#63 Make Your Life More EXCITING And Enjoyable

Rachel Denning (00:00.952)
Hey my friends, man, I've missed talking to you guys. I've been out on an epic adventure. We went on a backpacking trip into North Carolina and it was stunning. I had never been to North Carolina before and there's a lot of national forests and wilderness there all around Asheville and we drove along the Blue Ridge Parkway or Highway. Whoa, like jaw dropping awesomeness.

We were stopping at every lookout and oh man, it was incredible. We had perfect weather except it was really cold, like crazy cold. It was a lot colder than we anticipated, but it's nothing like a little cold to have an adventure, right? You're shivering in your sleeping bag for a few hours. Oh man, but it was awesome. There's 13 of us just had this epic ventures, great conversations and discussions, did some readings and just talked about life and how to do life really well and do it better.

and how to, you just have an adventure together in the wilderness. So if you guys haven't been out there, get out there. And if you've not done a backpacking trip or an adventure, you need to get on an adventure. Come with us. We're doing the couples trip to Thailand in February, which I'm so stoked about over Valentine's. And I realized that a year from now, we will be doing a safari in Africa and then climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.

or climbing Kilimanjaro and then doing a safari. But, big adventures coming, man. And in between that, most likely be doing China, martial arts in China, and US history tour, and other adventure, and Guatemala trip, and Mongolia again. man, I love it. Love it, love adventure. So get out. And actually that's what we're gonna talk about today, because while we're on the backpacking trip, know, there's these little things, little things you can do daily.

bigger things you can do weekly, even bigger things you can do monthly or quarterly, and then huge things you can do yearly to bring back some life to your life. You get what I'm saying? Like, we've got to have more life in our life. It's easy to slump into just kind of existing mode where we're doing the good things, right? We're checking off the boxes and we're doing good things and it's fulfilling and it's meaningful, it's special. But we start

Rachel Denning (02:30.168)
to lose the spark and the excitement to life. And you start to feel, it's interesting, you start to kind of die inside. You feel a little bit like you're atrophying from not really living. You get what saying? So if you're not waking up excited about your life, if it's been too long, too many days, too many weeks, too many months, and for some of you, too many years, since you've done something

that just lights you up. Maybe it intimidates you or scares you, like, you know, going skydiving or something or bungee jumping or public speaking or like whatever it is, going to a foreign country. Like if, if, if you're feeling kind of a lull in life, if you're feeling like it lacks, you know, a little spring in your step and a little bit of butterflies in your gut.

I think we should have butterflies on a regular basis. Don't you guys? Don't you feel like we should be doing something, gosh, least weekly, at a bare minimum, monthly, something that gives you butterflies like, whoa, what am I doing? Can I pull this off? Like, this is crazy, right? We should be doing things that just make us feel alive. So I'm gonna throw out just a whole bunch of suggestions just to spice things up.

And we can do it in little ways. So even on this backpacking trip, right, we moved to a different camp. We pushed hard, man. Burned out our legs, got a great workout in. It was awesome. Had to go into dad mode, AKA beast mode. As soon as we the trail, my 12 -year -old rolled her ankle. And I had the heaviest pack by far, because I was carrying so much gear for the whole group, right, and first aid stuff and all, just all the survival gear.

And so then she rolls her ankle and I'm like, whatever. And you know, I'll take her pack too. So I had the heaviest pack and I had her pack. So I got a killer workout in and then we were scouting out, capsites. We just couldn't find anything. So was like, I'll run ahead. And then I ended up putting a couple of mile run in at the end of a long, tough day, man. I was done in that first day. was awesome. but

Rachel Denning (04:52.075)
Then the next day we moved camp and we had some adventures, went on this cool run, the guys jumped in this ice cold water, and then we decided to play this epic, epic game of capture the flag. And we used flags and it kind of with some of the bigger boys, especially my boys, it ended up being full contact, like just all out brawl in the woods. I got this big scab across my face because I hit a big branch.

man, was, we played for a couple hours, just running full speed, like our lives depended on it. And it was so fun. The whole group was just, just having the time of our lives and creating those special memories. And, it was great. It was so good. And you guys, we can do little things like that. And then even on the way out, right, we had perfect weather and this started to rain as we were leaving and we just spread it up to the top of, it's called the Devil's Courthouse Rock. So cool.

and the view up there was stunning. was raining. We just ran that thing as fast as could up there in the rain. Just, just little things like that. They just make you feel alive and give a spark. So here's, here's some suggestions because you don't want to go through life just feeling dull or blah. In fact, for me personally, I don't want to have any section of my life that I look back on and, and that there's nothing memorable.

I'm talking about where every day just becomes the same and they all blend in together as this big unmemorable blob. Nothing stands out. Nothing fun. Nothing exciting. Now I fully realize my friends that there are times when you got to put your head down and you got to put in the work. I get it. Like there's times to build businesses and raise families

you know, pay the bills and put in the hard work to sometimes just survive, sometimes to thrive, sometimes to put in the work and you're just serving and you know, it feels like a grind. I get it. I totally get it. What I'm suggesting to you and to me is that even in the grind, there's things we can do to bring back a little bit of excitement.

Rachel Denning (07:15.447)
There's again, I'm gonna repeat this. There's little things we can do daily, bigger things we can do weekly, even bigger things we can do monthly or quarterly, and huge things we can do annually to keep ourselves alive. So let's, man, I wish we were all together where we could share this and share ideas because you're gonna have a bunch of great ideas too. And I hope you'll write them down. And even more important than writing them down, I hope you'll put them on your calendar.

Will you do that please? Will you do that for you? Will you do that for your family? Put them on your calendar. Schedule some ways to feel alive, to bring back some excitement and wonder and awe and fun and anticipation and coolness to your life. So it could be like little things. So tonight, my girls are inside making sushi. We've never made sushi before. They're making sushi. We're gonna try it out, right?

We're just doing these different meals. We bought this app that sends us different, really delicious recipes. And so literally every day, every lunch and dinner, we are having new meals we've never had before. And it is, it's just a simple thing, but it's so fun. look forward to meals because I'm like, this is something we've never had before. And they've all been like rocking awesome so far. Just healthy, good meals. So try different foods. Buy, buy

buy yourself a pair of roller blades, man. Get back, get back on the skates. Buy a skateboard, buy, get on, and you guys can get on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist or whatever. You don't have to spend a lot of money, but you can, you can do inexpensive things. You know, get yourself a bike, get back on that bike, have adventure. So for me personally, I have to have challenging adventures all the time and I need some like competitiveness. There's just something that just lights me up. So I've got to be doing something kind of crazy and adventurous.

I need something big and adventurous every quarter at a minimum. And I've got to change it up for me. And I love this. I love this about myself and I want to keep it as a part of my life. I'm not playing the victim here like, poor me, I have to have these things. I choose to feel alive. And so I'll get out and do adventures and I'll buy new gear, I'll buy new exercise equipment, I'll buy new books, new music.

Rachel Denning (09:39.499)
We go to concerts, go to a concert. You can find free ones or go to the best ones, like whatever. Don't let money be an issue and don't let the excuses come up. I just recorded a video today that I shared on Instagram TV and on YouTube about how it's so interesting, we blame our circumstances. And so maybe in your mind already you've said things, well I just don't have the money for

And I love teaching this principle because I use it myself and I love teaching is like instead of saying, I can't do that. You blame the circumstance, right? Just ask yourself just a simple question. Just ask yourself, well, how could I? That's it. How could I? And let your mind go to work and come up with options because you might be saying, well, no, I couldn't do that. I couldn't go rollerblading. I couldn't go on a hike. Couldn't plan a trip, plan an inexpensive trip somewhere. You might, well, I don't have the money. Well, how could you? How could you afford

Well, no, you know, my spouse would never go for that. I can't leave my kids. Well, how could you? Is there any way, like come up with solutions, be creative, come up with ideas, let your mind get working for you and come up with ideas. And so don't blow these off. Like how could you do these things? And a lot of us, we just kind of acquiesce our lives to a humdrum existence where we're just going through the motions. And again, we feel

Well, like one of my clients one time told me he felt like he was in a walking coma for 10 years. don't, don't, none of us wants to live that way. In fact, imagine this with me, my friends, that I'm, guys, the wind's blowing and I'm, I'm laying in my hammock out here on the lake. So I'm trying to cover up in the hammock to have good audio, but imagine like you wake up in the

You're not dreading it. You're actually excited to come back into consciousness. You're a little giddy, right? You look over and see your spouse. like, yeah. You got a little bounce. You get dressed. You go downstairs. You got a bite to eat. You're bouncing through the house. You on a little fun music. You do your reading and your morning routine with a little extra.

Rachel Denning (12:03.787)
little extra vigor, a little extra excitement. The kids get up and you're hugging them or, you know, engaging with your family and like, you know, give a hug, excitement, know, some fist bumps, high fives, dancing around, you know, you're kind of dancing and skipping through the day and you kind of got a little bit of hustle in what you're doing and even the mundane things of the dishes and the laundry and the going to work and the chores, you kind of do with a

bounce, little spring, a little skip, a little hustle, right? Because you just feel alive. Because you know, you got something to look forward to and you just did something cool. And you can, you guys, you can have that most days. I realize it's not going to be every day, but most days you can have excitement in your life. I do. And I'm not, I'm not special.

I'm not lucky, I'm strategic. And I make it a priority.

and I find ways to make it happen. And I'll even make sacrifices so that it can be a part of my life. Like things that matter to me, make a part of my life and feeling alive matters to me. Really living matters to me. If I can get to the end of a day, the end of a week, the of a month, the of a year and say, did I live? Did I live? Do I feel alive and excited?

That's good, and if I get to an end of day or week and I'm like, hey, do I feel alive? And they're like, no, no I don't. Ooh, that gets me. You can ask my wife. My kids are like, no, no, no, this is unacceptable for Greg Denning. Like, okay. And so I'll do whatever I have to do. And so it can be anything, you guys. What excites you, a sporting event?

Rachel Denning (14:11.681)
going to see a show, even watching an epic movie that just stirs your soul or whatever it is. Just do something fun. Do something playful. Dance around with your spouse, man. Do some crazy romantic

I've got some ideas that I won't share because I know my audience is bigger than just married couples. like do something spicy. Do something crazy. Do something fun. Go somewhere you've never been. And be romantic and lovey somewhere interesting. Like just come on guys have fun. Will you do it? Will you do it for me? Shoot me a message. like what are you gonna do? What are you gonna work on? What are you gonna buy a new toy? You gonna buy a

you know, like maybe you need to maybe you need to buy a motorcycle or something or a convertible or a new off -road vehicle or maybe you're gonna pick up a new sport. Get into martial arts or some kind of training. Maybe you're gonna start a new instrument. Like get into something that just is playful, fun, exciting, invigorating. Like and do this for me.

Not for me, for you. Do it for you, do it for your family, do it for your kids, do it for your grandkids, my friends!

So that you feel alive and other people look at you and go, man, they are alive. They just got the, they've got light and spark. There's just something, they look, look how, like you want people to look at you. And again, I guess I'm not, I'm not saying this so we, like our motive should never be that the opinions of other people. So don't misunderstand me

Rachel Denning (16:06.375)
Our motives should never be the opinions of other people. Our motives should be for us. But the people will notice because you're living authentically you, people will notice and they'll look and just like, look how much he's enjoying life. Look how much she is just living. Like look at her. She just looks happy and excited. Like she is seriously enjoying herself and he is enjoying himself. can, whatever he's doing in life, like you, he's enjoying it.

He's having a blast and it's gonna inspire other people to come to

So that's it my friends, that's my message to you. I don't know what it'll be for you. It's different for everybody, what lights you up. But some good wholesome thing. And make sure it is a good thing, right? Because if you pick the wrong thing, you pick something that can become a vice. You might find something that's entertaining, like, yeah, let's watch TV every night, because we love watching TV. But what happens to you and your family if you're watching TV every night?

Like, and I know this, I'm actually, I know this for, like in all the coaching I do, like I see the outcomes. Like if you pick something like that that becomes a vice or it seems fun, seems entertaining, but it's really not fulfilling and it's not really that exciting. It actually starts to drain you and it starts to kill you. It's crazy. You watch people just, they're the walking dead, man. So pick something that's good and wholesome

active and it's good for your body and your soul and your family and don't pick something that is actually becomes a big hindrance to your family or or cause you to neglect your family or neglect bigger things. So I'm not saying that it needs to be something that fits with your family vision and purpose. Ideally something you do with your family. But my friends let's enjoy life. It's not just this endurance race. It's not just something to be speaking of endurance races. That'd be something great to do. Sign up for one of those.

Rachel Denning (18:08.961)
those endurance races they do where you're in the mud and the hole, sign up for a competition, sign up for a running race or a bicycle race or an adventure race, go camping, go backpacking, just go do something fun and crazy. But get something in your life. Life is not just to be endured. It is to be enjoyed and fun and exciting and the difference is, my friends, it is not your circumstances. Don't you dare believe that because I have overcome it. If I can, anyone can.

It's a matter of choice. It's a matter of strategy. Be strategic about it. Make it happen. Make your life more enjoyable and fun and exciting because awesome is always an option. Reach upward.

Rachel Denning (19:04.589)
Hey everybody, thanks so much for listening to this episode. I hope you got a lot of value out of it and found some things that you can apply to your life right away. Hey, I'm being totally sincere when I say I live to help you live your extraordinary life. So I hope you'll reach out to me if you have any questions or let me know how I can help you in any important area of your life. And in fact, you know, this podcast is brought to you by the School of Awesome Sauce monthly coaching program. Take advantage of that, get in there.

best way to get a breakthrough to the next level so you can level up your health, your spirituality, your emotions, your mind, your relationships, your finances, business, every part of your life. Just get in there where you have a coach and a mentor, you have a supportive community to make things happen. So jump in there, take advantage of this, try it out, get in there with us and level up your life. See you on the inside. Reach upward.