Scott Shay is the co-founder of a bank, a two-time published religious author, and the descendant of an Auschwitz survivor. His life story is anything but conventional. Unassuming, driven to try things differently, and completely aware of the great blessing that is his life, Shay sees and takes the path less traveled.

Opening a bank is not your usual life goal.  Managing to fulfill that and then survive and thrive throughout the economic downturn of 2008 is even more unusual.

Shay’s life meets at a curious intersection. His bank was founded on a completely different model than the industry standard. He then chose to cultivate a side career as an author on the topics of Judaism and faith.

Steer Off The Beaten Path

The financial crisis of 2008 brought big business to its knees leaving wall street scrambling. Amidst the madness, this week’s guest, Scott Shay, and his co-founders at Signature Bank didn’t feel the tumult. In fact, they shone, catching the attention of a lot of people. The bank continued growing, eventually reaching a pace of 11 billion dollars in 5 years.

His bank didn’t struggle like his counterparts. Why? Signature Bank was not founded on, nor relies on “big money” to stay afloat. Their business model from the very beginning was to side-step big-business and create a place for the middle market. They’ve been doing it very differently since the start.

Driver’s Seat or Backseat?

Shay doesn’t fit the mold of what you’d expect from a businessman. Yes, he is a businessman, but he also spends a great deal of his time touring, speaking on the topics of faith. His outlook on life puts him in the driver’s seat of his own experience. He speaks to the world’s reaction to coronavirus.

“We can either feel this as victims ‘how did this happen to us?’ or we can have the mindset of ‘what are we going to do?’ I think the division between the mindset of how could this have happened to us versus ‘what am I going to do?’ makes all the difference in the world.”

The difference, as I see it, is whether we are characters in our life story or the authors. Are we the product of our circumstance or are we deciding what we want our future to look like?

More of Scott:

• Website
• Books: “Getting Our Groove Back” or “In Good Faith: Questioning Religion and Atheism”.

“I don’t want to work so much.”

Daily life is changing. Priorities are changing. What, in the past, was deemed important may no longer be so. What previously garnered most of your attention may no longer seem relevant. Worldwide, perspectives are shifting as people experience a glimpse of a different way of being, amidst a global crisis. This very phenomenon has sparked a new kind of inspiration for this week’s Unconventional Life guest.

Magic Giant’s lead singer, Austin Bisnow, usually spends a lot of time on the road, sometimes playing up to 150 shows per year. 2020 has looked drastically different. Worms, dirt and decay kind of different.

With no time on the road and all the time in the world to be at home in silence and stillness, Bisnow has discovered his mad obsession with composting. That’s right, composting. No, but seriously, this guy is pumped. With glee and a child-like giddiness he describes how passionate he’s become spending his days composting, going for hikes, sweeping the floor and spending time with his wife. He even jokes about his love of composting eclipsing his love of producing music. His enthusiasm and excitement is palpable. This man has hit gold.

“I don’t want to return to the old way. Obviously, it goes without saying that there’s a lot of suffering going on, but there’s obviously a lot of beauty and there are lessons we can learn. Everyone has a different story, but we’re all connected more than we have been before. Because we have this shared empathy of how quickly things can travel around the world.”

If Bisnow and the rest of the world can manage to embody the “live more, work less” practice our world would be a very different place.

It is by way of working less and experiencing the phenomena of free time that Bisnow describes the emergence of presence and fulfillment in doing simple daily chores. When he’s got a never-ending list of to do’s, the sweeping and laundry looks like a burden, not a pleasure. But he removes the never-ending list of to do’s the sweeping and laundry becomes the single focus of his attention-and maybe even joy. Now that, that is a revelation.

Could it be that humanity sees value in simply being without the need for a product or something to show for it?

The best part of his epiphone? He admits that being busy is his self-made monster. And, that he and he alone is responsible for changing that pattern. It comes down to the simple fact that he doesn’t want to work so much.

“I want to make more time for myself.”

He’s found something precious. Silence and stillness.

Let us all take a page from Austin Bisnow’s book and take our foot off of the productivity, “accomplishments” and busyness pedal and stop to be present with where we are. Get your hands in the dirt, go for a walk, and enjoy the miracle of your existence–please.