On a Living Spree

I stood side stage at the Ace Hotel’s theater in downtown Los Angeles. Peering out, I saw hundreds of reporters and attendees staring up at a man who had made billions disrupting the music and airline industries, bought tropical islands, crossed both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans in a hot air balloon, gone to outer space, founded over 100 companies, and generously gave back while doing all of that. A rebel who rose to the top without a fancy degree or inheritance, just big dreams and the gumption to go after them. Someone who I aspired to be.

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Why is friendship crucial for your company and its culture?

Connection through rich experiences and shared goals is the way to attract, retain and nurture talent. Shared experiences cultivate a culture of community, belonging and wellbeing at work. Gallup states their #1 predictor of success at work is having a best friend at work.

When’s the last time you did something just for the sheer fun of it?

I’m not talking about big vacations or meticulously planned outings. I mean those little, impromptu acts of joy. Like diving into a pile of leaves, fully knowing you’ll have to rake them up again. Or maybe having a random dance-off in your living room, or deciding to cook a fancy dinner on a Tuesday night, just for kicks.

Or maybe it is it is about those bigger dreams – like finally taking that trip you’ve always talked about, riding in a hot air balloon, or learning to snowboard, regardless of your age.

These moments, big or small, are what make life vibrant. They remind us that joy isn’t just in grand gestures or milestones. Often, it’s the spontaneous, simple things that leave a lasting impression.

So that’s what we’re talking about today.

At every talk, Joe Huff and I ask people what they would do if they had a year, a month, or a day left to live. At a recent keynote for Connect the Dots, this epic 74 year old adventurer (who just got back from hanging out with elephants in Thailand) tearfully told us that she'd spend her last day truly forgiving herself. But that she'd spend the rest of TODAY doing that now.

Bridget and Joe surveyed over 20,000 people from all walks of life and the result is eye opening. People’s regrets are very similar no matter their age and income status and in our conversation, we talk about why people often put things that matter in the fictional world of ‘someday.’ But more importantly, we talk about the exercises described in their book that can help you have that sense of urgency to start doing the things you love.

If you have a bucket list that you’ve stowed away in that fictional world of ‘someday’ because you think you don’t have the time or resources to do them or they’re simply too big to make them happen, this episode is for you. Our conversation will walk you through the actions you can take to start building a life rich in experiences with no regrets.

Because visualization can have a real impact on how you think and feel, it’s so important to visualize the future you want—especially if it feels distant or hard to reach. When you imagine it in great detail, you bring it closer in a very real way. 

That said, fantasies of your desires aren’t much use unless they lead to action. Visualizing what you want gives you focus and clarity, but it also gives your brain a dopamine hit. That moment of pleasure can make you complacent, as if the fantasy itself is enough. Obviously, it’s not.

So, don’t just imagine the end goal—visualize the process to get there as well, including all the obstacles and failures you might experience along the way. Imagine what will happen if you don’t take action toward your dream, as I did when I thought about taking that boring job after getting laid off. That “negative” visualization is just as important as imagining success. In fact, it’s been shown that thinking about failure or inaction makes people twice as likely to achieve their goals.

The truth is you can't take it with you - so why not gift experiences (to yourself and others) rather than things?

Bridget Hilton and Joe Huff are obsessed with experiences.

Determined to unlock the secrets of their power to transform lives, they have spent years interviewing social science experts, conducting the largest study on life experiences ever done, and turning themselves into experiential guinea pigs.

Together they have trained to be samurai, danced with the northern lights, tracked silverback gorillas in a hailstorm, stood face to face with hungry lions on safari, absorbed life lessons from Maasai Mara tribesmen, sped across glaciers on dogsleds, built schools for kids in need, studied with monks, helped give 50,000 people hearing, swum with sharks, and explored the experiential riches life has to offer.

When you’re in fight-or-flight mode, everything you do or don’t do teaches the brain something about the perceived threat. When you avoid or flee the situation, your brain experiences a wave of relief. The amygdala learns that avoiding that situation is how you stay safe from that threat.

This is exactly how you want the brain to respond if the threat is a grizzly bear. But what if the perceived threat is something less biologically adaptive, like a worry about being judged or teased?

Thanks Ethan for having me on! One of my favorite chats. 

Bridget Hilton is co-author of the "Experiential Billionaire" book, which was just released. Her backstory is fascinating, and jumps from helping launch the careers of artists like Rihanna, The Weeknd and Taylor Swift, to shifting into founding the first ever social good electronics company which helped more than 50,000 people receive the gift of hearing for the first time.

 

One of my favorite parts of travel is the level of optimism and gratitude I feel in the moment and more importantly afterward. I saw this clearly on a recent trip to India. After battling cows on Delhi freeways, waking up at 4 a.m. to be alone at the Taj Mahal, and meditating at Gandhi’s ashram, I headed to Mumbai to meet with local education and water filtration nonprofits. There I learned that the massive city was roughly 60 percent slums — millions of people living in makeshift houses of corrugated metal sheets, tarpaulin, and scrap materials. Despite the efforts of government agencies and NGOs, access to basic amenities like clean water and sanitation remained limited. Residents faced many challenges, including inadequate infrastructure, high rates of crime and drug abuse, and limited healthcare and education. The area was also prone to flooding during the monsoon season, which made life even harder.

Thank you to Josh and Mic Drop Podcast for having me on! Loved learning from all of you. https://micdroppodcast.com/episodes/making-it-personal-ft-bridget-hilton-chad-foster-and-nicholas-badminton -- EPISODE SUMMARY Today is a very special episode of Mic Drop, and one that is especially fun. To explore how...

Instead of a conference room or coffee shop for your next meeting, meet up with a colleague for a hike, paddleboard, or playing catch outside. According to the EPA, the average American spends 93% of their life indoors. That’s only...