This week is a deep dive into 3 things I’ve learned from doing 250 episodes of DREAM THINK DO.  These keys might seem counterintuitive. They are: 1.) Embrace Comparison, 2.) Be a Novice and 3.) March Through the Mess.  We’ll dig into what each of them mean… the stories and strategies (and science too) behind them… AND how they can help us make 2020 our best year yet!  Also, I want to say THANK YOU for being with my on this DREAM THINK DO journey. Whether this is your first DTD episode or your 250th… I’m so glad we’re in this together!     Listen To The Podcast:   RESOURCES:   Episodes Mitch Mentions: BRING YOUR AWESOME! with Neil Pasricha. - Episode 247 Beating the Comparison Trap - Episode 183 Overcoming Comparison with Good Morning America’s Sara Haines - Episode 32 The Four Tenents for Yoga and for Life with James Miller - Episode 248  PTG - Post Traumatic Growth - Episode 172    More Info on the episode: In this episode, we talk through 3 key things I’ve learned from doing 250 episodes of DREAM THINK DO.   MAJOR THEMES: Embrace Comparison Become a Novice March through the Mess EMBRACE COMPARISON:   Obviously, a comparison is something we have to be VERY careful with.  Great thinkers have warned us about it since the dawn of time:   [Tweet "“Comparison is the thief of joy.” - Theodore Rosevelt"]   [Tweet "“Never compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.   Comparison is poison.”   - Jon Acuff"]   [Tweet "“Personality begins where comparison leaves off.   Be unique.  Be memorable.  Be confident. Be proud.”   - Shannon Alder"]   So you might wonder why I would ever say… “Embrace Comparison.” But this idea was sparked when I interviewed Neil Pasricha - for DTD Episode 247 - “Bring Your awesome!”   He had 6 best selling books and two of those books have spent 100 weeks on the NYT bestseller list!  Amazing. Before I hit “record” for our interview, we got to talk for a bit.  As we were chatting I congratulated him about the success of his books and I asked him what it felt like to have an NYT Best Selling book.  Without skipping a beat, he said, “Do you know what happens the minute you get an NYT best selling book?” I said, “What?” He said, “You start to see all the people who have TWO NYT best selling books, and you start to feel pressure to get your second!” We wound up talking about how he shakes that feeling off… and just keeps doing his thing.  BUT he confessed that’s something he really had to watch out for. That was a powerful moment and I really appreciated his transparency.   It’s something I NEVER have to deal with… ha!  Just kidding… of course. In fact, we dove into this subject in depth in episode 183. For me, negative comparison can creep up… as I interview people who have done amazing things!!!  Especially if those achievements involve things I aspire to do too! I can feel it sneaking up and it threatens to steal the job of having a great conversation with an awesome person. So I need to look to evolutionary psychology for a little awareness… so I can keep things healthy.  As you probably know… “evolutionary psychology” is the theoretical approach in the social and natural sciences that examines psychological structure from a modern evolutionary perspective. It seeks to identify which human psychological traits might actually be evolved adaptations - that is, the functional products of natural selection or sexual selection.    In this episode, we’ll talk about “Upward” and “Downward” comparison and how to stay on the helpful side of going “tribal!”  One of the best ways I can do that is by asking questions like: How can I be learning from this person? What are they doing that I want to do? How can I be helping this person?   These simple but powerful questions help to direct my thinking towards healthy comparison and help me to be fully present and enjoy connecting with ...

Give the gift of “Intentional Listening.”  That’s right! This week we’re doing a deep dive into the subject of giving one of the best… most sought after… most coveted gifts a person can give.  It’s the gift of being fully present and listening intently. I know… I know… it’s almost too simple. But in our busy world… I think we can all agree that feeling like someone is truly listening is a rare thing.  All the distractions… pings… bings… and alerts… can keep us from being fully engaged. So, at this time of year… when everyone is looking for that PERFECT gift… I thought it would be good to review some simple but powerful strategies to help you listen more effectively!     Listen To The Podcast:   Click here to download the DREAM THINK DO “Listening Cheat Sheet.” MORE INFO: So… I think we can admit that we’re all guilty of not listening at times in our lives. We tune people (even the important ones… sometimes) out when we’re trying to concentrate on something we’re doing, while we’re binging on Netflix, while we’re being bombarded by all the pinging, dinging and ringing distractions… or when we’re exhausted at the end of a long day.  Listening can impact us at home and… of course… at work too. Recently, The Harvard Business Review reported on a story involving the top executives of a large manufacturer based in Chicago.  These execs were asked to reflect on the role listening has played within their work. Then those same leaders participated in a seminar on intentional listening.  After being exposed to some specific listening strategies (like what we’re covering in this episode), the participants shared some epiphanies and “light bulb” moments around listening:  “Frankly, I had never thought of listening as an important subject by itself. But now that I am aware of it, I think that perhaps 80% of my work depends on my listening to someone, or on someone else listening to me.” “I’ve been thinking back about things that have gone wrong over the past couple of years, and I suddenly realized that many of the troubles have resulted from someone not hearing something, or getting it in a distorted way.” “It’s interesting to me that we have considered so many facets of communication in the company, but have inadvertently overlooked listening. I’ve about decided that it’s the most important link in the company’s communications, and it’s obviously also the weakest one.” Can you relate? It’s true.  Listening is critical to our relationships and to our business success. Again… the good news is that listening is a skill just like speaking, writing, typing or learning to play tennis (or pickleball… cuz… yeah… it’s fun to say “pickleball!”).  That means we can learn to be better listeners and we can unlearn some of the bad habits we’ve all developed.   And that’s why we’re digging into this crucial topic today… especially around the holidays. We’re going to talk about HOW you can listen more effectively and intentionally.   So you can give it as a gift to the important people in your life!   Quick Episode Summary: 0:20 What to expect today! 2:50 Mitch's favorite weird gifts 6:00 The best gift to give 7:50 What everyone truly wants 9:44 Mitch's free gift to you 10:30 Who has been a good listener to you? 11:52 What body language does to listening 19:03 Limiting distractions 20:14 How to show someone you're listening 21:28 The big FU questions 25:28 What do you want to work on? 25:45 What's coming up next   Listen to Mitch Mattews Top Podcast here

My guest this week is James Miller. James is the creator of Adamantine Yoga. He’s also one of the most innovative thinkers I’ve ever met. James has been bringing his unique thinking and approach to the world of yoga… and I believe… he’s on the verge of a huge breakthrough. We’ll talk about that more in the episode. Plus, I can tell you he’s already pulled off at least one miracle… and that’s getting ME to practice yoga… and I’ve actually been loving it.     Listen To The Podcast:   RESOURCES: Adamantine Yoga: www.adamantineyoga.com   MORE INFORMATION: James came to yoga after being a Marine. When he started, he would be the first to tell you that he could do 30 pull-ups and 100 pushups but he couldn’t touch his toes. Now… he’s one of the most flexible people I’ve ever met, and at 48 years old he’s in the best shape of his life. Since I turn 50 next year… and I’ve said that is one of my goals is to be in the best shape of my life in my 50th year and beyond, so James and his approach really grabbed my attention. Apparently… I’m a little late to the game with yoga. A recent study found that over 20 million Americans practice yoga on a regular basis and that continues to grow each year. Plus, I hear from a number of you that you practice it and I know you love it. So we’ll be talking about some of the strengths of yoga and some of the big misperceptions and big questions too. BUT... whether you have ever practiced yoga or not… I think you’ll benefit from hearing about James’ outlook on life and the 4 tenets his school is based upon. Those tenets are: Integrity Non-violence Surrender Gratitude We’ll talk about why they matter to the school, to the practice of yoga and… most importantly… how they build on each other to help us to live a better life. I want to hear from YOU! What stood out to you from this conversation? And… tell me about YOUR experiences with yoga. What are some of the things YOU have learned so far? I can’t wait to hear from YOU! Comment below and let me know.   Quick Episode Summary: 0:02 What to expect today 1:54 Who is James Miller? 4:18 How and why James started doing yoga 8:08 When James started to understand yoga 11:23 The push back James endured 13:18 How James is reforming the yoga space 16:15 The four tenets of yoga 20:44 What makes James a great teacher 23:47 The spiritual side of yoga 27:47 How James is taking his message to the world 30:26 The best way to learn yoga 31:16 How to learn more about James   Listen to Mitch Mattews Top Podcast here