On a Living Spree
Active listening is more than just hearing the words someone is saying. It's about fully focusing on the person in front of you, setting aside your own agenda and preconceptions, and seeking to understand their perspective. It's about asking open-ended questions, reflecting back what you've heard, and creating a safe space for authentic communication.
When leaders practice active listening, they send a powerful message to their employees: your thoughts, feelings, and experiences matter. They build trust, rapport, and a sense of psychological safety that allows people to bring their full selves to work. They also gain valuable insights into their team members' strengths, challenges, and aspirations, which can inform coaching, development, and career growth opportunities.
But active listening isn't always easy, especially in a world of constant distractions and competing priorities. It requires a conscious effort to slow down, be present, and give your undivided attention to the person in front of you. It means resisting the urge to jump in with advice or solutions, and instead allowing space for the other person to process their own thoughts and feelings.
Think back to a time when you achieved something you once thought was impossible. Maybe it was speaking in front of a large audience, running a marathon, or landing a big promotion at work. Chances are, the journey to that achievement wasn't a smooth or easy one. It likely involved plenty of discomfort, uncertainty, and moments of self-doubt.
But here's the thing: growth and comfort rarely coexist. In order to achieve our biggest goals and dreams, we must be willing to step outside our comfort zones and embrace the discomfort that comes with trying new things, taking risks, and facing our fears.
Have you ever found yourself going through the motions at work, feeling disconnected from the bigger picture and wondering what it's all for? If so, you're not alone. In today's fast-paced, always-on work culture, it's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day tasks and lose sight of the deeper purpose behind what we do.
But here's the thing: having a clear sense of purpose is essential not just for our personal fulfillment and well-being, but for our effectiveness and impact as leaders and team members. When we're connected to a larger mission and vision, we're more motivated, resilient, and inspired to bring our best selves to work every day.
So, how can we clarify our sense of purpose and use it to guide our actions and decisions? One powerful exercise is to create a personal purpose statement. This is a short, concise statement that captures the essence of what drives us, what we stand for, and what impact we want to have in the world.
Employee engagement has become a hot topic in recent years, with countless studies and surveys highlighting the link between engaged employees and better business outcomes. But despite all the attention and investment in engagement initiatives, many organizations still struggle to move the needle. Why?
One often-overlooked factor is the role of belonging in driving engagement and performance. A sense of belonging – feeling accepted, valued, and included in a group – is a fundamental human need. When we feel like we truly belong at work, we're more likely to be motivated, committed, and willing to go above and beyond for our team and organization.
But fostering a sense of belonging is easier said than done, especially in today's diverse and often remote or hybrid work environments. It requires a conscious and ongoing effort to create a culture of inclusion, trust, and psychological safety, where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued for who they are.
When was the last time you had fun at work? I mean, really had fun – the kind of joyful, carefree, lose-track-of-time fun that we associate with childhood? If you're like most adults, it's probably been a while.
Somewhere along the way, we bought into the idea that work and play are mutually exclusive. That fun is a frivolous distraction from the serious business of getting things done. But what if I told you that incorporating more play into your workday could actually make you more productive, creative, and resilient?
Studies have shown that play is essential for our cognitive, emotional, and social well-being. When we engage in activities that are intrinsically enjoyable and challenge us to think in new ways, we stimulate our brains, reduce stress, and boost our problem-solving abilities. We also forge stronger connections with those around us, as laughter and shared experiences break down barriers and foster a sense of belonging.
Invest in Your Employees Dreams, Watch Your Business Grow.
We created this book to provide tools for everyone from small business owners to CEO’s of global brands to create a workplace where everyone feels valued, supported, and inspired to be their best selves, both personally and professionally – which directly impacts the bottom line.
In our research for the book Experiential Billionaire: Build a Life Rich in Experiences and Die With No Regrets, we asked 20,000 people about the most valuable things in their lives. The majority of participants cited their dreams, goals and experiences as the most important. This illustrates the deep-rooted human desire for purpose and fulfillment, which can often be found in the pursuit of our dreams. On the flip side, the study also revealed that the number one regret people have at the end of their lives is not following their dreams. This highlights the importance of dream pursuit for well-being and overall life satisfaction.
In the context of the workplace, supporting your employees' dreams can have a profound impact. It can drive engagement, productivity, and loyalty, while also enhancing the organization's reputation and its ability to attract top talent. Helping employees follow their dreams is not just a feel-good initiative, but a strategic imperative for any organization that wants to thrive in today's fast-paced, ever-changing world of remote work, AI, and a multi-generational workforce.
By recognizing the importance of dreams, providing the resources and support employees need to pursue them, and creating a culture that celebrates progress and achievement, leaders can unlock the full potential of their people and their organizations.
Have you ever watched a stone being thrown into a still pond? The impact creates ripples that spread out in every direction, each one creating its own mini-wave that influences the water around it. In many ways, the pursuit of our dreams works the same way.
When we take steps towards our goals and aspirations, we set off a chain reaction of positive impact that extends far beyond ourselves. We inspire others to chase their own dreams, we create opportunities for collaboration and connection, and we contribute to a culture of growth and possibility.
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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 Hilton, author of Experiential Billionaire: Build a Life Rich in Experiences and Die With No Regrets, says the brain’s amygdala is largely responsible for the adult urge to opt out of new activities. “The amygdala is responsible for processing emotions and can trigger a fear response when faced with uncertainty, making individuals hesitant to step out of their comfort zones,” she says. “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.”
Because neural pathways become more established with age, many of us find it increasingly difficult to branch out and try new things as adults. “Children are generally more open to exploration due to their natural curiosity and the brain’s heightened plasticity,” Hilton says. While everyone is different in terms of when and why anxiety arises at the prospect of new experiences, adolescence typically introduces fears of failure and social rejection, while adulthood exacerbates pressures to conform to social norms while established routines and habits are continuously reinforced.
Fourteen years ago, I went with four of my friends to get our photo taken with Santa at the Burbank mall. Were we far too old to be doing this? Absolutely. Did we care that we were the only group in line that did not include young children? Nope. Is Santa kinda creepy with five grown women sitting on his lap? Definitely… which makes it even more hilarious. What was meant to be a one-time joke turned out to be so fun that it became an annual tradition, complete with themes and costumes. Even as our own families and lives grow and change, it’s a once-a-year event where we can feel like kids again with each other.
Over time, the things you used to play at become serious endeavors, or to-do list items, or no longer worth doing at all. Running around with your friends outside becomes running on the treadmill at the gym, scheduling coffee dates to see your friends, and attending networking events to make new ones. We think of those activities as good and healthy, but they’re actually remarkably unnatural, not to mention not very fun. Because if you saw a kid doing any of those things, you would feel like you were in an alternate universe. Kids don’t run to stay fit, they run to feel the wind on their face and the grass beneath their feet. Kids don’t network to climb a career ladder, they bond through joyful moments. Kids go for what they want without worrying about why or what for—they just want to have fun. As adults, we deny ourselves that luxury without understanding the incredible benefits we’re missing out on.
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
The 'what are you waiting for' vibe really struck me. We can do anything we set our minds to. I get caught up sometimes in all the things that can hold me back. There will always be obstacles. But I prayed about it all and I was given an idea, and it can truly make a difference, and I want to make the most of this life.
