On a Living Spree
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Time is truly our most valuable natural resource… but we don’t treat it that way. In fact, people tend to be pretty oblivious about where their time goes and why. That’s how they end up “busy” from dawn to dusk and yet somehow not doing anything they actually want to do. When we (mistakenly) act as if there will always be more time, we never get around to achieving our dreams and goals.
“Time” is a paradox. Something that parents of young children say all the time is that “the years are short, but the days are long.” And that’s how life actually is.
This was all possible because I had allowed my dreams to evolve and grow over time.
Like mine, your vision is not set in stone. It will change as you get older, discover new things, and meet new people—and that’s okay. You may find that after years or even decades pursuing the same thing, you’ve gotten everything out of it that you can, or it turned out to be different from what you expected, or it just doesn’t excite you the way it once did.
Stay attuned to those feelings. As risky as it may feel to change course, the greater risk is staying in a career, business, or relationship even when it no longer feels right. Sadly, people do this all the time. They get trapped by golden handcuffs, trading years of misery for shiny benefits they may or may not live to enjoy. Or they look back at all the time and effort they’ve invested in their path and can’t bear to see it go to “waste.” Or they feel overwhelmed by the challenge of starting something new.
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.
Ever find yourself questioning the true essence of wealth? It's a sentiment many of us share. In a world that often equates prosperity with the thickness of our wallets, let's take a moment to ponder a simple yet profound truth: wealth isn't just about money; it's about the richness of our experiences.
In today’s episode of the Win Monday podcast, we are delighted to introduce two extraordinary individuals, Bridget Hilton and Joe Huff, authors of the book Experiential Billionaire. They have lived a life filled with diverse and adventurous experiences, from training as samurais to dancing with the northern lights, and even standing face-to-face with hungry lions on safari. Today, we delve into their journeys and the lessons they've learned along the way.
In our conversation, Bridget and Joe share their journeys of self-discovery, the importance of experiences over material wealth, and their shift in perspective on life after facing personal challenges. They also provide practical advice on how to start living a life focused on experiences, emphasizing the importance of taking small steps toward achieving one's dreams and goals. They conclude by encouraging listeners to become experiential billionaires by embracing a life filled with meaningful experiences.
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.
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.
As my mentor (and epic human) Josh Linkner says - there's a word in sanskrit, Muditā, that means "Delighting in other people’s success, good fortune, and well-being.” I've met so many speakers through I11 that I take so much joy in seeing their personal and career growth and learn so much from.
Life is short. We know this all too well, and yet rarely make changes to ensure we are living a life without regret. Research shows that we feel the loss and regret of the thing not done, far more than the things we did, but got wrong.
Not only that, but our biggest mistakes often prove to be the greatest factors in our growth. Teaching us and pushing us beyond what we thought it was possible to endure, allowing us to expand in emotional and intellectual intelligence and problem-solving.
Our choices ripple out into the world around us, when we think about what it means to live a life without regret, consider your legacy, your ripples, and whether they left the world better or worse. At the end of our lives, we don’t regret making enough money. But we do regret all the time we lost to the grind.
Bridget Hilton, author and keynote speaker at Experiential Billionaire, is this episode’s featured guest. She speaks powerfully about what it means to live a life with no regrets, how new experiences empower us to be bolder, and how your life can transform when you give back.
If you find yourself putting your dreams off, or worse, not even daring to dream them, then this is the episode to get you thinking about today, not someday!
During this interview, you'll learn...
- The value of new experiences
- How to live a life with no regrets
- The importance of giving back
Look at your calendar now. This is your “before” picture—what do you see? If it’s not full of valuable experiences, don’t expect them to appear out of thin air. You have to put them there. That’s what living intentionally is all about.
For example, in our Life Experiences Survey, thousands of people said that skydiving was one of the top three things they wanted to do in their lifetime. What’s interesting is that skydiving isn’t really very hard to do. Is it scary? Hell yeah. But it’s available in most places and only requires a few hours and a couple hundred dollars. Anyone can manage that, even if it takes a year to save up the money. But most people have it on their mental “someday” list, so they never bother to actually find out what it takes or make a plan to do it.
My work focuses heavily on your life, but in the end, it’s about way more. The richer you are in experiences, the more you have to give to others. The more joy, love, and wisdom you cultivate for yourself, the more you spread in the world. You become valuable to others when you share your experiences with them, thus creating opportunities for them to build their own experiential wealth.
When you’re gone, the only thing that remains behind is what you’ve given to others. That’s how you can live forever: through the impact you have on other people. In the end, serving others is the most powerful way to feel your life is well spent.
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.
