Michael Dash is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, investor, mentor, speaker, author, and thrill seeker. From building a company to over 5 million dollars a year in revenue to writing his upcoming book, Chasing the High, Michael is an extremely driven, multi-passionate individual.
His background consists of his addiction to gambling and road to recovery, a 6-year lawsuit with his past business partner, climbing and conquering Mt. Kilimanjaro, and continuously supporting and contributing to Leukemia Lymphoma Society’s Team-in-Training fundraising group.
Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover. On the cover of Michael Dash’s life not long ago, he was super successful, had conventionally checked all the boxes, and had all the right things going for him. Unfortunately, this cover was wildly deceiving and isolating, as Michael shares how deeply depressed and unfulfilled he was chasing the high of money making and gambling addiction.
Choosing a different path was a courageous choice that would ultimately redirect the course of his life. He’d been stuck for years, and it wasn’t until he found himself at our first ever Unconventional Life live event in Bali in 2016 that he started to come to terms with the fact that how he’d been living his life wasn’t going to cut it anymore.
When you’re caught comparing your success, company, lifestyle to those around you, remember that there is always more than meets the eye. There are only so many years and so many moments of another’s life that you’ve bared witness to. If you’re feeling stuck in a rut or unfulfilled by the world surrounding you, remember that you always have a choice. Just like Michael, he found ways to try something profoundly different and begin again.
Everything is about Perspective. We’ve all lived different journeys, have unique perspectives, and diverse experiences that make up infinite ways of being a human. People may not understand the shifts you begin to make, but they also may never understand your thought processes, your reality and the things you’ve been exposed to either. Try on a perspective that sees everyone as having something unique to offer you in their opinions and advice. Michael swears that some of the core elements of his life today, such as meditation and intuition, were a complete joke before he shifted his life and perspective. He now finds himself constantly interested in what others have to say, viewing each interaction as an opportunity to grow and expand his understanding of the world.
How might you choose to be curious about someone who seems radically different from you? What questions might you ask if you allowed yourself to be genuinely interested in what they see or believe? When you’re choosing a new path, people will have all kinds of beliefs and advice how about you could or should do things. Listen, integrate what feels good, and seek to grow from all your interactions.
Trust Your Journey, Your Flow, and Your Own Knowing. Michael believes that the sequence of events that led to his shifts were opportunities presented at the right time for the right reasons. In his latest iteration as an author, he is joyfully embracing the unknown into what he calls life with a question mark. He finds excitement in not knowing what the future holds but knows he always has a choice.
When you’re transitioning from your conventional life to an unconventional path, “what’s next” thoughts, “what-if” scenarios, and imposing advice about what you should do might show up. Michael recommends acknowledging your track record and finding confidence in yourself. Only you know what is best for you. When it comes to trusting the flow of money he says, “lean into the million and one ways to make money”. I couldn’t agree more.
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Amelia Broughton is a relational facilitator and purveyor of connection, pioneering a more connected, communication-savvy, and emotionally intelligent planet. She facilitates Authentic Relating and Relational Leadership in various settings and communities. Her expertise is in team dynamics and interpersonal relations. With over 10 years of experience on teams and in communities, Amelia’s vision for the world is one of beautiful interconnection, a place where we put down the distractions and to-do lists to bask in the miracles that surround us. The type of connection that nourishes us internally, externally and has every one of us feel seen, heard and loved with a true sense of belonging. An active Unconventional Life member, Amelia recently became our Operations Director and will be consistently contributing her writing.
