The Derek Loudermilk Show

Do you want the magical ability to talk your way into whatever you want in life? What would life be like if people were excited to say YES to getting behind all your greatest ideas? Legend has is that if you kiss the 'Stone of Eloquence', otherwise known as the 'Blarney Stone' at Blarney Castle in Ireland that you will forever be able to talk your way into anything. Ten years ago I kissed the stone and have since been able to talk my way into getting whatever I want in life... Save yourself a trip to Ireland (or go anyway) with this episode. I'll take you inside the process I have used to get free luxury travel, talk my way into graduate school, bypassed the application process for every job I've ever had, lowered my rent, had massive parties thrown for me and loads more! This episode will cover my networking secrets, tools of persuasion, understanding your customer, building a platform, email testing, and getting comfortable asking for what you want! Challenges from this episode * Ask for three things that you normally never would - get used to asking and be comfortable with getting a no * Learn the stakes of your target (keeping you as a happy customer, getting the right person for the job, feeling good about themselves, etc) * Practice negotiating a better price on your rent, bill, salary, etc. * Perfect your ability to get people to respond to your emails - in three sentences tell :who you are, how they fit in and what you know about them, and your request. Testing different email headlines for response rates. * Move from email to phone or in person conversations Books from this episode: Support the Art of Adventure! This podcast is supported by listeners like you! Become a patron of the Art of Adventure on Patreon   You might also like these episodes:AOA 087 | Stephanie Burns | Unreasonable RequestsHow To Talk Your Way Into Grad SchoolAOA 114 | Be Your Own HeroAOA 059 | Millionaire Mindset: Habits For A Rich Life You will also like:The Best Art Of Adventure Podcast EpisodesAOA 050 | 50 Shades Of Adventure: The Best Ideas From The First 50 Episodes

"It's your life, It's your game, level up" - Nik Wood Today on the show is my best friend and Bali housemate, Nik Wood, creator of Life Athletics. The idea behind Life Athletics is to treat life like it is a game or a sport, and that you can train yourself in all areas, just like you can with athletics. Nik and I have been close friends for over a year, helping each other with our various entrepreneurial projects and providing good insight for each other. I wanted to bring Nik on the show because I got so much value when I went through Nik's Level Up coaching program. Nik and I have done lots of projects together, including a panel about adventure, starting an ultimate frisbee pickup game in Bali, and hosting coworking day's at our villa. I was a guest for Nik's first interview on the Life Athletics Podcast (back when I was not used to giving interviews - let's see how far we have come). This is an amazing episode where we dig deep into motivation, goals, games, and how to think about working on different areas of your life. How can we apply gameful thinking to other areas of our lives? What game are you playing in life? How will you know when you win? What are you winning at already? These are just some of the questions that Nik asks during this interview.  All these questions can help us figure out when we are reacting to the negatives in our life vs. figuring out what we want and moving towards it. On of my favorite parts comes towards the end of the episode, when Nik lays down a giant idea for all of us: Global Goals - what can we achieve as a species? So if you have an area of your life where you really want to take things up a level, this is the episode for you! What you will learn in this episode: -How we can treat our goals like a game and make them more fun -How to gain momentum with your goals -How to manage our state and experience -How to set short, medium, and long range goals -Action vs. Reaction in your life -How to acknowledge and celebrate your wins -How to connect with a way of being that leads us to take the right action every time -Understand where your motivation comes from -What are Global Goals? Quotes: "Thinking in one area is applicable in another area" - Nik Wood "Acknowledge where you are already winning to give yourself momentum" - Nik Wood "It's your life, It's your game, level up" - Nik Wood "If you see yourself as an artist, you see art everywhere" - Nik Wood "How does it feel to be your horizon self?" - Nik Wood "A lot of people don't know what game they are playing in life" - Nik Wood "Adventure is living life with a sense of wonder" - Nik Wood "Adventure makes me feel excited, alive, enthusiastic, and gleeful" - Nik Wood Continue the Adventure (Resources from this episode):Life Athletics Thanks Nik Wood! If you enjoyed this session of The Art of Adventure Podcast, let Nik know by clicking on the link below and sending him a quick shout out on Twitter:Click here to thank Nik on Twitter! Support the Art of Adventure! (Nik is a Patron - you can be too!)

"I like to take people from 'Ewww' to 'Fascinating!'" - Mary Roach Mary Roach has been a hero of mine for a long time. I was first introduced to her work when I was given Packing for Mars for christmas, back when I was looking for microbes from outer space. While I was in grad school, I was interested in the human gut microbiome, and coincidentally that's when Gulp came out - all about the Alimentary canal from your mouth to your butt. Including the latest work on fecal transplants. Besides her many bestselling books, Mary has written pieces in such publications as Vogue, GQ, The New York Times Magazine, Discover Magazine, National Geographic, Outside Magazine, and Wired. I was thinking if there might be a formula for Mary's books, which always end up bestsellers and award winners, and I realized that they mostly cover gross things that have to do with the human body. The other hallmark of her work is her quirky sense of humor. She mentions with great joy meeting a saliva scientist names Spitz. In this interview we talk about several topics from her new book Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War, which pairs really well season two of Serial. It is with great joy in the second half of the episode that I get to join Mary in brainstorming what her next book might be about! I think you will find this episode full of amazing things about keeping soldiers alive that will fascinate and disgust you, and you will be drawn to Mary's sense of curiosity and humor. What you will learn in this episode: -All about Mary's writing process -The latest in penis transplants -Why the Army has fashion designers -How Maggots are used to clean wounds -Why diarrhea is such a problem -The problem with military hearing protection -Military slang -How bomb proof vehicles work Quotes: "I like to take people from Eww to Fascinating" - Mary Roach "I've lost all sense of embarrassment when asking for explanations" - Mary Roach "Curiosity pushes away queasiness" - Mary Roach "Wedding gowns are similar to bomb suits" - Mary Roach "Adventure is stepping through a door - beyond which you don't know what is out there" - Mary Roach "Maggots are an FDA approved medical device" - Mary Roach "Scientists are interesting people in general" - Mary Roach "OMG there are 20 severed heads in this room" - Mary Roach Continue the Adventure (Resources from this episode):Mary Roach

It's been two years since I live somewhere else besides Bali. For most of the life of the Art of Adventure podcast, we have recorded from Bali. Now I'm back in the states for a few months before the next move. I learned a ton from my time in Bali, and I'd like to share some stories with you that represent my experience there. I like to think of the town where I lived, Ubud like a small liberal arts college. Everyday You see your friends at restaurants or at yoga or at the coworking spaces. There are all kinds of things to learn and groups to join and community activities. It's also somewhat different than the "real world", because everything is cheap and easy(ish) and everyone is loving and peaceful. I hope you'll join me when I head back to Bali this September for AdventureQuest! Stories in this episode: * Getting Bit by a rabid dog * Getting a flesh eating fungus from not having air conditioning during rainy season * Finding secret waterfalls, canyons, and mountains * Setting a world record climbing three volcanoes * Starting the Ultimate Frisbee Game * Voice lessons * Learning to dance * Coworking and speaking * Lots of big parties - including my birthday party and new years party for charity * Getting a free tattoo - tattoo taco tuesdays * Seeing the cremation of the King of Bali and ceremonies in general * Meeting Les Leventhal and doing yoga * Scuba diving the shipwreck and the sea cliff * Improv comedy - being a paid comedian * Talking to a magic tree * Learning to surf * Learning all kinds of yoga/hippie stuff like breathwork, cacao ceremonies, and kirtan singing * Meeting the most beautiful women * Meeting Heidi and becoming a future father Support the Art of Adventure! This podcast is supported by listeners like you! Become a patron of the Art of Adventure on Patreon You might also like these episodes:AOA 135 | What Is The Best Question To Ask On A Road Trip?AOA 114 | Be Your Own HeroAOA 059 | Millionaire Mindset: Habits For A Rich LifeOn The Road with Chris Guillebeau You will also like:The Best Art Of Adventure Podcast EpisodesAOA 050 | 50 Shades Of Adventure: The Best Ideas From The First 50 Episodes

When we have unmet expectations, we can be left with negative, lethargic feelings, and that is where the term Expectation Hangover comes from. How can we be more in touch with our feelings, expectations, superpowers, goals, and our ego so that we can manage all these components for more happiness? Speaker, coach, and author Christine Hassler is on the show today to talk about her work around beating expectation hangovers. She will teach us how to create agreements instead of expectations, look at our own dark side and repressed emotions, and exercises like 'release writing' for dealing with expectation hangovers. Besides being a premier life coach featured on The Huffington Post, Cosmo, and numerous TV channels, Christine walks her talk when it comes to handling emotions and relationships. So if you want to manage your feelings, emotions, and relationship with yourself so that you can be happier and have more time between unmet expectations, this is the episode for you! What you will learn in this episode: -What is an expectation hangover and how to deal with it -Different types of emotional hangovers -How to manage expectations -Writing techniques to release hangovers -How to feel your feelings and learn from them -How to study your ego -How to build your relationship with yourself Quotes: "Think of the qualities that come out of you while you are doing things you love - that is who you are" - Christine Hassler "Adventure is where you strengthen your courage muscle"- Christine Hassler "Create agreements instead of expectations"- Christine Hassler "Feel your feelings and be a student of your feelings"- Christine Hassler "I believe in goals pursued with high intention, low attachment"- Christine Hassler "The most important relationship you have is with yourself"- Christine Hassler Continue the Adventure (Resources from this episode):ChristineHassler.comOver it and On With it Podcast Thanks Christine Hassler! If you enjoyed this session of The Art of Adventure Podcast, let Christine know by clicking on the link below and sending her a quick shout out on Twitter:Click here to thank Christine on Twitter! Support the Art of Adventure! This podcast is supported by listeners like you! Become a patron of the Art of Adventure on Patreon You might also like these episodes:AOA 051 | Rick Hanson | Permanently Increase Your HappinessAOA 094 | Loretta Breuning, PhD | Habits Of A Happy BrainAOA 097 | Justin Stenstrom | Overcoming Anxiety And Building Confidence You will also like:

What is the best questions to ask on a road trip? The art of a good question is something I have thought a lot about over the last few years, especially since thatâ€s how I make my living. I realized when looking at the data that other people must be interested in questions too because this has become one of my most popular blog posts. The original was written four years ago and still seems to be relevant, so I wanted to expand and provide these thoughts in a audio format as well. I recently took a trip with my girlfriend and my parents through the Redwoods of Northern California – a pilgrimage of sorts. They were meeting each other for the first time – what better way to get to know each other than a road trip? First of all, you might know that California is huge, which means spending large amounts of time in the car to get where we are going. Which means a captive audience that I can grill with my questioning In podcasting, some of my favorite questions are those that cut to the core of someoneâ€s experience such as: * What didnâ€t you expect about that? What was a time you failed and what did you learn from it? How did that make you feel? Some people find this style of question challenging, but I really like to create top 5 lists like they do on late night shows or in the movie High Fidelity. That might look something like: * What are you top 5 bands? Top 5 cities you want to live in? What are your top 5 possessions that you make sure to take with you when you travel? Another fun thing to do is something I call instant trivia. It goes like this: one person is the question master and comes up with questions relating to a specific topic like geography, music, or sports.  The first person to get three questions right becomes the new question master, and the old question master gives them a new topic category.  I like this game because it allows everyone to be the expert when they are the question master and gives a lot of variety of trivia. Back when I was running Cross Country at Macalester College, we used to interview each team member at the begging of the season.  We would sit in a circle stretching before our daily run and ask all kinds of questions, some that I am still using: * If you had to lose one of your five sense, which one would it be and why? If your life was made into a movie, what genre would it be and who would play you? What is the best book you read recently? Where is your favorite place in the world? If you want even more good questions, my friend David Wood (from Art of Adventure Episodes 48and 49) has a great app called Get Real/Go Deeper. Some of my favorites from the app are: * What donâ€t you want me to know about you? If you traveled back in time to speak to your younger self, what would you tell yourself? A great questions I learned from Lewis Howes and the School Of Greatness * Describe your perfect day minute by minute? My end of episode questions: * If you could change or add one thing to the world, what would you want the world to have? * What is your definition of Adventure (or other such word)?   Here is the text of the original post (an example of what an early blog attempt looks like): Road tripping is to Americans as going on the Oregon trail is to earlier Americans.  And by that I mean we all do it – sometimes you start at midnight and drive across Nebraska in the middle ...

On the road in South Park, Colorado   What is the best questions to ask on a road trip? The art of a good question is something I have thought a lot about over the last few years, especially since that's how I make my living. I realized when looking at the data that other people must be interested in questions too because this has become one of my most popular blog posts. The original was written four years ago and still seems to be relevant, so I wanted to expand and provide these thoughts in a audio format as well. I recently took a trip with my girlfriend and my parents through the Redwoods of Northern California - a pilgrimage of sorts. They were meeting each other for the first time - what better way to get to know each other than a road trip? First of all, you might know that California is huge, which means spending large amounts of time in the car to get where we are going. Which means a captive audience that I can grill with my questioning In podcasting, some of my favorite questions are those that cut to the core of someone's experience such as: * What didn't you expect about that? What was a time you failed and what did you learn from it? How did that make you feel? Some people find this style of question challenging, but I really like to create top 5 lists like they do on late night shows or in the movie High Fidelity. That might look something like: * What are you top 5 bands? Top 5 cities you want to live in? What are your top 5 possessions that you make sure to take with you when you travel? Another fun thing to do is something I call instant trivia. It goes like this: one person is the question master and comes up with questions relating to a specific topic like geography, music, or sports.  The first person to get three questions right becomes the new question master, and the old question master gives them a new topic category.  I like this game because it allows everyone to be the expert when they are the question master and gives a lot of variety of trivia. Back when I was running Cross Country at Macalester College, we used to interview each team member at the begging of the season.  We would sit in a circle stretching before our daily run and ask all kinds of questions, some that I am still using: * If you had to lose one of your five sense, which one would it be and why? If your life was made into a movie, what genre would it be and who would play you? What is the best book you read recently? Where is your favorite place in the world? If you want even more good questions, my friend David Wood (from Art of Adventure Episodes 48 and 49) has a great app called Get Real/Go Deeper. Some of my favorites from the app are: * What don't you want me to know about you? If you traveled back in time to speak to your younger self, what would you tell yourself? A great questions I learned from Lewis Howes and the School Of Greatness * Describe your perfect day minute by minute? My end of episode questions: * If you could change or add one thing to the world, what would you want the world to have? * What is your definition of Adventure (or other such word)?   Here is the text of the original post (an example of what an early blog attempt looks like): Road tripping is to Americans as going on the Oregon trail is t...

"I love creating experiences where people can go on an adventure together" - Garrison Cohen Garrison Cohen was a recent guest on episode 119 of the Art of Adventure, talking about relationships, and now he his back to talk about events! I was visiting Garrison in San Francisco and he was telling me the story of the "Wedding Character Party" he had recently, where everyone came to the party as a stereotypical wedding character - the drunk uncle, the celebrity guest, the ring bearer, the officiant etc. Garrison has told me about other events he has thrown in the past like the awesome party, which is featured in the new book The Last Safe Investment. I had been impressed with the ease at which he threw a large American Thanksgiving party last year in Bali. While Garrison is not an event planner, I noticed that he had a lot of skill and intentionality behind the events and parties he throws that I wanted to get him on to deconstruct the skill of bringing people together in your community, or using events to meet people when you move to a new location. As always, pay close attention to how Garrison chooses his words impeccably and is full of great insights about human nature. What you will learn in this episode: -The best event theme ideas -How to craft a written event invite -The power of childhood nicknames on nametags -How to follow up with maybe responses -How to grow your community and social circle with events -Specific party theme ideas mentioned: * Celebrity Judge Cookoff * Wedding Characters Party * Rock Paper Scissors Tournament * Cocktail Contest * Parents Party * Awesomeness Party * Foreign Thanksgiving * Stylish Friends Clothing Swap * Signature Dish Cooking Party * Progressive Party * Cosmology Party Quotes: "You don't need anything other than a vision to throw a good event" - Garrison Cohen "Who are the people at your event that you enjoy the most?" - Garrison Cohen "People want something a little more creative" - Garrison Cohen "Most men in America have 1.5 close friends" - Garrison Cohen "I love creating experiences where people can go on an adventure together" - Garrison Cohen "Put a lot of thought into the experience you want people to have" - Garrison Cohen "It's joyous to leave your party and take a walk around the block"- Garrison Cohen Continue the Adventure (Resources from this episode):GarrisonCohen.comLooking For You Podcast Thanks Garrison Cohen! If you enjoyed this session of The Art of Adventure Podcast, let Garrison know by clicking on the link below and sending him a...

"When you are a traveler, you empathize with the locals"- Marcel Fernandez I'm a huge fan of what Marcela Fernandez is up to. After dropping out of several universities around the world and designing her own education, she founded On Board, a education program that lets you create your curriculum through global travel. She is also a TEDx speaker, Flow consultant, entrepreneur, and Adventurer. In this episode we dive into what you can learn through travel and some of the amazing experiences that Marcela has had around the world, including the "gift moment" - where Marcela experienced a flow state through giving her sunglasses to a young girl while traveling, and how Marcela became a coffee exporter. Make sure you listen in to the second half of the episode where Marcela breaks down the eight flow moments, and how you can achieve them, as well as what the gift economy is and how to participate. If you have ever been curious about what you can learn from world travel to enhance your education and contribution to the world, or how to achieve optimal experiences (Flow), this is the episode for you! What you will learn in this episode: -How travel can be your university -What kind of business opportunities come from curated travel -What is the gift economy and how you can participate -What are the 8 moments of flow and how you can experience them -What are some great gifts you can take when you travel -The story of Ameila Earhart and the Buddhist temple Quotes: "Find out what is your gift to the world" - Marcel Fernandez "When you are a traveler, you empathize with the locals"- Marcel Fernandez "When you travel you are %100 out of your comfort zone"- Marcel Fernandez "What would you like to learn and what would you like to teach?"- Marcel Fernandez "We become researchers of our own questions"- Marcel Fernandez "Flow is the state that makes you feel aligned with your purpose"- Marcel Fernandez "The only borders should be our own mental limitation"- Marcel Fernandez "Nature is a maximizer of adventure"- Marcel Fernandez "Adventure is having people to share your story with"- Marcel Fernandez Continue the Adventure (Resources from this episode):On Board Flow Consultant Marcela Fernandez Thanks Marcela Fernandez! If you enjoyed this session of The Art of Adventure Podcast, let Marcela know by clicking on the link below and sending her a quick shout out on Twitter:Click here to thank Marcela on Twitter Support the Art of Adventure! This podcast is supported by listeners like you! 

Tom Hunt is a real interesting character. He told me he moved to Poland so he could finally get a bunch of work done on his startup. Before that he was living like a king in Venezuela with black market currency exchange. His first venture was selling men's leggings - which I can totally get behind. When I was a speedskater, my mom used to make me neon colored tights to race in! From giving a TED talk to hosting his own podcast, Tom is all about letting people look under the hood of Virtual Valley on the way to his goal of selling it for $1 million. Virtual Valley is a curated marketplace for Virtual Assistants (VA's) so that you can hire someone in "7 clicks and 5 minutes". In this episode he will tell us how to calculate the value of our time so we know when we should be hiring someone, and how to manage our remote teams. This is a great episode for you if you are running a location independent business or need to start outsourcing some of your work because you got too busy! What you will learn in this episode: -How to prioritize and manage your return on investment -How to grow a million dollar business -How Tom survived in Venezuela while carrying around a bag full of cash -How to think about human biology for business -Tom's online marketing secrets -How to create spreadsheets for your marketing avenues and calculate where your time and money goes Quotes: "It's easy to become aware of something when you turn it into numbers" - Tom Hunt "I wanted to be an entrepreneur and not self employed"- Tom Hunt "Get your recruiting right"- Tom Hunt "People are generally not good at managing virtual assistants"- Tom Hunt "It felt like I was cheating to live in Venezuela"- Tom Hunt "Look at yourself as a system and study your inner animal"- Tom Hunt Continue the Adventure (Resources from this episode):TomHunt.ioVirtual Valley$0-4 Million Podcast Tom's Book Recommendations: Thanks Tom Hunt! If you enjoyed this session of The Art of Adventure Podcast, let Fabian know by clicking on the link below and sending him a quick shout out on Twitter:Click here to thank Tom on Twitter! Support the Art of Adventure! This podcast is supported by listeners like you! Become a patron of the Art of Adventure on Patreon You might also like these episodes:AOA 055 | Ladan Jiracek | Travel Wisdom From 80 Countries ...