Discovering Your Effortless State

“Burnout is not a badge of honor. It is true that hard work can equal better results. But this is true only to a point…

All too often, we sacrifice our time, our energy, and even our sanity, almost believing that sacrifice is essential in and of itself...

...what if, instead, we took the opposite approach? If instead of pushing ourselves to, and in some cases well past, our limit, we sought out an easier path?”

—Greg McKeown

A few week’s ago we explored McKeown’s book Essentialism and this week we jump straight into his follow up book, “Effortless: Make It Easier to Do What Matters Most.” 

Personally, I love grit. 

And hard work. 

And sweat. 

That feeling when I’m in the zone, where everything just flows and all time and surroundings disappear.

Then there’s the feeling where there are a million to-dos on a very long list and I’m waking up in the middle of the night, exhausted, but still feeling the push to get up and start crossing things off that list. 

Then I read these words from Effortless: “Relaxing is a responsibility.” 

Wow.

How does that sit with you? Kind of uncomfortable right? 

I invite you to take this journey together into how we can reach that effortless state while dedicating more of our time to what truly matters to each of us. Because I’m working on it and I think we’re both going to get so much out of it.

Let’s do this. 

🎧 Listen now: www.tomearl.me/es

P.S. You can learn more about Greg McKeown’s book here:

Listen to "Discovering Your Effortless State" on Spreaker.

If you'd like to learn more about T.H.E. Celebration Academy.  Here's 30 days of Free Membership.

The Art & Science of Storytelling

You know that feeling at the end of a Netflix episode where you MUST find out what happens next? It makes you skip the end credits to get straight to the next episode and if there isn’t one… 

….you immediately google release dates of the next season because you just. can’t. wait. 

Why does that happen? 

The answer might surprise you…

There’s actually a neurobiological reaction that takes place within us called the ‘cliffhanger effect.”

So what does this mean for our work?

There’s an art to telling a great story. And at the same time, there is a science to what happens within our nervous system when we experience a great story. 

So every great storyteller must master both the art and science of storytelling. 

Whether you’re planning a presentation at work, raising money for your nonprofit, creating a movement for an important cause, or trying to connect with your customers…

...it all comes down to good storytelling. 

In this week’s episode, I share with you 3 ways you can improve your storytelling skills. 

And how the 3 neurobiological reactions these storytelling tactics will create within your audience members. 

Tune in to learn the biggest secrets of good storytelling you don’t know yet...

Let’s do it. 

Listen to "The Art & Science of Storytelling" on Spreaker.

If you'd like to learn more about T.H.E. Celebration Academy.  Here's 30 days of Free Membership.

Creativity is: Complicated, Poetic and History-Telling with Lloyd Wilkey and Liz Prisley

We are all creatives

Each day we are engaging in creative work. 

In our thinking, unique way of approaching our life, and in what we are building. 

But what does it mean to be a creative? 

This episode kicks off a series that will be exploring this very question. 

Each month I’ll share with you two people who dive into what creativity means to them. 

Our guests this week are Liz Prisley and  Lloyd Wilkey. 

Both are brilliant creatives and I am blessed to count them as good friends. 

In 6 words or less, Liz describes herself as: “Passionate. Intersectional. Feminist. Poet. Leader. Educational.”

In 6 words or less, Lloyd describes himself as: “It’s Complicated.”

On this week’s episode, Liz and Lloyd explore how creativity can be complicated, history-telling, and poetic. 

And of course so much more. 

Get ready to dive into your unique creativity. 

You can learn more about Liz here.

You can learn more about Lloyd here.

Listen to "We are all creatives: Liz Prisley and Lloyd Wilkey" on Spreaker.

If you'd like to learn more about T.H.E. Celebration Academy.  Here's 30 days of Free Membership.

Owning Your Inner-Power Tom Earl Interviewed By Natasha Bazilevych

I LOVED this conversation on marketing, running ads, the creative process, and so many other topics.

Natasha Bazilevych invited me to be a guest on her podcast and it ended up being one of my favorite interviews.

On this episode, you get to see me switch hats and become the interviewee.

Natasha really brought out some honest answers from me and we explored things I’ve never shared before.

She even got me to perform one of my spoken word poems.

I had a blast!

We also covered a lot of ground that any creative, entrepreneur, or leader will get a ton of value from.

Thank you Natasha for such an awesome experience.

You can listen to Natasha’s podcast here and learn more about her work here

Do yourself this favor.

Hit play.

Listen to "Owning Your Inner-Power Tom Earl Interviewed By Natasha Bazilevych" on Spreaker.

If you'd like to learn more about T.H.E. Celebration Academy.  Here's 30 days of Free Membership.

Expand Your Impact With Facebook Ads: Tom Earl Interviewed By Dijana Llugolli.

I am a huge fan of people who have important work connecting with their community. 

With all of its controversies and confusion aside, I believe that FB / IG ads are the most effective way to do that. 

Contrary to popular belief, you can find success with even a modest budget of $1 a day. 

In this week’s episode, I share with you the strategy and systems that are getting entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and activists results. 

This is a replay from when I was a guest on my friend Dijana Llugolli’s podcast. 

You may remember Dijana was a previous guest on this podcast.  

You can check out that replay at tomearl.com/dijana. 

Whether you’re just dipping your toes into the marketing waters, or are ready to do a cannonball - you’ll discover some gems in this episode. 

Do yourself the favor of giving this a listen. 

You rock. 

And be sure to support Dijana and her awesome work here.

Listen to "Expand Your Impact With Facebook Ads: Tom Earl Interviewed By Dijana Llugolli." on Spreaker.

If you'd like to learn more about T.H.E. Celebration Academy.  Here's 30 days of Free Membership.

Honor Your Feelings With Dinah

Loneliness is at an epidemic level in this country right now. 

This isn’t hyperbole. Multiple studies have confirmed that Americans feel more isolated than ever. 

And this was BEFORE our lives and the way we interact with each other was uprooted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even before the masks, sheltering in place, and virtual birthday celebrations became the norm…

...we as a society were struggling to connect with each other. 

Given this reality, it makes sense that my most popular episodes in 2019 & 2020 were those that were centered on mental health. 

This week’s episode centers on feelings. 

Honoring our feelings. 

Expressing our feelings. 

Regulating our feelings. 

Processing our feelings. 

Our guest, Dinah, has worked for over 13 years in the fields of health, social work, counseling, and education, and is the founder of a nonprofit organization targeting the issue of sex trafficking.

She has extensive training and experience in the field of restorative practices, and has worked to help schools adopt a trauma-informed approach at the student, staff and organizational level.  

She currently works for a university in Los Angeles, where she creates trauma-informed curriculum and trains service providers in Los Angeles County to provide trauma-informed care to the clients/students they serve.

I’ve played back so many moments from this week’s interview in my head, over and over again.

I also had to note down a lot of the wisdom that Dinah shared with me. 

For example, she emphasized that our behavior is communication.

This blew my mind.  

The follow-up questions and conversations that came out of that took my understanding of mental health to a whole new level. 

I’m telling you, this episode is so important. 

Do yourself the favor. 

Hit play. 

To learn more about Dinah, head to her Instagram @dinahmsw

or website

Listen to "Honor Your Feelings With Dinah" on Spreaker.

If you'd like to learn more about T.H.E. Celebration Academy.  Here's 30 days of Free Membership.

Segways, Birthdays, and Becoming Comfortable With Yourself With Alex and Ash Sullivan

In 1982, in a speech to Harvard University, Audrey Lorde famously said, “. . .If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive.”

Quotes are inspiring.

And, seeing them put into action is empowering. 

That is why this week’s guests, Alex and Ash Sullivan, are two of my favorite people. 

Despite the pressure of a white supremacist capitalist patriarchy, 

They define themselves for themselves every single day. 

As they will share in the episode - that doesn’t mean it is easy. 

I mean - how does one go about living their bold self without being eaten alive? 

Let this interview be a roadmap that can guide you to your own internal answer to that question. 

Oh - and did I mention that this episode is being released on their birthday?  

*Cue the confetti*

For real though - Ash and Alex are the best. 

Alex Sullivan is the Co-Founder of Artists Call to Action.  They are also a dope poet, facilitator, activist, educator and freelance diversity consultant in academia. 

As a mixed agender human being, Alex’s work is often reflective of how the self is presented in the digital world and how current socio-political events can distort that presentation. 

Their creative and academic work is focused on the black queer experience and every aspect of it, frequently tying in themes of womanism, examination of power structures in the United States, and the experience of the Afro-Caribbean diaspora as the communities have spread out all over the world. 

Ashley Sullivan is a counselor-in-training and poet who is currently being considered for licensure, actively publishing, and putting energy into other creative endeavors such as starting their own business. 

Ash is balancing pursuing a career in poetry while also pursuing work in mental health and public health. Currently, they have been published in five or more running publications as well as fulfilling activism work centered around gender, creativity, and community. 

They are a current candidate for their Master’s of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Long Island University. 

On this week’s episode we go all in on: 

creativity, 

activism,

learning to trust yourself, 

finding your own voice,

the unique relationship Ash and Alex have with each other, 

getting comfortable with your own silence,

getting to know yourself better, and,

Well...you’re gonna need to push play to find that out! 

We could all invite a little more grace, community and courage into our lives. 

And Ash and Alex deliver all of that and more in abundance on this week’s episode. 

Let’s do this. 

Hit play.

And join us. 

Check out their past interviews here

And here

Check out Ash’s LinkedIn here

Check out Ash’s Instagram here

Find out more about the Artist’s Call to Action here

Check out ACTA on Facebook and Instagram

Listen to "Segways, Birthdays, and Becoming Comfortable With Yourself With Alex and Ash Sullivan" on Spreaker.

If you'd like to learn more about T.H.E. Celebration Academy.  Here's 30 days of Free Membership.

DIY Judaism, Passover, and Love With Andrea Hodos

This week, my guest is the awesome facilitator Andrea Hodos. In Andrea’s own words, we talk about “Jewish things” – what Judaism means to her and how it came to inform her life. We talked about her specialty, which is creating meaning and building empathy by putting things (and people!) in relation to one another, and also about Passover (specifically, what it means to her and her family)!

Andrea Hodos is the director of Moving Torah, a method for using movement, writing, and theater to explore Jewish text and Jewish story. Through her work in Moving Torah, Andrea developed a Jewish/Muslim women's performance project called "Sinai & Sunna: Women Covering, Uncovering and Recovering." She is also the Program Co-Director of NewGround: A Muslim-Jewish Partnership for Change. Andrea and her husband, Aryeh Cohen, are among founding members of the Shtibl minyan, a DIY Jewish spiritual community in Los Angeles.

Listen to "DIY Judaism, Passover, and Love With Andrea Hodos" on Spreaker.

If you'd like to learn more about T.H.E. Celebration Academy.  Here's 30 days of Free Membership.