After writing for my blog for over 3 years and 170 articles, I have come to some truths about myself. I value peace and freedom in my life above everything.I’m in a privileged place where I don’t have to do anything (I recently started thinking of myself as “retired”).I live a decelerated life.I like using technology, but try to avoid being used by it. That means I don’t use any social media...
There are 92 people on the email list for this blog. Of that, approximately 35% open each email. That gives me a weekly readership of 32 people. By any standard metric that seems tiny. Email lists are generally measured in thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands or even millions. Followers on social media sites are measured the same way. 32 people reading what I have to say barely...
During the years I felt like an imposter, I was under tremendous fear of my ideas being ripped off. I would go through such lengths to hide and obfuscate my innovations. At the time I believed it was the only thing I had. That if someone copied it, I was useless/worthless/replaceable. Recently I watched someone share in public their business building strategy. I know this person, have spoken to...
I was inspired to create this tool by how I’ve been choosing to see 2020 as one of the best years in my life, and how I might be able to share that with others. I know a lot of people can’t wait to get out of 2020, but what if it were possible to transform how you see it? I also realized how creating lists has been such a powerful tool for me. To be staring at the overwhelming evidence in front...
I’ve had an incredible 2020, there is no getting around it. On every metric – personal, financial, business, mental, family, health, happiness, everything has come together this year in a way I’ve never experienced before. I don’t claim perfection, everyone will have their challenges, but I do practice focusing on the positives and this year has been an incredible one for me. That...
Chris Frolic · The Scariest Thing I Did This Year If 2019 was “My Year of Gratitude”, 2020 was my year of “What Scares Me?”. I continued to put myself in hot situations, specifically doing the thing that scares me. It has gotten a lot easier over the year, and now because of all the benefits of each of those actions I’ve become addicted to doing the exact thing I’m frightened of. Only good comes...
I enjoy doing things never done before. I enjoy doing things BECAUSE they’ve never been done before. Something about making the impossible seem possible really fires me up. I can sense the joy it sparks in me. I like to state it as: I eat the words “It can’t be done” for breakfast. I love my role in sharing that with others. One of my favorite “easy” tricks is to ask someone...
“I’m out of here!”, my 12-year-old shouted. “Kevin, there’s a freaking pandemic going on, we’re in lockdown!”, I responded back. “I don’t care”, he replied. “Kevin, I love you and will support you”, were the last words I said to him. Kevin put on his jacket and walked out of the house. I had no idea where he was going to go. Kevin had reached his...
I recently hosted a Zoom titled “I’m not a coach”, for coaches who want to create businesses as unique as they are. In preparation on the day of, I chose to cut my news diet down from an already very small daily amount. Normally, I allow myself 7 minutes to scan my local newspaper websites for news of interest for me. I don’t use social media and don’t consume much news outside of regular...
This event has past, instant video replay is now available – request yours below! I’m hosting a free Zoom for those who practice coaching and aren’t comfortable with labels and want permission to build a business as unique as they are. This is an exclusive invitation-only event for a select group of attendees. I am also accepting referrals. During the call: I will share the results of all...
My ability to create something from nothing is what makes me valuable. It’s not about teaching you to do what I do, or do what I did, but it’s about facilitating an environment that supports you to create something new yourself. That is what I bring to the table. It isn’t about labels or simple easy steps. And I love that I don’t have to pretend to be anything I’m not. I refuse to act as if I am...
I’m going to model something right now. Take from this what is of value to you. I have a very small email list. Mostly because of the decelerated life I choose to live, I don’t participate in social media and all the usual ways people generally are reached these days. I’m co-founder and co-owner of a successful business that pays me monthly dividends and I have stepped away from daily duties. I...
I wrote and shared this with my children at the dinner table. I’m now sharing it with you. Dear Gavin & Connor. Daddy wants to share 5 things I’ve learned that will help you live an extraordinary life. 1. Take action. Most people don’t. They give into their fears and never find out what might have actually happened had they just done it. They find busy work to pretend they’re doing...
I used to be ashamed of doing things different from everyone else. Now it gives me pleasure. I learned this about myself and can now just tap into it. I literally get a perverse pleasure when I do things that are completely contrary to everyone else. All I know is I don’t want to follow the rules, so I’m not going to. I give the best I’ve got to my blog. I enjoy sharing my...
My birthday just passed. Normally I’d take my family to a nice restaurant and that’s our treat. This year, because of covid, that went out the window. We’d stay home. Because I “lost” something, I asked myself how can I celebrate my birthday this year? I came up with 3 things: Gratitude Acknowledgement of what an incredible year this has been Spend it with my family...
I was having a discussion this week about money. The common challenges most people have with money were coming up, primarily the difficulty in valuing yourself. During the discussion an insight came to me that I wrote down: Money is a byproduct of my awesomeness. Be Awesome. I liked that statement as soon as I wrote it. It made me feel good. I immediately shared it with everyone. With a lot of...
I love metaphors. I’ve learned I use them more than the average person. I did it so often and so easily most of my life I didn’t even realize it. Now I see it, and lean into it. I use metaphors to describe abstract or complicated ideas or even feelings and turn them into something easily relatable. One of my favorite metaphors is thinking of myself as a gunslinger. I think of watching...
My wife and I have been together for 23 years, 18 of those married. For most people that see us, we come across as a very successful couple, because we are. However, because we are always striving to be more, we decided to start couples therapy this year. The goal was to look back in 5 years time and say these most recent 5 years were our best years, in ways that we couldn’t comprehend today. I...
I was recently having a Zoom discussion with a bunch of online peers. Most were acknowledging, if not outright complaining, about how over-scheduled their lives are. Earlier in the call I had confessed that while a lot of them are taking this month off for vacation, I had never taken a vacation in my life. I am totally serious. I don’t know what that is. Every trip I’ve ever taken in...
I speak with people quite a bit who beat themselves up with all their “failure” stories. They think their failures mean they are not successful. The reality is failure is a necessary part of success. There is no one in the world that hasn’t failed, multiple times, at everything. The most successful people have the biggest failure stories. Myself included. We are taught to not speak of them, to...
As I write this we’re over 1 month into covid-19 quarantine. My kids were sent home for March Break last month and told they’d not be coming back for 2 more weeks. That’s been extended indefinitely. Everything has been turned on its ear since then. For the past couple of years I’ve been trying to work out “What’s Next?” for me, and that question now has entirely new meaning. As I wrestle with...
As I sat to write this week’s article that famous quote from Back to the Future popped into my head from out of nowhere. It’s the scene from the very end of the first movie. Doc has just returned from “the future” and now he’s taking Marty back to the future. Marty: Hey Doc, you better back up, we don’t have enough road to get up to 88. Doc Brown: Roads? Where we’re going, we...
I had a really bad day recently where I broke my “news diet” rule and checked my phone first thing for Covid-19 news as I woke up from bed. I read all the latest to immediately catch myself up. I then paid the price with waves of physical anxiety, chills, that I was convinced for a few hours I HAD it. I told my kids’ to not use the bathroom on the main level, I texted my wife...
For the last few years that I’ve been exploring “What’s Next?” I’ve been very successful at learning what it isn’t. As I test, explore, research, and play with ideas I’ve built a very long laundry list of things I don’t want to do. This includes everything from the fact that I don’t want to go into work somewhere, it has to be done from my...
At the start of last year I came up with an experiment – every day I would take a moment in the morning to add to a list of gratitude. You can read my previous blog entries about this here and here. To recap; Every morning I would open a Word document where I had a numbered list. I’d then take a moment and add to it. At least 1 thing, but as many as I felt in that moment. I usually...