The Follow Through Formula Podcast

Rick decides to press the pause button on daily episodes of the podcast. In this podcast he reflects on the value of the daily episode experiment, considers what form the podcast will take next and invites you to provide your feedback on the project and sign up to be notified of Rick's next project, experiment

In this episode Rick shares another notable story from his performing career in which an audience member receives a phone call mid-performance and proceeds to carry on an animated and audible conversation during the very presentation Rick was in the middle of delivering at the front of the room. Listen in as Rick describes the most unlikely outcome you can imagine and what it all has to do with the principle of following through.

In this episode Rick interviews Dr Geoffrey Carr, clinical psychologist, about how to work with intrusive feelings and distressing emotions that inevitably accompany any type of change or growth. Even positive life action is bound to create anxiety in the person who is making a life leap and Dr Carr explains how we can become more comfortable and prepared for the onset of these feelings as we go after what we want in our lives.

In this episode Rick tells a story of how improper focus on a goal almost resulted in breaking his hand and why it's important that you experiment with structuring your own goals in new ways to get best results with your follow through. And if you want your goals to fail, you're in luck, as Rick shares the 3 things you can do that will ensure you never develop sufficient motivation to achieve them.

Once again Rick chats with Dr John Souza about how to keep moving forward when you hit the doldrums in the midst of a life leap and lose the wind in your sails. As John explains, the physics and laws of making a life leap are tested and reliable, and he shares a few of those here along with anecdotes from his journey as he transitions from full-time therapist back to a career in music, now much wiser and more mature of course than his touring days as a young man.

Rick has previously shared the lessons from his book "7 Rules You Were Born to Break" which details 7 hidden rules in our culture that we need to break if we want to follow through on who we really are. Rule # 3 is "Be Independent" and in this episode Rick attempts to "walk the talk" of essential rule breaking by asking for help. Survey link: https://www.gamesforconfidence.com/podcast-survey Review link: https://lovethepodcast.com/followthrough

There are two ways we can miss the boat with rest. In this episode Rick talks about two opposite tendencies, both of which can prevent us from serving what matters most. By the time you listen to this Rick will have already wiggled out of the invitation to challenge his own tendency, but it's the effort that counts. (Rick hopes.) Today's episode is a short one so you can double up on another episode and catch up if you're trying to stay current.

We've all sat before a magician who is about to perform a trick as they say, "Now pay attention, because if you're not paying attention you're going to be fooled and you won't know how it happened." But there's a secret about this moment when we are invited to pierce deception that is both good news and bad news. Rick reveals what it is in this episode and shares the work we need to do to escape the illusions that bind us to personal limits.

You may not be aware that you're giving a vote and voice to parts of yourself that have no business making decisions when it comes to follow through. In this episode Rick talks about we can use the power of particular questions to give the vote of whether we or not we take useful action to the right inner forces. This is a confidence Game that comes from Rick's Games for Confidence platform.

In honor of the holiday this was recorded on, Thanksgiving Day 2020, Rick offers a perspective on the role that gratitude plays in the journey to be ourselves and to follow through on the "real you." If you reach this episode outside of the Thanksgiving holiday, you'll still be able to easily apply the principles shared in this podcast to the ongoing celebration of your daily life. For Gratitude Practice Resources see Gratitude Heals: A Journal for Inspiration and Guidance https://www.amazon.com/Gratitude-Heals-Journal-Inspiration-Guidance/dp/0578481529

In this episode Rick tells two stories of risks that were taken, first by a close friend which then inspired Rick to take a big risk that turned out to be a pivotal juncture in his professional career as a performer. The story illustrates how the fears we often have about a potential life leap only exist in our imagination, and once we're actually residing in the present moment with our challenges, they are much more workable, and even enjoyable, than we imagined they would be.

In this episode Rick explores the two elements necessary for building our confidence and ability to follow through on what matters most. Our cultural orientation focuses only on one of these elements and leaves us short on education about developing the other. If you don't like gardening analogies, don't worry, Rick shares 3 clear and specific steps you can take to prepare for successful follow through that don't involve getting dirt beneath your fingernails.

This episode examines the unavoidable wall of resistance that naturally accompanies our pursuit of what matters most. In fact, according to Steven Pressfield, that resistance becomes more pronounced the closer we get to making a life leap. Rick shares his own current doldrums and the resources he is turning to stay moving forward.

In this episode Rick talks about the idea of moving on from the past, and while this can sometimes be a best approach, we might use this notion to avoid reclaiming something that is an essential part of who we are that we have left behind. Rick tells a poignant story that illustrates how past experiences can limit our engagement in life.

In this episode Rick makes an attempt to recover his sense of humor and lighten up on the path of the all-important, super-serious, deadly meaningful work of LIVING WITH PURPOSE. (If you don't listen to this episode all you need to know is that if these podcasts are making you more serious in your life you should stop listening immediately, go watch re-runs of the 3 Stooges, and then come back when you're sufficiently re-connected to a sense of the human comedy.)

Most of us are still carrying the baggage of a fading past, growing up in an environment that offered us the binary choice of behaving little a good little boy or a good little girl. Despite the fact that our list of choices is expanding, our culture of birth still indoctrinates us into expectations, scripts and narratives that we're likely to accept unquestioningly in order to keep our connections with our families and friends intact. Anyone who wishes to live from purpose is faced with the work of recovering their Being from the ashes of cultural and familial expectations.

Rick shares a story about a tragic national incident that took place in 2015 and the coincidental series of circumstances that placed him in the middle of a challenging decision and the need to examine his own priorities and values. Rick didn't know that an organization he was scheduled to speak for around this time would wind up becoming more of a source of inspiration for him than he would provide in return as their motivational speaker.

Rick interviews Lopon Barbara Du Bois, Ph.D. about her own lifelong journey toward follow through. Barbara retraces her own steps from deep confusion and inner disorientation to a life literally dedicated to speaking and living from truth. Author, teacher, activist, seeker and lover of human purpose, Barbara shows us how we're in just the right spot if we're living with trepidation and the thrill of the unknown at the same time.

Questions can be an incredibly effective way of leading our own attention toward follow through. Unconscious questions that we repeatedly ask ourselves without knowing we're doing it can actually prevent us from following through. How often do you ask yourself good questions? Are you aware of the disabling questions you may be asking yourself without knowing it?

There is no escaping the human need for growth. In trying to avoid the inherent stress of growing we often succeed in shrinking our world, but in the process, the impulses that are meant to drive our unfolding stagnate and create dis-ease in their wake. We cannot erase the creative energy of discovery, exploration and learning. Our attempt to do so does not turn out well in the end. In this episode Rick speaks about the need to cooperate with our moment to moment purpose.

CAUTION: This episode contains wild and unproven assertions and assumptions about your goodness, your value, what's possible in your life and your capacity to dance with it. This episode may very likely annoy you unless you need some raw enthusiasm and energy that isn't necessarily connected to a logical or rational train of thought. Now that you've been warned, skip this one with confidence, or dive in and see what the heck Rick is up to this time.

In this episode Rick interviews his good friend Tarini Bauliya about the fears that are so common with selling ourselves, our products and services. Tarini shares what she's learned about creating relationship with our customers, true listening, and the willingness to tolerate the unknown as the cornerstones of following through on our purpose and sharing it with others.

With all this talk of follow through and the ideas, concepts, tips and insights that have been shared, you might wonder how your follow through is going? Are your efforts paying off? Are you moving in the right direction? In this episode Rick shares a few of the many signs that indicate you may be on the right track.

The most notable aspect of this episode is the absence of the 45-minute lecture that Rick realized he didn't want to deliver and instead opted for talking about what is really going on for him, what's scaring him today, and how he plans to follow through anyway, hopefully with YOUR HELP. This episode will give you a tangible example of how you can keep following through on you, even if the next step scares you.

Fear is an emotion most of us want to avoid, but the implications of suppressing fear in our bodies often involves unconsciously restricting our breathing, even as we're pressing forward with efforts to "succeed." Shallow breathing can become a background tendency that incapacitates our full engagement of the energy we actually require for follow through. In this episode Rick draws on the work of a few experts and reminds us how we can use the power of breath to bring energy to our pursuits.

Rick welcomes back Dr John Souza, president of the Hawaii chapter of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, to talk about what forms of follow through support our mental health, help us to overcome fear and anxiety and find self-efficacy in our busy daily lives. John speaks about his progress pursuing the reclamation of his former music career and the value of slowing down and finding places to pause in our rush to produce results. Enjoy.

The shortest path to our purpose lies in the activity of play. Rick interviews a play expert who reminds us how simple it is to trust our natural human capacity for exploration, discovery and experimentation— and in the process find the treasure of intrinsically motivated action.

If you have a bad habit that keeps taking you away from focusing on what matters most, what's the best strategy from freeing yourself of its compulsive effects. Our first thought usually surrounds just stopping the activity, attempting to pit our willpower against the habit. The research shows, however, that we're unlikely to be successful in shifting our priorities and activities by swearing off the unwanted behavior. In this episode Rick explains what DOES work, and challenges himself to overcome a distracting habit while inviting listeners along for the ride.

Listen in to the actual moments that Rick recovers from completing a brilliant 40 minute episode for which he failed to press the record button. Never-the-less, Rick does follow through with the digital preservation of an actual episode in which he speaks about his book, 7 Rules You Were Born to Break, and recaps the Actions of Intelligent Misbehavior that will help us all follow through right now in our lives.

Rick tells a story about street performing at Granville Island Public Market in Vancouver BC, Canada on the biggest tourism day of the year. This performing day had a delightful surprise ending that confirmed the value of follow through. As Rick explains, we never know what the hidden benefits of following through are going to be, but they always show up; in contrast to overthinking and inaction, which brings an entirely predictable result; nothing new.

Is there something you're really good at or that you love doing yet few people know of your talent or skill in this area? What would it feel like if the thing you love to do could serve or reach more people? What if you could see more people benefitting from your ability or your knowledge? Would that feel good and give you energy? In this episode Rick speaks of his own struggle with self-promoting and describes the transformation that occur in our perspective when we go all in with our purpose and quickly find that it quickly becomes about a reciprocity of service with other human beings, not about US!

In times of civil stress and tension what does it look like to usefully ad our voice into the mix? In this episode Rick talks about the essential need for us to do our own work, clarifying our unique gifts, strengths and perspectives before launching into the fray. We can only follow though on our best contribution to our society when we have the self-knowledge and self-awareness to represent ourselves with integrity.

Rick springs another surprise invitation on his friend John Souza, a musician, as well as Dr of Marriage and Family Therapy and state president of the Hawaii Association of Marriage and Family Therapy. John explains that the word "anxiety" tends to distance us from usefully working with the real fears that grip us, and suggests that identifying what the fears actually are can be helpful. John and Rick talk about the power of small action, the essential need for partners in life change, and how something as simple as what you call yourself can be transformative.

Rick tells a story of getting booked to replace a strip-tease act at an all male banquet in Northern Canada without knowing any of the backstory beforehand. What does this have to do with conflict styles? Rick's response to the circumstance required him to step way outside of his comfort zone to survive it. In this episode you'll learn what the 3 conflict styles are that you'll need to access if you want to successfully follow through in your life.

In this episode Rick briefly explains how simple and easy the habit of follow through can be to develop. He summarizes the 6 hidden obstacles to change and the 6 resources of follow through that anyone can implement into their lives, one small step at a time. This is a condensed version of what is covered in detail in the episode called, The Follow Through Formula Masterclass. The same information is also available via the free download linked in the show notes to The Follow Through Formula Roadmap. Enjoy!

Rick describes losing the motivation to follow through with more recordings and the surprise notion that follow through truly begins only when the honeymoon phase is over. How do we tap into a source of sustenance for action and showing up when we've expended our usual orientation to "wanting to" do something, or having the exciting feeling of a new project or routine? What keeps us going after that point? Rick explores this topic with interest and examples of what such follow through might look like.

Rick sets out to record the worst episode yet in the Follow Through Formula series because there is an inherent joy in having the worst thing that could happen actually occur. And in the process we get an unexpected surprise—that the best thing that could happen is hidden in the same worst moment.

In this episode Rick remembers the need to actually take a breath after completing his 21-Days challenge and acknowledge the accomplishment, along with celebrating the accomplishments made by listeners over the 21 day challenge. Rick reviews the neuroscience behind acknowledging our own efforts and the power we have to play any life Game we want to and empower it through consistent action and consistent acknowledgement of our progress.

This is it! A PODCAST SPECIAL RELEASE - The culmination of the original 21-Episode commitment Rick made 3 weeks ago to record 21 daily podcasts in a row. If you've been following along with this journey and listening to all the episodes you'll know that Rick has been cultivating the conversation about follow through all along, and today, Rick brings it all together in this masterclass covering the 6 hidden obstacles and 6 essential resources needed for follow through. Be sure to grab the Follow Through Formula roadmap (link in the show notes) so you can follow along, or use this guide for any future Life Leap you may want to make. Enjoy!

In this episode Rick tells two stories that explore what integrity really is and how following through with integrity isn't always an easy or popular thing to do. In the process of grappling with tough decisions we can build character and gain life experience that allows for less rigid and more intelligent forms of follow through in our lives.

If you're sure you know what meditation is and what it's for, or you have no idea why anyone would want to meditate, or you fall somewhere in between, then this episode is for you. Rick goes all in on a conversation he's been avoiding for years, publicly sharing his take on meditation practice, which is a bit different than what you'd get from the front covers of what's on the news stand. If you "tried meditation and it didn't work for you" this discussion will help you understand what actually didn't go wrong at all.

The main theme of today's podcast is this: There's a place in all of our lives that is meant to be occupied by our growth. If we don't fill that space with the work of growth, the world will fill that space for us with drama. Listen in as Rick considers why drama becomes appealing to us in place of growth and how small acts of daily bravery can keep us in motion toward what matters most, instead of obsessing about what matters the least.

You're about to go on an adventure with the $10,000 question. Get ready to discover a 4-step process that will give you an immediate focus for your energy and your attention right now. You'll want to have a piece of paper and a pen handy before you start this episode, 30 minutes set aside so you won't be interrupted, and if possible, download and print out the PDF "Discover Your Hidden Purpose" that is attached in the show notes. The PDF has worksheets already prepared that you can use as Rick leads you through this process. If that's not possible at the moment, you can complete the process with pen and paper and get the guide when you can.

Rick gets in over his head by jumping into today's podcast recording with no more than a title idea for the podcast, on purpose, to demonstrate the value of making a commitment that feels bigger than what we're ready for. Does he make it all the way to number 7? Listen in and find out. In the process you'll get inspired to re-commit to your own life leap.

Rick tells a story about being moved beyond his usual habits of human connection by the example of a man whose presence was he greatest gift. The idea of "follow through" is more often associated with concrete accomplishments, tasks and commitments, yet following through with our simple human presence in relationship is perhaps one of the most needed forms of follow through.

If you've been listening along you may be thinking that all this talk about follow through is well and good, but you have the question, "What if I don't know what my purpose is?!" Well you're in luck, because this week's podcast is all about how to recognize your purpose, how you may have lost it, and how immediate and simple your purpose likely is. Make sure you listen to the end for an unexpected story that even Rick didn't see coming. If you enjoy this episode, make sure you also listen to its companion, The $10,000 Purpose Question. And then download your free guide "Find Your Hidden Purpose" at www.gamesforconfidence.com/purpose

Our goals don't exist in a void, and unless we're living alone in the wilderness, our visions involve an improved relationship to others. Usually we want to enjoy, serve or co-exist with others in a new way. This episode features a funny story of Rick attempting to follow through on an entertainment vision as a street performer while forgetting to team up with his audience in the process.

Big transitions in life require a lot of energy. The human machine needs to be kept in top operating condition when we're facing a large amount of change. Rick talks about the 5 and a half essential practices that support making a life leap. Netflix binge-watching, drinking coffee and staying up late are not on the list. Sorry. Go to GamesForConfidence.com to sign up for the Follow Through Formula course under the "LIFE LEAP" tab.

Rick submits today's podcast episode at the last minute today, following through just in time to keep his commitment to his 21-Day experiment. Rick recommends that you watch the Netflix special, "The Social Dilemma" which explains how and why social media is a not tool for creating your Life Leap and the way it actually keeps your attention captive on who you've always been instead of who you wish to become. Go to GamesForConfidence.com to sign up for the Follow Through Formula course under the "LIFE LEAP" tab.

Rick talks about his recent efforts to communicate the vision of his new Life Leap community and the Follow Through Formula course, noting that making the effort has had a hugely positive effect on his energy, mood and perspective, regardless of what result comes from those efforts. Rick talks about the wound that is created in us internally when we ignore things we're being called to engage—purposes, plans, hobbies, causes, learning and growth. The opportunity to heal the wound of our ignore-ance is entirely in our hands, because nothing can stop us from making a worthwhile effort in the right direction. Go to GamesForConfidence.com to sign up for the Follow Through Formula course under the "LIFE LEAP" tab.

Rick shares a story from his street performing career about a surprising interaction with a brave audience member. The story illustrates the 6th resource covered in the Follow Through Formula Roadmap, which overcomes the 6th biggest obstacle to change. In this episode Rick clearly lays out his vision for the Life Leap community; to hold each other accountable for our highest possibility and to push past the obstacles to growth that constantly tempt us— consumerism, distractions, entertainment and comforts—in favor of intelligent risk-taking and uncertain bravery. Go to GamesForConfidence.com to sign up for the Follow Through Formula course under the "LIFE LEAP" tab.