May 3, 2018
"It was good until it wasn't."
Erik Wahl valued hard work and success. Achievement + money
were his measurement and, by his early 30s, he
was very successful in corporate America.
Until he wasn't. During the dot-com bust
in 2000, Erik lost the "financial fortress" he'd built and his
identity along with it. This led him to ask the life-changing
question:"Who were you before the world told you who you
should be?"
Erik answered this question, made BIG changes in his life +
redefined success. Now, as a performance graffiti artist, he helps
clients like IBM, Microsoft and Disney answer this bold question,
too. Today, we're going to "unearth great
things lying dormant inside" of you. Join us!
SHOW NOTES:
- Watch the entire episode on YouTube.
- Often we're rewarded based on the 3 Deadly P's: Power, prestige
+ possession.
- Our script for how to live is off, we
tend to live with a scarcity mindset. "I must secure what's mine so
I can build; there's not enough available." Choose
abundance instead.
- When you're rocked at your core foundation - financial,
relational, health - you realize you long for something more.
- "As a speaker, I bypass the cynical brain + go straight to the
heart. I stretch minds so we can see everything a bit
differently."
- A mind stretched never returns to its original
dimensions.
- Create for the sake of creating, not the finished product.
- I changed my definition of success: "What if
success is a good meal with my wife and boys at the end of the day?
I don't need certain life elements to be a certain way to be
successful."
- Today, Erik is a performance graffiti artist. Check
out John's behind the scenes tour of Erik's studio.
- Opportunity for love, relationship and empathy are hidden in
plain sight. Don't be too "successful" to see them.
- Better leaders are more creative + adapt to
change.
- Everyone is creative, but our creativity is hidden in
uncertainties + the quietness of life... a space we don't often
enter.
- Creativity, like gratitude, is
a discipline. Embrace the choice to be creative like
you embrace doing other difficult things.
- When asked "Who here is an artist?" Every
hand goes up when we're kids, very few as adults. Why? Hear Erik's
answer.
- "Let go of the idea that we 'earn value' through how we perform
on paper, what college our kids go to, what car we drive."
- How do I pivot into this? Look at your life +
values. Are you living a life of success or significance? Does your
calendar reflect your priorities?
- Art is an exploration of getting comfortable with being
uncomfortable. Can I get out and dance with my wife and
not let the critics or my own internal voice of judgement stop me
from the enjoyment of moving with someone I love?
- How do we encourage the next generation to hold tight
to their crayons? Commission your child to create.
While doodling, they're thinking expansively + problem solving, not
for a grade.
- "Paint a picture of what you want to be when you grow up, and
I'll take you for ice-cream... Write a poem about how much you love
your mom, and I'll take you to a game."
- Ask questions about your child's creation. It
gives you insight to who they are.
- Spontaneity is a mini lab to practice living present in the
now.
- Follow Erik at www.TheArtofVision.com
- Demarius "found" Erik's first
geo-cached painting.
- Erik dedicated his books Unthink and The
Spark & The Grind to his wife and business
partner, Tasha.
- For those of us enduring a trying season in our
marriage, what would you say? Focus on why you got
married, to: Lift each other up, help your spouse become the very
best, become better as two then we could be as one. You entered
into it with excitement, love and lust; revisit those
emotions.
- It's how you act and react to bumps in the road that
defines your marriage.
ERIK WAHL'S LIVE INSPIRED 7
1. What is the best
book you’ve ever read? The Soul of Money by
Lyn Twist. It changed my relationship with what had been a dominant
identity for me.
2. Tomorrow you discover your wealthy
uncle shockingly dies at the age of 103; leaving you
millions. What would you do with it? Decreasing my
wants and needs has been the most fiscally conservative policy I
could have taken on. We'd use it to give to others; build traction
for someone else's vision..
3. Your house is on fire, all living
things and people are out. You have the opportunity to run in and
grab one item. What would it be? One of my wife's
photo albums because I know how much she would want those and I
want to see her face when I come out with it in hand!
4. You are sitting on a bench
overlooking a gorgeous beach. You have the opportunity to have a
long conversation with anyone living or dead. Who would it
be? St. Francis of Assisi, he came from a life of
privilege and chose a life of connectedness. I'd want to talk with
him about that transition + experience.
5. What is the best advice you’ve ever
received? Be present.
6. Looking back, what advice would you
give yourself at age 20? Don't be so guarded around
shaping your identity; you have no idea of what this future "you"
will be doing in life... thinking you know is a recipe for
challenge.
7. It’s been said that all great people
can have their lives summed up in one sentence. How do you want
yours to read? Servant.
***
If you enjoyed today’s episode: Subscribe (automatically get new
episodes), rate & review (help spread the word!) this
podcast wherever you get your podcasts.
I can’t wait to see you here next Thursday! Today is your day.
Live Inspired.
Live Inspired with John every day on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram
and get his Monday Motivation email: www.JohnOLearyInspires.com/Monday-Morning