The Most Inspirational Pillow Fight Ever!

“No man is an island.”
— John Donne

Hello friends,

Bryce KuhlmanBryce here, with what is possibly the most important story I’ve ever told (at least to date).

Most people strive for a life and career that is stable and consistent.   Honestly, it freaks me out.

Every five to ten years I start getting anxious about my life path, especially in terms of business.  I can sense it coming on and, without fail, some event will drastically alter my direction.  I never know when or what that event will be.  Sometimes I try to force it (that never works, by the way).

The first one I can remember was showing up to the first Mystery School.  Without question, it changed my life forever.  It brought me together with some of the closest, most supportive friends I’ve ever known (Thank You Eugene, Jeff, Tobias and Abbi!).

Then there was a marriage to the best life partner I could ever imagine.  A move to Phoenix and a job developing satellite systems for Motorola was next.

A really big one took place at Firedance, thanks to The Wizard, Gary Stadler, and Paul Harris.  They’re the ones that convinced me that the corporate world wasn’t for me (unless I’m President / CEO).

There have been other, less spectacular shifts since then, but nothing major… until last weekend.

Before I tell you about it, let me explain the three key ingredients to all major shifts in my life.

First, it only happens when I push way beyond my comfort zone.  Forget getting outside the box.  I want to get to a place where I can’t even see the box anymore.

Second, it’s always about connecting with a community.

Finally, it always ends with finding a mentor.

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
— Jim Rohn

Back to the story…

My new friend, Robert Merlin Davis, invited me to a joint-venture conference.  Robert is a personal branding expert, creative director and expert copywriter.  He’s also a magician and old friend of Jeff’s, which is how we met.

Let me be clear:  I have never been to an event like this.  The idea of “networking” usually creeps me out.  To add insult to injury, my business is in a state of transition, so I didn’t even have a solid answer to the mandatory networking question: “what do you do?”  And did I mention that the event was one week away?

If you’ve ever been to one of our Magic & Mystery School in-person events like a Master Class or Magic & Meaning, you know what it’s like to form deep, long-lasting, supportive friendships with people in a very short period of time.  Until now, that’s been the only place I’ve witnessed this sort of behavior… until now.

Honestly, I was expecting a lot of ego and “what can you do for me?” attitude.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.  Every one of the 100-or-so people at this conference were there to help each other grow, even if they were in the exact same field and might otherwise have seemed like competition.

I should also point out that about 1/3 of the people in attendance were presenters, speakers and panelists.  Oh, and did I mention that many of them are multi- (and multi-multi-) millionaires?

Observe any conversation and you would never have known who was a highly-successful “expert” and who was a first-timer just getting started (or re-started, in my case).

I went with no expectations.  I left with a new family and, most importantly, a new mentor who is ready, willing, able and committed to helping me take my business (and my life) to the next level.

I think only fools believe they can do it alone.  Look at the successful people around you.  Yes, I’m sure they worked hard.  But I’ll bet they also surrounded themselves by great mentors and community.

Who are your mentors?

Who is in your community?

Are you surrounding yourself with the people who can and, most importantly, really want to help you grow?

I know I am.

Oh, and if you’re wondering about the subject of this email, here’s a photo of Robert (the one on the right) taking a break from a pillow fight at the conference.  It was part of an intensive small-group breakout session hosted by Steven Memel, a business and personal coach with a background in voice and acting.  You might have heard of some of his clients:  Drew Barrymore, Adam Levine and Lauren Bacall, just to name a few.

Robert Merlin Davis
I’ll leave you with an exercise from another small-group session, this one taught by author and expert sales trainer, Mitch Axelrod.

I challenge you to do this tonight:

Figure out about the single most important thing you could do to enhance your life, work or relationships.

Write it down.

Now ask yourself the following four questions:

  1. Are you willing to take the next step?
  2. Are you able to make a change?
  3. Are you ready, or are you just getting ready?
  4. Are you committed, or are you just interested?

Most poeple will easily anwer “yes” to the first two.  The third one, if you’re really honest with yourself, might not be as resoundingly affirmative as you might think.  Of course, it’s the last one that makes all the difference.

Are you committed to a better future for yourself and those around you?

If you decide you can say yes to all four, I invite you to drop me an email and tell me about it.

Wishing us all a brighter future,

Bryce
bryce@brycekuhlman.com

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