Happiness Archives - Page 2 of 5

There are no wrong turns

November 15, 2017 by Yanik Silver

The other night on the way to the cadre DC event in Silver Spring, I took a route I seldom take. And as I passed 16th St, I thought I recognized my very first apartment bldg my family lived in when we came to this country.

I considered stopping but wouldn’t be on time.

I pretty much forgot all about it as I left to go home. The scene outside was a bit foggy and rainy with plenty of bad traffic to contend with – not really optimal driving conditions. I missed a turn and went a different route home keeping an eye out for food to bring home to the family. I thought I was close to Parkway deli so scooted across 3 lanes….only to realize it wasn’t the right street.

Not even close.

Probably should have mapped it instead of relying on memory.

Oh well, I’ll just head back to the beltway and get something closer to home.

Several wrong turns later I was back on Georgia Ave but headed the opposite way back into downtown Silver Spring again.

At this point I was starting to get annoyed but then just as quickly I thought maybe something else interesting will pop up. I was still thinking food-wise.

Taking 16th St from a different direction, I realized I was looking at the wrong apartment building previously.

Hmmm…

I parked the car and all these feelings started welling up. I had never been back to this place for 37+ years. It wasn’t nostalgia but something else.

The bus stop out front did it for me.

To set up this story you need to understand Russian immigrants might do things a little differently. 😉

My parents headed off to work really early and I was supposed to get myself ready. There was a family friend/babysitter who lived in the same building and I’d wake up and go to her apartment before school.

Except one morning I didn’t show up.

That morning I got on my superman slippers and took my big leather European wallet/satchel with all my Hanukah money in it.

My 6 year-old self was determined to get on that bus and head to People’s Drug (anyone remember People’s before CVS?) and get markers and paper to draw with.

Plan seemed smart to me.

I got on the bus with no problem. Went to People’s and got my markers. All good.

But on the way back I had no idea things took a turn for the worse. I asked a woman for the bus to 16th st and she pointed me to some direction. As I sat on the bus looking out the window things definitely didn’t seem right. I had no clue there was a DC and MD side to 16th st.

When we came to the final stop the driver looked at me and said, “End of the line kid.”

Thankfully he didn’t let me get off when he saw the look on my face. He called the police and they took me to the station. I knew where my father worked and they managed to contact him to come pick me up. I had entertained the officers with some of my drawings.

This has always been a funny story in our family. How much I loved to draw, getting on the wrong bus, my determination, etc. but it could have turned out pretty different.

Tonight, when I sat in the parking lot all these intense feelings of unease and sadness came up as soon as I pulled in.

It felt like I was tapping into the fear my parents and family friends felt when they couldn’t find me. Talking about that incident as an adult to them a few years back they shared how terrified they were to check the metro tracks that ran behind the building for what they might find.

With my own kids now it’s painful to imagine what everyone went through for the time I was missing.

My attention shifted from forgiveness for what I put my parents through to myself. To be able to go “back” in time and provide love, protection and help for my scared 6-year old self.

As I sat there it seemed almost like I tapped into some sort of “frozen holographic slice” of time energy that had been “stuck” there. But now I had the tools to consciously navigate out.

From there with tears welling up in my eyes, I realized I was actually really close to Parkway Deli but only because of my detour and “wrong” turns.

The Power of Play

July 2, 2017 by Yanik Silver

I have a little secret way of tapping into deeper wisdom…

You see, I love the serendipity of writing questions, doodling, or jotting little notes to myself a few pages forward in my journal. Then, when I “land” on that page, something magical usually comes together….

In the Evolved Enterprise book, one of the questions I shared that can help you dig deeper into your meaning is “What would my 111-year-old self tell me?” (It’s a question inspired by Tal Ben-Shahar and his work on happiness.)

This question brings forth a profound inquiry of tapping into elevated wisdom from an extended point of view.

Fact is, I love questions.

I believe our questions dictate our answers and this is definitely one worth thinking through.

However, I have a totally different direction for you….

The other day I came to the page in my journal where I had written the question “What would my 11-year-old self tell me?”

Hmmm…

First, I had to bring myself back to that time and place. It was 1984, and I played Dungeons and Dragons, loved eating Fruity Pebbles, and collected Smurfs.

And from that viewpoint of a slightly nerdy and unsure of myself 5^th grader, here’s the first answer I wrote in my journal:

“Have Fun!”

Makes sense. I realized that at age eleven I was a little more carefree. There was still an innocence to my life at this moment as it was 2 years before my parents got divorced.

Okay, “have fun” is a good start, but I want to explore more deeply what message is hiding under the surface. So what else would my little dude tell me? I continue writing:

“I know my magical child loves to draw, laugh, and play. And living in a more magical way, you get to write ANY script you want. That means including all the pieces that fill me with joy. And I certainly know what those ingredients are.”

Better.

I’ve realized your first answer is not usually your “real” one. There is a deeper, more profound knowledge to be found by continuing to ask again and again.

You Might Laugh When You Try This

Here’s a process to go further….

I have my friend Bill Donius, author of Thought Revolution, to thank for this. He taught Mavericks about one of the most connected ways you can get guidance from a different part of yourself or open up new ways of thinking

You can tap into your full creativity by writing with your non-dominant hand. It feels odd when you start and maybe even totally silly or completely illegible, but it works.

Now, with my left hand, I wrote this message back to myself:

“It’s easier than you think because your heart always has your answer. You might not like the answer or it’s inconvenient, but it’s truth. If choosing between 2 choices – which one brings out more play? More joy?

Not just “fun” only because that can change – but your deepest self is discovered through play. You’re making it harder on yourself too. Just laugh a bit more. Oh yeah, your turtle says “hi”… – 11-year-old enlightened Yanik

—

Random side note: Funny that using my left hand brought up my pet turtle I had for a short time as a kid. When I went away to the beach, my best friend Jamie was supposed to watch him, but the turtle (slowly) ran away.

—

I attributed this insight to the “11-year-old enlightened Yanik” because that’s exactly how it feels.

Kids provide some of the most amazing insights if you let them, and your own 11-year-old self probably has a message for you too.

Think back to what you loved to do when you were 11 and what gave you joy. Now how can that be brought back into your life in a fully integrated way? Where can you mix this into your business or life in some way again – but now from a new, expanded perspective?

One big thing for me was drawing. I actually thought I wanted to be a professional hockey player and then a cartoonist in the off season. I loved to draw and doodle and created my own characters, like “Meteor Mouse” and “Big Nose Fred.” I even created a comic book with my buddy Jamie under the imprint of “Silver Dragon Comics.” (His last name was Dragon, as you might have guessed.) It wasn’t really a profitable venture as we only sold 2 copies – to my parents and his – but I guess technically it was the start of my publishing career in a way.

Years later, I started drawing and doodling again in my journals.

I realized how much I loved it and actually included all my own doodles into my new Evolved Enterprise book, on blogs, and even in some of our marketing. One hint you’re doing something you love is when time stands still or it generates more energy for you as you’re doing it. I remember writing the final draft of the Evolved Enterprise book and was totally beat at 3 a.m. and ready for bed. But at that moment, I realized I wanted to include my own doodles in there. Bam! It was a huge blast of inspiration, and I kept drawing for another two hours.

My 11-year-old enlightened self also said to focus on play…

Your Greatest Joy Revealed

Play is one of our most natural expressions of who we are in our perfected state, and it’s an incredible way to connect to anyone in your life.

The other night, we had a dad and sons barbecue at my neighbor’s house. It was good food and wine (for the parents), but the real highlight was playing together. We played dads vs. boys in street hockey, basketball, and soccer with a quick S’mores break in between the final match ups.

Simply playing together is one of the greatest joys we have together (and it didn’t hurt that the dads beat the kids 5-4 in a wild soccer match thriller!).

The book, Play, by Dr. Stuart Brown covers why play is invaluable for relationships, learning, working together, and socializing as mammals.

I like playing with words too, and there’s a reason “recreation” is another word for play – because it “re-creates” our world.

Play is what we’re naturally drawn to if we simply give ourselves the permission to explore how we want to play within our lives and work. Sadly, most people believe work is in direct conflict to play, but that’s not the case.

As Dr. Stuart Brown says, “The opposite of play is not work – the opposite of play is depression.”

Have you ever been around someone who is simply playing? There’s an uninhibited joy that takes hold. There’s a loss of time, and we feel totally in the moment. Play is such a simple concept, but how much time do we even allow ourselves to explore what play really looks like?

“The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he’s always doing both.” – James Michener

The Virgin Billionaire at Play

One of the characteristics I’ve seen up close many times from being around Richard Branson so often is his playful side. He is involved with serious projects, but he makes sure he doesn’t take himself too seriously. In fact, one of the rules on Necker is that there’s no work in the afternoons. Seeing Richard do this, I think he gets more productive time by focusing it all in allotted blocks and by continually rejuvenating and refreshing himself from playing more.

It’s not uncommon to have Richard instigating the party, dancing on tables, or generally mixing things up.

I love showing up on Necker and having some sort of silly surprise for him or a small prank. This year, in support of ocean conversation, we both donned mermaid (or merman!) tails for our Q&A.

And last year we surprised Richard by having everyone on the island wear lemur suits for our “serious” brainstorming meeting. When he walked in, he just laughed and gladly jumped into his own lemur outfit.

It’s funny to see this picture continuing to get out there in his social media posts. I get a kick out of seeing it pop up again and again, like on Richard’s Instagram, with the caption: “Don’t take yourself too seriously. Nobody else does.” (My daughter Zoe responded to the picture by asking how her lemurs are doing.)

I always believe a good costume adds to the play and fun of any kind of event. Making more of your work feel like play leads to big results. That brainstorming session that started with lemur suits actually turned into one our most impactful projects to date – sinking an old WWII ship and turning it into a marine conservation platform. (Read about the project here – http://www.divethebviartreef.com/)

And putting that together was definitely fun!

Quite frankly, our work doesn’t need to feel like, well, work.

So often we discount what comes easily to us that actually feels like playing simply because it comes so easily and seems like such fun to us. For me, part of how I play is helping brainstorm better business ideas that can have a greater impact on the world. I love thinking of the unique positioning, the hooks, marketing angles, cause elements to bake in, and so much more. It’s so alluring for me to map all aspects and facets and how to create more leverage beyond what many others might see. To me, that’s fun! I love it!

I love engaging in a potential problem like that and then figuring out the pieces to build something really meaningful using the Evolved Enterprise framework. I get a kick of asking the right questions to trigger the answers that move the needle. Or intuitively diagnosing the real buried issue that these entrepreneurs don’t even realize is hiding behind what they think their problem is.

When I get out of my own way, I realize how valuable this really is for others.

But since it feels like play, it’s too easy to discount it. To not value our own worth and our unique expression of our work… Why does it have to be hard? That’s some sort of belief we’ve inherited somewhere along the way. It doesn’t have to be that way if you incorporate the belief that our work can be inter-meshed with our play.

“The richest and fullest lives attempt to achieve an inner balance between three realms: work, love and play.” – Erik Erikson

Play is one of the great unifiers to have all levels of people, no matter how successful, drop their walls. That’s why, at many of our Maverick experiences and retreats, you’ll see there are opportunities to play. There are deeper connections, opportunities, and friendships that develop when you’re randomly together on Tuesday night and have been transformed into zombies by a Hollywood make-up artist than when sitting around a conference room.

Actually, one of my favorite playful events we put on is Camp Maverick, which is coming up. It’s absolutely a chance for the inner child to come out and play. Imagine heading to sleep away camp with a group of exceptional entrepreneurs to learn, play, and make a difference.

Basically, they’ve removed all the boring parts of going to a seminar and replaced them with summer camp awesomeness on a full 400 acres that we have all to ourselves. I don’t think I can quite do it justice, so watch the video here – www.GoCampMaverick.com.

My mentor, Frank McKinney, says he can always spot when an adult has let their inner little boy or little girl die. They just don’t have that same spark in their eyes. And that spark is lit by playing more by adding more play into your work and your life.

Think about what you loved to do when you were a kid and what your 11-year-old self would tell you.

Lyft’ing Up Spirits

June 29, 2017 by Yanik Silver

(The story of a nearly missed divine appointment)

Last Saturday I said bye to the kids as they boarded their bus to camp and I headed out to Miami. The timing worked out well to speak at the “Buy One Give One” conference and to help celebrate Sophia’s birthday that same day.

My airplane arrived a bit late, but the conference was at the airport hotel, so it made it pretty easy to head right to the meeting room. As I walked in, I realized I probably could have eaten first. My breakfast was at 7:30 a.m., and it was now close to 2 p.m. No worries – I’d just eat after I spoke, or maybe they’d have a few snacks.

I spoke a little later than I thought I would and was pretty starving as I left to meet up with Sophia and a few other Maverick members and friends who came to celebrate. I arrived at our hotel in Brickell at about 5 p.m. and wasn’t sure of my next move.

I had really wanted to get into the ocean but thought everyone would be heading home soon anyway. Plus, they were in South Beach about 20–30 minutes away in traffic.

“Eh…I’ll just go,” I told myself as I changed into my swim trunks….

Where Are You Sitting?

I called a Lyft, and it arrived a few minutes later. I sit in either the front or back seat depending on how interactive I want to be or what kind of mood I’m in. Right then I was actually a little cranky from not eating and not getting more beach time – so I opened the back but some small inner prompting told me to jump in the front.

I closed the door and hopped into the front with Ramon, my driver.

We started talking a little bit about where he’s from, etc. The small stuff. He told me he was from Venezuela, and I asked why he came over 3 years ago.

He replied, “Long story.”

Traffic Tales

I told him to look at the GPS because we had 21 minutes to go to our destination. He laughed and proceeded to share some of his story. He told me about serving his community as a type of city councilman for nearly 30 years. And then, because of something political-related, he was ousted. Next he tried going on the radio as a commentator but started receiving threats for speaking out. Then, at the same time, his wife divorced him and moved to Canada with his kids.

Two pretty dramatic, identity-shattering experiences. In fact, he told me he was thinking of writing a book called My Mistaken Life so he could retrace where his life went wrong. He thought maybe there would be a lesson there for others.

I asked him if he thought his life really was a mistake.

He replied affirmatively.

I didn’t agree. I asked, “But you haven’t come to the end of the story yet, right?” And I continued, “What if with enough elevation or insight, everything was done perfectly?”

Is the Story Really Over?

He wasn’t so sure, but Ramon did tell me the lesson he learned was to listen to himself and do what he wanted. However, he thought it was too late for that. Again, I didn’t have the same opinion and countered with, “It’s not too late unless you think the story is done.”

I saw Ramon actually mulling it over and thinking he might have another way of looking at events. He proceeded to tell me about a radio program he tried to start here. It was to help fellow immigrants from Venezuela deal with acclimating, but it didn’t make it because he couldn’t find sponsors.

From here, I had lots of ideas on how to set up a simple online site with information, videos, and recordings with this type of information. Then he could easily get restaurants and other community gathering spots to distribute flyers or promote his site with so much great information. It would be a way for him to get back to public service and his background in media to make a difference. Plus, he could sell consulting services or other types of help for those that needed more hand-holding. In a few minutes, I had laid out a pretty good plan and even a way to get other revenue streams, like sponsors, back on board once the site grew. Now I had him thinking and seeing another way.

I even told him, “Maybe your story has a new chapter because some crazy guy got in your car wearing a bright pink bathing suit.”

Who knows?

Now, will he do what I shared with him? I don’t know…and it’s not up to me.

I don’t have attachment to it. I simply followed my own inspiration to engage and then provide some insights plus perhaps have him question his “story” a bit.

Again, I don’t know if I helped Ramon, but I know he helped me for sure. I immediately changed to a happier, truly grateful state from our interactions from this “cosmic appointment.” I didn’t even notice until after I took the screenshot of my Lyft receipt that I was dropped off right at 5:55 p.m. (555 has been said to be a symbol of big changes ahead. Good sign for Ramon!)

Haitian Heart Opening

June 15, 2017 by Yanik Silver

After finishing this blog post, I wasn’t so sure I was going to share this whole story, so I’m posting it before I change my mind.

I live by the intention of “creating impact by catalyzing the catalysts.” And I’m thrilled to see that intention firsthand in Haiti….

For the last six years, I’ve co-hosted an annual Impact trip to Haiti with one of my mentors, Frank McKinney. Maverick members and other invited guests have attended this trip to Haiti to develop self-sustaining villages for the desperately poor.

And this visit, my seventh, was really special because it will most likely be Frank’s last time doing this trip. Secondly, it was to open the “Yanik Silver Maverick Village” in Guimby. There are only three named villages out of 24 built over 14 years, so this was quite an honor.

At the tail end of a long first day after already visiting our first orphanage in Haiti, we rolled into the village after a four-hour bus ride. I thought I might feel really emotional, but it was a different kind of experience. It was certainly incredibly humbling and an incredible honor. As much as I cherish this moment, I’m also not attached to any accolades or recognition but simply doing whole-hearted work.

When we arrive there as approximately 50 white people, there’s always some “feeling out” that happens. The villagers are trying to figure out how to interact, and we are too.

The mood got a little more open when Frank suggested I jump up on my sign for pics. Then Sophia joined me, and we put everyone in Maverick green sunglasses and a few green mustaches…even the Haitian kids. I love a bit of fun and levity in any situation.

We moved to the Community Center for a few speeches. The “mayor” of the area said how thankful they were for us building a village here in Guimby, where their great-grandparents had once lived. The government hadn’t given them anything, and now they were going to use this good fortune to magnify their lives. Frank gave the next speech mentioning my role of bringing in so many individuals who have had an impact on Haiti and that I lead from the heart.

A Nudge

Earlier in the day, I had given a little bit of thought to what I might say when we visited our first orphanage, but I decided I’d rather let the moment come through me. Through my translator, I addressed the Haitians first with this message: “Yes, my name is on the village, but the more important part is ‘Maverick’ for them. To me, a Maverick is someone who is different, who follows their own path, and it’s really about three things: 1) grows themselves, 2) makes a difference, and 3) has some fun along the way.” Then, after thanking the Mavericks who came along and the ones who have made a difference over the years, I turned back to the villagers and wasn’t sure our translator could get this right as I said, “I always believe I am a catalyst of catalysts.” Then I simplified it to “I nudge others.”

Finally, I ended by joking that I’d be okay if any of the mothers wanted to name their kids “Yanik” or “Yanika.” That got a big laugh from everyone. (Later I found out the name “Yanick” is a Haitian name reserved exclusively for women, usually elder women, so that might have been part of the chuckle.) 😉

Maverick Capitol City alum, Barry Glassman, captured this perfectly:

However, what I was most proud of was when one of the villagers simply got up to take the microphone to say he heard my message and today he is a “Yanik.” Today he is someone who can make a difference and can help others. That was the most special part for me—to realize that this “regular” person could be empowered now to nudge others around him too.

Frank always says we change the world by simply building one house in Haiti. We’ve changed the world for that one person, that one family. I’ve had people ask me why I continue working in Haiti since it seems so hopeless to them. It reminds me of the starfish story of a girl seeing thousands of starfish washed up on shore. As she starts throwing them back into the water, a man comes up to her and asks why she’s doing that since she’ll never make a difference with so many starfish. As she throws each one back, she says, “It mattered to that one.”

Not only do I love the individual impact but I love thinking about business ideas that can make a difference. A good example is the “10 Cards of Hope” project I helped co-create as a way to support the orphans we see each year. (It’s a great tool to build your business, increase your happiness, and support Haitian orphans in need.)

Removing My Own Inner Thorn

At a rest stop on the way back to the hotel, I kept feeling something pricking my foot. I couldn’t tell if I had something in my foot, in my sock, or what. I took off my shoes and socks several times on the bus but couldn’t figure it out. Getting back to my room at the resort, I realized I had stepped on a big thorn in “my” village. It had deeply embedded itself in my shoe so deep that it was just slightly poking out of the insole. So if I stepped a certain way, there would be a sharp pain in my foot. I couldn’t help but think of the similarity to a big thorn that came all the way through my shoe while on safari in Kenya. It punctured my foot and nearly caused my foot to become badly infected.

But here I simply pulled it out of my shoe. Easy.

It reminded me of a chapter called “Removing the Inner Thorn” from the book Untethered Soul by Michael Singer that I’ve been reading and re-reading.

Here’s what he says about this concept:

Imagine that you have a thorn in your arm that directly touches a nerve. When the thorn is touched, it’s very painful. Because it hurts so much, the thorn is a serious problem. It’s difficult to sleep because you roll over on it. It’s hard to get close to people because they might touch it. It makes your daily life very difficult. You can’t even go for a walk in the woods because you might brush the thorn against the branches. This thorn is a constant source of disturbance, and to solve the problem you have two choices.

Essentially, the two choices are if you keep the thorn, you try to force the world to conform to your preferences to avoid having the thorn touched. Or the second option is simply to remove the thorn by being open to everything. For me, that’s about opening to let in full joy, love, and happiness.

This symbolism of simply pulling my thorn out was not lost on me as I wrote in my journal that night: “I’ve ‘removed’ the thorn from my heart—there is nothing to protect anymore. Simply OPEN.”

Side note: Michael Singer’s The Untethered Soul and The Surrender Experiment are absolutely excellent, and I’d highly recommend them. I had a bit of a tough time getting through The Untethered Soul a few years back. I read it but didn’t get what I needed then. Next I got The Surrender Experiment, and it seemed to flow so much easier. It’s truly an epic story of how the Universe continued to deliver even more for Michael than he had asked for, including being CEO of a public company and growing his spirituality. In fact, he makes the point that business became his ultimate spiritual growth vehicle. And I agree totally.

A Nearly Wasted Gift Recovered

After breakfast, we headed out to St. Marc’s Orphanage, which we’ve supported for several years now through our cause partner, HopeToHaiti. It was great seeing some familiar faces, including one especially. His name is “Big Love,” and the last two years almost nobody could get him to smile. But now, with some love, security, and a stable foundation, he’s thriving. Totally different kid.

Here’s a picture of Paola Guernsey with Big Love two years ago and now today.

I thought I might cry the day of my village dedication, but I didn’t. However, I did surprisingly get emotional here at the orphanage. (Another sign my heart was opening even more…)

We were treated to one of the girls singing a gospel song with such pure joy behind it. I didn’t understand the words, but I fully got the feeling of grace and love. Hearing her beautiful voice and knowing her story really hit my heart. You see, she was one of 12 kids simply found abandoned by the side of the road. I believe our boy, Big Love, was one of those 12 kids too. But this girl was the oldest, and she was in charge of venturing out to bring them food. They literally lived like a pack of stray dogs.

I cried because here was someone with such an incredible gift that was almost wasted had it not been for the compassionate individuals there with us. It’s pretty likely the kids would have starved to death on the streets, and nobody would have heard her sing.

“Everything’s Wonderful”

I saw two of the older boys who I took jet skiing a few years back for their first time ever, Bernard and Feditov. They were excited to see me since we were taking all the orphans back to our resort for them to spend the entire afternoon enjoying the pool and playing with everyone. I told them we would do it again, and their faces just lit up with fist bumps all around. Then they asked if they could drive. I had no idea, but I said sure anyway.

Our family has 13 Silver Keys that are values we discuss and share each week. One of them is “Everything’s Wonderful,” which was actually the one we discussed the week before going to Haiti. Everything’s wonderful simply means you can find something that is wonderful in every situation—and it’s very much in line with the notion that Michael Singer espouses of surrendering and accepting everything that comes to you.

Nothing is ever totally straightforward in Haiti. I had to go to the main office to book our one-hour jet ski session. I paid for the session, and then they had new waivers this year. I signed off and then had no idea how to sign off for Bernard and Feditov, what ages they were, or even their last names. I mean, I figured it was Haiti, so we’d be okay, so I just sorta scribbled a signature. I also didn’t know if you had to be a certain age to drive the jet ski. I really didn’t want to disappoint them, but it wasn’t really in my hands.

I set up an appointment at the Jet Ski spot for 3 p.m. Great. The kids were leaving at 5 p.m., so we’d have plenty of time. When they showed up at the hotel, I told the boys we’d go at “tres hueres” in my best high school French. More fist bumps!

In the meantime, I hopped into the pool with many of the other orphans. It was great because the last few years we’ve brought back the kids to our resort to enjoy just being kids.

Now, at about 2:30, I told the two boys we should get something to eat. This place is all-inclusive, so I wanted them to make full use of everything. I figured they’d eat a burger or two and we’d head out. But 45 minutes later and plate after plate, we still weren’t done. The whole time, I was just smiling and loving watching them eat.

The boys kept making “vroom, vroom” noises as we walked down the beach, in their excitement to drive. I was hoping they’d let them. We trekked all the way down to water sports, arriving at 3:20. At this point, our jet ski was now already out on the water.

I had only booked one, but both were out. I asked the woman when we could come back, and she said 4:20/4:30. That wasn’t going to work since they were leaving at 5. She yelled something in Creole to the guys on the beach, and I got a 4 o’clock sharp answer. Looking good. Now, instead of simply waiting around, we took kayaks out and paddled around the water. I figured I’d watch the jet skis roaring around in the ocean, and when they got back to the shore, we’d paddle back there. After about 30 minutes, the two jet skis were heading back to water sports, but we weren’t all that close. I paddled hard, but by the time I got there, the jet skis were both out again.

Let’s see what will happen…. “Everything’s wonderful.”

More yelling and discussions in Creole from the office woman to the gents running the jet skis. They told me it would be about 15–20 minutes, so we wouldn’t get the full hour I bought for the kids. I also know island time of 15–20 minutes would really be closer to 4:30 probably. I just told the operators I’d like two jet skis for 30 minutes instead. Done. And I asked if the boys could drive. I think he said yes, but I simply took it as an affirmative.

Of course, this worked out even better because with two jet skis, now they could both take turns driving while I raced alongside them. It was great being able to reflect their joy and happiness from cruising on the water all by themselves.

And the rest of the day continued with that open-heart awareness and a subtle knowing of more magic afoot.

A Drenched Full Moon

I had been hoping to see a brilliant, illuminated full moon, but nature had other plans. It doesn’t often storm in Haiti, but we got a good one.

We end each trip with going around the circle sharing insights. It’s always a moving conversation as we hear how impactful and totally life changing this intense experience is. After a few more hugs, we headed out. I had been really looking forward to maybe sitting in the sand watching the full moon—but it didn’t look like that was happening. I felt a little bit of disappointment but realized there might be something better again. I like full moons for meaningful intentions.

That’s why a few of us took off in the downpour to meet in Sophia’s room for deeper conversations and to work with a unique deck of Mayan cards I brought. These cards are based on Mayan cosmology and are intended to help you step into your greatest expression of yourself by aligning with the bigger, unfolding cosmic story. These are not like a Tarot deck or really anything else I’ve seen or explored.

Quick side story: I first started being more intrigued by the Mayans as 2012 approached. It reengaged my interest in many of the things I enjoyed as a kid, like studying the sacred sites of the Great Pyramids or Stonehenge. I knew the Mayan calendar was not the “end of the world” prophecy as some people in the media were predicting.

I felt very called to be with the Mayans for the 2012 winter solstice, so I had our team scrap everything for the Maverick Summit we typically do the first week of December. I simply knew we had to be there at this auspicious time and place. My team thought I was somewhat crazy because the solstice was on December 21, just a few days away from Christmas. Undaunted, I said we were doing it.

And big props to Sophia for finding a way for our Maverick group to actually spend the night in a real Mayan village on the night of the calendar change.

Solstice Synchronicity

We wanted to have an authentic Mayan shamanic ceremony for all the Mavericks staying at the village, including taking part in a temazcal. Picture a little concrete igloo-like structure that’s pitch black in there and super cramped, and then add steaming lava rocks to make it even harder to breath.

Plus for good measure, there’s a boulder rolled in to cover the entrance/exit so it’s totally sealed. (However, you can always clap three times to get out.)

I wasn’t so sure I wanted to even stay in this temazcal the whole time because I’ve previously had small bouts of claustrophobia. This was before my yoga and meditation practice, so I could definitely be the person that claps his hands to get out. However, as the ceremony continued, I simply worked on relaxing and breathing. At the end of the ceremony, you had to yell to have someone remove the boulder again. Just as that was happening, we heard the other half of our group counting down: “5…4…3…2…1!”

There’s no way we could have planned it any better.

We had come out EXACTLY at midnight on the winter solstice. This kind of synchronicity is pretty hard to brush off along with the deep symbolism of the temazcal to the Mayans, representing going into the womb of the earth to be reborn.

Part of my own “rebirth” was making my own evolutionary shift from that moment forward.

Lighting the Way to Wholeheartedness

Okay, back to Haiti…

As I was walking from my room back to Sophia’s room, I started seeing the storm intensify with lightning. That made me think of one particular Mayan energy, Cauac, which is symbolic for storm and lightning.

The first question was asked by F. about a message her recently deceased mother had been sending her. (I’ll keep the person and question private.) And just as she drew her card, there was a huge lightning strike that flashed in our windows. She drew Cauac.

Next, after sharing with F. the meaning of this card, it nearly floored her because of what she’s been attempting to wrestle with in her life. It hit her like a ton of bricks because Cauac energy is all about going through a storm with no turning back and pure purification on the other side.

I decided to go next instead of just holding back and waiting. If my heart was open, that also meant being vulnerable here. And that’s in alignment with what I asked guidance on with the question of “How do I fully open my heart?”

More lightning again flashed as I drew one of the glyphs.

You can probably guess which glyph I picked. Yep, Cauac too!

Mine was right side up, while F.’s was upside down, so she was working with a shadow transformation. The storm outside continued as I read aloud the sections I had underlined from previous sessions:

“Final surrender of ego into Essence and the Divine Self. Cauac beckons you to step into the fire that changes every level of your being even the underlying structures of your life…”

“Be purified by the cleansing rains and transmuting lightning of Cauac.”

Tears started welling up for me the second time that day. And what really got me was when I read, “I come to release that part of your light and power that has not been fully freed into love…Do you stand willing to surrender everything to become all that you appear not yet to be?”

Step to the Edge…

The edge I’m stepping over with my heart opening is fully merging, teaching, and sharing all aspects of who I am: the spiritual/conscious evolution/cosmic story/artistry side AND my entrepreneurial/business/marketing side.

Here’s a snippet of what I drew in my journal:

Truly being whole with who I have personally evolved into on my own journey.

And part of that is working with subtle energies through my intuition and “re-remembering.” In a private Maverick presentation on “Legendary Legacy,” I use the acronym D.A.R.E. with the R standing for “re-remembering.” That’s my wording for what we are doing here—re-remembering WHO we really are and living in a more mythic way.

Interestingly enough, the next glyph drawn was about the adventurer’s quest and living your life mythically.

Then Sophia had the final draw with a more complex set of multiple cards standing for different aspects of the situation she was asking about. Of course, there’s a very deep interconnectedness I know Sophia and I have as co-conspirators in Maverick—but this was deeply profound. It was as if her way to more joy and fulfillment was exactly what I envision fully for the people we love. (More on that soon…)

Feeling into the Uncomfort

It’s no accident that many of those amazing people we love were on the trip, including Maverick member, Chris Plough. I had wanted to show him the tool briefly, but now at the airport, it might be really weird with so many people around. Whatever. I handed them to him anyway.

After reading through the meaning of what these cards were for and feeling into it, Chris wanted to work with them. I really felt into my discomfort here. The potential for being judged here felt strong. I could feel myself tightening up. If I wanted to be open, this was another opportunity to do so.

I suggested to Chris a spread to represent the root, the trunk, and the branches of what he was discussing. Again, without mentioning the specifics, it was spot on. Like spot-spot on. The first glyph drawn, representing the roots, was Kan, which is the symbol for seed. Hmmm…

What’s more, his inquiry had to do with what he was planting (Chris’ words) and working on birthing. As I explained more about each of the symbols he held in his hands, tears filled his eyes. It was really powerful even if others were looking on and wondering what the heck was going on.

With all of this, it couldn’t be clearer to me that my intention for a full heart opening is about showing up as my whole self. I’d rather be open and really lean into every aspect of what I’ve discovered than hold pieces of myself back. And that’s something my friend, Kamal Ravikant, is helping me with.

He and I agreed to simply do one focused “Pomodoro” session each day to get even more of our own authentic messages out into the world. So when we’re done with it, we text each other a

That’s it.

It’s a little bit of fun accountability for both of us, but surprisingly, it’s enough.

While I was away in Haiti, he sent me a text asking where my tomato was. I said I was in Haiti, thinking this would get me out of it.

Here’s his perfect reply of not really buying any of it and nudging me to get my tomato done (which turned into this blog post):

Thanks, buddy!

This concept of “hiding” some parts of yourself for fear of being judged or not being taken seriously may be holding many of us back from speaking our full truth. It reminds me of Carl Jung really wrestling with his “science” and “spiritual” side. I’m a big fan of Jung’s work and the psychological concepts he developed. Something totally different is his The Red Book, published posthumously, because he didn’t believe he would be taken seriously as a therapist if he shared everything he channeled. This oversized volume is magnificent with his gorgeous illustrations and calligraphy. This channeled work actually was the period of time that led to his greatest theories and most meaningful work.

As a small homage to Jung, I commit to continue pushing myself to open up to all sides of who I am and to share more of these ideas (and my own illustrations). Stay tuned…

Sinking Ships, Mermaid tails and Lessons from the Deep with Sir Richard Branson

May 29, 2017 by Yanik Silver

I’m back from our 9th trip to Necker Island with our visionary host, Sir Richard Branson, in support of the Virgin Unite charity.

I sometimes have to truly pinch myself because I originally had written in my Life List, “Have lunch with Branson,” and now that’s turned into probably 50 lunches. Who knew? Over the years, we’ve developed a deeper bond from our shared belief that business can be the greatest lever to make a difference in the world and not taking ourselves too seriously.

Not taking ourselves too seriously was on full display as he went along with doing our Q&A in a mermaid tail that Sophia from our team beautifully set up. Yes, we went full “mermen” here…

The outfits were for the “Under the Sea” theme party celebrating an incredible project spearheaded by Maverick #61 Mike Cline and Aydika James.

It was actually an incredible “full circle” experience this year because last year Maverick members and invited guests on Necker were tasked with how to take an old WWII Navy ship and turn it into a self-sustainable impact project. Not an easy task, but we did it!

I believe the right people are in the room at the right time, and this was especially true last year. We had a last-minute cancellation, and Mike and Aydika were flexible enough to join us. As soon as Lauren Keil from Unite BVI started presenting this idea, I was so excited to see those two writing furiously. They have previous experience building Burning Man art cars, and this fit in perfectly with this project.

We took the YO-44 —one of the last five ships that survived Pearl Harbor from being scrapped for metal— and transformed her into a thriving artificial reef and adventure dive site. The project was designed to help rehabilitate heavily over-fished marine populations in ways that boost income for local dive operators and the BVI economy. And it’s a breathtaking art sculpture used as an artificial reef, providing marine science research as well as swim and marine stewardship programs for local BVI kids.

This project was featured in the NY Times, Travel & Leisure, Bloomberg, and numerous other publications for the breakthrough impact.

It was amazing to be able to have started a project last year during our week and have so many of the first donors who raised funds for this incredible project right on the spot. Mavericks Jeff Siegel, Mike Geary, John Ratliff, John Carter, Matt Curry, Tom Shieh, Steve Little, Melinda Wittstock, Jim Spano, Garrett Gunderson and Sasha Ablitt were some of the founding donors. And Mike and Aydika truly dropped everything to ensure this project became a reality. The degree of coordination and partnerships to make this happen was truly incredible. There’s a big lesson here because only an epic project like this can garner this type of support.

The ship was supposed to sink well before our week on Necker, but Mother Nature had other plans. So a few days into our trip, we braved stormy rain and wind to see the ship off. Richard joined us for this amazing three-hour-plus celebration, and as the clouds cleared, our anticipation grew. We weren’t sure how long it would take to sink the ship or if the giant Kraken sculpture would even remain upright.

At the end, when the ship finally sunk, it went down sideways, but the divers below were able to guide it safely to the bottom upright. Phew! Here’s an incredible short film documenting the build and sink.

It fit with my intention for the week. The very first day at sunrise, I wrote this in my journal after meditating.

In case you cannot read it –

TRUST

Trust the Universe has even more in store for you than you can imagine…Trust the divine timing…Trust your crazy ideas…Trust your wings will grow when you leap…Trust your nature…Trust you’ve been encoded with a Cosmic Alarm Clock…Trust the co-conspirators catalyzing your conscious evolution…Trust the perfect unfolding of your understanding…Trust your divine connection

Typically, I don’t read entries from my journal, but that’s how I started off our Growth sessions and conversation in the Temple house that first morning. I read this entry because I trusted who was in the room, the conversations we’d have, and how the experience would shape attendees in profound ways.

That always happens.

Typically, you come in with one intention, but you always leave with a breakthrough in some other way that you’d never expected. It was actually pretty amazing the type of conversations we had that really centered around conscious evolution and working with “invisible” aspects that show up in the material world later on. This would not have been the crux of the conversation several years ago.

Evolutionary Growth

I tested my own level of comfort with having a shamanic ceremony right in the Great House on the night before the full moon. I’ve realized it’s time to actually step fully into this other part of myself too and fully align and integrate that into what we’re doing to “catalyze the catalysts” and light 1,000 suns! I wasn’t sure if it would be too “weird” or not, but we had a good number of the attendees actually take part and many more who were interested in some of the shamanic work. I’ve been meditating and doing yoga regularly now for three-plus years, and it really has started paying dividends because I was in a deep meditation for about an hour and a half during this ceremony. We’ve changed the dollar sign symbol to a tree to reflect this evolutionary direction for Maverick around “growing yourself and growing your business” and not simply profits.

I see our retreats and experiences together as something that can be absolutely transformative on a deeper level.

Authentic Growth

We are pretty selective with our guests and speakers on Necker because it’s more about the conversation— but I was so excited to invite Leslie Blodgett. She’s the former CEO of Bare Minerals who recently sold the company to Shiseido for nearly $1.8B.

Everyone loved her. Leslie doesn’t normally speak at conferences, so this was a real special treat to hear from her. She came in when the company was pretty small, and part of her message to us was to never change being authentic to your brand and yourself as you grow and not to listen to the “professionals” necessarily. For instance, as she’s in the beauty industry, she railed against the “fakeness” of perfect models and instead used real women who actually loved the product.

Leslie told us people love to connect to real people. She never had any media training and actually resisted it even when they started making more and more TV appearances, infomercials, and QVC work. The ethos was a girlfriend talking to another girlfriend. And that’s the way she ran the whole company, asking, “What would you do for your friends?” For instance, one time they had a defective brush that shed hairs all over women as they put on their make-up. Instead of waiting for customers to be upset about it and return them, they preemptively sent all the buyers a new brush.

Leslie also bucked convention because she wouldn’t hire celebrity spokespeople. The whole beauty industry was “fake,” and she was going the opposite direction. She wanted that authentic zealot to be her brand advocate. And Bare Minerals was able to build an incredible group of girlfriends before we had the technology to easily do it and help spur word-of-mouth. In fact, she was so committed to the community that five minutes before the IPO, Leslie told them the news before anyone else. Once the video of Leslie’s presentation is ready, we’ll have it for you in the Maverick Members learning library.

Ocean Conservation and New Business Ideas

Our week on Necker raised $251,033.34 for Virgin Unite, putting our total at over $2.2 million throughout our partnership together.

But it’s not just about a donation. It’s about putting our brainpower and resources together to make a difference. This year we were provided another challenge to take on….

The Ocean Is Everybody’s Business – Ocean Unite

The ocean is also probably the biggest business in the world. It is the world’s seventh largest economy with a GDP equivalent to US$2.5 trillion (about 5% of global GDP). Its key assets have an overall value of more than US$24 trillion.

Life on Earth depends on a healthy, vibrant ocean. Without it, we won’t have a livable planet. It is an essential life system. Habitat destruction, biodiversity loss, overfishing, pollution, climate change, and acidification are together pushing the ocean system to a point of collapse. Yet despite this doom and gloom scenario, we live in a time with unprecedented opportunities for reversing this trajectory of decline and restoring ocean health. Because it’s not too late to solve this crisis. The ocean is amazingly resilient and could recover, but it needs each and every one of us to play a part.

Companies, business leaders, and consumers can play a huge and positive role as force multipliers for positive change to benefit the ocean. Committing to implementing a business model that is both environmentally and socially responsible, will have multiple positive effects for the planet, its people, and the global economy. The private sector is a strong and compelling voice to governments on the need to ensure protection, and it has major reach in terms of brand and consumers.

Our task: to convince the world, especially the business community, that reviving the ocean is mission critical and to get on with making this happen. Just as business leaders helped drive ambitious climate action, now we need business leadership more than ever to reverse the ocean decline and put it on a pathway to recovery.

With that set-up, our task was to create an actual for-profit Evolved Enterprise that would help companies be more profitable, tell a better story, and be more conscious of being in alignment with ocean conservation.

We broke off into teams, and everybody presented to Richard, me, and the team at Virgin Unite as judges. There were some great ideas, and the winner was a business model for an agency to come in and help provide a trust seal and consulting work to companies, helping them reduce and remove plastic from their supply chain. We have allocated startup funds from our donation to support and provide resources for a team of young entrepreneurs to drive and run this new venture. You’ll hear more about this #Blue project as it continues to develop and take shape. I’m also excited to say the other teams that didn’t win are moving ahead with two or three other projects as well, so we are getting more and more seeds planted for this important work! You can find out more at Ocean Unite’s new site – The Ocean is Everybody’s Business.

New Worlds Opening

I had another transformation this week as well. About seven or eight years ago we did a trip to Iceland and dove the Silfra Ravine, which is in between the two tectonic plates of America and Europe. I had gotten certified a week before that dive and truly jumped into the deep end because it required a dry suit, since the water was freezing cold! I wasn’t very comfortable diving and even had a bit of claustrophobia under the water in my hooded dry suit. So I wasn’t sure if I’d dive the new Art Reef or not. Plus, I had issues before with clearing my ears and equalizing.

As we dove down, I started feeling like I wouldn’t be able to do it because at 12–15 feet or so, I wasn’t equalizing. My instructor was super patient, and we just hovered and then swam around for a bit until I realized I was at the bottom of the wreck. Amazing! I was totally comfortable down there, and again I credit my meditation practice for this. It was totally in awe and had deep feelings of joy and wonder playing in and around the Kraken. It seemed so much bigger down there than on land when I had previously toured it before it sank. I can’t wait for others to enjoy this dive and see the ripple of the impact created. Being able to face this truly opened up the world under the sea for me again. It seems totally appropriate with our theme and focus during this week.

Team Necker Finally Wins

We typically end our week on Necker with the annual Patron XO invitational Beach Volleyball match of Team Necker vs. Team Maverick. We are three-time champions, and George from Team Necker had been recruiting all year to make a better showing. The game gets pretty out of hand quickly as we have a shot each time the other team gets seven points. So if you’re losing, those shots add up quickly, as they did for me.

Richard was quite pleased with Team Necker finally claiming the title on their home court, as you can see. Here’s a great pic of the celebration following their victory. Next year, I’m already planning who is coming based on volleyball skills. And as a former “professional” (technically) volleyball player, I’m going to have to enlist a few big guns.

And speaking of next year, we have dates for Necker set. This will be our 10th anniversary of supporting Virgin Unite, so we’re planning some epic surprises. If you want in, I’d expect this to fill very quickly. The dates are March 22–29, 2018.