler chit chat. Just focused attention and meaningful conversation.    It’s incredible to me how time works. Some moments in our lives are as quick as a gust of air and other moments can freeze in place for a lifetime.    For example, I think we’ve all had that class

It’s been an incredible week at Blue Spirit Meditation Center in Costa Rica and learned so much. Of course, I’ll be sharing everything I learned with you in the next coming weeks.   One thing I will share with you now, however, is the value of unplugging.    You see, this week I unplugged for the first time in a long time. I haven’t checked social media, email, and other than writing up a storm and sharing this daily podcast with you, I’ve been relatively unplugged.    I’ve learned I need to continue to do this at least once a year if not every quarter.    Unplugging helps remind me of the things that matter most in life: love, relationships, and appreciating this beautiful world.   But I'm no luddite. I love technology for its extraordinary ability to connect people and it allows me to connect with you.   And for that reason alone, I love this new age of enlightenment that we’re living in. It’s truly a beautiful time to experience the gift of the life.   I threw a lot of information your way, so I’d li

Over the past two weeks, from ep. 23 - 36, I’ve shown you how The Hero’s Journey is a great metaphor for the journey one takes when they live their life on purpose. If you’re brand new to the podcast, make sure you listen through from ep. 23 to see the entire journey. If you’ve just been listening for fun, but now would really like to experience The Hero’s Journey, go back through those episodes, but make sure to reach out to me and let me know what you’re working on. I’d seriously love to know because by you living intentionally, it also helps keep me accountable to live my life more fully on purpose. With The Hero’s Journey complete, I’d like to talk a bit more today about Self-Actualization. This is where you work to constantly better yourself and grow beyond limits. We’re all about being limitless here and to do that, we need to identify barriers, break them, and work on the talents that we possess to do all things great. We’re talking mastery-level here. Like earning ninja-like status. Which, to me, soun

The Final stage of The Hero’s Journey is often called The Elixir of Truth. It’s when you return home to The Ordinary World and share your newfound wisdom with others. It’s also an interesting time where you need to be in control and set up accountability systems for yourself to stay true on your own path.’ For instance, this week I’m at the Blue Spirit Mindfulness Center in Costa Rica and it’s easy to stay true to my path here. Here, I wake up in an eco-friendly environment, organic food and coffee already prepared and the sounds and smell of the ocean permeate through the air. It’s stunning. I can spend my day focusing on living mindfully. Meditation, yoga, writing... these activities all seem natural here. They fit in. This environment makes it easy to live mindfully. This is the easy part. When the plan takes off the tarmac here and slams me back in JFK Airport in NYC, that’s where what I’ve learned will be tested. Congested traffic and stressed out people in their daily grind are not a very suitable envi

This week I’m at the Blue Spirit Mindfulness Center in Costa Rica and excited to share what I learn here with you.   Today, I’d like to dive into The Final Path of The Hero’s Journey. After you’ve chosen to live your life on purpose and follow your own path, you learn a newfound set of wisdom. And now, as you return back to The Ordinary World, it’s time you begin to practice what you’ve learned.   For me, my meditation practice has helped teach me the art of staying still. Grace under pressure. So that’s what I’m working on right now.   And so let’s being with a true story. It involves a bird, my feet, and a mind that wanted to race in the rain. I woke up this morning with a pretty foggy head. I worked a lot of hours yesterday and went to bed exhausted, sleeping through my 5 a.m. alarm clock. I brewed my French press, then sat on the porch watching the morning rain. I thought about all the things that I need to do today and my mind started racing with "got to get to work, got to get to work." Then, thankfull

So often, we like to move on to the next thing after accomplishing a goal.Like, okay, my goal was to bench press 300 lbs — all right did it, now let’s set 350 lbs for bench press.    I’ve seen macho guys in the gym do this all the time.   Instead, though, what if before moving to your next goal, you stop and reflected on what’s worked and what didn’t work?    That way, you can become more efficient and also, as you get better at something, the more advanced your goal the more technical and specific your actions need to be.   To win a marathon is a whole different type of training then completing a marathon.   To complete a marathon, it’s actually pretty simple. You just need to start running consistently about 12-16 weeks before the marathon, running 3-5 miles every other day with one day on Sunday being your long run where you build up to a 20 mile run 2-3 weeks before race day. Then you taper down to peak.    To win a marathon, you bump up the number of runs, you diversity aerobic and anaerobic workouts to