Work Life Play With Aaron Mchugh

Cedar Wright Work Life Play Highlights: Cedar's latest film, The Fledglings about paragliding from the summit of 18,490' Pico de Orizaba the third highest mountain in North America. Ask yourself, What can I not help but do in life? Go do that. Discover what drives you? What are you passionate about? It doesn't matter if can make money in the beginning. Cedar lived on less than $5,000.00 per year for a decade before he became the famous climber.  

Rob Bell is a brother from another mother. I love this man. I've listened to Rob's voice in my earbuds since early 2000's. When he was a pastor in Grand Rapids Michigan at Mars Hills Church, I would download his weekly sermons and listen to them on my Sunday long runs. Last January, Leith and I went to Rob's Business edition two-day event in Laguna Beach. Last month we spent the day with him and 99 others in Denver at his How to Be Here Experience. In this podcast interview, Rob Bell and I talk about his new book, How to Be Here. 

How I Burned Out and Came Back [Episode #54] If you've ever burned out, flirted with the idea of burn out or could envision that burn out is in your future, you'll identify with my story. Burn out isn't something most people want to admit happened to them. In a society where superhuman is rewarded and even expected, saying "I can't anymore" isn't what makes the cover of many headlines. Unless of course, a burn out produces drama and carnage. Those stories create lots of buzz. In my case, I absolutely burned out and my world approached full blown Chernobyl meltdown status. One year later, I think I have a better view into the elements, lifestyle and choices that led to my burn out. I also feel I'm very clear on what I can do differently to live in the green zone and avoid another burn out in my future  

This adventure log is another from the Chasing Adventure series that I recorded while traveling to Southern California and a Work Life Play trip. I recorded this one from Joshua Tree National Park. The band U2 made this iconic place famous for their album titled Joshua Tree. It was a disappointing fact that the National Park reported that the album cover photo wasn’t actually taken inside Joshua Tree National Park. Instead, it was captured a hundred miles away somewhere in the desert. Regardless, we rocked Where the Streets Have No Name as we drove through the parks gate.

It's easy to ignore the things in our life that become normal or over time loose their original zeal. It's easy to dream our life away wishing we were somewhere other than where we are. In this Chasing Adventure episode from my week long trip to southern California, my friend Jake and I spent an evening on Stand Up Paddle boards. After we watched the sunset and then the full moon rise over the bay, we recorded our conversation about this story, Be Where You Are.

Los Angeles, CA isn’t immediately the community that comes to mind when I envision a backyard fine dining experience amongst new friends. On my recent Chasing Adventure trip to California, I purposed to orbit my decisions around people, adventure and a loose schedule. My son and I found ourselves in a story we didn’t anticipate. We didn’t realize that we were being invited into real connections with real people, not just a meal.

Picking up surfing isn't easy. Especially when you live a thousand miles away from the ocean. It's humbling being the novice. It's humbling not knowing what to do or how to do it. I think it is even more difficult as an adult man. Most men I know don't try things that they are not good at. In this episode, I talk about my experiences of learning to surf and stumbling forward.  

During this episode, I talk about going out with my friend Curious Gabe as we parked near the beach for thirty-minutes and chased adventure. It was simple. It was quick and it was just what we needed. There was no planning needed. There was no big story that surfaced. This type of excursion is available to each of us. What are we waiting for? I've spent too much of my life holding back. I want to extend for the full length of fun, let's not hold back but go for it.

Adventure Log #2 from my Chasing Adventure trip to SoCal. In this episode, I talk about the easy temptation to reach for my wallet and solve problems of discomfort. Instead, I choose to sit in the discomfort and see what unfolded as I chased adventure, work and relationships.

I don't believe that Work-Life balance is obtainable. The idea of a scale equally balanced with Work on one side and Life on the other is only temporarily obtainable. The only sustainable approach I have found to Work Life Play is in a constant adjustment of rhythm and flow.

How should I write about the width and depth of twenty-two years of marriage, life, kids, vacations, pain, joy, adventure, family, depression, death, new beginnings, sexual orientation, addiction, career, sexual intimacy, and money? In this podcast, my wife Leith and I offer a gritty and raw re-telling of our story. Instead of writing a post about what we share in this podcast, I will share something I wrote for our friend's wedding, The Way of Love, adapted from 1 Corinthians 13:4. I am not a pastor. I am not a theologian. I am just a guy who learns best when I can relate by practical application. After two decades of marriage, I've learned that love in marriage is beautiful and equally messy. We printed this and put it up on our refrigerator to remind of us how Love Wins.  

Podcast Take Aways: Even if you live a mile from the ocean, its easy to get stuck in the rut of always being on and always being available. Obligation can easily win when it comes to setting our priorities of rest and play. It doesn’t matter where you live, you still have to make a decision to be intentional about finding time to play Adventure is available if you will go on a search to find it  

You know Conrad Anker, you just might not realize how or why you know him. Let me be your tour guide circa de Conrad Anker's career mile markers. You will quickly recollect how you know him already. His personal mantra is Be Good, Be Kind, Be Happy. In this podcast interview, you'll hear how this approach to Work Life Play fits one of the top Alpinists in the world today.  

Don't Do It For Fame | Don't Neglect Your Relationships 03 // Don't do it to pursue fame. I find this one to be difficult. The truth is I do want to be noticed. Behind that shallow layer of hoping I’m seen, the deeper truth is I want my life to matter. When I am writing, the pursuit of fame can surface with its natural gravitational pull. Here is how it can sound, “Maybe so-and-so will read this and then he will share it and then his six million followers will read it”. It is a bit embarrassing to admit, but I believe you’ve heard this whisper also. When I was writing with my focus on being noticed, it was crap. No wonder no one read any of it. When I made the shift to simply be authentic, a few people began to notice. There is great irony in this principle. The more we are authentic and relevant, the more the possibility of being noticed increases. When the pursuit of fame is our motive, the less authentic and relatable we become. Whatever you are pursuing, do a motive check and remind yourself that what the

01 // Show up consistently and do the work. I’ve found a lot of people talk a good game about consistency, but in reality, they have a lot of false starts. Many people seem to struggle with consistently doing the work that needs to be done, whether it is in our jobs, on side projects, or in our relationships. 02 // Work on what you love. Life is short. You are really good at something. Find that something and do that. Drudgery is for prisoners doing time for crimes committed. You haven’t done anything wrong, right? Stop doing what you can barely stand doing and start pursuing what you love. Too many people never do what they love. Even worse, they don’t ever explore the frontier to find what it is they love.  

Questions to ask yourself? When you used to be adventures, what did you do? What did you love before you got married, had a family and got a big job? What do you believe stands in your way today to reclaiming your adventurous spirit again? How can you begin to choose differently in small increments to provide room for adventure again?

  Why I believe in the Trifecta of combining all three Work Life Play How "succeeding" in any one category of the trifecta is not sufficient Why work-life balance by itself lacks long term sustainability How running with a rock on the bottom of the ocean taught me to play Why Fantasy Football and watching TV on the weekends is not the same as living adventurously

Podcast Highlights with Yogi Roth: Learn about Yogi’s inspiration from Emilio Esteves and Martin Sheen’s trek in 2010 movie The Way. How this act of bravery has reshaped his perspective on the definition of a tough guy Everybody has a story that is worth listening to, Yogi coaches us on how to man-up and ask In Life everyone is dealt a hand of cards, listen how Unapologetic Curiosity is our power play card.

Microadventures: a refresh button for busy lives. WHAT IS A MICROADVENTURE? (From Alastair Humphreys & www.microadventures.org) Adventure is the spirit of trying something new, trying something difficult. It is about enthusiasm, ambition, open-mindedness and curiosity. We all have to pragmatically juggle the commitments and constraints of our “real lives”. But we can still have a microadventure. Getting out into the wild, if only for one night, is enjoyable, invigorating and important. Today's podcasts explores the small, easily accessible, bursts of adventure that can happen right out our front door regardless of our fitness, discretionary income or large amounts of time away from home.