On a Living Spree
The Light Show Episode 177: Show Notes
Is the pursuit of monetary abundance leaving you unsatisfied? Are you worried about having regrets in life? In this episode, we embark on an incredible journey with Bridget Hilton and Joe Huff, the authors of the inspiring book, Experiential Billionaire. While they're not actual billionaires, their wealth lies in the extraordinary experiences they've pursued.
Join us as we uncover the profound impact of experiences on their lives and how these experiences have made them wealthy in more ways than one. Bridget and Joe are far from privileged individuals. Hailing from blue-collar backgrounds in Flint, Michigan, and Chicago, Illinois, they initially followed conventional career paths.
Joe and I have worked together full time since 2012. We've been lucky to collaborate on the creation of multiple brands, write a book together, and be on the ground working on philanthropic missions around the world. We've also experienced the highest highs and lowest lows together over the last 11 years, and have seen each other and our co-workers grow leaps and bounds in ways we never expected.
If you have a full-time job, you spend at least a third of your waking life working. That’s a lot of time to be surrounded by your boss, colleagues, clients, and business partners. The stronger those relationships are, the happier and more successful your work life will be—and shared experiences play an important part in that.
I rarely think of the big accomplishments or bucket list items. Even though those things are important, I think of the moments like last night, a long sunset beach walk with my pup. Grateful for the little things in life while they last. ❤️
What memories would you go back to?
One of the first things I discovered when I began to surf was how arbitrary and punishing the ocean can be. You get up on the board, start to feel confident, and before you know it, you're underwater in the wash cycle, the sea tossing you around. Once your flailing is over, you make sure all your limbs are still bending the right way and you take deep breaths, grateful for all that beautiful oxygen in your lungs.
That’s not so different from real life. Sometimes a huge wave seems to come out of nowhere and knocks you down, leaving you disoriented and gasping for breath. That’s exactly what happened to me in the first months of 2020. I found myself sobbing on my apartment floor for months straight, wondering how everything had changed so quickly, and desperately trying to find a safe and stable shore where I could plant my feet.
Joe Huff and Bridget Hilton’s transformational workshop takes attendees through a powerful and entertaining half day focused on all the ways companies, teams and leaders can unlock powerful results and untapped human potential by learning how to identify and prioritize investing in fulfilling experiences.
Told through engaging real life experiences and backed by science, their stories energize, inspire, and provide the tools and habits necessary for attendees to learn how to find peak inspiration, build deeper and more meaningful connections with their teams and co-workers, overcome burnout, optimize individual and team performance, and cultivate strong feelings of fulfillment, community, belonging and wellbeing.
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.
However, as much as you might wish that life was one fun and fulfilling experience after another:
Suffering and hard times teach us lessons that can’t be learned any other way.
But, to reap the benefits that come with hardship, you need to have the right mindset.
You must learn to reframe negative experiences into positive memories (or teachable moments).
This exercise helps you do that.
When it comes to learning, Mahatma Gandhi put it best:
“Live as if you’ll die tomorrow, learn as if you were to live forever.”
In other words, cultivate a sense of urgency to pursue your desires and dreams now.
But—and this is important—don’t let that stop you from investing in your long-term growth.
When we’re young, we’re constantly learning.
Somewhere along the line, though, that growth starts to wane.
- The job market continues to boom, with millions of workers still leaving their jobs each month despite talk of a slowing economy and recession. Also booming, according to recent Gallup polling, worker disengagement and unhappiness.
- This is not just an HR issue but a bottom line one as well: business units with engaged workers have 23% higher profit, while employees who are not engaged cost the world $7.8 trillion in lost productivity, equal to 11% of global GDP.
- Sixty percent of people reported being emotionally detached at work and 19% as being miserable. Only 33% reported feeling engaged — and that is even lower than 2020.
So What Can I Help With?
I hear the term more and more these days, but think sometimes it gets confused with normal work stress, so some managers might just brush it off as being not serious.
While stress is a normal part of work, burnout is a more severe and prolonged condition that can have serious implications for both the individual and the organization. Recognizing the signs of burnout and taking steps to address and prevent it is crucial for promoting employee well-being and maintaining a healthy work environment.
Burnout in the workplace is a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion that results from prolonged or chronic job-related stress. It typically occurs when employees feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet the demands of their job. Burnout is often characterized by a sense of disillusionment, reduced effectiveness, and a lack of motivation.
Characteristics of workplace burnout include: