Work Life Play With Aaron Mchugh

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. 

  Podcast Highlights: Bike tires rely on spokes to keep them balanced and "true". An imbalanced career is like a bike tire that isn't "true"; it's imbalanced, unsafe, and keeps you from finishing well. Our careers change, which is why we need to evaluate our careers with each new season. It's better to fix an imbalanced career now and be delayed than to go a long time on an imbalanced career trajectory. There are five spokes that balance your career: The Work you do The Company you work The Compensation you earn The Team you work with The Relationship you have with your boss Take the time to grade each "spoke" of your career with a green light, yellow light, or red light. Get feedback from those closest to you to find where the balance is present or missing in your career.  

Highlights from 99 Ways to Live Your Best Life Set a specific directional bearing on the course you want to take in Work Life Play Topics have a wide range: managing money, marriage, pursuing fame, becoming a better boss, personal fitness. Hear two of the backstories behind 99 Ways: 10// Don't dip your quill in company ink 04// Don't neglect your relationships Understand how to master the art of living a sustainable work-life-play balance

Starting in April, my life was upside down and sideways. This is my story of my how I unplugged in order to recharge, hit the reset button, and started over. Podcast Highlights: Understand the importance of understanding whose life are you actually living How to get real honest about the current trajectory of your Work Life Play How to count the costs of success Why unplugging for months maybe the only way you can really get clarity How selling everything we owned liberated us to start dreaming again

Learn about the Joy-Use Ratio. Small bursts of Joy can happen regularly if you come prepare and anticipate them   

  How to stop listening to the voices of disqualification. Understand why it is important to move forward with your ideas without consideration for the outcome. Learn how being concerned about what other people might think, actually contributes to us doing a poor job. Offering our best is the best rebuttal to every excuse we can come up with

Highlights from Podcast #32: Acting Like a Pro Eight Minutes at a Time  The difference between acting like a pro and becoming a pro is not neglecting narrow windows of opportunity. Take the opportunity that's right in front of you. Small margin plus consistency over time equals accumulative benefit. The gap between the life, marriage, income, adventure, fitness level, or anything else we wish to have can be closed over time with even small, intentional investments. Show up, invest your time, be consistent, and enjoy the benefits of your investment.

  Quick Podcast Highlights from Miles: Understand the necessity of developing your EQ (emotional intelligence) to live, love, parent, and lead well. Hear how the doorway of pain has become one of Miles’s biggest gifts in life. How to develop harmony in the narrative of Who You Are and What You Do For a Living. Why creating new healing experiences can counteract life’s negative experiences. How the work of Donald Miller and Brene’ Brown will give you insights into how Onsite can help you live out the best version of your story. Why a subtle two-degree shift in our actions and beliefs can improve the trajectory of our life. What if we lead from the places that we formerly hid our shortcomings and flaws?