This week on the Unconventional Life Show is Debra Wanger. Debra is a former actress who has performed in theaters and cabarets from Boston to Los Angeles but when some would say she was at the “peak of her career”, Debra decided to leave the acting world.  Debra shares that she “was doing well professionally, but I was personally a mess. I was overweight, I was depressed, I was lonely and when I wasn’t working I didn’t have any sense of direction” 

The constant hustle of always auditioning and looking for the next gig as an actress was draining but she was able to press the pause button and contemplate…

“Is this even what I want?”

From answering this simple question,  Debra made some major life shifts, returned to school and received her BA in sociology, worked on the other side of the business, became a health coach, singer and is the author two books. 

In this episode, Debra shares how to bring all the parts of yourself to the table to live a diverse and exciting life. 

“it’s okay to be the weird hyphenate” 

In this new Unconventional paradigm, we are no longer glued to single career labels. We don’t have to be settled in one career for an entire lifetime. Debra studied under Dave Asprey and the 2nd Law from his 46 Laws is “do not passively discover who you are. Actively decide and create who you are.”  If we keep saying yes to the things that life gives us then we will never have an opportunity to say yes to the things that we truly want. 

You can be the person who is the Wellness Coach-Dancer-Blog Writer and Designer. The combination of things is what makes you unique, diverse and able to live a more exciting life. 

Are you actively discovering and trying new things that excite you or are you just following what you think you should be doing? 

Is this even what I want in life? 

Admitting that your life isn’t fulfilling you the way it used to and trying something new is a very brave step. Debra did a lot of visioning when she was trying to bring more happiness and balance into her life and always returned to this question; If I was happy what would my life look like? 

Try this exercise out for yourself, where would you be waking up, how would you be fulling your day, what would you be talking about, what would you do in your free time? 

begin with the end in mind.

If you are pondering these questions yourself, she encourages you to reverse engineer how you are going to get there. The reverse engineering process starts with asking yourself “what needs to happen in order to realize this goal?”Once we find an answer to the question above, we use deductive questioning until we come up with an action step that can be immediately executed.  

Realize that this life is the only one you have and it’s never too late to make adjustments! 

Giveaway!

Debra is giving away some of her books including ” The Resilient Actor- How to Kick Ass in the Business, Without it Kicking Your Ass” along with the workbook planner that just came out on Amazon, check out the books here.

We caught up with Tracy Timm, career strategist, human capital advisor and founder of the Nth Degree Academy which helps individuals achieve at the highest performance levels possible. A Yale graduate with a degree in Behavioural Psychology, having traveled around the world and also having time working on Wall Street under her belt, Tracy’s now unconventional life stemmed from a seemingly “conventional” foundation. 

Tracy talks about the early struggle to release other people’s expectations of what her life should look like and working through her own limiting beliefs of what is possible for her, that “in the absence of having your own certain and clear vision it’s easy to get swept up in whatever’s going on around you.” 

Tracy tells us about the experience of trying to determine what she should do with her life when she had no idea which direction she wanted to take, winding up in Wall Street because it seemed like the right thing to do. She talks about the large degree of questioning herself and asking “is it okay if I don’t want this conveyer-belt life?”. 

How it ultimately took her some time to even realize she was unhappy where she was and lacking the freedom she craved in her lifestyle.

Tracey reminisces on how she was raised as a “black-belt box checker kid” and this drive for perfectionism and impressing others had to be overcome for her to break out of the box personally and professionally and pursue a life less traveled. 

Tracy offers advice for listeners who feel stuck, paralyzed or don’t have a clear ‘next step’ so they don’t experience what she did and feel pressure to follow someone else’s expectations. 

Insight comes from action not thought

“Insight comes from action not thought… you’re not going to force clarity on yourself” Tracy believes. The best way to move forward is to take any action which will cause an internal reaction or a way to come across new information. Even if you’re taking the “wrong” action, it will help you to narrow down what you do want. The Universe reacts when you act… so by taking a simple step you will be shown which direction you need to go in. 

Do an honest and objective life-audit

If you’re struggling to take any step because you’re paralyzed by fear of moving in the wrong direction, then it’s time to get some clarity, according to Tracy. Break down your life into these categories: social, financial, spiritual, physical, emotional and professional. Uncover what is working in your life – maybe it’s a practice you do frequently or one area of your life where you’re thriving. “If you get really clear on what you have foundationally that’s positive, it should relieve some of the anxiety…when our anxiety is relieved then our brain can be more creative” Tracy tells us.

Get super clear on YOUR core values

“What’s so core to you that you can see yourself making a yes or no decision around it?” These are the deep life-defining values that are make or break for you. Tracy uses her core value of ‘freedom’ not being met as an example of why she left Wall Street. These are supposed to be values that you can see yourself making commitments around – that “give you this really beautiful frame for the bare minimum for what you need to be happy and fulfilled in an environment”.  

Tracy believes that if you get clear on what these values are, you will be able to see what in your current life doesn’t stack up and will be guided to the vision for the life you want to create, enabling you to take action towards it. 

She strongly advises that readers don’t get caught up in fear-based decision making and to constantly be re-evaluating and asking yourself if this is what rings true for you and your values and for the vision you have for your life. 

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Tracy is giving away two tickets to an exclusive Nth Degree Academy live event, in Dallas, Texas on January 23rd 2020. Part mastermind, part meet and mingle, this event will help give you clarity on your core values and enable you to pursue a life you love! To be entered to win the giveaway, click here. A winner will be selected next week.

Connect further with Tracy here.

For many, exercise is an activity that you embark on to improve your physical appearance. Most people hit the gym when they notice their clothes fitting a little tighter, or before a beach vacation.  The interesting shift here is that more and more people are becoming motivated to exercise because of health benefits.  People are wanting to feel good, not just look good. In reality, only when we feel good are we able to look good too. 

Enter “Biohacking”

Biohacking is a recent buzzword that has hit mainstream media. Biohacking refers to the science of altering aspects within your body and environment so you can take full charge of your biology. Simply put, Biohacks are techniques that help you to figure out what your body needs to perform optimally so that you feel energized, productive and overall be the best version of yourself. 

Jules Schroeder got a hold of Kris Gethin to shine more light on the important factors to take into account when you embark on the journey to healthy eating and physical activity and ultimately live your best life!  

Kris is an internationally renowned physique transformation specialist, founder of the DP training method and a spokesmodel for bodybuilding.com. He is the author of the book Man of Iron and also the cofounder of Gethin gyms.  Kris’ expertise in this field makes him a perfect fit to discuss with us the facts associated with exercise and healthy eating.

Step 1 – Clean eating

What you fuel your body with has an ENORMOUS impact on how you feel. Just as putting the wrong fuel into your car will damage its engine, eating food filled with GMO’s, artificial flavoring, high sugar and meat with antibiotics will leave you feeling lethargic.  Kris says, “ good food will ensure that you have friendly bacteria to boost your immune system.” Organic foods contain prebiotic and probiotic substances which are substances that help the body to build and maintain healthy bacteria. These friendly bacteria aid the body with digestion, inflammation, and support gut health, an imbalance of this bacteria could make you feel lethargic, angry or anxious ”

Eating healthy wholesome food that is local, organic and free-range builds a solid foundation for a high-performance lifestyle.  In the beginning, sayin’ no to that bag of chips, ice cream or whatever your junk food kryptonite is hard but trust that the process will become more effortless and simply apart of your daily routine. 

Step 2 – Individualize your routine

Find a routine that works for YOU. Maybe you like to work- out first thing in the morning or meal prep on a specific day. A routine that works well for a friend or influencer doesn’t mean it will work for you. So this will take some digging and trial and error to discover how you can make this lifestyle change fit your schedule. 

Kris advises that you should observe certain aspects of daily routine to make sure your body is getting what it needs to thrive. His clients receive full body check-ups so that they can understand what is happening under the surface. For instance, you might assume that taking a specific supplement will have a positive effect when in reality it could be the cause of the inflammation present in your liver, say’s Kris. In such a case the liver becomes overworked because it cannot process the supplements. This can easily be avoided by a simple checkup and pretesting, which may include blood tests, food sensitivity tests, and routine check-ups with your medical or holistic Doctor. 

Step 3 – Reconnect with Nature 

Do your cardio outside where you will get the chance to be in the sunshine and reconnect with the earth. Leave your phone at home. Simply go outside and listen to the sound of your breath, your feet, your body. 

When you take this intentional space for yourself, free from social distractions, you give yourself space to “hear your own voice.” You will notice that you become more present in conversations, in training, and your creative ideas in your business.

Once you have mastered the 3 steps above and are wanting to be a Biohacking Ninja you can check out these additional Bio-hacking practices that are apart of Kris’s daily routine.  

• Ice baths
• Gym Training
• Intermittent fasting
• Drinking Myotoxin free coffee
• Laying on the Bio Balance matt
• Red light therapy
• And of course, working from his desktop treadmill.

Giveaway

Get a 1-month membership on his platform healthkik.com where you will get free access to his program, ebook, daily email, a private Facebook group among other things. 

Get a free DTP shaker when you sign up for a 12-month membership here

Get in touch with Kris 

Instagram, Man of Iron website