Why Was My Friend So Happy

“Happiness doesn’t depend on any external conditions; it is governed by our mental attitude.” Dale Carnegie

I was feeling dissatisfied with my life. I wasn’t really aware of this at the time. I felt normal. I held the belief that this is how life was. I kept telling myself that things will improve thinking that perhaps I was just in a rut. I started relying on this phrase, “If this…, then… that.”

I wasn’t experiencing any noticeable changes. Days, months and years passed. I felt quite the same – dissatisfied! I then realised that waiting on this or that to start really enjoying my life was a fucking ridiculous.

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Why Was My Friend SO Happy With Life? What Was His Secret?

I was feeling dissatisfied with my life. I wasn’t really aware of this at the time. I felt normal. I held the belief that this is how life was. I kept telling myself that things will improve thinking that perhaps I was just in a rut. However, all of this wasn’t really helping me and I wasn’t experiencing any noticeable changes.

Days, months and years passed. I felt quite the same – dissatisfied! I wasn’t really angry or pissed off. I didn’t think it was only my life that sucked. I wasn’t a victim of life. I knew I wasn’t alone but I couldn’t really see that. I was trapped in my own suffering and this was limiting my externally held perspectives. It was limiting the quality of my life.

I couldn’t see the fruit through the leaves. Actually, at the time I wasn’t sure there was any fruit. (more…)

The Moral Animal by Robert Wright

Written by Leigh Martinuzzi

jjj

When I read Why Buddhism is True by Robert Wright I was blown away by his fascinating perspectives, thorough research and occasional provocative insights. It became one of my favourite books in 2017 (Book review here). I was left inspired to discover more of his work. And so, I found The Moral Animal. A remarkable, mind assessing, scientific and provocative read. (more…)

Happiness

Today’s featured guest is Susanna Halonen.

The topic is “Happiness.”

Let the show begin!!!

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My Practice of Elimination – 5 for 5: Part 2 

By Leigh Martinuzzi (revised – original post 07.09.2014)

Last week I revised an article I wrote on a practice I developed a few years back. To be honest, nothing too spectacular, but rather an exercise of clearing out the rubbish and replacing it with more good. You can check out the post here.

It came out of necessity. As I found myself halfway through the year, I began to notice patterns creeping back into my daily life. Things that I believed were disrupting the accomplishment of my goals. In reflection, I realised this and began to do work to remove what wasn’t working and improve on what was. (more…)

Why I Lay Awake in Bed Night After Night & Practices That Help

This article is the very first blog I wrote for The Hidden Why. I thought it might be worth my time to revisit old posts with an effort to reflect on how my thoughts and beliefs have adjusted. It also gives me the opportunity to correct grammatical mistakes and clean up my writing without promising that there are none in this revised article.

In all transparency, I was not surprised by the amount of errors I made and the poor quality of my original writing. The good news is that I have certainly noticed how far my writing has come. I wrote this piece about 2 and a half years.

What I enjoyed was seeing how my perspectives have changed and yet my voice has remained very consistent. I have tried to keep this post as close to the original as possible without taking too much away from my initial intention. However, I have summarized and closed with slightly different thoughts. (more…)

Summary

In 2010, Danny Dover assigned a deadline of May 25, 2017, to his life. He was tired of hearing about other people’s exciting lives and decided to jump-start his own by taking steps to actually live as if the end was in sight. He tattooed his deadline on his butt and made the sole purpose of his life to complete his Life List (a list of more than 150 life goals). While pursuing his list, he inadvertently became a minimalist in order to gain the necessary focus to create a more meaningful life. This seemingly small change in mindset (which he later detailed in the book The Minimalist Mindset) dramatically changed his life for the better. (more…)

Love Is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends by Tim Sanders

Tim Sanders is all about doing business with love or as he would call it “bizlove.” He’s a lovecat and wished to teach others how to become a lovecat. Now that might be sounding a bit weird but don’t be deterred. This book is a little book of gold with surprising practical value to be had.

It’s not all about free love nor will the value benefit those only looking to improve in business. It is a book about relationships, compassion and personal growth. It is a book that will help improve the success you wish to achieve and a book that will raise your levels of happiness. And it starts with love. (more…)

Summary

As a former family law attorney, Erik describes himself as someone who’s “been through a thousand divorces and still believes in love.” Ushering couples through divorce wasn’t easy for Erik, a romantic from birth, but it turned out to be the ideal medium through which to understand the entire life cycle of a relationship. As a result, Erik has a unique, real-world comprehension of what makes one marriage thrive and another fall apart.

Discover Your Why – Free Coaching Call Valued at $250

During his time as an attorney, Erik racked up a few accolades: He founded a successful law journal, built the largest and fastest-growing family law firm in the Bay Area, was named a Super Lawyer three years running, and garnered
a 10-star Avvo rating. (more…)

5 Ideas On Why Quitting A Paying Job In Favour Of The Life You Love Isn’t Such A Bad Idea

This is a question that many of us contemplate at some point along our journey. The statistics indicate that 83% of us are unhappy or dissatisfied with our current jobs. I would draw the conclusion that if this is the case then the satisfaction with your life would also be lessened. Why? Because for most of us work takes up about a third of our time and for most of us what inflicts pain or displeasure on one aspect of life usually blinds us in other aspects of our life. I conclude that if we are truly unhappy then many of us do contemplate the thought of quitting our day job to pursue greater passions. And why the heck not?

There are a few reasons why we stop asking this question and resist taking action on the idea of quitting our job. Here are some thoughts and while it’s not all inclusive for many of you I am sure you can relate.

• Fear. There is much fear around these ideas and it will really depend on your individual situation in life and how heavily this job has played in the role of defining your Self. The ego is a master of keeping our Self-definition alive and the risk of attack on this brings on fear. Fear is truly a survival mechanism but nowadays it seems to trap or limit us. The thought to change our job will do this.

It is like someone questioning who we are. It is a hard to answer such a question and part the reason why the ego doesn’t like it because if it struggles to define itself than what or who does it become. We challenge our ego’s existence. We challenge who we are. Who we are is simply a creation and we have therefore the ability to recreate this if we truly desire to put ourselves into another story.

Much of the fear that comes about arises from our ego. Will you be judged by family or friends, how will you continue your house payments, what about all the years of work you’ve put in. The list of fears spreads wide and deep. These are stories about who we think we are and think we need to continue to be.

Try to see beyond this because once the change has been made your ego will find new definition and attach itself to new meaning. And while the feeling attached to the fear that may come about is real enough the why behind the fear is usually a lie. Fear is based on nothing real or tangible and therefore is as real as the vision of our future self that we desire to create and the only way to get there is to move through your fears.

I believe fear should be a signal for us to take action and if no action is taken fear will linger or our dreams will vanish.

• Uncertainty. Humans love uncertainty in life but we also crave certainty. The idea of quitting a well-paid job to pursue our passion and other interests is scary because it disrupts our certainty. How will you keep the level of lifestyle you’ve become so adjusted to? How will you support the family, keep up the car payments or afford to go on that next holiday? All valid and very logical reasons to hold onto that dissatisfying job, right?

When we become stagnant and too certain about life however how then do we seek to fulfil that uncertainty piece in life we lust for? We delve into activities that take us out of the realm we live in. We tune into episodes of The Walking Dead because the idea of something so unreal excites us. We take drugs and get drunk to shake things up a little. We become addicted to reliance on outside stimulation to manipulate our stagnated lives in an attempt to make ourselves believe we are actually enjoying life, but we are not.

Quitting your job may actually be the healthier option to keep alive the adventure and uncertainty of life. And to be honest isn’t life about how you want to feel? And how do you want to feel, happy? Yes, there is lack of certainty that will abound you when you leave your job but what certainty do you have that by staying where you are will bring you greater levels of happiness as time passes?

I have greater certainty in following the path that I set out for myself than following the path someone has laid for me. The uncertainty of my own path is also much more rewarding in pursuit than the alternative. When it comes to uncertainty in making a career change be confident in knowing that perhaps there is actually greater certainty.

• Responsibility. Oh the responsibility of our lives. Since when did we have to be so freaking grown-up anyway? Who thought this would be an enjoyable way to live life? Fuck that! Life is to be enjoyed and if we take things so seriously I am sure that will lesson this experience. Now that is a very irresponsible statement!

Most of the responsibilities that we have, we have put here ourselves. We create conditions in our lives that we then become prisoner to. They are duties that we are to be in control of. There is a difference in letting them control us and us controlling them. Don’t allow your responsibilities to control you. Don’t let them lock you into a life of distaste. Yes, you are responsible and because you are responsible shouldn’t you take control of how greatly they control you?

I believe that we are responsible to quit unconducive conditions of our life. Because the more we dislike life or what we do the greater it affects other aspects of our life. The greater this affect has on how we show-up and how we behave has impact on the rest of the world. The greater the numbers of unhappy souls walking around today the greater the unhappiness that exists. On the contrary, the more people that love life the greater amount of love there will be in life.

Don’t let your responsibilities control your action towards making healthy positive change in life, take control, it will make a world of difference.

• Guilt. There is a feeling of guilt that exists when we we do things for ourselves. I am not too sure why this exists but it does. Perhaps it is because when we feel good yet still see other people suffering or in pain we feel selfish or wrong in our state of being. We need not feel guilty about feeling great nor should we feel guilty about trying to do things in attempt to raise our state of being.

The greater we feel that better we will be able to help others, think about that. If you are loving life, loving your job then how much more energy can you put into more conducive acts of kindness. Your ego will make you feel guilty, your boss, friends and peers will make you feel guilty, life will make you feel guilty but that is just because deep within them they admire your courage to do something more for you and what to do the same in their own lives.

If your actions do not affect anyone else than do not feel guilt. When someone else attempts to make you feel guilty is it down out of their own selfish reasons, and should they feel guilt for this? We don’t need to place guilt on one another for pursuing greater happiness because ultimately it will benefit us all.

• Uncomfortable. Change is never easy, it’s uncomfortable. However, when you are making change for the right reasons it’s exciting. Here’s the thing to consider. When someone else forces change on us we don’t like it because we have to adjust and adapt. Like when you are in the middle of a great movie and right at the climax someone rings the door bell, it takes us out of our comfort zone and this can change that state of how we feel. Not cool! But if we our self are to pause the movie to get an ice-cream if feels ok, this disruption is acceptable.

In change we find strength. It is actually a good thing to bring about change from time to time. For example, you could do a fast to improve your resilience in future times of change. In change we find uncertainty and that is also something we seek. What is more magical is when you bring the change on yourself. Quitting a job, when bought on by oneself is change like no other. It will excite you, push you closer towards your full potential and bring you more aligned with a true path in life than anything else.

Embrace being uncomfortable. The more comfortable we are the more we should encourage change.

Telling someone to quit their job is not easy advice to give however I would like to suggest that if you are truly not loving your job then do quit, please! Life is about how you feel and not one of us wants to feel shit or insignificant. Life is to be enjoyed and ultimately life is to be happy. Happiness cannot be found in dissatisfaction.

To be satisfied we must meet our expectations. What are your expectations of life? Mine are freedom, fulfilment and ultimately happiness. I am sure most of us have this expectation to be happy in life. Satisfaction is to “make” satisfied or to make our expectations be meet. If your job is not conducive to this and is not making greater satisfaction in your life, hence the negative prefix of “dis” to satisfaction, then perhaps this is reason enough to make change. Life is too short for wasting time in a dissatisfloseying state of being.

At this point I hope there is enough inspiration and thought to assist you in making the ultimate decision of life. To quit or not to quit. At the end of the day what have you got to lose. You might think there is a great deal to lose but in truth there is not. Unless it means loss of life what else is there? Actually in changes like this I would argue that there is more to gain. More on this topic to follow.

If you are considering to quit your job or making some change in your life I coach people on this. If you would like to explore this opportunity, please click this link here to schedule a time for a Discovery Call. I would love to be able to provide some further insight and assist.

Summary

Dr. Raj Raghunathan studies the impact that people’s judgments and decisions have on their own happiness and fulfillment. Based on his research, he teaches a very successful course on Happiness around the world.

Fifteen years after getting his MBA, Raj Raghunathan spent some time with his old classmates. He noticed that though they’d all done well, there didn’t appear to be much correlation between their academic success and career success. What Raj found even more curious was the even smaller correlation between career success and what he calls life success. The greater the career success, the more unhappy, out of shape, harried and distracted his friends were.

If intelligence helps with decision-making, smart people should naturally make better life choices. So why are so many of the smartest, brightest, most successful people profoundly unhappy? This lead him to researching and writing, If Your So Smart, Why Aren’t You Happy? (more…)

Why Traveling Will Change Your Life Forever

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – St. Augustine

How do you know anything about the world if you don’t travel?  How do you know what life is like or what other people think or how other cultures exist if you stay in one place your entire life?

A lot of us travel right out of college which is exactly what I did.  Twelve countries in thirty days!  When I look back on that time I realize I was fairly miserable during the trip, totally unprepared and out of my comfort zone.  But, what an adventure it was.  I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Here’s the thing.  Travel changes you.  It changes the way you view the world.  It takes you out of your comfort zone and makes you see that there isn’t only one way to live life and only one way to think.  Humans generally fail to appreciate what we have when we have it.  I would question you to think about this.  In the future, try and be mindful of where you are, of everything you have and the experiences of each day.

Life is nothing but experiences and moments.  Even in those toughest moments where you are tired and overwhelmed and you don’t understand anyone and you have no idea where you are going or how you will get there or if you will ever sleep again, those are the moments you should treasure.  They are part of your path and there is no way to get around it so you might as well embrace it.

There were so many special moments experienced throughout my trip.  I remember eating chocolate and drinking wine on the steps of a church in Paris, being nearly trampled by sheep in Switzerland when I pulled out a box of cookies, the clumpy milk for cereal (they don’t pasteurize), trying not to fall asleep on the train on the way to Germany in case the guys hiding underneath the pull outs tried to steal my stuff, visiting the Fields of Flanders and picking up pieces of shrapnel from WWII, the Domes of Florence and the scenery of Austria, the American Express building where all the Americans hung out in Budapest and the never ending array of cows.

Lessons

But, what I remember more than anything is that I wish I had appreciated everything more.  I wish I had the maturity to truly understand the gravity of my trip.  Unfortunately, my boyfriend and I were not getting along.  I remember going to a phone booth in Paris in the pouring down rain and calling my mom crying and wanting to come home because he was being so mean.

Twenty five years later I still have the map of the route we took, my journal and my Euro railpass.  Why did I keep all of this?  I kept it because it was the beginning of my love affair with travel.  It still speaks to me as if I took the trip yesterday.

Every day you slog through work and every day you get up and go to the gym and go to the store and watch television and go to bed are days you will not remember.  But, the day you are on your deathbed you will never regret all those places you went and all those people you met and all those things that you saw, experiences you had and all that scenery you never could have imagined existed.

Life is not meant to live in a bubble, at least not for me.  Some people have no desire to travel and those people probably won’t read this post.  But you….you get it or you want to get it.  You understand that everywhere you go, even if just another state is a lesson learned in life and an experience most will never have.

There is More Out There

Many of us stay in our little bubbles.  We have the same friends, go to the same places, watch the same shows and live in the same environment we grew up in.

But, many of us want more than this.  We crave experiences like we crave oxygen.  We realize that it is only by expanding our horizons that we truly live and to live any other way is tantamount to death.

For the past 3 years I have not traveled and it has nearly killed me.  I have come to realize that I am an adventurer at heart.  It doesn’t matter if I’m uncomfortable or fussy or don’t know where I’m going or what I’m doing.  The very experience of travel changes me.

There are so many places to go and so many things to see.  Do you think you will ever regret going on that safari in Africa, or finding spirituality in a temple in India or drinking wine with Parisians?

Every culture is different than our own and that is what makes it all so beautiful.  If you never experience this and never know this I believe you are living half a life.  If you have no desire to know others and what they think and believe and why they believe it then I’m sorry for you.

But, again, if you are reading this my guess is that you desire to know what it would feel like to sit amidst Gorillas in Africa, or visit a Bazaar in Morocco or experience the magnificence of Macchu Picchu, eat steak and drink Malbec with Argentinians and see the unparalleled beauty of the Greek islands.

Traveling isn’t about staying in your comfort zone.  Traveling isn’t about being tourist.  Traveling is about experiencing life in a different way and understanding that we all have a different history and a different way of viewing the world.

Why Everyone Should Travel

Traveling changes who you are. If you are a true adventurer then once you go you can never see the world the same.  Some cultures may be a better fit than others and that’s okay, but every place you go will be life changing.

Every time you travel you don’t just learn about other people you learn about yourself.  You learn your strengths and your weaknesses, your tolerances and intolerances and you expand your horizons just a little with every step you take.

Whether you drink tea with milk in England or start liking toast with honey for breakfast and even if you decide you hate the idea of never having a washer and dryer or can’t fathom living in the economically and politically oppressed places you visit you will always have a view of the world that is bigger than most.

You will have had experiences.  You will carry them with you forever.  You will die knowing that you did something that many people will never do and that alone should be enough.

About:

Carrie L. Burns is a blogger on a mission of self-discovery which, for her,  can be found  through traveling and writing.  She believes that life is nothing without adventure and having experiences and the most life altering experiences come through travel.  Some of her other work can be found at www.acinglife.com.

Why Being Vulnerable is Grand- Express Your True Self

“The moment that you feel, just possibly, you are walking down the street naked, exposing too much of your heart and your mind, and what exists on the inside, showing too much of yourself…That is the moment, you might be starting to get it right.” Neil Gaiman

In this episode I share my thoughts on why it is grand to become more vulnerable, express yourself and live more aligned with your authentic self.

vulnerable

“exposed to the possibility of being attached or harmed, either physically or emotionally.”

The Hidden Why began as a blog. I wrote articles that where my thoughts based on experiences and learnings. Many learnings come from other sources however in reflection of my own life, my experiences, I also learn. It is these that I share.

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Trust & Distrust – Why it is Better to Live with Trust

Trust is an admired quality for all humankind. For leaders, trust is an absolute. We are all our own leaders in life and therefore trust must be a quality we need to learn. This includes trusting yourself, others and the universe. Not always easy.

As I sit here and drink my green tea I trust that everything in life will be ok. If I didn’t I would likely feel more anxiety, nervousness, and pressure. These emotions are not pleasant and I don’t wish to have them. This is why I try and choose more trust.

Trust is unlike a magnet whereby polar opposites attract. The trustworthy attract the trustworthy and conversely so, the untrustworthy attract the untrustworthy. When it comes to how you live your life and towards what it is that you desire the same is true.

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Do you want to know what it takes to live a life with absolute freedom?Freedom to live a life of your dreams and the freedom to do what ever it is that you desire. We discover what it takes and how to create and have freedom in your relationships, career, creativity, finances, health, and spirituality.

Imagine waking up and starting the day living your ideal life, what would that look and feel like? This is your life and it is to be lived as you wish. What is your hidden why, your purpose, what have you been put here to do?

The Hidden Why is aimed to help and assist you in discovering your why and how to live your life with passion and purpose.

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The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone’s Mind

By Jonah Berger

This book flection is written and narrated by Leigh Martinuzzi 

Is it impossible to change someone’s mind? How can we possibly shift another’s perspective? And why would we need or want to? If you think about it, for most of us, every day we attempt to alter perspectives. It is not something in our direct control however as Jonah Berger illustrates in his book, The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone’s Mind, we can all be the catalyst for change. Creating change in life and, as this book hopes to help readers achieve, changing anyone’s mind.  (more…)

Happiness

Today’s featured guest is Susanna Halonen.

The topic is “Happiness.”

Let the show begin!!!

Guest bio and links. 

Susanna Halonen, also known as The Happyologist®, is a happiness life coach, motivational speaker, and writer. She uses the science of positive psychology to help you to kill your self-doubt, embrace positive thinking and build a lifestyle you love. She is the author of Screw Finding Your Passion, a published researcher, a TEDx speaker, and a regular commentator in the media from the BBC to The Huffington Post and more. Her corporate client list ranges across industries, including American Express, BMW, Kellogg’s, Lululemon Athletica and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment to name a few. In her free time, she is a competitive dressage rider with Olympic ambitions. She adores dogs and believes we can learn a lot from our four-legged furry friends.

You can find her online at www.happyologist.co.uk. She is also @thehappyologist on Instagram, facebook, and twitter.

You can pick up a copy of Susanna’s new book here – Happiness is Here: A 30-Day Guide to Joy and Fulfilment

Also, take a listen to my first episode with Susanna –169: Susanna Halonen | The 5 Key Elements To Mastering Happiness, Passion & Your Success.

Further Reading and Resources 

TED Talks: Ideas worth spreading

Psychology Today: Psychology Today is devoted exclusively to everybody’s favourite subject – Ourselves

Life Hack: Tips for Life

Elite Daily: The Voice of Generation Y

Four Hour Work Week: How to escape the 9-5, live anywhere and join the new rich.

The Minimalists: How to pursue a minimalist lifestyle and be happier.

Mind Hacks: Tips and Tricks for Using Your Brain

Rich Roll: Plantpowered Wellness Advocate

The Art of Charm: Build confidence, feel comfortable and networking differently.

American Psychological Association: The largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United State

The Art of Manliness: Encouraging men to be better husbands, fathers, brothers, citizens.

Tiny Buddha: Simple wisdom for complex lives.

Brain Pickings: An inventory of cross-disciplinary interestingness, spanning art, science, design, history, philosophy, and more.

Mind Body Green: Lifestyle media brand dedicated to inspiring you to live your best life.

Zen Habits: Find simplicity and mindfulness in life.

Creative NonFiction: “true stories well told.” 

Addicted 2 Success: Motivation & Inspiration Website full of quotes and inspiring articles for entrepreneurs.

Barking Up the Wrong Tree: science-based answers and expert insight on how to be awesome at life.

The Positivity Blog: Practical articles on happiness, self-esteem, productivity and social skills.

Summary

I bring to you once again my interview with Monica Berg – it’s Monica week on The Hidden Why Podcast.

In this interview with Monica, we discuss different perspectives on how to rethink and live into our greatness. Using the wisdom of Kabbalah Monica shares how we can practice becoming less reactive to life and how to diminish the limiting effects of our ego.

I also ask Monica to share insight as to how one can find their purpose and unique greatness. Finishing on her last book, Fear Is Not An Option, Monica gives insight into three types of fear sources and how by better understanding them we can remove fear to live a limitless life.

Guest Bio.

Monica Berg is a CHANGE JUNKIE and she wants to challenge the way you think about EVERYTHING.

In her first book, FEAR IS NOT AN OPTION, she challenged readers to eradicate fear from their lives. In her latest book, RETHINK LOVE, she uses years of personal experience teaching and counselling to eradicate false belief systems around love and relationships.

Monica is a mother, wife, sister, teacher and friend, who integrates all that she is into her mission and as Chief Communications Officer of The Kabbalah Centre, she integrates her personal mission with this ancient wisdom.

Books by Monica

How to connect with Monica

Website here – Social Media links within. 

The Kabbalah Centre website 

816 Monica Berg – Change Junkie, How to Rethink Life

Further Reading and Resources 

TED Talks: Ideas worth spreading

Psychology Today: Psychology Today is devoted exclusively to everybody’s favourite subject – Ourselves

Life Hack: Tips for Life

Elite Daily: The Voice of Generation Y

Four Hour Work Week: How to escape the 9-5, live anywhere and join the new rich.

The Minimalists: How to pursue a minimalist lifestyle and be happier.

Mind Hacks: Tips and Tricks for Using Your Brain

Rich Roll: Plantpowered Wellness Advocate

The Art of Charm: Build confidence, feel comfortable and networking differently.

American Psychological Association: The largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United State

The Art of Manliness: Encouraging men to be better husbands, fathers, brothers, citizens.

Tiny Buddha: Simple wisdom for complex lives.

Brain Pickings: An inventory of cross-disciplinary interestingness, spanning art, science, design, history, philosophy, and more.

Mind Body Green: Lifestyle media brand dedicated to inspiring you to live your best life.

Zen Habits: Find simplicity and mindfulness in life.

Creative NonFiction: “true stories well told.” 

Addicted 2 Success: Motivation & Inspiration Website full of quotes and inspiring articles for entrepreneurs.

Barking Up the Wrong Tree: science-based answers and expert insight on how to be awesome at life.

The Positivity Blog: Practical articles on happiness, self-esteem, productivity and social skills.

8 Suggestions to Stay Happy and Positive in College

Written by Chloe Bennet. Narrated by Leigh Martinuzzi 

Life is difficult, sometimes more so for college students. Juggling work, classes, exams, and a social life can be very stressful, not to mention during a period of life when you’re trying to discover who you really are. To help make this less daunting, though, we put together the top 8 suggestions that you should take to stay happy and positive throughout your time in college. (more…)

The Social Leap: The New Evolutionary Science of Who We Are, Where We Come From, and What Makes Us Happy by William Von Hippel

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What advice would you give your 20-year-old Self?

Written and narrated by Leigh Martinuzzi 

“Wise men don’t need advice. Fools won’t take it.” Benjamin Franklin

A question that I ask all guests that I interview on The Hidden Why podcast is what advice they would give there 20-year-old self. It was one that I heard other interviewers asking and found the answers intriguing, naturally, I decided to include on my question list.

What advice would you give your 20-year-old self?

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A Kick-Ass Year

Written by Leigh Martinuzzi – Originally published 09.01.2015

Resolutions, ha, what resolutions?

Each year January the first is often a monumental day for many of us. A year of change. A year of growth and amazing things to come. A game changer. New Year resolutions are created. Decisions have been made.  Now, we’ve got to execute the plan, follow through and keep the promise we’ve made to ourselves. Accountability! (more…)

Time

Written and narrated by Leigh Martinuzzi 

JJJ

“It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it.” Seneca

Time is considered the most valuable commodities around. For the individual time is a precious resource. We are born and then we die. The time we have at our disposal is all that is in-between. The length of which remains undetermined.

There is time outside these parameters. We know of this. We are aware. We read history books of the past, examining the time before our existence. We know that for some period into the future time will carry on. Perhaps infinitely, as long as life and consciousness exist. (more…)

The Common Grounds of Victimhood & Hate

Written and narrated by Leigh Martinuzzi 

Belongingness – a deep and fundamental human emotion.

• Why? Survival and reproduction.

Humans are animals and as with many animal groups belonging to social groups provide protection. Although this is not as relevant nowadays because we can survive pretty well without being a part of a tribe, we still do desire to belong to a group or groups. The social bonds and relationships we form in our networks have been proven to have profound benefits to our overall wellbeing. (more…)

The Positive Shift

“Comparison is the thief of joy.” Theodore Roosevelt

In The Positive Shift: Mastering Mindset to Improve Happiness, Health, and Longevity, a book by Dr Catherine Sanderson. In my interview with Catherine, we discuss the science behind thought and how our mindset (or thought patterns) exerts a substantial influence on our psychological and physical health.

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Bluefishing

Today I bring you my interview with the man who created Bluefish, the internationally famous company that makes once in a lifetime events happen for the rich and famous reveals to the rest of us his trade secrets for making things happen.

Today Steve Sims’s day job is to make the impossible possible. With his help and expertise, his clients’ fantasies and wildest dreams come true. From getting married by the Pope in the Vatican, being serenaded by Elton John, or connecting with powerful business moguls like Elon Musk, the possibilities are endless. (more…)

Time

Written by Leigh Martinuzzi 

“It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it.” Seneca

Time is considered the most valuable commodity around. For the individual time is a precious resource. We are born and then we die. The time we have at our disposal is all that is in-between. The length of which remains undetermined.

There is time outside these parameters. We know of this. We are aware. We read history books of the past, examining the time before our existence. We know that for some period into the future time will carry on. Perhaps infinitely, as long as life and consciousness exist. (more…)

The Common Grounds of Victimhood & Hate

Written by Leigh Martinuzzi 

Belongingness – a deep and fundamental human emotion.

• Why? Survival and reproduction.

Humans are animals and as with many animal groups belonging to social groups provide protection. Although this is not as relevant nowadays because we can survive pretty well without being a part of a tribe, we still do desire to belong to a group or groups. The social bonds and relationships we form in our networks have been proven to have profound benefits to our overall wellbeing.

People that are lonely or don’t meet this need to belong will have difficulty forming a level of self-identity. Who we are plays a critical role in how we think, the decisions we make and how we behave. If we lack a solid sense of identity – who are we, it brings our level of significance, relevance and meaning in life to a lower level. This is not a good thing. (more…)

Atomic Habits with James Clear 

James would say that when changing habits the problem isn’t you, it’s your systems. Building new habits and breaking bad ones is tough but when you understand what habits are and how they work you can then apply systems to develop the kind of habits you want in your life.

In this interview, I discuss Atomic Habits with James – his new book. No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving–every day. James reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviours that lead to remarkable results. (more…)

Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life’s Greatest Lesson, 20th Anniversary Edition by Mitch Alborn

Written by Leigh Martinuzzi 

Slow down. Stop. Think.

What is life all about? What is the meaning of life? Does this truly matter?

Tuesday’s with Morrie is a collection of one dying man’s lessons on how to live a truly meaningful life.

In this book, Mitch Alborn shares his stores of the times he spent with an old college professor, Morrie Swartz, every Tuesday on this man’s final moments in life. Morrie’s gift to the world, lasting and timeless lessons on how to live. A book that I feel we could all benefit from reading now and again.

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Finding Happiness: Some Practical Advice

Written by Leigh Martinuzzi

The primary pursuit in life is happiness. Well, that is my belief and despite that, I also understand it’s not. I realise that in the deeper constructs of our human being there are more purposeful motivations in life. The fundamentals of life – love, connection, status, certainty, progress, reproduction, and survival, to name a few. Regardless, for many of us, happiness seems to occupy a decent level of focus in our lives.

The question I ask is what is it and how do we find it?

Our surface level motivations arise from our core human needs. On a daily basis, it is very unlikely that we make the connection between a surface level motivation and its fundamental source.

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A Hike Remembered – Find What Ignites You (revised)

Written by Leigh Martinuzzi 

I found myself lost, hiking through an absolutely magical place – the lamington national park. Alone and with my thoughts and a true masterpiece of one of Mother Nature’s beautiful creations!

The splendour and chaotic beauty of nature. The succulent growth of trees, vines, leaves, water, waterfalls, that combine to form a breathtaking piece of art. How grateful that I get to experience such wonder. And truly grateful for those people who act to protect these places. I hope that the future generation may witness and enjoy such experiences.

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Automobile University – Invest in Your Growth

Written by Leigh Martinuzzi

Growth, a fundamental human need!

Why is growth so desirable – so necessary? What is it with this need to continually cultivate, learn and develop ourselves? Is the obsession an attachment to our curiosity? Is it a method of developing self-importance and meaning? Does growth assist our progression? And for what purpose? Does it fulfil life’s greatest purpose – survival? And what is the purpose beyond survival? (more…)

Tech – Killing Human Connectivity or is it?

Written by Leigh Martinuzzi

Technology has been said to come with many great efficiencies. Of course, it does! As we marvel with tech’s rapid and amazing advances we are becoming more aware of how significantly, both positively and negatively, it infiltrates our everyday lives. Digitalisation has a heavy impact on our lives and is now a prominent field of study.

Backed by research there are those who would argue the tech is indeed making life easier for people. Then there are those that would disagree stating that the digital world is killing what it means to connect. What it means to be human.

Many studies suggest that people are less effective at developing interpersonal skills and relationships, unable to share emotions and feelings, and lack an understanding of how to behave in social environments. (more…)

Shawn Askinosie

“Our greatest joy is our sorrow unmasked.” Kahlil Gibran

Shawn Askinosie is the founder and CEO of Askinosie Chocolate, an award-winning craft chocolate factory. A small business doing great things. Shawn was a successful criminal defence lawyer for 20 years, however, he reached a breaking point in which he no longer found joy in what he was doing. For 5 years he searched for a change and eventually started Askinosie Chocolate.

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Walking a Spiritual Path

Written by Leigh Martinuzzi

The subject of spirituality is sometimes a difficult one to navigate. There are those of us who speak about it and those of us who avoid it like the plague. It is often misunderstood, confused as a religious pursuit and associated with people that are a little bit “out there” in how they live their life. I was one of them. However, I have begun to understand spirituality and why a spiritual path in life is essential and available to all humankind.

What is spirituality? When you hear this term what your first thoughts and images that come to mind? (more…)

4 Ways on How to be Truly Happy

Written by Sarah Cummings

Listen up friends, I’m about to reveal the secret to a healthy and happy life to you. Drumroll, please…there is no secret!

Sorry, that was a cheap trick I know. But it’s 100% true. There’s no secret elixir. No magic pills. You certainly can’t buy your way there. Plastic surgery isn’t going to help, and neither is driving a fancier car.

Happiness comes from within, from respecting our body and fuelling it with goodness. Read on below, and I’m going to give four simple and completely free minor life hacks that will help you have a healthier, happier life. (more…)

Chris Patterson

“You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” Zig Ziglar

Chris has been using his Zig Ziglar Legacy certification to mentor businesses and individuals in the art of Goal Setting and Achievement, Personal Development and Building Winning Relationships. Grateful with the opportunity he received he now pays it forward.

In this episode, Chris shares his story in meeting Zig and how their relationship unfolded. Chris and I discuss the power of investing in one’s personal development and the inspiring lessons he took away from Zig’s mentorship and friendship. Be inspired to create a life of great intention and take serious action. (more…)

Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Productive and Creative Self by Manoush Zomorodi

Written by Leigh Martinuzzi

I am not sure after reading this book I am more brilliant or not. Perhaps that isn’t the purpose. It may be to open our eyes to how cluttered, busy and unnecessary our lives have become. In this book by Manoush Zomorodi, she takes the reader on a journey to unplug and disconnect from our digital lives. How to find greater productivity, creativity and original thought in boredom. It makes perfect sense although I am not sure I was entirely captivated. (more…)

A Life of an Entrepreneur

Written by Leigh Martinuzzi

Not everyone is made out for a life of an entrepreneur. I am not an entrepreneur! I feel I am more of a wantrepreneur. Whatever the case, from an external perspective the idea of being an entrepreneur looks desirable. Freedom to pursue your interests and passions. Be your own boss and make a handsome living in the process.

In this article, I attempt to answer the questions of what it takes to be an entrepreneur? How do I know if I’m an entrepreneur? And is this lifestyle the career path for me?

Speaking with Jeet Banerjee recently he described some symptoms of being an entrepreneur. A few you may be familiar however the one that comes to my mind is an eagerness to become your own boss or an inability to work with others. Jeet suggests unhappiness, a lack of fulfilment, decreased motivation and a tendency to watch the clock are all familiar to those with the itch to be an entrepreneur. (more…)

Questions Better Asked by Leigh Martinuzzi

Written by Leigh Martinuzzi 

“The art and science of asking questions is the source of all knowledge.” Thomas Berger

To ask questions is to live with an inquisitive, curious and progressive mind. Questions have the power to enhance the quality of our life, and we need to encourage each other to ask more. All questions lead to answers, and all responses have a purpose. Needless to say, no question is a wrong question, the only unfortunate question is one never asked.

When we ask questions we learn, we grow, we develop our awareness, and as we do, we begin to understand. What harm can come from that? (more…)

Jon DeWal 

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Howard Thurman

Jon DeWaal is the founder of Liminal Space, a nonprofit dedicated to helping others navigate life’s major transitions. As Jon suggests change is a natural part of the human story. In all transition, small or large, transformation takes place and it is that process that shapes our future story. How we manage and respond to transition is a choice. How we learn and grow from the experience is powerful.  (more…)

Are You Moving Away or Moving Towards?

Written by Leigh Martinuzzi 

At the core, we are biological beings who are driven by pleasure and pain. The fundamental human motivation is survival, what motivates us to fulfil this is to move away from what may be as harmful or limiting and move towards what enhances or nourishes this need. What I’ve learnt is that most of us can either be more strongly influenced by and therefore act upon what we wish to avoid or what we desire to move towards. What type are you, away or towards?

After doing some research on this topic, I feel that I have a towards personality. As for my wife, I think she’s an away type. It is not a representation of good or bad, rather it represents why people have different motivations. Ultimately it will affect the way we operate. (more…)

The Common Grounds of Victimhood & Hate

Written & Narrated by Leigh Martinuzzi 

Belongingness – a deep and fundamental human emotion.

• Why? Survival and reproduction.

Humans are animals and as with many animal groups belonging to social groups provide protection. Although this is not as relevant nowadays because we can survive pretty well without being a part of a tribe, we still do desire to belong to a group or groups. The social bonds and relationships we form in our networks have been proven to have profound benefits to our overall wellbeing.

People that are lonely or don’t meet this need to belong will have difficulty forming a level of self-identity. Who we are plays a critical role in how we think, the decisions we make and how we behave. If we lack a solid sense of identity – who are we? It brings our level of significance, relevance and meaning in life to a lower level. This is not a good thing. (more…)

11 Methods of Changing Habits

This article is an extension of an essay I wrote, A Thought About Changing Habits, originally posted on the 7th of August, 2014 however recently revised and improved. I included the 11 methods in the original post, however, to develop better readability and reduce the length I decided to split it in two. This is the second part.

It’s been three years since writing this article, and I can tell you since then my knowledge and thoughts have grown and shifted, as one would expect.

It was three years ago that I began my personal-transformation journey. I started to invest heavily in my self-improvement. If that sounds selfish, I can tell you it’s not. If it weren’t for my drive, discipline and consistency, the quality of my life would have continued on a downward spiral thus affecting all of my relationships. And healthy relationships are a fundamental Life Principle to all life. (more…)

The Various Shades of Love

Why does love feel different? Why does our motivation for life increase when you’ve created life?

It feels satisfying having my mum and dad still with me. When I think about how fortunate I am, I sometimes feel guilty. Many children have had parents but lost them early, and some have never had parents. Divorce, separation, drug abuse, death, early adoption, abandonment, and any other reason. I am grateful to have amazing parents that have been there to support me throughout my life.

My love for my parents is deep but here is what I wonder, having children of my own I sense a differing effect of love. Why? And why, now that I have kids of my own, do I appear to have a raised level of ambition to live? Not that I am suicidal, but indeed I am more aware and concerned about my destructive behaviours. (more…)

“Inner guidance is heard like soft music in the night by those who have learned to listen.” Vernon Howard

A few times a week I go for a jog or a walk. On the last stretch of my trail, I venture along this small country road that falls between rice paddocks. Recently, in autumn when the rice has grown to its fullest, almost ready for harvest, I notice that part of some paddocks has fallen. (more…)

New Year Goals- The New Way (revised)

In this post, I am sharing an article I wrote a few years ago. It has been slightly edited but left as close to the original as possible. Having just read it I am fascinated by how my thoughts, beliefs and perspectives have changed. Nothing remains.

It is a representation of my thoughts three years back. In the end, I will write a short dot point summary to reflect my shifting perspectives, thoughts and feelings. Setting New Years Resolutions is a subject we can all relate to, so I hope by reading it you gain some value.

Here it is.

I have always been one to set new year’s resolutions. My mother still has archived New Year’s Resolution lists that I wrote years ago. So many unachieved goals. In reviewing these records, it’s startling how year after year the same goals appear. (more…)

Trap Tales: Outsmarting the 7 Hidden Obstacles to Success by David M. R. Covey and Stephan M. Mardyks

“The greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity or power, but self-rejection.” Henri Nouwen

In this book, the authors share seven traps that people from all walks of life deal with every day. After reading this book, you will be an expert “Trapologist.” Well, that is not entirely accurate because like anything it is one thing to read and learn new information and something else to act on it. (more…)

The Minimalists Podcast by Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus

“Minimalism is a tool that can assist you in finding freedom. Freedom from fear. Freedom from worry. Freedom from overwhelm. Freedom from guilt. Freedom from depression. Freedom from the trappings of the consumer culture we’ve built our lives around. Real freedom.” The Minimalists

Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus are the Minimalists. Two friends who in their late 20’s decided enough was enough. They decided to get off the hamster wheel of life to create and live more meaningful lives. And in doing so, they became The Minimalists.

Minimalism: to live a more meaningful life with less. (more…)

Passions – The Pursuit of Purpose Through Deliberate Practice

There is no doubt in my mind that pursuing our passions makes life great. Passion breeds purpose. It defines an internal motivation that pushes one into action and removes the unnecessary from our lives.

Every day we are all confronted with thoughts of passion. Things we wish to pursue that spark our curiosity and interest. Ideas of doing what we love. Weaving our hearts deepest desires into our daily lives make us dream and dreaming feels good! It is the source to enhance the flavours of an otherwise bland life.

We are all passionate about various things. Passions that have lived from the time we were toddlers and have since woven into the fabric of our personality and character. Some of which we still regularly pursue and shine a light on. Others that kept glowing and like oxygen to a flame only illuminate when we choose to bring breath to them. (more…)

Work with People You Want to Work With.

Thoughts From A Real Estate Agents Perspective 

Written by Leigh Martinuzzi 

“When you please others in hopes of being accepted, you lose your self-worth in the process.” Dave Pelzer

I have spent much energy and time by trying to please everyone, trying to be accepted, trying to be liked but realised I had to change my ways. I began to eliminate those I didn’t want to work with, play with, be with, progress with, achieve with and love. It’s an elimination tactic that helps me thrive. Here’s why.

As a real estate agent, I had to deal with people every day. A big part of my job was to ask people for their business, to select me as the agent to sell their house. (more…)

Summary

Randi Zinn is the author of Going Beyond Mom: How To Activate Your Mind, Body & Business After Baby. In this episode, we talk about her journey and why it has led her to inspire and assist other mums to cultivate a life beyond motherhood.

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The Joe Rogan Experience

“That’s my only goal. Surround myself with funny people, and make sure everyone has a good time and works hard.” Joe Rogan

I believe Joe Rogan is a pioneer of podcasting. A friend introduced me to Rogan’s podcast, suggesting I check out his style and format. He also thought I would enjoy and find his conversations interesting and perhaps even a little educational. That’s how my Joe Rogan experience began.

It’s not a podcast that I listen to all the time. The primary reason for that is because it is bloody long. In the real sense of conversational podcasting, Joe has nailed it. Episodes range from two hours up. I would guess the average length is three-hours. (more…)

7 Rules to Guide You Through Procrastination

A few weeks I posted an article titled – Procrastination: Is Procrastination the Thief of Time?. This week I wish to highlight several rules I use to help guide me through times of procrastination. I hope they are of value.

RULE 1: When in a state of procrastination ask yourself the question, “Is this something of importance or can I eliminate it from all thought?”

If something is important to us, you wouldn’t think we would struggle to act upon it, right?

Putting off those things or importance whether for an hour, a day, a year we will certainly delay the fulfillment and joy it may bring into our lives. Procrastination can stop us from living our lives to their fullest, living our dreams and even prevent us from finding purpose in our lives. (more…)

I Felt Like I Wasn’t Enough. I Felt Like a Failure.

“Fuck what you know. You need to forget about what you know, that’s your problem. Forget about what you think you know about life, about friendship, and especially about you and me.” Tyler Durden

In in my late teens and throughout my 20’s I felt like I wasn’t enough. I felt like it wasn’t achieving anything great. I felt unintelligent, stupid and really immature.

As I tried to define myself and sense of self-worth based on these feelings and personal insecurities I found myself venturing down paths and on a journey in life that kind of sucked and wasn’t truly as I desired. (more…)

Summary

Gut Crisis: How Diet, Probiotics, and Friendly Bacteria Help You Lose Weight and Heal Your Body and Mind

I first spoke to Keith back in episode 241 when we discussed his book Dharam Parenting. A great conversation about Ayurveda body types, consciousness and how to live a better life.

In this episode, we bring Keith back to discuss his new book Gut Crisis. Discussing Ayurveda medicine, gut bacteria, gut microbiome, digestion, diet, health information, and happiness. (more…)

The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying

“Life doesn’t owe us anything. We only owe ourselves, to make the most of the life we are living, of the time we have left, and to live in gratitude.” Bronnie Ware

The top 5 common regrets of the dying.

• I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
• I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
• I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
• I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
• I wish that I had let myself be happier.

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Procrastination: Is Procrastination the Thief of Time?

Have you spent time in procrastination today? If so, over what? It is usually not a matter of if you procrastinate because most of us do daily, but what you procrastinate over. When I think about all the time I’ve spent in procrastination, I wonder how much time I’ve spent over my life.

Is procrastination a time killer, is it time wasted, or is there actual benefits for procrastination?

Putting off things due to indecision, fear or a desire to pursue things that bring more immediate satisfaction on surface value seems purposeless, yet perhaps there is a reason for this act of procrastination.

Procrastination: The act of delaying or postponing something. (more…)

Summary

Scott Turner is Professor of Biology at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) in Syracuse, New York. His principal research focus is the emergence of superorganismal structure and function in the mound building termites of southern Africa, but this is motivated by a larger interest in the interface between physiology, evolution, and design. He is the author of two acclaimed books: The Extended Organism. The Physiology of Animal-Built Structures (2000) and The Tinkerer’s Accomplice. How Design Emerges from Life Itself (2007), both published by Harvard University Press. (more…)

How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain by Lisa Feldman Barrett

“Uncertainty means that things can be other than they appear. This realization brings hope in difficult times and can prompt gratitude in good times.”

This is an amazing book to read. It was quite over my head at points but Lisa has done a fantastic job and explaining the theories as to how emotions are made. The main elements of this book which I think is absolutely amazing to ponder is that number one – the brain is constantly predicting our future, and number two – we are the agents of the reality we live and the destiny we create. (more…)

Summary

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Recently I listened to a podcast by Tim Ferriss on knowing when to quit and when to persevere with something. He had a bunch of special guests report their thoughts and advice to this question, most of which he has interviewed in the past. Have a listen if you haven’t already.

In this article, in parts one and two, I wish to share my thoughts on this question. I may not be as highly regarded as some of the guests on Tim’s show, but I have had my fair share of times when I’ve quit and when I’ve stuck with it. Including times when I should have quit or stuck with but didn’t that have resulted in both favorable and unfavorable outcomes.

I think it is necessary first to determine what it means to quit and what it means to persevere because sometimes the image or definition we attach to words can skew the meaning and affect our thoughts and how we behave. (more…)

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

“Two Core Abilities for Thriving in the New Economy 1. The ability to quickly master hard things. 2. The ability to produce at an elite level, in terms of both quality and speed.” Cal Newport

Anything that can assist us improving our skill in effectiveness is of value. Even though I consider myself a bit of an effectiveness guru there is always plenty of opportunities to learn more and I welcome it. In whatever paths we pursue, being effective will result in greater success and a happier pursuit in life.

This book not only gave me new thoughts, ideas, practices, and perspectives on how I can sharpen my effectiveness but gave me a friendly jab. A reminder as to where I’ve let things slip and inspiration to further improve my game. (more…)

What I Have Learnt – If Anything!

“That’s been one of my mantras – focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” Steve Jobs

Episode 400. It feels like I’ve been doing this podcast for a lot longer but since launch it’s been a year and a half. However, time has a tendency to slow down when things are new and unfamiliar. And for this reason time over the last years has slowed for me, partly due to this podcast and several other changes in my life.

I have learnt a heck of a lot in that time. The information has really led me along a deeper personal transformation journey. It’s been amazing! (more…)

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

I first read this book in my early adult years. I think my parents purchased for me perhaps because they saw my obsession in money and creating riches. At that time the content struck me as new and very abstract. It was insightful and inspiring yet at times a little over my head. Life moved on and in most part so did the teachings of this book.

Think and Grow Rich is an all-time best seller and the principles it teaches about success in this book are in most part timeless. For those seeking riches in life this is a powerful read with practices that I believe will bring results if followed consistently and correctly. However, it is not only about money creation. I believe it can bring riches to all aspects of life. (more…)

Powerful Questions That Will Impact How We Live Our Life

If we don’t pause and give ourselves space to ask and answer questions that matter, we may find ourselves living our life without great meaning or purpose. Questions have been the catalyst to my personal transformation and are the source and continually support for living a happy life.

These are a few questions that I ask in efforts to live with greater passion and purpose. There are more – if you haven’t yet please take time to download and review the questions in my Discover Your Why: Life Purpose Questionnaire, here.

I have recently read and reviewed two amazing books that research and address the power of asking questions. You can find the link to both reviews below and pick yourself up a copy of these book by using the amazon links provided. (more…)

The Thought, The Mind, The Influence, Our Reality

I am my reality. Understanding why we are the reality we live will enable us to summon the power to create the reality we desire. This is not supernatural phenomenon or mind tricks of a Jedi, this is the power our mind and body. The reality we live is an extension of the mind.

We are surrounded everywhere by stimulus in life. Whether that be the signboard we drive pass, the coffee we drink or the advice we receive from a friend. In every moment we are receiving signals from what exists in the external world.

These “things” generate our thoughts that become objects of the mind that form how we perceive our reality.

Where does thought arise from? Who is the thinker of the thought? No one knows the answer to this and I am not sure we need to know. This much we know. Thoughts arise within our brain through neural activity. I believe that this activity is stimulated by circumstance and the stimuli we experience.

If you see a bird fly past it may generate a thought. An argument at breakfast with your spouse will generate thoughts. Thoughts are never ending, always arising and outside our control but not outside our ability to influence.

New thoughts will come with new stimulus and circumstance. They will intertwine with past experience, knowledge and thought.

Thought has power to change our mood and how we feel. How we feel also affects the thoughts we have. Feelings are generated from stimuli and circumstance a cause of our senses and emotions. They raise thought that further influences how we feel. In greater awareness we have an ability to choose whether we react or respond to our thoughts.

If I were to cut myself I will bleed. If I were to be surprised without prior awareness I may jump or flinch in response. There is natural phenomenon that our bodies react to, however I believe that this does not affect our state of being. What affects our state of being is how we react to the thoughts that arise in the mind.

When we cut ourselves we will bleed but how we deal with what proceeds is entirely directed by our thought. The mind may react based on past experience to similar situations but how we respond we can choose. The response will be critical to our future responses becoming a benchmark for our reality.

We may cry in pain from shock or sight of blood. We may be angry, curse or become self-accusing. We may simply breath, remain calm, aware of the pain and blood yet present enough to focus on healing. Aware enough to pause, assess and react most suitable.

Being too reactive to the moment lessens our ability to experience the next moments. Responding appropriately allows us to move on to the next moments.

No matter how we feel in such circumstance the moment will never last, another moment will immediately follow. Time is not permanent. What will last is how we attach ourselves to that moment and carry it into other moments.

I believe that we are the creators of the suffering that exists within our life and therefore in charge of our happiness. We may not be able to control all natural reactions both in physical body and in mind but we can decide on how we want to be. It does not mean we need to manipulate our mind or thought. We just need to become more present and aware.

Pain assists us to focus our attention, our natural defence mechanism so we can protect ourselves for further injury or death. Pleasure we often take for granted. The feel the cool breeze or the sound of rain drops on the roof in a monsoon.

The feelings we once received from being, doing or having certain moments are neglected as such situations are common and familiar. The reason we are always in chase of new things to stimulate pleasurable feelings.

A practice of gratitude grounds us and makes us focus on and appreciate what is already available that makes us feel good. A focus on the pleasures of life can enrich our state of being. We don’t need more of anything to feel satisfied.

If the body senses are working, we can feel good. If the mind is aware we can appreciate these feelings. The reality we live is a matter of how we react or respond to the moments of life.

The pain or unpleasant experiences of life need not be pushed down or bottled but rather accepted, appreciated and understood without attachment. For they too will pass.

And the best way we can influence the thoughts that arise is by being mindful of the stimulus we expose ourselves to.

Negative stimulus will poison the mind creating negative thought. Positive stimulus will infect us with positive thought. Both will influence how we react and/or respond. Both will be either good or bad to the reality we live.

We may not be in control of what we think and when we think but we can influence the source of thought and be mindful of how we relate to and respond to thought.

“Before you can control conditions, you must first control yourself. Self mastery is the hardest job you’ll ever tackle. If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self. You may see at one at the time both your best friend and greatest enemy by stepping in front of a mirror.” Napoleon Hill

In this episode I share with you my thoughts on self-control and how we can influence the lacking of free will in our lives so that we can become our greatest leaders and direct our ship towards the destination we desire to go.

You can review my blog post here and you can also watch this episode online at THY TV.

If you are looking to gain a little more self-control in areas of your life please reach out to me for a free consultation call. I would love to assist if it’s a fit. 

Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion by Sam Harris

“The fact that one can lose one’s sense of self in an ocean of tranquility does not mean that one’s consciousness is immaterial or that it presided over the birth of the universe.” Sam Harris

Another fascinating and insightful read of the year. Sam Harris is the author of five New York Times best sellers including this one and writes on the topics of neuroscience, religion, meditation, politics and philosophy. He also has a kick-ass podcast that was introduced to me by a friend that has become a bit of a favourite.

Discover Your Why! Free Coaching Call Valued at $250

Sam Harris is deep and very knowledgeable. If I am honest much of what he talks about is over and beyond my simplistic mind but when I do manage to handle his language and thoughts I am inspired beyond which words can’t describe – speechless!

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A Thought On Self-Sabotage

You know what you want. The Self-knows it. But you also see what you are comfortable with so you choose to do what you know. You have ambitions, you know you’d love to sing and inspire many, jumping like a mad dog from a stage into the crowd, but your consciousness and subconscious has no concept of this.

The subconscious is to be responsible for 95 to 99 percent of all our behaviours. It is controlling us. It brings to our reality what we know and what we believe to know. To believe that we might be a major rock star some day singing from stage to thousands of fans may be hard to grasp. Dreams are always hard to convince ourselves or others of their possibility.

To sit and drink and eat pasta, followed by wine, banter with friends, playing games or watching a movie, now this is familiar. This kind of common behaviours I have no problem in pursuing.

The mind much like the universe attracts to it what it knows. How do you find a way around this? I want to inspire, I want to motivate, I want to be something else, the David Wood, the Tony Robbins, the spiritual wise guy, but I have no idea how. I can learn I can better understand yet I am no nearer that state of being that I desire.

Perhaps this is all that is and will be. I don’t think it is, nor do I wish for it to be, but it just might be. As I look at life as it exists, understanding the history and evolution and human kind, and even experience an ability to manipulate my reality, I know that reality is a creation of the conscious mind.

Law, rules, life, happiness, what is it, and what is my ambition for doing as I desire? It is no more real than the computer than I type on – a mere conjuring of energy, atoms and perception. Maybe more! I cannot be sure.

Science suggests that the idea of “free will” is an illusion. Neurologists have discovered that our behaviours are simply responses to the electro-energy pulses that cause our neurons to fire and us to act. Based on our environment, our past all the way back to our birth and beyond. Our evolutionary genes are also partly responsible.

If this is the case and our life is without choice, then who we are and what does it all mean? If I were to recede, fall back, smoke opium, seek constant pleasure in the attempt to avoid or not to accept displeasure would I be any happier or real? That kind of thought brings me to the ground. I wonder why I don’t seek to drug myself – and then I remember how much more clear and how much more pleasure I have by not drugging myself. I am guilty of over-drinking but not so much anymore. The conditioning of the past is sometimes difficult to clean up. It takes time! Acknowledge this and persist.

It has been said the intoxication much like food, shelter and warmth is a need. The need to detach ourselves from the illusion of Self. Become at one with the universe and see greater truths beyond the mesmerising chaotic state of mind that we as a collective society have become bound.

Throughout our evolutionary process, it seems each advancement that has promised to bring us greater joy and a higher quality of life has also taken away some of our ability to live with freedom, fulfilment and happiness. Our lifestyles are having an impact on our ability to meet our fundamental human needs – growth, health, expression, significance, contribution and love.

It makes sense to me to take drugs. Mind-altering drugs. While I use to think I enjoyed smoking cigarettes it makes less sense to me now. I would be better off smoking something to remove me from my absorption in my Self.

Animals intoxicate. Dolphins eat puffer fish. Elephants, apes, and monkeys get drunk on fermented fruit. Others take ayahuasca. Goats eat magic mushrooms, and wallabies eat poppy seeds. Many animals like to get high! Escaping our Self is not an uncommon notion.

Meditation is perhaps the cleanest and healthiest way to do this. While it is not a process of leaving the body, it is a process of observing and better understanding the mind, the sanctuary in which the concept of Self is formed.

Like free will, however, the Self is also an illusion. The soul, the Self, the why, they do not exist, and yet we can all relate to some form of them. It feels like we have a choice or free will in life. Just as it feels as if we are the drivers of the Self that propels us on our unique paths in life and differentiates us from others. It gives us a sense of separation, and maybe that is part of the cause for some of our suffering.

Some issues may arise from accepting determinism a belief that there is no free will. To acknowledge that there is no Self might seem liberating, but how might it be damaging to the quality of life we live?

If you are not responsible for your actions, if you have no choice, if who you are and who you will become is outside your control then why do anything at all? Living with such notions will kill ambitions, motivation and inspiration to search for meaning in life. An attachment to an identity of Self creates meaning in life and at the same time can lead to greater suffering.

Such belief will also dull our senses to the experience of life through a lack of effort to experience more. It will limit us in our pursuit of self-progression. We will become less grateful, less willing, less giving, less creative, less caring, less moral, less relevant. Only the last of these may bring some benefits for I think it is when we let go of the importance and attachment to the Self we can truly be free. As for the rest, they will only bring about greater unhappiness in life.

Self-sabotage is the will to damage, destroy or obstruct our own lives. Why would any of us wish to block the paths of our journey forward in life, it seems ludicrous but is often the case. We know what we want but what stops us from getting it? Resources, time, knowledge or skill? Is it any of these things?

Resources are abundant and more accessible than ever. Time is limited and decreasing every single moment, so waiting is not a good idea. If anything the knowledge of this should be our greatest motivation to get out of our way and take action towards living our dreams. Right now you have the most time you ever will so use it wisely and use it with great purpose.

Knowledge and skill can be learned, and in the age of information, we are surrounded by it. It might be that the only thing holding us back from progressing and living the life we desire is the Self or more specifically the attachment to a particular identity of Self.

If our actions are constantly being predicted based on our past perhaps what we do next is out of our control. Our unconsciousness may be keeping living in the environment and state of being that we are familiar. How can we influence all of this? The best way I know of is by becoming more aware of the mind.

If neurons fire based on our past experiences what if we manipulate them towards how we wish to act in the future by pushing ourselves into new and unfamiliar experiences? I think we can.

“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe it achieves, whatever you think about the most you become.” Napoleon Hill

First, we have to stop taking life so seriously. Relax! Your survival and my survival is worth caring about, but we are no more important or separate from the grand cosmos than a blade of grass or grain of sand. Acknowledging this is useful. If you find it hard then look into the night sky and try to find the reason why we are more important than anything else that does or may exist out there.

How we wish to live and breathe through what we do matters. So do the experiences we have and how we feel. Doing good and avoiding actions that may cause ourselves or others suffering. That stuff is important. After we go, and death is common to us all, we take nothing with us. All that remains is what we have given in life. And we are best able to give when we stop our self-sabotage.

Secondly, we must better understand the Self. Meditation and mindfulness practices will allow you to assess the mind and contemplate life and in practice, it will have significant benefits. With this kind of understanding, you will better understand why you do as you do, why others do as they do, why things exist as they are. It will allow you to appreciate the moment as it is and avoid the traps and discomfort of the past or the future that do not exist.

Finally, create the new comfort that you desire by moving beyond your current comfortable states. If what keeps us where we are is the fear of stepping out of our comfort zone what happens if we change those fears by stepping into these new dimensions.

Step up on a stage and sing to crowds and see what happens to the subconscious mind. Influence our realities by taking action towards the dreams we have, and we will experience the change of the mind and how it goes about creating and interpreting the reality we live.

Self-sabotage is real. I am an example of this. Too often I stand in my way, blocked by my fears. I resonate with a sense of Self but know it does not bind me unless I allow it to. I have seen how by chasing down new experiences I have been able to manipulate this image of Self and with that I’ve been able to move towards living the life I desire. An attachment to a Self that I create is restricting to my progress. Let it go!

It has been with greater awareness I have been able to understand myself better, my weaknesses and self-sabotaging tendencies. In waking up, we can free ourselves from our self-imposed limitations so that I can mend, heal, improve and progress to live life as we wish.

Summary

“What would you do if you knew you could not fail?”

Frank Sesno’s book, Ask More: The Power of Questions to Open Doors, Uncover Solutions and Spark Change shows how we can be more effective at work, at home and in life by putting great questions to work for us. What questions should we be asking?

Discover Your Why – Free Coaching Call Valued at $250

Ask More offers eleven categories of questions, each with its own approach, outcome and listening skills. We can use questions to learn, to connect with others, to trigger innovation and imagination, to convey authorship and to discover a shared mission.

Frank Sesno is an Emmy Award-winning journalist and former anchor, White House Correspondent, Washington Bureau Chief, and talk show host for CNN. He currently serves as director of George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs, and is the creator of Planet Forward, an innovative forum seeking solutions to daunting challenges such as global hunger. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Key Take Outs

• Remove the period from the sentence and ad a questions mark. It will spark further discovery.
• Find time for silence to ask questions.
• Find time for conversation.
• Make an appointment for questioning. It helps remove surprise.
• Try a conversation where you don’t use “I” am “me.”
• Use Echo questions. Listen to key words, facts or emotions and repeat it. This will assist to expand the insight and discussion.
• Empathetic questioning requires you to put yourself in the shoes of the respondent.

Do you have any routines and rituals that you believe contribute to your success?

Curious about people and always fascinated to know more. Open minded and just want to view things from many various angles. It helps deepen understanding about humanity.

What advice would you give your 20-year-old self?

To ask more. Not just the first question the first time. Ask in layers. Be deliberate and purposeful. Also, I think its important to challenge yourself.

What advice would you give someone that needing/wanting to make change?

What makes me feel proud. What would make my friends and family proud? What would make a difference? What would you like to read about yourself if someone wrote a biography about you?

Quick round questions

Favourite Food

Chinese food

Favourite Leisure Activity

Horse-back ridding.

Favourite Book

Life Reimagined: The Science, Art, and Opportunity of Midlife by Barbara Bradley Hagerty

Favourite Quote

“What would you do if you knew you could not fail?”

What is the meaning of life?

Make a difference in someone else’s life. Doing something that has value in my own life. Giving back. Creating.

Do we all have a why?

I don’t know. Not necessarily.

What does living with passion and purpose mean?

Passion is what we love and care about. Purpose is setting ourselves a goal and achieving it.

How to find

Website: www.askmorebook.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/franksesno/

Discover your Hidden Why – Jump on the Discovery Call and take your life to the level you desire it to be. In this free coaching call, valued at $250, discover what it takes to start living you life with greater passion & purpose. Do you want more freedom, fulfilment and happiness? Let me show you how. Limited spots available!

A Thought On Time, Correct Use of Time, Life and Productivity

I have always said that I am an impatient person in nature. This characteristic kind of forces me to make the most of time – to not use time incorrectly. Of course how I use time and therefore define “correct use” of time will likely differ from you. There is not one rule that fits us all. It is important to live this life as you wish and that doesn’t happen by following the typical paths of society or others. Do what works for you!

It is easy to appreciate the preciousness of time. Understanding it is our most valuable resource. I like being very conscious of time. And yet I wonder! I wonder how much pressure time places on me and how I live my life. Is it healthy? Do I allow time to own me? Is my consciousness of time and effectiveness with time actually the creator of much of my anxiety, stress and suffering? (more…)

Global Tribe – Is External Definition & Social A Cause of Self-Suffering?

It would appear that as a whole there is more fear in society than ever before. Many have stated that there is less to be fearful of than ever before. As it relates to our ability to survive there may be some truth to such claims. However, if people are living in greater fear than ever before what is going on.

Depression is on the rise despite the numerous methods of treatment available. There is more opportunity at our finger tips than ever before. For those fortunate to have basic needs covered, food, water, shelter and warmth, there is more life enhancing elements available at our disposal – yet fear is increasingly evident.

This is merely a perspective of my own based upon what I perceive and may or may not be more severe than I describe. I am my eye! I do not have all the answers nor do I know what is truly happening or causing the fear I see. I am a deep and compassionate man. I seek truth. I seek real. I desire less suffering. And I’d rather spend my time being a proponent of love, not fear. (more…)

Summary

Best-selling “Letting Go” author Guy Finley’s encouraging and accessible message is one of the true bright lights in our world today. His ideas go straight to the heart of our most important personal and social issues – relationships, success, addiction, stress, peace, happiness, freedom – and lead the way to a higher life. He has also written “The Secret of Letting Go,” “The Essential Laws of Fearless Living” and 35 other major works that have sold over a million copies in 18 languages worldwide.

Discover Your Why – Free Coaching Call Valued at $250

Finley is Director of Life of Learning Foundation, the non-profit self-realization school founded in 1992. The mission of Life of Learning Foundation is to sow the seeds of higher self-knowledge into every corner of the world. Our purpose is to help individuals realize enhanced levels of self-reliance through self-illumination, in order that the lingering dark states of fear, hatred, injustice, and intolerance have no place left to hide. Our long-term intention is that the day dawns when hearts and minds everywhere are free of limitations inherent in negative emotions such as anger, depression, anxiety, and stress, having been replaced by kindness, compassion, and the love of higher wisdom. (more…)

Summary

Satyen Raja is the founder and president of WarriorSage, a living synthesis of Eastern wisdom and Western practicality, combining the power of the warrior and the wisdom of the sage. WarriorSage help leaders and influencers make leaps with their sexuality and relationships, power and influence, money and complete freedom.

Discover Your Why – Free Coaching Call Valued at $250

He is a lifetime black belt Martial Artist, a master in a plethora of healing and consciousness raising modalities and visionary thought leader. He has invested over three decades on hands-on research and teaching thousands of individuals internationally in the art of ‘true power to compel his clients to harness their greatest obstacles and transform them into their most powerful gifts. (more…)

The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking by Dale Carnegie

What is your greatest fear?

Can I suggest that public speaking is up their in your top 10. To some this might sound strange yet even the most rehearsed speakers have some nerves before speaking. Public speaking is one of the most common fears among people. Why?

Discover Your Why! Free Coaching Call Valued at $250

Our fears are inbuilt and designed to protect us from self-harm. Fear brings upon us unpleasant emotions when we face danger, pain, or injury. Yet what is the worse thing that could happen when we speak in front of a crowd? (more…)

Summary

Doug Hensch is an ICF credentialed coach who brings a wealth of experience and passion to the work he does for his clients. His philosophy is simple: Set meaningful goals. Identify your strengths. Work in them regularly.

Discover Your Why – Free Coaching Call Valued at $250

This philosophy guided him at Nextel Communications where he led the company’s eCare efforts that resulted in yearly savings that exceeded $10 million. Working in his strengths with purpose helped him launch a leading self-improvement web site that helped over 100,000 people increase their well-being and resilience. (more…)

Summary

Part of the new generation of spiritual visionaries and thought leaders, Derek Rydall is the author of EMERGENCE: Seven Steps for Radical Life Change and the world’s #1 expert on the revolutionary Law of Emergence.

Discover Your Why – Free Coaching Call Valued at $250

He has trained top executives at Fortune 500 companies in empowered leadership and communications, and has coached celebrities and media professionals on creating conscious entertainment. (more…)

“A fixation with connecting with ‘friends’ online comes with the risk of disconnection with friends waiting for you to be present in the offline world.” Craig Hodges

Summary

“What would you dare to dream if you knew you couldn’t fail?” Brian Tracy

After a failed business in 1992, Darren LaCroix took the stage in a Boston comedy club and bombed miserably. It was horrible. The headliner that night told him to “keep his day job.” Friends told him that his dream of making people laugh for a living was crazy and stupid. He didn’t listen.

He may have been born without a funny bone in his body, but he possessed the desire to learn and the willingness to fail. These were the essentials for achieving his dream. He says, Effort + Direction = Mastery.

In 2001, Darren LaCroix out-spoke 25,000 contestants from 14 countries to become the World Champion of Public Speaking. Darren now travels the world demystifying the process of creating a powerful presentation. (more…)

Does your mind race, bend, warp, cry, heal, struggle, dream, stare, criticise, accumulate, create, repeat, repeat, repeat? It is hard to keep control of the mind. Many have described the mind as being like a drunken money stung by a scorpion. Its so hard to tame the overwhelmed mind and as modern society pushes into new realms, increasing quicker every single day, the easier it is to become swept away in the chaos.

My mind is constantly in motion. I like to slow it with alcohol with a belief that would help it rest and it does but not in he healthiest way. I still like the idea of letting go of all control in a drunken state but perhaps there are better ways to do this. Ideas, thoughts and visions are constantly circling my mind, I am a creative type and no that I am not alone. We all have thoughts that overwhelm us whether its a creative thought or other – they can consume us so intensely that we become less effective.

(more…)

Summary

“What job is easy, fun & rewarding?”

Shane Seymour is the founder of TV Magic Franchising Pty Ltd. Shane Seymour was born in the small country town in Queensland, Australia and had a very modest upbringing. Shane relished in competing and being the best at anything he devoted his time to. The key to his success was living with a healthy obsession for that task/goal at hand. (more…)

Summary

Tom Corley understands the difference between being rich and poor: at age nine, his family went from being multi-millionaires to broke in just one night, due to a catastrophic fire that destroyed his Dad’s thriving business. For fourteen years they struggled with poverty. Due to this Tom had a limited mindset when it came to money and wealth.

Driven by the desire to unlock the secrets to success and failure, Tom spent five years studying the daily activities of 233 rich people and 128 poor people. He discovered that there was an immense difference between the habits of the rich and poor. During his research he identified over 300 daily activities that separated the “haves” from the “have nots.” Tom decided to write a book, Rich Habits, that went on to become an Amazon Bestseller in the United States. He has written 2 more since then called, Rich Kids and Change Your Habits, Change Your Life.

Naturally, in this episode we discuss these habits. The behaviors and activities that will determine the level of success you have in life. Two keystone habits we discuss are daily self-improvement and the importance of quality relationships. We also discuss the difference between dream setting and goal setting.

I had so many questions to ask Tom and while what we covered is gold there is certainly more to discover. I will have to get him back on the show. Please enjoy this chat and until next time, peace, passion and purpose.

(more…)

HIRE LEIGH TO SPEAK TO YOUR GROUP

ABOUT LEIGH

Leigh Martinuzzi (aka The Hidden Why Guy) has been engaging and inspiring audiences to not only to discover their why, but to live their why with his mix of highly passionate and empowering Keynote Presentations.

He’s an expert in lifestyle & business design. He dislikes seeing others living a dissatisfying life so he helps people transition from living a life they hate to living a life they love.

Life is not niche, it is complex, but this doesn’t mean how we live life needs to be complicated. For that reason Leigh speaks on a wide array of topics, from spirituality to business and productivity.

Leigh is the expert in the areas of relationships, growth, significance, action, contribution, health, passion and purpose. He shows people how to connect with their Hidden Why which then becomes their Life Compass.

The Life Compass is a navigational tool for life and business that allows more purposeful action towards living with greater freedom, fulfilment and happiness.

Leigh is highly motivational, passionate, energetic and not only does he know his topics but he is living them. He is curios, open and continues to learn realistic approaches to lifestyle/business design that work. Leigh’s communication style has been described as simple, humble, fun and action orientated, a quality that makes Leigh very approachable.

WHAT MAKES LEIGH DIFFERENT

PASSION          ENERGY          REALISTIC          PURPOSE          BREATHES IT          CUSTOMISED          CURIOUS         COMPASSION

PAST CLIENTS AND RAVING FANS

“Leigh is an outstanding and charismatic speaker. He is engaging and truly cares about his audience. His ability to use real-life examples and talk about change is exactly what everyone needs to hear. Getting down to “why” we make the choices we make in life is important when trying to access how we can grow and Leigh is an expert in this area. His willingness to get to know the organization and customize his presentation to the group makes a huge difference in the level of impact. If you’re looking for a dynamic speaker on the topics of personal development, productivity, and positive habit forming, Leigh is the person to hire!” Aleesha Nash

“Leigh has wonderful speaking capabilities that keeps his audience engaged and captivated. The combination of his well thought out content and talent for speaking make his topics very relevant and personal. He comes off to his audience as a very friendly, knowledgeable, and focused individual that has a great passion behind his content. He inspires and motivates his listeners which is what keeps them coming back for more of his fantastic work. Keep up the great work, Leigh!” Sarah Sudduth

“I am pleased and honoured to express my gratitude to Leigh Martinuzzi for his initiative with The Hidden Why programme. Leigh is an inspiring speaker with stories of success, learnings, experiences to help others live an enriching life. I found his talk to be very helpful for youths like me to see the choices in life, think through different options, learn insightful suggestions to imbibe within ourselves to live a hopeful life.” Bharath Nataraj

“Leigh is an eloquent passionate speaker that can hold his audience, at times spell bound and at others laughing uproariously. He demonstrates that not only is he confident speaking but he knows what he’s talking about having researched his subject thoroughly. I have so hesitation recommending him to speak at any function on a variety of subjects. In conclusion, he’s funny, knowledgeable, confident, and engaging and I wish him well in his future business endeavours.” Valmai Moran

SPEAKING AND WORKSHOPS TOPICS

WHAT OTHERS ARE BENEFITING FROM AND ENJOYING CURRENTLY

Leigh Customises Topics On Request

The Ultimate Life Map: A Purposeful Journey in Life or Business to Greater Freedom, Fulfilment and Happiness 

Fast Track to Effectiveness: A Process to Doing Everything with Higher Purpose & Effectiveness

Life’s Compass: A Ultimate Guide to Taking More Purposeful Action in Business & Life

Delegate to Freedom: Achieve True Time Effectiveness & Productivity with Virtual Assistants

THIS IS IT!!!

Connect with Leigh and Bring more Passion and Purpose to Your next Event

If you’re interested in hiring Leigh to speak at your organisation or event, please email The Speaking Coordinator, Anita, at thehiddenwhyguy@gmail.com. Speaking fees are modest and are based on location, time requirements, and congruency of the message with the organisation or event.

Prior to any engagement, Leigh works with the companies or associations key people to ensure his message is an exact fit for where the organisation & it’s people are at.

CONTACT: +81 070 4211 7204

thehiddenwhyguy@gmail.com

ONLINE

Linkedin – Leigh Martinuzzi 

Youtube – THY TV (COMING SOON)

Facebook – The Hidden Why

Twitter – @leighmartinuzzi 

Speaking and Presenting: 6 Thoughts On Improving Your Presentation Skills

If you knew me when I was in school, you would question my credibility to talk on such a topic. The truth is that when I was younger I was a shy kid, unless I knew you well.

When it came to giving presentations at school I would wig out. I would freak out for several weeks prior to the event and then on the stage, I would sweet, turn red, mumble, stutter, slur and shake. I hated public speaking.

Something has changed over the years. I have, through various jobs, been forced to speak in front of people. It hasn’t been an easy transition however I have found some joy in it. I find joy in change. My nerves still exist, at times more than others, and I still become anxious yet not as much as before.

(more…)

The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey and Jim Huling

This book is written for organisations and leaders to help achieve rapid behaviour changing results amongst their teams and employees. The principles and strategies that have been tested and proven to work, can be directly applied to our own lives.

As we are our greatest leader in life, I feel that you will be able to adapt these principles to help you become a master at execution. The four principles that are discussed in this book are: Focusing on the wildly important; Acting on lead measures; Keeping a compelling scoreboard; and Creating a cadence of accountability.

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“This is your life yours, its yours to live as you wish, towards all those things that you desire. Dream big! Go after everything that you want and make sure its in line with what your passionate about and make sure everything you do is purposeful in getting you there.”

In this weeks solo show I decided to get a couple of past guests and friends on the show to have an open chat about The Hidden Why and subjects within. However, Daniel Van Veluwen thought it would be a great idea to instead turn the tables and interview me.

This is an interview with myself discussing who I am, what I am doing and why I am doing this project, The Hidden Why. Its a really down to earth chat about various things but importantly about what it means to live life with greater passion and purpose.

We delve off on various tangents along the way with I believe some valuable take-outs. Please enjoy this show and until next time peace, passion and purpose.

Summary

“It’s my hero’s journey and it just goes to prove that we can be called to do almost anything in this life.”

Kim “Skipper” Corbin created the iSkip movement back in 1999 Kim found herself being, encouraged by a friend, skipping down a street.  Having felt a great sense of energy, happiness & fun from this and knowing that it must be fantastic for fitness, she was inspired to take it one skip further. Her vision was to start a world wide skipping movement and so it begins.

In this interview we discuss why it’s important to pay attention to the signals and messages in life and how this, in a spiritual sense, is our connection to the universe. Asking questions and holding an open and curious mind that allows you to grow, learn and take hold of opportunities that comes about is also important.

(more…)

What do you do when faced with disbelievers and the naysayers?

For many of us it can be the ones we are surrounded by, the ones that we love, that love us, the people that are in our life that can often put stop to our dreams.

We are also confronted by those that we somehow associate with, the ones that tell us that what we dream, what we desire to do and to achieve, is the impossible.

The ones we love usually do it to try and protect us from self-harm. Our parents tell us that it wont work based on their experience.  Our friends don’t want to see us fail or find disappointment.

For the others, they are envious and really don’t want to see us succeed. They are the ones wishing that they had the courage to follow their heart.

(more…)

Summary

“Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.”

Chris is the founder of Actionable Books, which is all about picking out the key message and actionable points of both business and personal transformational books. The business has grown and adapted and now at its core is all about fostering better relationships at the workplace by helping leaders and their team create powerful conversations.

Our conversation is rich with many great take-outs and while we do seem to run of in tangents I think this only improves the depth of conversation. We discuss the importance of reading both at an individual level and business level, implementation and how to taking action from what you learn, and how to creating powerful conversations

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Summary

“You can buy success, you have to pay the rent everyday.” Kevin Clayson

Kevin Clayson describes himself as a pretty simple fellow yet when you listen to this episode you may think otherwise. He comes across with so much energy it is contagious. I found myself talking faster and pumped-up as if I just had 8 red bulls myself, which he jokingly says he had prior to this interview.

He reveals many great tips and tricks and certainly in our chat we uncover useful ideas and inspiration for all of us on our journey. We also discuss his book, FLIPing the Gratitude Switch, which is something he has worked on over the last few years. Speaking in front of many people sharing this information. The FLIP philosophy is awesome!

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Summary

“Become loyal to your inner most truth, follow the way when all others abandoned it, walk the path of your own heart.” Bali

Helen’s passion and love is to help people overcome depression and anxiety so that they can live a life they love and to their ultimate potential. With the fact that 65 percent of the workforce suffers with anxiety and depression, inhibiting them from doing what could be doing, she has great value to offer. She helps people remove these blocks so they can lead lives with full passion and purpose.

Among other things Helen is a hypnotherapist, author, speaker, business mentor, and is the founder of Hypnofit that has helped thousands of people radically enhance their energy, vitality and motivation.

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Tim Ferris is one of my mentors and as a matter of fact his face stares at me from my vision board hanging on my wall in front of me. Why do I look at this man instead of the thousands of others that I am sure have value to offer? It’s because I admire a few very simple traits he holds and shares very openly.

I am sure there are qualities that perhaps I don’t see and traits that perhaps don’t gel with my own but hey, that’s just life. The reason why I have many mentors and not just the one is because I can take a little bit of something from each of them to make me a little more improved.

That is my goal in life, self-improvement, to continually learn and improve myself each day until my body escapes me or until I perhaps escape my body.

So what are the three things I admire most about Tim?

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Summary

“Give until it feels great and not until it hurts.”

Jenny Santi is a leading and trusted philanthropy advisor to some of the most generous philanthropists and celebrity activists worldwide.

She helps her clients channel their wealth, power and influence to providing greater social good. More recently she has just completed writing her book called “The Giving Way to Happiness”, which shares stories and the science behind the life changing power of giving.

It a unique discussion to assist us to better understand why giving is so beneficial, not only the wider world,  but also within. She decided to write this book to help readers understand that giving or philanthropy is not only for the very rich and famous.

I hope you obtain a great deal of value here. Please review the key take outs below, take time to provide us with your feedback, comments and questions and get in touch with Jenny or myself if you so wish to. Give, peace, passion and purpose…

“Seek and you shall find.”

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A life without regret: 8 Ways to get yourself out of the FUNK

“I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself, not a life that others expected of me.”

Do you ever get that feeling like life is going nowhere? You fell like your stuck and unable to get out? Feeling restricted and like this is how life is meant to be but deep within you there is a yearning to be free?

Life is challenging, life is full of ups and downs, and life can be difficult, sometimes it feels so hard and complicated that you may wonder what its all for, but this shouldn’t be the case!

Life is grand. Life is a gift. At times life might present you with challenges but they shouldn’t be meet with struggle and disdain but rather be greeted with a smile and treated as healthy and exciting challenges.

Understand life and what it truly means and you may just find it’s actually not so hard but rather easy and pleasurable. (more…)

Daniel is a long time friend and joins me in the studio to share his passions. He is a graphic designer and freelancer and I would also consider him a master in communication and why is that? Well being associated to the marketing world how you communicate is essential and certainly he understands this thoroughly.

What I really love about Daniel is his passion to discover more about life. He is phenomenal at bio hacking and really experimenting on himself in order to make himself the healthiest he can be in order to live a long and energetic life. Ultimately he wants to treat his body as best as possible to reach peak performance. He does this by experimenting with diet, questioning the status quo and pushing the boundaries to live his life with as much potential as possible.

“How is your mindset and relationship with food, is it serving you?”

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Aaron is a life and business coach who has led a successful career as a veteran entrepreneur creating and selling many businesses along the way. He now draws on his 37 years of entrepreneurial and life experiences to help other men in creating greater success in their own life and businesses.

With all his experience thought challenges faced himself Aaron show us how we can lead a life with consistent pursuit of excellence. Why clearing your schedule of the unnecessary is advisable with a mindset of working smarter not harder. What it means to live life of significance and the benefits of coaching and forming master mind groups.

“Go an inch wide and dig a mile deep.”

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Does this come natural? Are we born to know what it is in life we should do? Are we born with passion? Must we search for what it is that excites us? Or do we simply stumble across something during life that gets us pumped?

Probably a combination of all the above, some will find their calling in life earlier than others however whenever you discover it, it is well worth the search.

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” Mark Twain

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When you’ve got something you just have to do but perhaps it is not the most exciting part of my week you need to make it fun. And at the moment that’s exactly what I am doing, listening to podcasts and audiobooks while I ride around on my scooter for 3 to 5 hours.

I just listened to one of my mentors and friend, David Wood. David bought up the idea of going first so why not record myself and share and elaborate in my own style what this all means.

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If you’ve never done sales before it doesn’t matter, rejection gets to us all.

The fear of receiving a blow and having someone say ‘NO’. REJECTED!

How embarrassing this will be. How hurtful. How insulting.

The fear of rejection can lead to a life lived in regret.

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