Stay Grounded With Raj Jana

“Our whole lives are made up of moments… How we approach the here and now ultimately writes the stories of our lives.” Ever felt as though you’re missing out on life as it happens? It’s a common concern. When you’re juggling a ton of responsibilities (and a to-do list that never ends) your head and body aren’t in the same place! And when you’re chasing the future and rushing over the here and now, you end up missing out on a lot. It’s why I was so excited to chat with Jon in this episode. Jon is on a mission to show people how to live life in the front row - and his tool of choice is moment making. It’s a mindset I totally buy into. I used to focus on the grind. I used to constantly chase the next promotion or the next big goal because I believed that’s what would make me feel successful. But I soon discovered this mindset puts you in a game you’ll never win. That’s because life isn’t a journey. Instead, it’s a series of here and now moments. And my guest today reveals how t

“When something feels like it’s holding you back, my default is to say YES to everything.” In this episode, I get to have a deep dive conversation with someone who knows a thing or two about podcasting! It’s Michael O’Neal, host of the Soulpreneur podcast which has racked up a staggering 681 shows. Mike is an outstanding podcaster and he shared a few insider secrets with me in this show - so if you’re a podcaster too, you’re going to love this one. But I didn’t ask Mike on to talk about his skills! While we do discuss the power of storytelling and interviewing, I wanted to dig into the inspirational story that’s taken him to where he is today. It started back in 2006 when Mike lost both his parents in less than 12 months. Despite achieving a level of success, medical bills soon hemorrhaged his life meaning he was effectively starting from scratch. And that’s when he went to Europe. “Success recognizes hustle.” Mike’s story is about creating your own luck - despite trage

“Music saved my life… All kids could use a really beautiful, simple form of expression to get that part of them developed and let the soul express through a medium that’s creative.” SB Moses was found in a shoebox in a dumpster in the Philippines. Thrown away as a baby, SB Moses didn’t get a birth family, but he did learn to create a future for himself. He thanks music for saving his life and as a professional party instigator, SB Moses amplified the vibe for the likes of Virgin Galactic, Google, and Cirque Du Soleil. I was lucky to meet Sammy at an entrepreneur event back in 2017 and we kicked it off instantly. (He’s one of my favorite people in the whole world!) Sammy is such a beautiful, humble soul who’s turned a background that’s unimaginable for most of us into a force for good that’s transforming the lives of orphans in the Philippines. And in this episode, we dive deep into Sammy’s story and discover how his showbox history became a symbol of hope that’s profoundly empowe

“I had this epiphany… The only thing stopping me from doing it was me.” Can you really achieve success in just 5 minutes? This episode’s guest believes so. If success is the result of habits practiced consistently, commit to the right actions for 5 minutes a day and you can see massive results. Karen Briscoe honed these skills in her hugely successful real estate business, but it was an epiphany moment that inspired her to consolidate her practices into a formula that other people could follow. After having the idea to write a book, Karen realized she needed to adopt new rituals to help her push through the doubt, fear, and questioning that can hold us back from doing the things we love. So she grabbed the opportunity one October day when the clocks went back to get up an hour earlier - and she did this every day to give herself the time to write. “I think people sometimes think it’s the big things that are what makes life meaningful, but many times it’s the daily rituals and rel

“Fear is at the crux of everything. If you do not know how to master fear, then fear is always going to trick you. That’s because fear is smarter than you and more educated than you.” This episode’s guest is an absolute rockstar who’s dedicated her life to teaching people how to master fear. It’s the incredible Rhonda Britten - master life coach, creator of the Fearless Living Institute, and an Emmy-Award winner. She’s also appeared on Oprah not once, but twice! After a horrific experience at the age of 14, Rhonda spent the next 20 years of her life battling with fear in all its guises. From self-doubt, blame, and addiction, Rhonda struggled to work out life - until she decided to challenge her beliefs about who she thought she was. This decision opened the door to hope and freedom. It led Rhonda down a path where she’s helped people from across the world break free of indecision - so they can take the risks that lead to an authentic life. And in this episode, she’s going to give you

“My routine is my awareness tool. My tracking tool to tell me when I’m on track, when I’m off track, when do I need to course correct, and when I need to double-down.” My guest today has flipped over 150 houses in the last six years. He’s Matt Aitchison, creator of 6FigureFlipper.com and an individual who has a unique and inspiring approach to happiness. Matt’s goal is to be a millionaire in ALL areas of his life. Passionate about showing up as his ‘organic self’ consistently in all 8 of his ‘life gardens’, Matt’s attention to detail and ‘small bet’ testing mentality is an inspiration. Thanks to his daily routines and methodical tracking, Matt has developed an intense level of self awareness, which helps him know when to course correct, double down, or change tact. It’s an approach that’s brought him wealth in business, health, relationships, and financially - and a methodology that he shares in this powerful episode. What you’re doing right now - in this exact moment - was once a str

“Doing your thing is massively important to raising good kids. We should be able to show our kids that doing what we love is financially viable. I don’t want work to be a negative word. I don’t want kids to grow up and think they have to get a job to make money to have enough money to do the thing they love.” This podcast episode is one of my favorite yet. I can’t tell you how much I LOVED interviewing ‘Dana Banana’ - a Boss Mom herself and founder of the incredible Boss Mom community that’s helped over 50,000 women in the last 2.5 years. Like me, Dana comes from a corporate background. But everything changed when she realized that it wasn’t her job she was in love with - but her thirst for accomplishment. This insight inspired her to quit her six-figure (plus) salary to become an entrepreneur - at the same time as having her first child! “Our lives are basically just a series of decisions that we make every day - some conscious and some unconscious.” Dana is proof that pare

“If you want to live a full life, you’ve got to throw your routine out the window sometimes and just be willing to take a ride on what the universe has to offer you.” This episode’s guest uses Facebook for a very different reason than most. Instead of getting lost in the timeline, Frost Fassett scrolled through the 100 plus events in his local area to pinpoint ONE to attend. Then he did this EVERY SINGLE DAY for an entire year. That’s 365 events in 365 different communities so he could have ONE profound conversation and learn something new every single day in 2017. His DICE (Daily Inspiring Community Events) Project took him across America and overseas and gave him a unique insight into people and communities from all walks of life. It’s totally fascinating and something we discuss at length in this episode. “Community events are the social fabric of America. If we can have more community events we can have more real-world, face-to-face conversation with people shaking hands

“A lot of the times you need to do what you need to do before you can choose to do what you want to do.” Today’s podcast guest is Carey Smolensky, author of Living Life with PASSION and Helping Others. Carey is a dynamic businessman, event producer, and multi-faceted entertainer who’s been in the business since high school and I’m super pumped to interview him to learn more about his drives, his passions, and his perspective on life. Carey is an incredible human with a huge appetite for life. Never settling with a commitment to constantly evolve everything in his life, Carey’s hunger and passion rubs off on you.  “A big part of my growth was learning how to say no.” In this episode Carey shares how event production became his thing. We also talk at length about his upcoming Passion Summit and the impact Carey is hoping to make with this powerful 2-day event (there’s even a $350 discount for Stay Grounded listeners). So if you’re looking for a lift and some insights and ideas

“You can have it all. You simply have to know what ALL is for you.” The surname Miles may be familiar, and because Shannon’s husband, Bryan was my guest in episode 11. Shannon and Bryan co-founded Belay Solutions seven years ago. It’s a virtual company that offers self-motivated people the chance to create work (and life) on their terms. Shannon is an amazing role model and an inspiring leader. Working alongside Bryan, she’s built an incredible company, raised two beautiful kids, and has mastered her schedule so she can live life on her terms. And in this podcast episode we dig into the thinking, mindset shifts, and decisions that enabled her to do that. “The Third Option is about doing your work, but also allowing you to prioritize your family and your personal life in a way that you can’t in a traditional office environment.” In this episode Shannon shares how her own life and upbringing became the triggers that inspired her to ‘never settle’. She also reveals the backstory behind B

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. It’s about eliminating the things that you are not.” This podcast is like none I’ve done before. Not only was this episode recorded live and in-person with this week’s guest, but it was a tandem job! As I’m sharing this episode with you, so is Austin sharing this exact same episode on his podcast. Austin is the CEO and founder of Entrecloud - a forward-thinking WordPress hosting company that helps amplify entrepreneur’s voices online. Austin is also a deep-thinker, a philosopher and an action-taker. Since I first met him he’s achieved so much and keeps raising the bar higher. So when I saw him in San Diego earlier this month at a mastermind meetup, I couldn’t wait to pull out the mic, hit record, and get stuck into a deep, thought-provoking conversation about life, happiness, fear, and everything in between. “Happiness doesn’t exist outside of you. It’s not a place elsewhere or in the future. If you aren’t present or content in the moment, you will

“I wanted to show my kids that they should go out and want all the best things and not settle for anything less.” Today’s guest, Heather Vickery beams. Her energy, passion, and excitement for life just oozes out of her. But it wasn’t always that way. When you’re not connected with the truth of who you are, life feels out of alignment - and that can make for a miserable existence. This was the experience faced by today’s podcast guest - just four short years ago. A slow, but steady period of discovery shocked Heather into realizing her life was a lie. After a decade of marriage with four beautiful kids, Heather realised she’d ‘married the wrong gender’. It was a shocking discovery and one that took a while to process. It also became the trigger that forced Heather to reevaluate everything and laid the foundations for the life she enjoys today. In this deeply personal episode, Heather talks about what it was like to reshape her identity and learn to tap into her heart and soul so she co

“I can teach you business in one word - meditation.” Todd White is the founder of Dry Farm Wines - a passionate business based in Napa Valley that’s busy transforming the way people drink and view wine. In this podcast, Todd talks about the practices and principles that enabled him to learn from a previous business failure (that cost him millions), to create Dry Farm Wines. A business that did $37,000 in revenue during 2015, $15m in 2017, and is in course to generate $28m in 2018. What’s interesting about Todd’s incredible success is he hasn’t relied on conventional methods. Instead, he’s creating from a place of flow - from a place where he’s connected with source energy. And that’s not just Todd. All 15 of Todd’s passionate employees practice the same daily rituals and ketogenic diet creating a powerful lifestyle where business success comes without disrupting Todd’s peace and presence - something that’s hugely important to him.  “Coffee is for morning love and wine is for even

“I live my life by the five-minute rule. When things go wrong it’s OK to be negative - but not for more than five minutes.” Hal Elrod needs no introduction. As the author of the best-selling book, The Miracle Morning, Hal is best known for his six-part SAVERS morning routine that has changed lives and is practiced by over 500,000 people across the world. It’s a book that has influenced me hugely - both personally and also as I was building JavaPresse and crafting our message. I am hugely grateful for this man and his work. For me, Hal is a true inspiration and a rock star (as you’ll see in this week’s episode). This is a man who embraces life fully and has created a mindset to feel joy in every moment. And in this podcast he shares countless knowledge bombs that will help you feel happier and more fulfilled every day of your life.  “Every negative emotion that you have ever felt in your life or could ever feel is self-created. And it is self-created by a resistance to our reality

“I love 30 day challenges. In 12 months you can have 12 new habits that can transform your life. In 3 years you have 36 new habits and you’re a whole new person.” Brad Hart is an experienced entrepreneur, investor, trader, advisor, and mentor to people who want more from their life. We met at a mastermind and connected immediately. Brad is a bundle of fired up energy and a force for good. His articles have been read over a million times and his charity works keeps changing lives for the better. But Brad’s life wasn’t always this way… After a freak accident left his dad unable to walk, Brad was forced to grow up fast. By the age of five he was expected to be self-sufficient and in his early teens he started living out of his car - to escape his drunk father and avoid the mom he resented. This challenging childhood taught Brad that he didn’t belong and that people didn’t like him. It was the reason he became an accidental entrepreneur. He longed to be rich and wealthy - and he succ

“Even when you’re firing on all cylinders there’s always something falling behind that you can improve on” Edward Bryan is my incredible personal trainer who I work with in Houston, Texas. But rewind to his youth, and you’d never imagine health and fitness would be his path. At the age of 17, Edward weighed 380lbs. He was also diagnosed with hypertension and atrial fibrillation - an incredibly rare condition for a man of his age. So he took the meds he was prescribed and kept partying and ignoring his health. Until he hit 22. It started out as a day just like any other, but ended with a 19 hour stint in the emergency room. Edward was used to his heart playing up, but this episode was different. The medics couldn’t reset its rhythm and he was threatened with heart surgery. After being prescribed two additional meds with terrifying side-effects, Edward realized this was the point his life had to change. And from that moment forward, Edward has taken total responsibility for his hea

“You are the best doctor for your body. You are the best therapist for your mind. You’ve just got to do the work.” Rewind the clock 4 ½ years and today’s guest was recovering from a heart attack. The cumulative effect of a lifetime on the stage had led to everything from diabetes to sleep apnea, to fertility problems, heart disease, and seriously high cholesterol. But there was something about facing death that shifted professional comedian, Matt Kazam’s perspective. He shocked him to realize that despite doing the work he was born to do, he was still unhappy. But in the face of his own mortality he became more open-minded. He didn’t want to die, he didn’t want to pump himself full of medication. Instead wanted to figure out a ‘real’ way to live a life of joy, health, and happiness.  And it was this insight that transformed his life. “If you created a blueprint for unhappiness, it would be how western society lives its life.”  In this episode, Matt shares how

“If I’m going to make a dent in this world, I have only a certain amount of time… So rather than watch that time be wasted away, I’d rather be intentional with it.” Along with his wife Shannon, Bryan Miles is committed to rewriting the workplace mindset. Driven by his manifesto that “the way we work doesn’t work anymore”, Bryan inspires businesses to liberate their employees and transform their culture with remote working. Far from losing control over staff, Bryan argues home-based workers are happier and more productive. With more autonomy over their day, working from home allows people to contribute more to their family life - as well as someone else’s place of work. As a result, they’re more motivated to do their best work for their employer. This is something Bryan has experienced first-hand. With over 600 remote-working employees, Bryan believes working for his company - BELAY Solutions - ruins staff for anyone else! When people experience a culture of trust, autonomy, and f

“Life’s too short to not follow your dreams.” On October 10, 2014 Lauren Raja’s life was turned upside down. After watching her husband, Justin die in a boating accident, Lauren became a widow. She was just 32.  Crippled by grief, Lauren spent hours staring at the wall - not knowing how to live, until memories of ‘Mamma Jean’ gave her the strength to get back on her feet. Lauren realized she had to learn to channel her anger and grief in a better way - so she created Justin Jean Pajamas. Named after two people that she loved and lost, Lauren’s story is proof that hope can come from tragedy and that loss can become a catalyst to inspire others.  “It took me being at my lowest point to really figure outwhat I wanted out of life.”  Thanks to her pajamas, Lauren was inspired to never give up. More than sleepwear, Lauren’s pajamas are a legacy to Justin and Mamma Jean. The logo was crafted from their signatures. Polka dot pajamas were chosen because Justin loved spotty socks

“I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness - it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude.” - Brene Brown In my search for contagious happiness, I’ve explored a number of practices and strategies. And daily gratitude is one of those simple practices that has fundamentally changed how I feel. That’s because gratitude is a source for instant happiness. Find something appreciate and good feelings fill you instantly. Better still, gratitude is easy to practice because there’s always something to feel thankful for - even something as simple as the feel of the breeze on your skin or an incredible sunset. But here’s what really surprised me… When you make gratitude a daily habit, you’ll find that it helps you cope with hardships. It’s not just a strategy for the good times. That’s why I say gratitude is your cheat code. To find out more, listen in to this podcast. It’s a short one - just over 6 minutes so a perfect coffee break trea