Unconventional Life – Podcast, Blog, Live Events

Author: Jules Schroeder

  • Ep300: Book Writing and Branding with Entrepreneur and Author Technologist Scott Turman

    Ep300: Book Writing and Branding with Entrepreneur and Author Technologist Scott Turman

    When you wanna make it big, you need to make a memorable impression on the world; give the audience an introduction that really marks your presence. Branding is the name of the game, and for author and tech entrepreneur Scott Turman, there’s no better way to put your brand in the spotlight than getting published.

    Being the co-founder of BrightRay Publishing, Scott and his team have helped millionaires, artists, and promising talents pull the stories out of their heads and onto the page. He makes it a point that success is always worth publishing and that getting the word out is best done “by the book”.

    “Typically, as a creative, maybe you’re just trying to get that word out, a book is a fantastic way of doing that,” Scott says.

    Scott understands the difficulties of book writing, but through experience and working with his team, he shares with us a formula that eases that first step of making a best seller.

    What is the point of this book?

    Throughout his work with the BrightRay company, Scott and his team have worked with millionaires, organization leaders and various artists. He mentions that despite their different stories the purpose of the book needs to be established; they may fall into different categories, but each one has a reason for publishing their story.

    The Chapter Outline

    Oftentimes, having little direction is better than having none at all. It can be overwhelming to view ourselves writing a book, so Scott encourages us to establish an outline before the writing process can begin.

    Here, he and his team, functioning as consultants, guide their interviewee or subject from start, middle and finish. It is yet to be written but the idea that the work could be accomplished is getting clearer and clearer.

    One Chapter a Week

    Once the main point of the book has been established and the outline laid out, writing can truly begin. Here we shift our focus to—instead of writing a great book—we will pour our heart out to writing the best sentence, paragraph and chapter, then repeating it again the next week.

    It is often at this stage that a lot of us lose motivation since it can be exhausting to write creatively on a daily basis, which is why doing it with a team of people like Scott’s makes sticking to the task a lot easier.

    And finally, before leaving the show, Scott emphasizes that even when your book gets published, your story doesn’t end there. The whole appeal of becoming an author is to elevate your brand and endorse yourself to the world.

    “Personal branding, in my opinion, is the act of shaping how people experience you.”

    More From Scott:

  • Ep299: Curating a Purpose-Driven Life While Making a Positive Impact on the Go with Entrepreneur and Travel Maverick Mike Savas

    Ep299: Curating a Purpose-Driven Life While Making a Positive Impact on the Go with Entrepreneur and Travel Maverick Mike Savas

    Often, we are told that contentment brings happiness but if we are not careful with preserving that drive within ourselves, contentment could lead to stagnation, and for Entrepreneur and Positivity Influencer Michael Savas, that drive means everything.

    First establishing his roots as a Tour Director, Savas had a taste of what it was like to travel and hop from place to place. Working in the Music and concert industry, he has had the chance to tour the globe with the likes of Oprah, Guns N Roses, Queen + Adam Lambert, Michael Buble, Genesis, Cat Stevens, Britney Spears, Coldplay, WWE and so many others. For someone who’s passionate about travel, you’d think this was enough to quench his craving for life, but Savas knew there was a way to make it better.

    “I always thought that I’d get paid to travel,” he said, “that’s what I kept telling myself… for a while I was a Tour Director, meaning I took people on their vacations around the world having nothing to do with rock n’ roll. I realized that was an entertaining job, but it wasn’t something that met my personal marker of success—travel, makes more money to make a bigger impact on people and communities.”
    After having spent time employed and on the road, Savas set up a checklist that all needed to line up before he could live the lifestyle he has now. He shares with us these indicators that led him to pursue a more exciting and fulfilling purpose.

    Time

    This is our most valuable resource as you can never get it back. Having time to pursue your passion, on top of making a living—having a job or running a business—is your first priority.

    In his current project, Month in the Making where he learns 12 skills in 12 months in 12 countries, Savas describes it as a project that’s 15 years in the making since his past efforts have been made to prepare him for this undertaking.

    Think about where you are now, and what you can do to prepare yourself for that future lifestyle you are dreaming of.

    Resources

    Savas describes this as primarily money, and knowledge. We not only need to know where to get money but also how to spend it in a way that is meaningful to our passion. Like many others, Savas was also broke in his 20s and partially in debt, but he found jobs in fields that involved travel and this broadened his understanding of that field.

    Autonomy

    Savas noted that autonomy is different from freedom, as he says that “Having boundaries and obstacles is what makes life interesting.” He adds that autonomy means making our own decisions and being accountable for them.

    Having established his own business and platform, Savas found that he was able to set his own time schedule, set his own destination, and undertake projects that mattered to him.

    Health

    Lastly, Savas mentioned that this was an element that he had ignorantly missed until it was pointed out to him. He noted that over the break caused by COVID-19, he has been working on himself and maintaining an active lifestyle. Taking care of our health means giving ourselves more time, and broadening our knowledge, and having more autonomy since our physical body remains capable.

    Sharing his story with us Savas encourages listeners to pursue a life of travelling but also to make an impact on the lives of others.

    Michael is giving away airline miles with American Airlines to a lucky listener, having them pick any destination they’d like to go to, domestic or international flight!

    More from Michael:

    • YouTube: SavasONtheGo
    • Instagram: savasonthego
    • Website: savasonthgo.com
    • Month In The Making Episodes
    • Upcoming LoopCast Live Podcast Event
  • Ep298: Listening to Internal Direction with the Leading Online Business Coach and Entrepreneur Leah Gervais

    Ep298: Listening to Internal Direction with the Leading Online Business Coach and Entrepreneur Leah Gervais

    Modern human life for many of us has often descended into a repetitive pattern of school, work, and retirement. Many of us feel chained to a 9 to 5 job that we will probably have until our 60s, and it is completely reasonable to break free from this cycle, but it is terrifying to act on especially if this has been our reality for a long time.

    This was true for blogger, coach and entrepreneur Leah Gervais. Before her blog Urban 20 Something popped off, she described it as a rough start with a lot of mistakes and embarrassment, but in knowing herself, Gervais understood the steps she needed to take to be successful.

    Originally from Colorado, Leah started her early 20s with a dream to be a corporate lawyer in New York City. And for a young aspiring lady boss, what sweeter fruit to pluck than The Big Apple itself. But later on, that dream seemed less and less appealing to her and she found herself at a crossroads.

    “After two years working as a paralegal, and this is so close to being my reality, something in me was like, ‘Hell no, this is not it.’”

    Leah had gone through the entire process of enrolling at New York University, from taking her tests, to securing recommendations, but after fighting with what her guts were telling her, she put the dream on hold and received other offers from different schools. She’d gone on-campus tours and measured the pros and cons of each university, but after all that, she had decided to decline them all.

    High on life, Leah started her blog Urban 20 Something to document her story of growth and success, in hopes that it would inspire and help others as well, and even though she lacked direction, she was sure this was closer to what she wanted to do.

    “The thing I’m sure about is my passion for entrepreneurship and my passion for working with entrepreneurs, but I was so misdirected and unclear in those early days of blogging.”

    “The first 2 years looked like a lot of trial and error, a lot of embarrassment, a lot of putting myself out there and hearing nothing in return.”

    Reading about other entrepreneurs, Leah felt hopeless for a time in her journey since she had the drive but she lacked the ideas.

    “I prayed to God to please send me an idea,” she said, comparing herself to Spanx founder Sara Blakely and LearnVest.com CEO Alexa von Tobel, “It didn’t occur to me that I could be my own asset and I could use what I had gone through to help others.”

    This was the direction that she needed and from here she is helping many others listen to their internal compass.

    Leah affirms that “In the online business world, we need to collectively put more emphasis on the power of knowing yourself and recognizing that what works for other people may or may not work for you.”

    She tells us that instead of listening to other people’s morning routines or productivity hacks, she instead spends more time listening to what her body and mind are saying, and listening to their needs. She notes that this is sustainable in the long term and will work for her more effectively.

    The same goes for business, and for breaking away from the repetitive patterns of modern living and the 9 to 5 life. For those who want to leave their work in pursuit of being their own boss, she advises them to ask themselves.

    “Is going ‘All In’ gonna’ psych me up? Is that gonna light a fire under me? Or is that just going to stress me out?”

    More from Leah:

    • Blog –  www.urban20something.com
    • Website – https://leahgervais.com/
    • Instagram – leahgervais_
  • Ep297: Making a Path from the Pain with Singer-Songwriter and Breakthrough Coach Adena Sampson

    Ep297: Making a Path from the Pain with Singer-Songwriter and Breakthrough Coach Adena Sampson

    Our wounds are an opening into the best and most beautiful part of us, the same couldn’t be truer for musician and entrepreneur Adena Sampson. Born with a fragile body and a broken home, Adena learned to value what was whole and let the light seep through the cracks.

    A house rarely feels like a home when you grow up in dysfunction. On top of this, Adena also had to deal with Chronic Lyme Disease which added physical pain to the emotional aching. But like many great talents, meeting pain also meant discovering your art, and for Adena, it was music.

    Seeing herself in the lost and the broken, she now offers her talents as a musician and her experience as a fellow survivor of trauma to help others find their way and make peace with the cause of their pain. Today, she uses her voice through her albums, books, and mentoring sessions to reach out to thousands of people, spreading a single message – “You are not alone.”

    “Because if I’m still standing,” Adena says, “I know that you can too. It is a choice.”

    With all the problems she’s heard from people who’ve asked her for help, Adena makes it a point that the reason for most of our problems today originates from the old traumas that we never sorted out. She makes it a point that traumas aren’t always big bundles of burdens, they could also be small insecurities and doubts that your mind unconsciously carries around. She says that dealing with the muck and grime of the past, doesn’t just demand effort but self-love as well.

    “A big part of my healing has not just been self-awareness, self-discovery, and self-mastery but truly self-love” Adena stresses, “[This meant] reclaiming my power, taking responsibility for what it is I’m creating in my life.”

    Adena knows that the road to getting better isn’t easy, that’s why she emphasizes the need for support and proper guidance to turn your trauma into tools that bring out the best in you.

    “It’s like the more you go through the muck, the more you face the obstacles., the more the obstacles become a path.”

    More from Adena:

  • Ep296: Investing in the Environment with Environmentalist Entrepreneur and Energea Investments Co-Founder Mike Silvestrini

    Ep296: Investing in the Environment with Environmentalist Entrepreneur and Energea Investments Co-Founder Mike Silvestrini

    The Earth is one thing we all have in common; whatever we take from this planet is reflected on this shared soil we call a home. So, for environmental philanthropist Mike Silvestrini, giving back to nature is the go-to plan of action.

    Co-founder of Energea Investments and the main founder of over 400 renewable energy development projects, Mike is a firm believer that environmentalism and financial conservatism can coexist and that the entrepreneurial lifestyle can be achieved with an environmentalist mindset.

    Energea is a renewable energy retail investment platform. Since launching the company’s first solar energy offering in August 2020, Energea has raised more than $65 million to invest in its Africa, Brazil and U.S. portfolios. To date, retail investors have realized a 12.27% IRR.

    Prior to Energea, Mike was co-founder and CEO of one of the largest commercial and industrial solar firms in the U.S. He managed multiple renewable energy funds worth more than $500 million in aggregate and oversaw the development of more than 400 renewable energy projects

    “We’re trying to show a for-profit approach to our profession and have the result be more good things for the earth.”

    With that in mind, Mike plans to take the market for renewable energy and bring it forward to the public with a vision to make a market that invests in the Earth. And even though today’s current market for renewable energy is pretty big, it’s still trillions of dollars away from the goal he has in mind. Despite this, Mike has faith that humans are an incredible species with boundless potential.

    “I’m a big believer that humans are incredibly capable… humans can manage the gaseous content of our atmosphere, I think that we are so capable as a species that we can really do anything.”

    The Eco CEO also reminds us that saving the environment and changing the world’s view on sustainable living, as well as resource consumption, is no easy task—it’s a global effort that starts with an individual choice. Making that decision to live a sustainable lifestyle and influencing others to take the same path is only the first step for the world to turn a new leaf.

    “We have to start today, we have to get busy, and we need businesses to be focused on sustainable issues so that we can harness that incredible power of capitalism and put it to work towards rebuilding.”

    More From Mike: