Unconventional Life – Podcast, Blog, Live Events

Author: Jules Schroeder

Ep275: Purpose and Effort Driving Passion and Success, With Muse Co-Founder Ariel Garten
Pursuing something meaningful is a beautiful yet seemingly difficult endeavour for most people. We are sure about wanting to make or do something impactful. But finding the direction you want to go and deciding what you want to do are hard choices.
There’s so much I want to do but which one is worth doing first?
The driven genius Ariel Garten shows us that it’s not about choosing what to do first, rather it’s about choosing to take action and turn your passion into results.
Being in a multitude of industries – fashion, neuroscience, psychotherapy, and technology – she’s gone through a lot of trial and error, and to her, it was in that journey that we learned what our real purpose is—and where to pour out our effort.
“My outlet has changed but the intention has not,” Ariel states.
Energetic and inspired, Ariel has always had this compelling need to make meaningful things in all areas of her life. Her burning desire and enthusiasm for creation have led her to branch off into different paths. Playing both sides of arts and science, finding that connection with her passions is the reason for Ariel’s success.
“I was really weaving these worlds, trying to find the thread between art and science and pulling them together” she points out, “we really wanted to do something that was gonna make the world a better place”.
Her big visions and her thirst for creation made it possible for Muse to grow into what it is today.
Considering the difficulty of her goal, Ariel’s journey was heavily criticized for its scale. She notes that at the beginning of her journey it seemed too ambitious, but the eager innovator stressed, “I just had this undying, unfettered belief in myself: that it was possible to do this and I could figure out a way.”
For Ariel, it was not just her talent and brain that made her successful, but also her unwavering determination.

More from Ariel:

Muse – www.choosemuse.com/welcome
Follow her IG @ariels_musings
Add her on FB Ariel Garten Muse
June 7, 2021
Ep274: Food Paired with Loving Intention, with Food for Life Co-founder Paul Turner
Food for Life is one of the largest non-profit organizations in the world and is serving more than 2 million vegan meals daily. One of its founders, Paul Turner, started their mission with the aim to teach people that there is more to food, and more to this world, than what we perceive.

Young Monk
Other than Food for Life, Paul has also served as a senior consultant at the World Bank, an entrepreneur Holistic Life Coach, and a vegan chef. But before any of that, he was a child.
Born in one of the poorer areas of Sydney, Australia, Paul was introduced to the bitterness of life at an early age. It’s also at this young phase that he was fascinated with spirituality.
“My dad was a small-time criminal,” Paul shared, “the friends of the family were also criminals so we grew up in a pretty crazy situation. And at the age of 15, I became interested in astronomy. That sort of planted the seed in my heart that there must be more to life than this.”
In his teenage years, he joined a group of people that gathered near an abandoned hotel resort. There he stayed for six months. During this time, he realized his calling and began his journey to spiritual development. He joined an ashramat the age of 19 and dedicated 14 years of his life to being a celibate monk.
A vital part of his learning came to him after his head was shaved and he became a part of the monks. “I looked in the mirror and realized, that vanity,” Paul said, “that person that I thought I was now is on the floor. Now I’m a little different. Who am I really? I’m obviously not this body, this body is just a vehicle. It’s how I’m expressing my consciousness.”

Pure Food
Learning from a Bengali celibate monk named Swami Prabhupada, Paul discovered Bhakti—Yoga of Devotion. Building upon the concepts in this practice, he began teaching it to others and through the mission of Food for Life.
“Food, when paired with loving intention, has the ability to nourish mind, body and soul,” Paul said, “Food can shift consciousness.” He believes that the cause for world hunger isn’t the lack of food, but the lack of humanity.
“Our mission is to unite the world through the sharing of pure food,” Paul stresses, “If we saw ourselves as a united global family, things like hunger would disappear because you wouldn’t tolerate your brother or sister going hungry.”
Paul also notes that they’re the most cost-effective feeding program in the world, because of their vegan diet. Feeding up to 40 people from a donation of $10. On top of this, they are also educating people about the advantages of shifting to a vegan diet, as well as getting more members to help serve with loving intent.

Cultivating the Self
Paul shares that in his journeys, a lot of young people describe success as being an influencer or YouTuber. Concerned, he notes that there should be more to what we do. Part of balancing our lives should be taking care of our spirit.
“We have to be responsible citizens but at the same time, we have to also cultivate our real potential insider,” he shares. “Because eventually at some point in time, this body is gonna stop working, and we’re gonna have to move on.”
He shares that reincarnation is a fact that is happening now. People change every day. Once we were children and now, we’re adults. As the spiritual being we are, it’s the inner self we should work most to develop.

More from Paul:

email: paul@ffl.org
Food for Life: ffl.org
Business owners can support through: omguarantee.com
LinkedIn: Paul Rodney Turner
May 31, 2021
Ep273: Stripping Down to Your Bare Feet, with You Enjoy Life founder Joshua Greenfield
Some of you might recall the name Joshua Greenfield from the renowned entertainment duo Brothers Green. Together with his sibling Mike, the two went viral online for their fun chemistry in the kitchen which made it to the airwaves of MTV, airing internationally.
This was the picture of success for most entertainers and artists, but Joshua shares with us today his newfound happiness from stepping away from the spotlight.

Leaving Fame
As Joshua puts it, we’re all creating an image of who we are through some kind of channel. Whether it be YouTube or TV, or any online presence, there is a version of us there that we try to hold up. He shares that it reached a point, where he couldn’t take up the façade any longer.
“Holding on to this idea of who I am will create suffering for myself,” Joshua shares, “putting meaning to this person who we think we’re supposed to be, created more struggle.”
In leaving his celebrity image behind, Joshua found himself a path to rediscover his true self.
“Leaving brothers green was one of the most freeing things that ever happened to me. I was starting to get caught on this character [and] it led me to this journey of who am I really beyond that character.”

Rediscovery
After leaving Brother Green, Joshua rekindled his love for cooking and found more purpose in his kitchen.
“What I love about food is the connection,” he shares, “now I teach more about mindful eating and conscious consumption helping people make a healthy relationship with nature and what they’re eating. Instead of making it about the food, it’s about how it makes you feel.”
Additionally, in this journey to self-discovery, Joshua searched for ways he could connect more to his internal self. He learned from different communities, Buddhist teaching, and on his journey, he even lost his shoes.

Grounding
Being born in a family of Podiatrists, Joshua was aware of most of the science that surrounds it. He also points out that there is a deep connection between our souls and our soles.
Using online platforms like TikTok, and YouTube, Joshua connected with like-minded people who now join him in the Free the feet movement. Together they promote reconnecting with nature and walking barefoot.
“I believe in Free the feet,” Joshua says, “I help people develop a relationship with their feet because our feet ground us to the Earth.”
Learning from Clint Ober’s story in Earthing, Joshua says that people are like conduits of electricity where energy flows. Having this energy flow through and out to the ground is key because stagnant energy leads to a lot of our pains. Freeing our feet from shoes and the like is a way we can let this energy out.
Joshua notes that when he hikes with people who don’t walk barefoot, he always talks to them about it in hopes to encourage them.
“Recognize that your foot is a seedling,” he narrates, “when you take it out of the shoe it’s vulnerable, but if you’re smart and you take care of it, it will grow to this beautiful flower.”
This year, Joshua and other barefoot advocates will be running a barefoot marathon, and he openly welcomes those who are interested in joining.

More from Joshua:

YouTube: You Enjoy Life
TikTok: You Enjoy Life
Instagram: @youenjoylife
Books: Cooking with your Best friend & Conversations with your Best friend
May 24, 2021
Ep272: Leadership Beyond the Calendar with Volley Founder Josh Little
With most of us still in lockdown and our offices empty due to the remote work set-up, leading a team and managing tasks has become a different type of exhausting. Serial entrepreneur and Volley CEO, Josh Little, refers to this as “Meeting Fatigue.”

As the tech boss points out, there is no substitute for the human connection of being in the same place with your co-workers. Being in a group huddle or any project meeting has become this tiring task of listening to words rather than a sharing of ideas, and connecting. Little sees this as an obstacle to productivity and good leadership, but how can we get around this inescapable part of remote work?

Josh says that we need these online conversations due to the current circumstances and leadership itself that needs to change.

“The answer is not in talking less, but in talking differently.”

With his fourth company Volley, they hope to create asynchronous conversations, similar to texting. As the name suggests, people will take turns in conversation, unlike in zoom where words are being thrown real-time while everyone else is on mute, Josh notes that this non-real time meeting provides a different environment and leadership.

“This will let me take time to think about my response,” Josh explains “and allow me to skip back to what you said 2 or 3 times to really [understand] what you were trying to get across.”

“By breaking the turns, it will also allow to be more inclusive and ultimately free-up your calendar,” Josh emphasizes,“and living beyond the calendar is what an asynchronous conversation can enable.”

Having experience in different fields of business—including pickles—Josh notes that today’s environment requires “continuous leadership” where you can check in on demand.

“The lightning-strike-eureka moment doesn’t happen when the calendar says it should,” he stresses, and that in this time when teammates are so distant from one another, is when leaders need to be exceptionally flexible.

More from Josh:
- Volley: https://www.volleyapp.com/
- Josh’s Pickles: https://www.joshspickles.com/
May 18, 2021
Ep271: Building an Audience in a Competitive Industry, with NewReleaseToday President Kevin McNeese

Music is an art form that has lived the longest and has connected the most people. Breaking barriers and linking us together with a catchy tune and a moving beat, it’s a crowded industry that never fails to attract new young artists, and for NewReleaseToday president Kevin McNeese, it has been his mission and business to find an audience for these new voices.

Starting his site NewRelease Today back in 2002, it has grown to be one of the largest Christian music platforms with over 400,000 monthly visitors and 167,000 subscribers to its newsletter. Working with dozens of mostly independent artists, he shares with us how much of the music industry has changed and what it takes to get an audience.

Adding Gasoline to the Fire

Compared to what was the system almost 20 years ago, artists had to rent a studio to make their music. Now some of the most famous clips on the Internet was recorded on a phone, or a computer with an improvised studio in the basement next to the washing machine.

“Everybody can make music now so your product is no longer your music,” Kevin points out, “your product is now You and labels are not going to talk to you unless you are making noise.”

“What kind of numbers and audience do you have following you? Who cares about your music? At this point, if you don’t have any of that, chances are labels not gonna pay attention.”

Kevin notes that a label would give you a team to work with, and they can handle growing your audience while you focus on making your music, but there are other ways to build a team now, and nowadays an artist can do well on their own.

Building Connections

Working with his team on New Release Today, Kevin says that it has been both fun and challenging especially with all the online platforms of today that have really divided people.

“Whether it’s an artist, or if you’re starting a community, you really have to show up in a lot of different places and that’s challenging,” Kevin points out. “And then each one of those places requires a different tone. What works on Instagram isn’t gonna work on YouTube or on Twitter and Facebook, it’s not gonna work on your own website.”

Kevin puts an emphasis on connecting to the audience you want, which means putting out content regularly and putting your hopes on slow and steady growth.

Starting Off with Passion

When a giant such as the internet has been made so accessible to everyone, Kevin points out that the constant dedication to being ready every day is what makes the difference.

“I’m passionate about it,” he says describing the business, “and that passion has never waned. My goal was to just connect as many people as I could find to as much great music that I could find, and that goal was there in 2002, as it is there today.”

Kevin points out that he describes his work with air quotes, noting that it doesn’t feel like a job.

With the same goal and passion, he founded ChristianArtist.Pro and the We Love Christian Music Awards to give independent artists the boost they need.

Burning with passion and determined to be consistent, Kevin is still on the lookout for new talent and great music.

More from Kevin

Website: https://www.newreleasetoday.com/

IG @newreleasetoday

May 10, 2021