The Meaningful Revolution Movement

Foreign. Hey, everyone. Welcome to the Meaningful Revolution podcast. I am your host, Sean Butner, certified High Performance Coach. And today we got a really great episode for you because we're going to be talking about what is the Meaningful Revolution movement, right? So I've been running this podcast for a couple months now, I guess since last August. We're almost at a thousand downloads. So first and foremost, I want to thank y' all for making this show great, for inspiring me to keep going to really. I've been really, as always, surprised at how heartfelt and amazing the community here is. And so I thought today, since I had some guests shuffle around that and I couldn't find a replacement, that today I talk about the Meaningful Revolution as a movement and kind of my vision for this idea of people connecting with what's fulfilling and what's meaningful in their lives so that they can live a life that's more engaged. So in context, I believe that we really need more people engaging in their lives. And what do I mean by that? There are so many people that are going through the motions. There's so many people that are getting caught up on petty things out in the world, and we need to fight that. Right. I do think that the behavior of finding little things to nitpick, instead of focusing how we can live our full human experience and take control over what we're focusing on, what we're putting out in the world, how we're showing up, and really that ripple effect of living that fulfilled meaningful life. So in the context of this new world that we're in, right? So things moved a lot slower 20 years ago. And with the amount of the velocity of information that's out there, the rate of innovation and technology changing and everything else going on in the world, where there's economic pressures, there's things that we thought were very stable that are becoming unstable. You take a look at climate and how a lot of climate disasters have been a lot more common than the last three to five years. And whether you believe that or not, it's all to say that the world is changing at a breakneck speed. And how do you manage all of that information, all that change? It can be really tough if you are not able to adapt. Right. And how are you able to adapt in a way that's authentic, in a way that you're excited for the change and you want to show up and navigate during the day. Right. And so that's what the Meaningful Revolution is. It's. How do you define what's meaningful to you, what's Meaningful for your families, for your organizations to make authentic decisions, moving forward into your life. So, you know, there is heaviness that comes with living a life that somebody else has designed for you, right? And the stress of living that life that you haven't designed for yourself is stressier, which is 100% a word. So I thought that was funny. And it's also hard to give 100% for a job or a task or a relationship you don't believe in 100%. And so how do you really know what you want to do with your life and how do you chase it? Right? Because for most people, when you know that vision you have for yourself and you realize you're not living into it, you're not living into the that bright future, that hopeful future, that, that feeling that the world's your oyster and you're getting after it, when you realize you're making choices against that optimism and that vision you have for yourself, that's when people feel miserable, that's when people get petty. That's what we're fighting against, right? That's why this movement's super important. So, you know, in my case, you know, I felt exactly this way. You know, my first job in 2010, right in the middle of my first job I had growing up, wanted to work with computers for forever. I found them fascinating. I dreamt it working at like a company that was doing at the cutting edge of technology. And so that was the dream. I wanted to work with computers. I want to be doing something that's meaningful, that's impacting society in a cool way. Something that I thought was really cool and mattered. And so the first job I got after college was as a software engineer. But it wasn't at one of those like top tier firms. Not that the firm wasn't top tier in itself, it just wasn't a technology firm. There's a retail giant you may or may not know called Walmart. Right? And so I ended up moving to Arkansas. I didn't know anyone there. And it wasn't like they weren't known for being the cutting edge of technology. They were doing a lot of cool things with technology on like a business process standpoint. But it wasn't that, like say it wasn't like an Apple or Microsoft or Google, which were kind of being known at that point, or like Facebook. It was like the boring IT stuff, which you need, right? It's not to again, discount that. But why did I take that job, right? I knew that I wanted to be a cutting edge technology and I had an idea of what that was and I ended up working at a giant retailer who's who viewed tech as a way to save money, but wasn't really driving revenue. So that changes how an organization approaches that particular part of the organization. So if you're an Apple and you make money on software and hardware, you're going to focus on software and hardware jobs in a way that's much different than Walmart whose primary job is to sell stuff at low prices. And you know, tech is a necessary evil in doing that, as they say. So, but it's not the way that they make money. So I took that job because I thought it was the responsible thing to do. You go to college, you get a solid job, it takes care of your bills, it takes care of the mountain of student debt you took on to get through college because you're a working class family and your parents helped you as much as they could, God bless them. And it still ended up with everyone having a lot of debt at the end of it. So. And I didn't want to get buried in it. So I needed a job that seemed like a good job and it was right for the very. On paper it was what I needed at that particular time in my life. But I always wanted something more. Right. I wanted to be pushing my skills in technology, I wanted to contribute in a way that was greater and I wanted to do it in a way where I wasn't consistently stressed out that I didn't belong there, that I was going to lose my job, that these bills were going to accumulate no matter what I did. And so I ended up burning out and I felt miserable during that whole process. Right. And again, it's not because of Walmart or where I was, it was because I made choices that I didn't believe in. Right. And what I mean by not believing in is like I had this idea of again working at a Microsoft or Apple or one of those big kind of more sexier tech companies and I chose to play it safe. And there's so many times in our lives where we play it safe and isn't that true, and you get comfortable and then it's really hard to change. Right. There's a lot of momentum that went into that decision. So when I had opportunities that came up outside of Walmart, it's like I could move and upend everything and take a chance on a small company. Small, like a startup or something. Or I could stay where it's comfortable and I know how much it's not giving me what I need, but at least I have that part figured out in my life. And that will slowly eat you and that will slowly break you. And when it came time again, you know, to. To really make a big move, like, I'm miserable. I love the people I work with. The company is solid, right? But there's something else out there. There's a call to serve and start a business and get into coaching and all that stuff that was ahead of me at that point in time. But when it came down to it, I had to get clear on how I wanted my story to be. And how do you want your story to be? Right. Maybe you are living the best version of your life right now. And you are so proud of the life you've built for yourself, for your family, the contributions you've made through your business or career, that things are really great and you're wanting to accelerate that. And I'm cheering you on because that's awesome. And for a lot of other people, myself included, especially at this point in my story, I again knew I was choosing safe over passion, over what I found meaningful, over what really pulled me. And I didn't want that to be my story. I wanted, when I told my story to my kids, and this is how I journaled about it, is when I am old and telling the story to my kids and grandkids, I want them to be proud of their grandpa, their dad. When I shared that, I chose to take some risks, to bet on myself, to figure out things, to live the life that I wanted and see what happens. Right? It didn't even matter if I was successful. It's just like taking that risk, saying, like, no, I can make my world the way that I want it and do what's in my control to make it happen and see what happens. And that would be a good legacy at the end of it. I hope that I have a business or a contribution that that's worthy of talking about also. But I didn't want to be the person that was known to just play it safe and slowly die in their job, you know, slowly. So that's what I did. I ended up quitting that job. I started a business. That business failed. That business got me into Apple, which was that dream at the original beginning. And I could have never plotted that course out. So that's a whole other topic for a whole other podcast of, you know, looking back, you can kind of see the through line, but when you're in it, you don't know what the next thing is going to be. And so you just act on faith. And every time that I've acted courageously, and I firmly believe the world will conspire to help you when you take those risks, when you take that jump. And so that's. Yeah, that's why I believe in this meaningful revolution, because building that legacy, thinking about what I really wanted for my future was leaning into a. What I found meaningful in my values, you know, of wanting to act courageously, of taking calculated risks, of, you know, living a life that you've plotted out for yourself, and the excitement and that. That judev that comes with making moves towards that vision, you know, and so being aligned with those values, taking that risk and seeing what happens. Right. And. And again, in that particular case, it worked out in a way that I could have never dreamed of, and I'm very thankful for that. So, you know, what in your life do you find extremely meaningful and fulfilling that you've chosen not to honor? And I know that that's a super challenging question. I have a coach, so that's kind of the realm that I deal in, is asking those tough questions. But where in your life have you not followed that, that sense of meaning, of fulfillment, of passion, of, you know, that vision you have for yourself and chosen to play it safe, or you've chosen to do the safe thing out of obligations, true or false. And it's keeping you from feeling your life, from feeling engaged in all areas of your life, because at the end of the day, when you're engaged with your life again, that's when you know all the. The great things that we do as people in society, I think come out of. Right? That's creating the best phone, you know, with Apple. That's creating the best social media company. It's creating. Creating the best financial services company. It's, you know, the things that we rely on come from a sense of passion and connection and service and helping people. So I know there's a lot of ideas in that, but we're fighting again for that engagement, for that agency of taking control of your life. So I have five quick points based on people that have been on the podcast on how to really live into your meaningful revolution. And if you're still listening at this point and you're like, I don't know what my meaningful revolution. I don't know what I find fulfilling. I don't know what will help me feel most engaged in my life. Sometimes that's why you hire a coach, and I'm very happy to be that person for you. But more importantly, sometimes you need to be around people that are on the path. You know, the whole genesis and idea of the Meaningful Revolution podcast is if you hear people talking about their story and about why the thing that they're super obsessed about and nerd out about is interesting to them and why they love it, and a couple habits that go along with that that'll inspire you to reach that next level. And it is contagious, right? When you're around people that are on the path, on the journey, and they are excited about what they're doing, it will change you. And so sometimes we need a community. And I do have a meaningful revolution community that I'm starting to build. And it's kind of in beta right now, but if you're interested in joining that, I do have a Meaningful Revolution challenge that'll help you define what your meaningful revolution is. And so that'll be below in the show notes. I'll talk about that a little bit more in detail a bit later what that challenge entails. But, you know, since I just want to ground us and, you know, it's okay if you don't know what your personal meaningful revolution is quite yet or if you want to take it to that next level. You know, it's all on the continuum and we're all building, and I'm still building my meaningful revolution. It's still going, it's still morphing, it's still changing as I learn more about myself, too. And so I'm on this journey with you too. So it's not to say that I know all the answers and have the way set for everyone, but I do have a process and a way of thinking about it. And, you know, partly from the high performance coaching processes that I'm trained in and certified in, partly from life experience. But again, that sense of community is something that's come up in a lot of the different podcasts. And it's something that I do believe can make the difference in getting clear on that and accelerating that. So that said, here are five points on really living into your personal, meaningful revolution. Right. The first idea is to do it now. There's been so many of the guests who have talked about, you know, you got to start that passion business right now. You should tell people you love them right now. Like Sherry Ballou and how being more in that moment helped her stave off depression and has turned into this beautiful career of cheering people on. Shout out again to Sherry if you've ever been to any of the communities that she's involved with. She is a pillar in each of them. And so it was such a pleasure to work with her and to learn more about her story, about why she is that and why you need to say I love you right now, all that kind of stuff. But it's a really important thing to not delay. Right. So much of my coaching work and so many of the guests on here have talked about not delaying your true feelings and communicating them and chasing after what you want. I mean, last week we had Francis, er, Francis, sorry, Francis. It's Francois de Neuville talking about surviving a tsunami and how that changed his life. View of, like, I need to choose what's going to make me happy now and start building that life now, because life's too short. And that's a powerful story, and I'm not gonna. I would do a bad job recapping it, but definitely check out that episode if you haven't yet. But again, it's that idea of now's the time to get into action. Now's the time to build a life you love. And I think that's so aligned with what the meaningful revolution community is all about. And I hope that you're thinking about this, too. So as I'm talking about these ideas, like, you know, pull out a journal. You know, pause this podcast, take your journal out, Take three minutes to think about what are some things that you've been avoiding in your life that would be meaningful to you, that would help you feel fulfilled or help you feel like you're living a life with more zest? And how can you start doing it now? How can you get in the game as soon as possible? What needs to happen if it's not, I can't start this today because how do you clear those hurdles in the next week? Right. I'm gonna push you on this. But it's that exercise of getting in the game, starting to, you know, knock out distractions, knock out the things that aren't important, and focusing on what is important, what's passionate for you will change the game for you, I believe, and I've seen it happen. So do it now, number one. Number two is to remember to focus on what's most important. Right. Is Lisa Bingley, I believe, who's on the podcast, who talked about doing life in a weird order. Excuse me. All right. Excuse me. So she talked about her doing life in a weird order, where she had some career goals, she had kids reoriented her life around that being super important when the kids left the nest, then switching back to her career, and that feeling of, oh, I did things in backwards order. And then realizing that there is no backwards order, it is just the order, just the order of her life. And in different phases and different years and different times of our lives, our focus changes, right? Starting a family is a huge decision that families make that a couple makes that reorients things to be important. And it's okay to shift and it's okay that when the kids leave the house that you have to have something else that shifts so you still have something that's helping you get up in the morning and serve and do all the things that, you know, people need to feel fulfilled in their day. Right. And that's in my world, it's relationships, it's acts of service, you know, whatever that, that's a huge umbrella of through your work, through helping people, building again, relationships. It's through meaningful works. And it's ultimately tied into this concept of what do you think success looks like on a day to day basis? Again, like, pause this podcast. Take some moments to think of what does success really look to in your life? And does it include family and friends and good health and feeling connected and engaged in your life? Or is it just to achieve goals? And it's, there's nothing wrong with, oh, I want to make a million dollars in two years or I want to, you know, buy that mansion at the end of the block or have the expensive car. Like that stuff's great, but it's empty if you don't have the health to be able to enjoy life and you don't have the relationships to enjoy life with. And so that's that question of how do you define success is just a tricky way of saying focus on what's most important. Which is our second point. Again, you know, what is really going to help you again, connect and feel your life. So the third thing that keeps coming up with guests that I've also found in coaching clients is to, you know, really think, how do you make an impact on your community? You talk about Majid Kareem when he's talking about in Lebanon living through a civil war. When you know, when you're in your darkest moments, it's the people in your community that can help you to the light can help you see through the dark times, get to the through the tunnel to experience life, right? And you know, his story of his neighbor helping his family get food when there's bombs going off was really super powerful. You could talk about anyone that does creative endeavors. There's Dara Brady or Jim Kowski talking about creativity and how it brings community together and how you, you know, the act of creating is community building and it's impactful, right. If you've, like in my life, when I was in Arkansas, I was friends with a bunch of local folk singers and musicians and some of the most impactful things on me and just feeling spiritualness, you know, feeling that connection to everyone was through music and that act of creating and people respecting my ability to play the instruments, you know, to play guitar in that moment. And it wasn't great, but it had an impact. It created a moment and I'm thankful for that. Right? And so this idea of community and making an impact on it or your family, you know, there's so many different ways to take a look at this. But you know, as, again, I'm talking through this to bring it down into your life, what would really help you make an impact on your communities? The communities that are important and meaningful to you, whether that's family, it's friends, it's an organization, it's your faith, it's all these different things. You know, how can you contribute to that community? You know, like, I'm part of a community of coaches. You know, how do I give back to that community? It's collaborating, it's helping my fellow high performance coaches, it's mastermind groups that I lead with people in my field to try to figure out how do we help people more and how, how do you deal with this tricky client and this tricky situation and that kind of stuff. So, you know, focusing on building and making that impact on community is so important to living a meaningful revolution, as I firmly believe. Fourth point is to talk about leadership and service, right? So if you remember, if you listen to the. One of the earlier podcasts with Dr. Emmanuel George III, he talked about knowing your blind spots, really focusing on who you are as a leader and how you can show up better to better lead your folks. Right? Or Cheryl, Cheryl Bonnie Bonini Ellis, she, you know, talked about a lot about how leadership can make or break an organization and, or make or break a movement. So if you have a cause that you're super passionate about, knowing how you lead and how you serve that community, your team, other people in the field, that'll help you realize that that mission is something really to focus on. And I believe we're all leaders in one form or another. And I know a lot of when I have coaching clients, it's having folks take leadership in their lives. For example, I worked with a gentleman who wanted to be more of. He wanted to contribute more at home, but he'd give it all at work, come home and just sit on the couch and be super zonked out. And so, you know, his leadership, his service in that moment wasn't really kicking in for his family. So it doesn't have to be a work thing like in this family thing. And so working with him, it was really figuring out, like, what are the hooks that are going to help him lead better. And that's setting a good example for his kids. It's showing love for his wife in that particular case. So. So there's a lot, again, different angles. But, you know, the, the two podcasts with Emmanuel George and Cheryl Ellis are really great at kind of thinking about leadership, knowing who you are as a person and how you show up and the blind spots that you need to get help with. Right. Cheryl said, leader, great leaders can't do it all themselves and they know it. So to relate this to you, like, again, you know, journal on this question, but, like, how could you lead with more excellence in service to help others drive excellence and service? Right? What example do you need to show to show up as to help people lead with excellence and service? And I think those two questions are a great starting point on thinking about who are you as a leader, how are you showing up as a leader, where are you leading people to and how do you get to that next level? Because it's such an important part of a meaningful revolution. You know, it's taking leadership in an area that you're passionate about. So that's point number four. And then a fifth thing, fifth idea I'd like to talk about because it's personal to me. And it goes back to that idea of legacy, and that's build something you're proud to leave behind. So many people do busy work at jobs that in three days, the work doesn't matter. Right? It doesn't matter if you nail that project or not. And it's heartbreaking, it's demoralizing. But the time to again to build something you're proud of, to have that legacy and example for the folks around you is now, right? So Jim Bradbury, in an earlier episode of the podcast, talked about not waiting to build the business and lifestyle that you want for yourself and for your family. And it's very noble to realize, hey, like, what I'm doing is not making me happy or healthy and to make that change. And so anyone is capable, as Gary talked about in an earlier episode too, this season, anyone is capable of starting a business if they do the research and understand the risks. Right? So again, I'm not advising you to start your business or blame up your life or anything like that, but it is a worthy thing to think about of like what is preventing you from that vision of the life that you want to live from, from working and contributing in the way that you want to. And I know that that's a huge nebulous thing. It's because it's different for everyone. Like without having a one to one conversation and really understanding what, what you want out of life, like you gotta talk kind of big, but you know, whatever that is, whatever comes to mind first as you journal about how or what is something I want to build for my legacy or to show and inspire other people to be good out in the world or whatever that is. I think that's a great question to start on. Are you building something you're proud, proud of and proud to stand the test of time? And so what is that for you? And if you're thinking of these, these questions and you're like, ah, these are great questions and I don't know the answer to it, or I need some clarification or I want to be in a space where people are talking like this all the time again below I'd to like love for you to join me in my three day Meaningful Revolution challenge where day one we talk about what is a meaningful revolution, the different components, and we give you some homework to help you define your meaningful revolution. The second day of the challenge we talk about building a plan to realize that so you're clear on the steps that it'll take to build that vision. And then the third day we're going to talk about habits, tactics and strategies of tools that will help make sure you follow through and commit to realizing that challenge or that vision for yourself that you've created in that challenge. And so I love this community and that challenge in particular, because it's really a great way to have a little bit more of a nuanced conversation, find out what's clear or not clear for you guys and what you need help with to help get you into that next here, into being closer to that fulfilling transformation, that purposeful impact, that authentic movement that is your personal meaningful revolution. So again, click the link below to sign up for the next version of this challenge, which should be in the next couple of weeks as the recording of this podcast. I'd love, love, love to meet you, to talk with you, answer any questions you have after going through through each of the sessions and each session too at the end, there's a chance for us to coach you or for me to give you some personalized coaching on whatever you're going after or whatever causing you to trip up. So again, I hope to meet you and talk with you and see you on the live zoom for the live challenge. And I also have a couple prizes to give away to make it a little bit more fun. I have some books and some other things I can set up for you if you have asked questions. But ultimately I'd love to meet you. I'd love to, you know, walk you through this challenge and then, you know, we could talk about inviting you into the Meaningful Revolution community where it's like minded folks really collaborating like this on what is meaningful today. So I love this work, guys. I love thinking about what this Meaningful Revolution movement can really do out in the world. I hope you'll join me in finding what is meaningful in your life and what you find fulfilling and doubling down on that and just doubling down on the goodness you put out in the world because that's ultimately what it's all about. So that said guys, that's this episode of the Meaningful Revolution. We'll be back next week, so stay tuned as we continue to interview people about what they nerd out about. And with that said, guys, take care of Sean Butner signing off. I hope you loved this episode of the Meaningful Revolution podcast and if you did, please share this with 3 of your friends to get the word out and direct them to Apple Podcasts to subscribe and leave a comment because that's what really helps us with the show. So you could also direct them to Spotify or Google. So most major podcasting platforms you can find the Meaningful Revolution podcast. So but Apple helps us out the most. So please direct your folks to there if you would. If you would like to start your personal meaningful revolution, I have some exciting news. This year we're starting the Meaningful Revolution Challenge. First one being the first week in January. So sign up in the link below in the show notes here to spend three days for free live with me where we'll go over defining and getting clarity on your personal meaningful Revolution. That fulfilling transformation, that authentic self to show up in this next year we'll spend on the second day building your plan so that you know what you need to do to make strides towards that personal meaningful revolution. And and then thirdly, we'll talk about tips, tricks and strategies to implement and to commit to your plan next year. So those are the three days we'll have prizes. There'll be a chance to ask questions. There'll be a chance to, you know, get some coaching if you need some to in your particular situation, to get you in the game, to get you moving forward, to get you into that meaningful revolution, that fulfilling transformation information. Also, if you'd like some one on one time, there's two options also below here where you can sign up for a strategy session and the free strategy session I'll post on YouTube as part of a new series. Full disclosure there. But during that call, you will get, you know, you'll fill out an application. It'll help you think about your life in a different way, get you kind of primed for our one hour strategy session and it gives me a chance to identify some areas to focus on so that you get the most bang up for your buck. During that call we go, we build you a personalized strategy plan going forward with tools and tricks and habits and all that kind of great stuff. And it's all focused and customized to your life. So definitely click on that if you're like, hey, I don't want this on YouTube. I'd like it a little bit private. It's $200 for that one hour call. Please make sure you sign up today because I only have so many slots each week where I can do these calls and they fill up quick. So don't miss your chance to get one on one coaching. Get your strategy plan, your strategy session locked in by clicking on those links below. Sam.