This is a special episode of the Stu Murray Podcast. I have the opportunity to chat with my dear friend and business partner Dan Gillis. Dan is a creative entrepreneur, father / husband and guide for others trying to navigate their life. Dan founded Realized in 2022 to help support people in making the shift from ambition to meaning through the realization of their highest value contribution during a time when humanity needs it most.
He currently offers 1-on-1 coaching for those looking to maximize their potential. We are also in the process of creating a self-guided version of the journey that will be more accessible to people all over the world.
To learn more about the access the free resources and learn about the latest updates, sign-up at www.realized.life or email Dan at dan@realized.life
A few key topics include:
Living a life of purpose and meaning
Answering the call to adventure
The messy process of self-discovery
The benefits of working with a guide
I hope you enjoy!
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Website | https://www.realized.life
Email | dan@realized.life
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Stu Murray: Dan, we made it,
Dan Gillis: Stu, we're here. Thanks for having me on the podcast.
Stu Murray: It's been a pleasure, man. I've been looking forward to this call probably before the podcast even started. It's been in the seed form for a long time, and you know, you're a fascinating human with so much wisdom, and been looking forward to being able to share some of these gifts with the world.
Dan Gillis: Ah, well, thanks, dude, that, that means a lot. I've been following along the St. Murray podcast since the beginning, and it's exciting to be one of your guests and I just, I love what you're doing and I love what you've done, and it's awesome to be a part of it. I'm excited to share some stories today.
Yeah.
Stu Murray: And speaking of which, [00:02:00] we've been working, you know, together on this beautiful project for a while and it's, it's transformative through my own experiences, through the people that you've been working with already through just co-creating and, and diving into this stuff with you. And I, I want to be able to share the magic of that with listeners, but as we get going, before we actually dive into realized, I'm curious to hear what brought you here.
You know, what was your pathway to living a more realized life?
Dan Gillis: Well, I'd be honored to share that and I'll start by saying, Hey people, this is Dan, Dan Gillis, and as Stu mentioned, we've had an opportunity to, to hang out with your host, Stu Murray over the last year as this podcast has been taking shape.
And as a part of that, I guess what Drew Stu and I together was I've got this real passion for people and their gifts. I become sort of a [00:03:00] natural amplifier when I'm hanging out with awesome people and I see their gifts and their potential, and I get excited about helping to bring that to the.
as you'll hear more and more with me. It's, it's twofold. It's because I care so much about people and I've got this big, gigantic heart and I wanna see people succeed and do well in life. But I also know that we're living through a time when the world really is, is calling for our contributions where the world really needs us now.
So as a part of that, when I activate seeing other people's gifts, I get all excited about helping them come to fruition. And so we'll chat more and more about what realized is what realized has become for me, and the ways in which that we're sharing it with the world. But the backstory, of realize goes way, way back actually.
It's actually been something that I've been living and, and trying to figure out, Most of my life. Definitely since, you know, I was going through high [00:04:00] school and university and it became time to go get a quote unquote job. And my dad was encouraging me to go out and join corporate, corporate Canada as it were.
And I always had a huge resistance against that. So that my belief was at that time was if I went out and got a job, I'd be doing that sort of in exchange of my own personal passions. And so I had this, this knowing at a very young age that I needed to do my own thing, define my own way. I'd always been quite entrepreneurial and that was kind of my, that was my art form growing up. It would seem. So as a part of that, I've been making these sort of questionable decisions for a long time when it came to profession, and work and what I did for money. And oftentimes sort of took an approach that that didn't, that didn't always make sense to other people.
[00:05:00] So as, as a part of that, you know, and you asked Stu about the background and, and the origin, for me, I actually went out after university and I tried the status quo approach and I got a job at the radio station when I was a kid. My dad managed radio stations. He was the general manager.
And, and it was, it was cool. I, I shoveled snow, I shoveled the front steps in the mornings. But the radio station was awesome. It was, it was where creative people came, broadcasters were there, and they were broadcasting their shows out to the community. , the radio station was always involved in sponsoring Epic, you know, important events and causes that were happening.
The sales department was out selling advertising, which made the money, which made the whole thing, the whole engine turn. And I was fascinated by radio growing up. I got to experience in a way that most people don't. My [00:06:00] dad ran the station, so I would essentially go there after school and hang out and poke my head in places and get in trouble for making too much noise.
And so it, in it inspired me greatly and naturally when I came out of the university and I was persuaded that I should get a job. Radio was what was, what came to mind first for me. But with my personality, and as you can probably already tell as a storyteller who can get pretty enthusiastic about things.
as I met with the men that were hiring for the position, they're like, you'd be great in sales. You'd be a great salesman. And I sort of knew that sales was the pathway to management. And so yeah, I was like, yeah, I'll start there. And so I did the training and I was working in radio and I was selling advertising to, you know, people who, who didn't really need it.
I had to go out and try and convince people to buy radio advertising and I was the new guy. So I had to go sell radio advertising to all the [00:07:00] people who weren't currently advertising on the radio. And quite quickly, I realized that I did not have an endless energy source for selling stuff to people who didn't need , what I was selling
And within, within six months of. , you know, my first job, it became, it became clear that, that this wasn't my career path. I wasn't destined to be in radio. And I was actually hanging out with one of my childhood best friends, and it was Christmas time and we were all getting together at my mom's house, and he was asking me what I was up to and how I was doing, and I was telling him I was working at the radio station, I was selling advertising, you know, to people who didn't really need it.
He looked at me and he was like, how's that going? I was like, oh, it's, it's awful. It's awful. And I was like, what are you up to? What are [00:08:00] you doing? He's like, oh. I'm a professional downhill skateboarder. He's like, what? He's like, yeah. I'm competing in downhill skateboarding race.
across Canada and down through the us and I'm like, downhill skateboarding. He's like, yeah. He's like, you know, the leather suits, X game style, crouched down, flying down hills at like 70 kilometers an hour. He's like, I live in, I live in Cologna. I've got this beautiful girlfriend, you know, living this life of adventure.
And my childhood best friend in that moment just mirrored me. And I got to see someone who was really living their gift, living their passion, living a, a life of adventure. And quite early to me in my life that, that spoke to me. And he actually told me about this thing that he was a part of called an goza. And it was actually like a gang of longboard skateboarders that would get together and they would go [00:09:00] out and bomb hills together, they'd skateboard through the community and it was this really inclusive group of people who were getting together to teach each other and to teach others about longboard skateboarding.
And I asked him, I was like, what does on Goza mean? And he said, it's Swahili. It means moving together in the same direction. I was like, that's beautiful, man. And he was like, and this is happening across the country. There's all these people getting together through longboard skateboarding, and they're building community and they're being really supportive and inclusive of one another.
And that became the beginning for us. That inspired, I would say, from that moment forward, everything else. That I've been a part of since I ended up becoming a part of that gang on Goza. [00:10:00] But it wasn't about longboard skateboarding. It became about this documentary. It became about the story of the people that were coming together through skateboarding.
And so myself and my friend, this primary friend and, and others, we formed this group that essentially event inevitably traveled across the country documenting this, this community that was coming together. And we called it on Goza. So on Goza really became the spirit for me. It was a vehicle of community that brought people together.
And at the end of this production, This is a long story stew, but on the Stew Murray podcast. You know, there's this, we've got time for it, , we, we've got time for it, which is so rare. And I'm grateful for it. I don't think anyone's ever heard the full story. But when we were done production of this documentary, we, we were all in a, in a pretty amazing position because we'd all quit our jobs to be able to go out and do this.
Uh, [00:11:00] myself, I left sales. My friend was already a professional skateboarder, so he just, he, he stayed on that track. My other friend was an up and coming photographer who became the director of this documentary, and he got into video and film and my other friend was working at his, his dad's business, and he left his job also.
And we all essentially went out on this adventure together. And at the end of it, when it, when it finished, we were all in a position where we needed to decide. What we wanted to be next, and essentially who we had become through this, through this journey. And so for me, I actually decided to move, back home to my hometown after living in, in Montreal for a few years as we were producing this, this project. And within the first few days of being back home, I actually discovered an old warehouse in our community. I was really inspired by these old factories in Montreal and the [00:12:00] north end of Montreal. And I had had been hanging out with this really creative and artistic community that were restoring old buildings and creating really innovative and creative projects within them.
And so when I came home, I said, I wonder if there's any places like this left in, in Moncton or if a spot like this even exists. And naturally, You know, in our home, there was only a couple of, of buildings that had been, you know, preserved that weren't torn down over the years. And I ended up walking into 2 30, 2 Botsford Street. Little did I know, that it was about to become my home for what's now the next, the next 12 years.
Stu Murray: That's wild man. .
Dan Gillis: Yeah. It all started that, that night in my mom's kitchen and just, and being with a really great friend who brought me the ask, you know, the, sort of the big [00:13:00] question at that time on sort of what trajectory was I on mm-hmm. and, and where, where was my life really, really going?
And was I destined to continue to pursue my, you know, my corporate career, which. I grew up in radio. I loved it. That that would've been amazing. My dad had an incredible career, but at the end of the day that wasn't my story. And so this was an off-ramp for me that, that essentially popped up and provided an opportunity for me to change course.
And I had this opportunity to go out on this adventure, you know, with friends. And we were young. Like this was, this was our early twenties. So I made this move quite early on, in my life. But as a part of it, it was, it was a commitment to take sort of the, the non status quo, the non-traditional path.
And really ever, ever since I've been, I've been working towards figuring out how [00:14:00] to make my life sustainable. Right. If you're going to follow that sort of, that, that creative inspiration. , you know, the way of the artist almost. If you, if you will, how do you make it sustainable? You know, at this point in my life, I'm married, I'm raising kids.
I've now started the number of different businesses. And so as a part of that, you know, you have these real significant commitments mm-hmm. , that you've got to, you know, that you've, that you've made, that you want to see through. So how do you continue to live that life of inspiration while continuing to take full responsibility for the stuff that you've gotta make happen in your life?
And for me, that building that I stumbled into, I say stumbled, I wasn't, I wasn't drunk at the time, that building that I, I discovered that building that I found, it really became my teacher.[00:15:00] because I, I walked into an old, it was at the time it was, it was 97 year old hat factory, that was built by Maritime Hat and Cap.
And they built it on Botsford Street because, the city of Moncton put natural gas in down that street, which enable all these, these factories to open up and have access to inexpensive energy. And so they built this hat factory, moved 70 families from Truro to Monkton. And it was a big economic development success story.
And they ran the hot factory for 36 years. And that had essentially closed, it became a number of things, but primarily a warehouse, primarily storage for the next 60 years. And then I found it 97 years later and I fell in love with it. I made. the like, horrendous mistake of falling in love with a building which turned out to be a commercial real [00:16:00] estate project.
I did what people say you're not supposed to do, which is, you know, fall in love with it. Mm-hmm. But it was too late. It was too late. I could see its potential and it was, this, it is continues to be the 16,000 square foot, you know, hat factory. That was at the time, that was full of the, the contents of the, the previous owner.
And he bought and sold, used office furniture over the year. And this building became all the stuff that didn't sell. So quite literally 16,000 square feet, four floors from bottom to top of all the stuff that didn't sell, you know, all the office equipment. And it was full. . And when most people would walk through that, that building, what was really fascinating Stew, is that they would only ever say two things.
They'd walk through the building and they'd say, oh, my, look at the shit , [00:17:00] or, oh my goodness, look at the potential. And it was fascinating to see those, those two worldviews, those two different perspectives. And I did countless tours through this property as I was trying to inspire a community about what might be possible in this old building.
And that was essentially what, you know, people said every time, you know, look at the shit or look at the potential. And so naturally, I, I aligned with all the people that could see the potential. And then over the years we set. Towards restoring this old property first. We took, it took us two years just to clean it out and we would throw these little mini parties and markets, you know, like Christmas fairs, to pay the power bills just to get the project started.
But it became a real significant undertaking. And in the beginning, my closest mentors were [00:18:00] like, damn, you're crazy. Like, this is going to take you years just to empty. You're gonna be into your forties, your fifties before you make any money from this project. But for me, that wasn't what it was about.
I had always been this dreamy kind of follow, follow your dreams, discover your destiny, kind of, kind of kid growing up. And I needed a huge. Blast of reality to bring me down, to bring me down to earth. And this, this building was the project that, that did that. And over the years of, of really working towards trying to figure it out and to get it moving and to get tenants in there and to do all the renovations that it required, I learned, I think my most important lessons.
And you know, Stu, I'd be happy to share more and more about [00:19:00] what those were. But I essentially was given this experience that once I really committed to it, I was taught all the things I needed to learn about how to make the things that were important in my life a reality.
Stu Murray: Hmm. Wow. That's one crazy journey, man.
And you know, we're just scratching the surface in all of it. But the first thing that comes up for me there is it's like we have to choose our own discomfort because we can choose to live a life on autopilot that's programmed for us, that we can go about and kind of find the best within a mediocre pool, but live with some kind of existential longing for something more.
And on the other side, there's that hall to adventure where it's, okay, I gotta get out my gear to go bushwhack, and now there's nobody who I can ditch my responsibility on or that I can turn to necessarily. I can, I can have guides out there, but mm-hmm. , I'm [00:20:00] in charge of my life. And obviously you took that latter road and decided to choose the discomfort of navigating that path that was yours and yours alone which is courageous , to say the least.
Dan Gillis: Yeah, it was, I, I was act, I was actually contemplating that, right? Just this morning I was like, we, we, we discover these paths in life and we choose to follow these paths, which are paths that other people have gone down before. And what I was reflecting on, I was like, how much of that have I done versus, you know, gone, just gone into it and just started bushwhacking to try and find my own way and that word discomfort stew.
I wouldn't have personally used that word then because I was actually introduced to, I don't talk about this often, but I was actually introduced by an ex-girlfriend and she introduced me to [00:21:00] the law of attraction, which was all about coming into alignment, vibrational, and like go with what feels good.
And so as a part of that I was like, you know, go with what feels good. This, this doesn't feel good at all. You know, my early days when I was in this building, like I was like, this does not feel like flow. You know, , this doesn't feel aligned. But I'm here and I keep, I keep showing up. And so I got to kind of experience between that whole, that experience of you know, what feels supported, what feels like hard work, what feels like the grind.
And I really got to find my own sweet spot with within that where, whereas now when I look back on those days, It's like [00:22:00] if I, if I didn't show up during the super uncomfortable moments and continue to see the project through, it wouldn't exist today in the way that it does, and it's become something beautiful.
And I wouldn't have learned really the lessons I believe, that I really needed to learn. So there was some really awful days back then over those, over those 12 years, particularly in the beginning, we had this really old roof on the building and an old elevator shaft. And what, when it would rain, the rain would actually pool and pour down the inside of the building, along the elevator shaft.
Hmm. So when it rained outside, it also rained inside . I was into this project far enough now that I had already bought it. We, the previous owner held a mortgage for us, so he was our, he was our [00:23:00] bank. We had a monthly commitment where we had to pay $1,200, just, you know, just to keep the interest rolling.
And we had an, a power bill and an internet bill, like the reality of the cost of getting this project going, we're starting to sink in. And then when it would rain inside, I was like, fuck. What are we gonna do? Like, I have, I'm 27, I have no money. Like, how do I, we even begin to imagine like replacing the roof, patching the roof.
You know the replacement of the roof now in, in the, just in the context of the project didn't actually happen for 10 years. It happened 10 years after that moment, but, Way back then when it was raining inside it, that was actually like the day I found realized for me. And it became this like, internal word.[00:24:00]
You know, something I said to myself when I was in those moments and things were at their worst, the most uncomfortable, and I was moving the buckets around to catch the waterfall inside the building. And I actually settled in to a place inside of me where I could truly feel that this problem, this challenge, one day we were going to be past it.
Hmm. And I would just continue to settle into that spot and I could feel it. I could feel that spot of potential impossibility where I was like, there has to be a way. And I didn't get crazy busy to try and figure it out. I was already busy, you know, catching the water that was pouring down inside the building.
But I was able to come to this place where I actually believed [00:25:00] that there was a way forward and I needed to come back. Throughout that project, I needed to come back to that place. Often I ended up code naming that realized so that any time that I settled into that feeling, I would call it realized. And then after a while I could just sort of close my eyes, contemplate that for a moment, say realize, be able to feel it, and then have this kind of reassurance that in time everything was gonna be.
Right. So that's, that's actually when I invented that for myself, was through those super uncomfortable moments so that I could still be there and still be present within whatever the current state, whatever that reality was. But I actually had something that got me through it. And to this day, I believe that it's my connection to that, right?
Whatever that is, it's my connection to that that continues to guide me forward [00:26:00] now into the life that I'm living today. You know, still to this moment.
Stu Murray: Wow, Dan, it's so beautiful and it's very apparent, even just being in the building, being in this space, which I have the privilege to go to often, just to see the energy, the intention, the love, the care that was put in is, is very apparent and it's felt within the energy of the building.
And as you're speaking, what comes up for me there is that you've, in questioning where you've wanted to go, and in really sitting with that and allowing that to guide you, it's almost become like this choiceless choice. Mm-hmm. And that distinct difference between pursuing happiness versus pursuing joy or meaning.
Right. All of a sudden, you know, happiness or comfort are these fleeting states of being, but there's something beyond a fleeting state that we can [00:27:00] turn to as, as something that can pull us forward into this. And as opening into that, it's like, okay, I'm willing to bear the stress that sleepless night, all of these things, like you were birthing something beautiful into the world.
And you know, a perfect analogy is a mother's love for the child, right? It's that choiceless choice. There's no other choice. And so when you've got that spark, you've got that pull, you've got that passion, well then it's worth all of these hurdles. It's worth all of that discomfort to be able to continue to push forward.
Dan Gillis: Yes. Stu, as you're, as you're saying those words, I can hear my children in the distance downstairs screaming and fighting and the dogs are barking, they're running around, I choose to work from home so I can be closer to them, but that's the, that's the, the chaos. And so I wouldn't call it the, for me, the pursuit of happiness. But there's definitely been a [00:28:00] pursuit of connection. Mm-hmm. , you know, of being close to, you know, my family now being close to the building. for me, it's that, it's the connection and consistently coming back to it over and over and over, and continuing to show up and being within it, in presence, sort of in that spot with that spark in our eyes.
That truly creates the space for that potential and possibility to land in time. Right. And so I believe that's what I've been practicing. And now as a part of it, and thank you for what you've said and you shared about the building, the, the space that we've been a part of creating.
And I say we, cuz it's, it has now involved hundreds of people. The building is called Botsford Station. And, and now, you know, over those 12 years there's been all these projects and [00:29:00] people and their businesses and their creations that have established themselves within this Old Hat factory. And it's become a real community. It's more like a, feels more like a beehive when you're in there. There's all this activity, there's all these, these, these people and by the organizations that are really quite, quite honestly cross pollinating. Hmm. And it's really been made possible through partnership and everybody that's come in has really contributed their part and they've taken on responsibility for a, you know, a section of the building and then it's theirs.
You know, they own it, they rock it, they do their thing. And, we've just been, intentional over the years of stewarding in the right connections, the right people at the right time, and then supporting them to get established. And so over those 12 years, I, I had to be convinced by one of my best friends that it was a commercial real estate project, [00:30:00] and he had to take me for a long walk in the woods.
And, you know, as I was like, pry, what is this? You know, is it a community? Is it, and he's like, Dan, it's a commercial real estate project. I was like, how do we make money? He's like, you charge rent. . . Right? So that's really how, how far we've come. But now it is both a commercial real estate building and an ecosystem. And so now when you're, you wouldn't tell from, from the outside that the of the building still looks a bit abandoned from the outside. But when you're in, you can really, feel the presence. You can feel the energy, you can really feel that sense of community. And it's been made possible by, by so many people.
So as a part of that, the building has really become the metaphor I think for my life for, for the work now that we're doing it realized the building was where we, where we got to experience [00:31:00] hands-on and to really learn from, you know, being inside such a, Such a big project that was so far beyond the scope of what I would've been able to do personally.
It really did need a whole, you know, network of, of people to see it through, to fruition the place that it, that it is today. And it was that, it was the moment when I paused and really reflected on so that what I, what I had truly taken away from the whole experience that I started to gain a little more confidence that, you know, this wasn't about just restoring an old a hundred year old building. This wasn't about just helping tenants get established and, you know, connected, collecting monthly rent checks for everyone. that's been a part of the, the project, right, which we call [00:32:00] Botsford Station, the building. They've really been on a journey of self-discovery. I truly believe that for everybody that has come through and participated in the project, that there is something unique within it all for them to take away from the experience. A gift if you, if you will. And it's, once I recognized so that fully the gift that I had received, and that I started gaining more and more confidence to share that with people as, as people were naturally starting to gravitate towards me. Cuz I've got this real spark. Like when I'm with people, I light up.
and I can sort of speak and go on and on, you know, like this endlessly all day long about potential impossibility and seeing things through mm-hmm. , that is my jam. And [00:33:00] then, so when I meet people generally, you know, they're moving through the adversity and the obstacles, the challenges of, you know, of that day.
So generally people come in and they're, you know, feeling kind of heavy. And then when they're in that presence and we're hanging out and we're building enthusiasm, generally people build up to this point where they're starting to get excited about, you know, their own potential and possibility.
And I believe the gift that I've received is that through experiencing this, I'm able to truly connect with people in a way that helps them believe. , that that potential impossibility is possible for them too. Mm-hmm. And so now I spend my days hanging out with amazing people who gravitate towards me because they know that there's something else for them. They've got this sense of [00:34:00] there's got to be another, another way. Mm-hmm. . But we're living in quite a challenging time. Not to say that it's like suppressing people, but we're living in a, a challenging time. And where the fear, the stress, the anxiety, the pressure is so high that if it was hard before to kind of break through and to find your way, I think it's a lot harder now.
Mm. And yeah, that being said, but there's also never been such an important time for people to be activating, turning on and stepping out into the world to make their true contribution. Hmm. Whatever that is. So I'm playing with those energies, you know, my gift is [00:35:00] emerging at a time like it's coming out and we're beginning to share it with the world more and more at the time when things have become quite intense.
Stu Murray: Yeah, totally. And you know, there, there's so much support that's needed to get out there and we can walk our own path, but we can have the guides, we can have the mentors without pedestal, anybody without putting anything up. And we're making our way into. Where you got with realized, and I just wanna touch on what you were just talking about with it's so, I just find it so fascinating, Dan, that when we're in something and we're just so caught up in the fray, or, or yeah.
In thing that sometimes, you know, being these rational creatures that we are and just so much in our heads that we wanna plan out all of the different paths and set all the goals and five [00:36:00] years, three years, one year, three months, and then break that all down. And I think there's something to be said for that, but sometimes when we get caught up so much in the doing of all of these things and trying to use a brain to direct the flow of life.
We can get inundated with choices and overload and trying to balance that with putting food on our plate and caring for our families and doing all these things and making something work in our minds can be very, very challenging. And even if we think we got it, life will come along and just uproot us and flip us down a barrel like in, in a barrel, down a waterfall like , it will be just sense spinning.
And, as I was listening to you, the image that came up is like walking down a trail and seeing infinite possibilities, infinite pathways, but taking a stop in that moment and taking a deep breath. And while there's infinite pathways ahead, if we just take that time to [00:37:00] stop and look around, we'll realize that there's only been one path.
Hmm. and that's the path that we've been walking and so when we can take that pause to get out of the head and into the heart and live more intentionally as you had done when you committed to being with that building, there was something bigger than your head making that decision because there was thousands of reasons why you shouldn't do that.
But yet something called you forward. Yeah. And something brought you, and obviously all of that has led exactly to where you are exactly to where we are in this moment. And I'm curious, you know, as you've shared so much of that story leading up to that, like where has this shift come to bring such a crystallization, such a clarity around exactly what you're doing right now with realized
Dan Gillis: It's an amazing, amazing question. There's so much there. And one, one of the things throughout the whole, just to keep it really. [00:38:00] Tangible based on all that stew. For me, it was big to navigate through the right path, wrong path. I would often, you know, as my journey didn't make sense, I would often ask myself, am I on the wrong path?
Am I heading in the wrong direction? Right. This concept of right path, wrong path. How do I know if I'm on the right path? Am I on the, and somewhere along the line, I heard, this amazing wisdom where it's like there's no wrong path. There's no right path. There's just the path.
Right? And it's more about where you are. and how you're choosing to see it, the state of presence that you're in, because as you mentioned, there's like unlimited potential and different possibilities in terms of where you can go with your life. There's also inevitable, like endless adversity and obstacles.
And so [00:39:00] for me, what's become quite important is that we're not getting too judgey on the like, is this the wrong path? Is this the right path? Is this the head? Is this the heart? Right? There's all these different tools and resources that we've got access to help us navigate the journey.
But even with the head alone, so many people are like, oh, I'm too in my head and I've gotta get more into my, I have to be more embodied. I'm like, you've got a wonderful mind. You know, a left super logical brain that loves to plan things out and is super systematic and a right creative, more feminine side of your whole being, presence and, and you know, guests that you get to bring.
And so for me I access my creative right brain all the time, right? So in that moment, it's a part of it is how are we responding to the challenges that [00:40:00] we are receiving? And so much of it is we receive all of these challenges throughout other days that are triggering, right?
So we receive a challenge to our sense of security, and right now that tends to show up as financial stress for so many of us. We'll get an email from. You know, the mobility company that we've got a bill to pay and we're like, oh, that's more expensive than I thought it was gonna be. How much data did I use this month?
you know, those bastards. And then you're going through this process of trigger and my sense of security is being sort of, in this moment is activated. And then from there it's like, okay, well where am I coming from? Right? And again, am I suppressing something in this moment where I'm like, Hey, I don't want to be looking at this.
I don't want to be, hmm, this is uncomfortable. Or are we [00:41:00] choosing to include it? And so I'm really interested in the information that presents itself as we're out in our life, as we're out on that path. To use that example again, because that information that presents itself helps us inform kind of where we're at.
And so in all the triggering moments, whether it's financial security or your kids or in your relationship or conflict at work, it's these triggers show up. And if we're responding to them, like quote unquote negatively in that moment, then they represent some sort of learning or some sort of growth opportunity for us.
And so I think the most important thing for me, Stu, has been to move through it all with eyes wide open, to move through it all with an open mind. Which includes being open to the triggers, it means being open to the adversity and obstacles. It's because when I've really integrated them, when I've included them as a part of the [00:42:00] process,
That's generally when my path continues to be supported, when I continue to get moved forward. And it's often when I go into the kind of resistance, the denial, and, oh, I don't wanna look at that right now. That tends to slow me down. Just two weeks ago I had a big financial, you know, thing come up that was just like a big bill and it wasn't clear like how we were gonna solve it.
And one of my tendencies is first and foremost, I carry a law of that sense of responsibility on my own shoulders. Mm-hmm. . So I spent about 10 days on my own, just in my own head, contemplating this like, woo, what are we gonna do? Right? Like, this is big and I know that the money is coming, right?
I can see it, but that money that's coming is like kind of like February and. , it would be great to pay this thing now. [00:43:00] And so I was really like, the Lego pieces did not fit together. there, you know, it's like we had, like, one was Connects and one was Lego and I was trying to jam these two things together.
And then I did the thing that I ideally would've been useful to do many days before I went to talk to my wife, who's my closest ally and partner who I met through the building, which is by far the like wildest and most amazing gift that I've received throughout this entire journey.
And she was like, oh, have you talked to that guy? Right? Who's one of my like business partners? You know, like I'm sure he could chip in and it could buy us a month, . And I was like, you're right. . I talked to him and he was like, yeah, for sure a hundred percent. What do we need to do?
No problem. I'll take care of it. Done. And like within an hour this thing was [00:44:00] taken care of. But it was something that I had personally wrestled with for about 10 days and was like, you know, I was losing some sleep over it. Hmm. So it's an, it's an example of like how, of how we process the information as it comes to us.
And for me with realize the approach that I'm taking is it's just to include as much of it as possible to really acknowledge, to look at it, whatever it is that's coming in, coming to you to look at it as clearly as you can and to really be open for asking for support.
You know when you need it. Hmm. .
Stu Murray: Hmm. Yeah. That's a phenomenal example and I think it points to the why of realized. And I'd love to hear you talk a little bit even more about, you know, this obviously realize is being birthed for a reason. And so, like, what is it? Why is it [00:45:00] so timely? Why is it so important to be able to have this kind of guidance system, this kind of way to, to move us forward at
Dan Gillis: this very time?
Yeah. A hundred percent st. And so now realize beyond just meeting my personal philosophy on, you know, rainy days, realize has now become. an offering. It started as my offering, which is now expanding out to a team. It's become the offering that we're now sharing with the world that is really helping people to reorientate how they're approaching life.
So for right now, so many of us, within this challenging time within the fear and pressure and sort of collective unease that we're experiencing, realized his approach to this helping people integrate work. And life, what's most important to them, their closest relationships. [00:46:00] Integrate all of those into an, in a way where people can get really clear as to what's most important for them at this stage of their life.
Why they're truly doing the work that they're doing, what they're creating and sharing with the world. So what is it? What is your highest value contribution? How are you explaining that to people who needs you? Right? We're helping people identify that and to really identify that for themselves while helping us get a clear sense of how we're measuring our impact, redefining what success means for us at this stage of our life.
So when we say what's most important, okay, financial's there, it's on the list, but how much time are you taking back? , how much time are you able to dedicate to your most important relationships? How much time are you able to dedicate to the causes that are most important for you? [00:47:00] How much time do you have to date and play and be yourself in the world?
We're using these primary themes to create a new approach. And it's the approach that I've taken personally. But what's really interesting about the realized process is everybody gets to personalize it and make it their own. So we've created some tools that we use primarily we've created something that we call the Compass, which we're quite passionate about.
We've taken the tool that we're all familiar with, and we've retooled that in a way to represent the four directions for you in your life. And that's actually the thing that we provide out to the world at no charge. That's the thing that we give away for free. And the Compass is the primary tool that helps people essentially find their sense of direction.
And so now realize has become this, it's [00:48:00] become this organization. It's become this new team of people. I'm doing one-on-one work with individuals now, like across Canada and into the States, which is amazing. And throughout the pandemic, we all got into creating our home offices, our little studios which has allowed me to connect with more and more people.
And it's primarily been the work that I've been doing with individuals who would come through the building over the years. But now as my gift is matured, I'm in a position where I can be sharing it with more and more people. And in the beginning, I've always gravitated towards entrepreneurs and I've always gravitated towards startups, startup CEOs and people who were entrepreneurial, preneur minded, and creating things and bring them to the world.
And my wife, this amazing partner, once again, she was like, who do you find, you know, when you're speaking at events, who do you find leans forward the most and is most engaged? [00:49:00] I was like, well, actually it's professionals. It's you know, physicians, it's CEOs, it's presidents. And at this, at that time, I had the real, I had adult, let's call it the imposter syndrome, around really questioning my own, sort of the worthiness, my own value in and around sharing these gifts.
And I was like, no, no. I'm like, I'm qualified to work with young entrepreneurs, and over the last couple years I've been working with presidents and CEOs and. And people who are really experiencing these gifts, in an awesome way. But to summarize it, Stu, and just to shorten it up, re realized is really helping individuals make the shift from ambition to meaning.
It's helping people who are feeling lost and overwhelmed and in unease whatever level of success that you're at this stage of your life, it's really helping those individuals find a sense of clarity. Our individual, our hero, if you will, the person that we're working with,[00:50:00] they tend to really resonate with the spirit of the explorer.
And that's people who are not settling for the status quo. It's people who are open and seeking an alternative path to work and life and relationships and health. It's people who are willing to step into that discomfort that we discussed a while back, and people who are ready to commit to a process that really has the potential to transform the way that you experience and live your life.
And so that's what realized is encapsulated now realize is encapsulated by that. And we're on a mission to really, to make these, this approach and these tools as widely accessible as we can. I've done a tremendous amount of personal and professional development work in courses over the years.
I grew up with [00:51:00] my radio station dad, who was exposed me to some really awesome stuff when I was like eight years old. He handed me like the cassettes, Brian Tracy, the Universal Laws for Success and Achievement. And so I've been, I've always been a bit of a geek for this staff, but all of the personal and development courses that I've taken over the years have been extremely expensive.
Generally in the range of five to $6,000 a program and they represent a certain approach. That approach is primarily western I'll say it's goal oriented so that there's like a destination in mind. It's been, they've been influenced strongly by the American dream, like the western dreams of the big house and car and cottage at the beach, and the six figure income and the partner of your dreams. And so as a part of that, with realized I wanted to [00:52:00] reimagine, a new approach to even all that. And so there's some really useful tools. that we've been inspired by. But we're really on a mission to take the best of these teachings and to make them accessible to people, to all people, mm-hmm.
in a new way.
Stu Murray: Yeah, man I agree and I've been seeing it and it's amazing the different pathways and possibilities even within realize that people can engage with. And we will touch on the different options and the different opportunities that are currently available, and then the ones that will be made available.
But before we get there, let's even dive in and talk about the, how the details of the compass and this free gift, because both of us individually, even as we're working on it, are trialing and troubleshooting and going through all of this. And I'm having, I'm experiencing some profound clarity and some vague insights [00:53:00] already.
And so let's talk a little bit for listeners and. and unpack what the compass
Dan Gillis: actually is. That's, that sounds awesome. I'm hung up a little bit on the how stew, because like, just before stepping into the Compass, one of the, one of the things that, that I find now, right? Is we're living in endless choice.
There's no, there's certainly no shortage of amazing books. There's no shortage of programs or courses or gurus that you can go find and follow. But as we were starting out, in starting to package up this work, one of the main things that we found through the people that we had an opportunity to connect and work with was that people are really struggling to integrate new teachings, new information into their lives.
So as I'm connecting with. With individuals and we're doing a call and I'll be talking about the concept and they'll say, oh, that sounds, we're talking about their your Fuck yes or your fuck [00:54:00] no. And they'll be like, oh, that sounds like Essentialism. I'm like, yeah, exactly. Like, isn't that an amazing book?
They're like, yeah, I have it right here. You know, on their bookshelf. They'll take it off essentialism off the shelf and show it to me. And I'm being like, amazing. When did you read it? They'll be like, oh, like, I haven't read it. I just, I bought the book when I was experiencing the need.
I did the Google search and here's Essentialism and here's Atomic Habits and here's the four hour work week, and here's good to Great. And here's all the EMyth, you know, all these amazing books. And the book represents a concept and represents a set of teachings. , but the idea is how do you put these teachings in practice?
And so as a part of it, when we were creating the compass and we were creating, realized, we've been less focused on kinda what the methodology is but more focused on the tangible application for the [00:55:00] information. So how people could actually integrate it into their lives. Because so much of that shift is a shift of awareness.
It's a shift of perspective. It's a shift of how you're showing up. And that's why, you know, and you've influenced this greatly, Stu cuz I go off on big ideas and Stu says, well how do you do that? And ask the best questions that takes me deep into the practical application.
So as a part of that, we've created the compass and it's the first tool that we are sharing out with the world. The compass is followed by many things, but the idea is if we're in a state right now and our day-to-day reality and in society that we're feeling lost in the overwhelm, lost in the chaos of the world that we're living in right now as we're transitioning through, you know, a [00:56:00] great change. If we're feeling lost, then we have an opportunity to come back to our bearings, to come back to our true orientation. So as a part of that, we wanted to identify the elements that spoke to that orientation. And so the compass, as we know it, is represented by Northeast, south and West. , and this was inspired greatly by the native traditions and the medicine wheel.
And the medicine wheel from east, southwest, north represents the east, our physical being, our mental being, our emotional being, and then our spiritual being. So as a part of that, we allowed the medicine wheel to influence the compass, and to say that we can establish a meaning for each of these four directions.
And so at the North, the first direction is purpose and meaning. [00:57:00] And we often hear, start with why. Figure out your purpose and the rest of your life will just magically come together. And I can quite honestly say that it took me a long time. to discover my purpose. And my purpose to this day is still expanding, evolving.
I'm continuing to drive a sense of, derive a sense of meaning from life. But I personally wouldn't say I started there. Hmm. I think through living life, I've had an opportunity to experience a law, the purpose and meaning. And then in time I was able to name it, and I'll come back to it more, more in a second. But North still represented by purpose and meaning. And then next we go over to, you know, our compass actually goes over to West, where West would be. And that's [00:58:00] symbolized by Contribu. It's the energy of creativity. It's that entrepreneurial spirit that says, Hey, what are you called to create right now?
What are you called to contribute? Some like to say, how are you called to be of service? But what is it at this stage of your life that you truly have the energy for? You have the interest in. When are you gravitating towards, who are you called to like support? And we work with people on getting really clear on that so that we're open and honest about what we're doing now, right?
From a true, like genuine, this is what I'm up to. And so for some people that could be, they could be launching a business or they could be writing a book or launching a podcast or they could be doing something totally different. As we go into calls. One of the people that I [00:59:00] had an opportunity to work with when he was coming in, he's like, man, the next most logical thing for me is to expand the business, right? I'm at this stage of success. The next most logical thing for me is to do this. I'm a successful realtor actually, and the next thing would be for me to open my own real estate brokerage. And I was like, cool, that's the next, in his words, the next, next most logical step. And then as we started to get to know one another more and more, and I'm interviewing him as to what's like actually most important to him, he was like, he's like, I'm craving adventure.
I am bored. He's like, I wanna get my scuba diving license, and I da da, you know, I wanna book this trip. And then as we got down to it, he looked at me, he's like, I wanna start a family.
I'm like, you're ready. He's like, Dan, like, I'm ready. I wanna be a dad. [01:00:00] And so he went from, I'm creating a real estate brokerage to, I'm creating a family. He went home and had a conversation with his wife and the two of them made some big decisions and within a month they were expecting a child who was just born a couple weeks ago, actually
And so for me, I become quite passionate about whether you creating, right. Is that a family, is that a business, is that a course? That's your call. But getting really clear on what you're called to create right now is powerful when you can bring that into alignment with where you're really at in your life.
On the other side of that, is, and this is my favorite part by the way, because what are we creating is the other side is we call impact, which is how are you measuring quote unquote [01:01:00] success, right? I referred to this earlier, but over here, if you are creating a new business, then you are managing revenue.
If you're creating a new business that isn't depleting all of your time so that you can still be present at home with your family, then you're creating a business that's measuring revenue and your time at home with your family, right? If you're creating a over here, you know, time at home with family and experiences for your kids, then it's revenue time and the experiences that we're doing.
right? So these two match one another, but we get really clear on how we're measuring success so that we include, again, we include all of the elements, all of the KPIs that are most important to you so that we don't get derailed in thinking that success is only represented by financial success.
There's a lot of [01:02:00] different types of freedom, and we work with people to get really clear on what they're really hoping to achieve, what they're really hoping to create in their life. So those two mirror each other in a real powerful way. And then we go through that experience with people. Oftentimes what they're measuring and how they, gauge success personally influences what they choose to create and vice versa.
The last direction, the fourth direction we call support. and support back to my story with my amazing wife. Support recognizes all the people and the relationships that are a part of our life that are central. And we have a whole direction dedicated to your relationship with those people and your friends, your family, but also your relationship with yourself.
And that's where we integrate health, your approach, what you're doing for you, [01:03:00] right? Your energy, your vitality. And this one's really important. This sort of represents, you know, of this. It's for us realized as a diamond and the fourth direction at the bottom represents home plate, if you will, that sense of home.
Home within our family's home, within ourselves. But this one's important because so many people, Coming into our process, oftentimes the discussions are about money and they think it's about money. If only I had more money than I've had left. And not that's not true, but it's just, it's not complete.
And so generally we move from a conversation about money to having a good look at people's calendars and how they're living their lives and each day. And we see just how busy people are. Jampacked calendars do, do, do book to the 15 minutes, no time, no time to even breathe, but no time for them. No time for the relationships.
You [01:04:00] know, date night's not there. Your time with your kids isn't there. And so then this amazing conversation about time and starting to free up time by identifying the non-essentials or the fuck no, the thing that you can let go of to create space for more potential and possibility to land in your life.
Then once we do that, and this is the big secret with realize, first we think it's about money, then we think it's about time. Then once we get our time back and start taking care of ourselves more and more, what we get back is our energy. We get back our vitality and then, so from there we get to fill our reserves.
Then we get to go back into, you know, fired up. Dan gets to go back into that available time, gets to think and contemplate about what I truly want to be doing next, what's really most important to me, back to my compass. And then I go out and I make [01:05:00] this contribution to the community, to the world, to the market.
And that new contribution from this new state, generates the money, time, and impact. Along with purpose and meaning that they're so important to me based on what I established in my compass. So that's how that's how the compass works. And we guide people through, essentially filling that in.
We guide people through, a whole set of questions that help establish and find that clarity. And once you know, you know, and it's a, it's, you can choose to honor that or you can choose to continue going back into the status quo. But for me, in my experience once that sense of awareness is activated, people generally begin to start approaching their life in a different,
Stu Murray: Totally. I've seen it happen with [01:06:00] you, with me, with others, already and even in my relationships. Just testing some of these things out is amazing. When we can have some of that clarity that comes, not even just generated from the mind, but when the mind and that the heart, you know, the left brain, the right brain, are working together and just getting really clear, really rooted to know that it's like, okay, I gotta come back to the choiceless choice.
I've gotta come back. And I might not know what that looks like, even 10 steps down the road, but whether that's starting just by clearing my schedule out and making some time, or looking at where I'm spending my money in places that I thought might be fulfilling me, but really I, do I need that? Tesla? Do I need these things?
Or is it really longing for that deeper connection with my child, right? Mm-hmm. . So all of these things, just that magic pivot that you and I every time you're working with people, you come back with these deep nuggets of wisdom, these insights that these aha moments where somebody's just [01:07:00] like, I get it, right?
Yeah. And then all of a sudden that shift starts to change. And so there's something in the magic, even just helping people. And that's the free offering, right? That's the free offering is to be able to just get clearer on what's guiding us, get clearer on where we're at, where we want to go, who comes with us, what's the kind of legacy and impact I wanna leave?
How do I want to go about doing that? And what's that north star of meaning as an individual that what am I working towards? What's self-actualization looking like for me as this pathway? And like all of that together just brings so much magic and. Not being driven. You know, I can speak to that myself.
I'm somebody that's o often driven by my incessant, neurotic thoughts that pull me forward, and it's helped me achieve many things. But there's something sometimes u underneath that, that I'm just craving for more of the beingness, [01:08:00] more for the being here within it all. Mm-hmm. and getting really clear through that.
Compass is the start of that. Then there's the magic of being guided through it and how to actualize it and live it and strip away and that deeper work in working with a guide. But the compass alone for me, is a profound tool.
Dan Gillis: It has been really significant. And just to add in that word magic resonates with me because this idea is when you get clear on these elements, you get really clear on your four directions. So let's say you do start to experience life in a new way, but let's say it comes from now you're more aware of what parts of life are central or what's most important to you right now? You've been through that exercise, so you're quite quickly able to identify like what's in and what's not in, and then identify if there's something detracting you from what's most important.
So I'm even on a bit [01:09:00] of a kick of like, what does magic mean? Well, hey, that's clarity and that's raising awareness. And from that state of like awareness, if we can learn to trust, look, oh, hey, I know what's most important to me. I've been through the process of figuring it out. I can trust that I'm in the right place right now. I'm not worried about not being, you know, somewhere I'm not, I'm here. One of the main things that, that we experience quite often is fomo. The fear of missing out and this whole like divided kind of frantic energy.
If only I could clone myself, people would say if I could be in two places at one time or 10 places at one time. We hear that often, but it's a bit more hardcore than that as we dive into it with people, fomo a bit surface level and what we're actually experiencing is that, a deeper sense of that is that the fear is actually that people are missing their lives.[01:10:00]
Mm-hmm. , and we really get down to it because they actually truly know that they are missing a lot of life's most important moments and they're making this trade or compromise to be outta town on a business trip, and they're missing the hockey games, right? So that's sort of stuff is happening all the time.
But with the people that we're working with it's not just a fear of missing out. It's a no, they're missing out. But that comes back to what's informing the choices that you're making? What sort of deliberate process have you been through to identify that certain level of clarity in, around what's most important?
Mm-hmm. , then how are you making decisions? How are you scheduling all things? And then from there, once you know that you've scheduled what's most important, you're in it, you know, you're not doubting anymore. So we're, we are really trying to, I'm cool with magic [01:11:00] because, yeah, this is magic.
Once you've got all this like, set up and you're rocking this in life and you're f. Free of the fear and you are in it. Boom. That's magic. But there's a real practical approach to move through to that, to get to that kind of place where you can be chill enough during your day to actually be present for it.
Yeah. Whereas most of us are like, our day is happening and we're frantic in our minds, and we're checking our notifications and our social media platforms and our email. People are living from email all day long. Like, oh, I'm gonna start my workday open email. Okay, what does my workday consist of?
Responding to the little blue dots or the red flags in my email inbox, and that's how people manage stuff. And I'm like, okay, . That's [01:12:00] one approach. But there's another way and there's lots of ways, but what we've set up the compass for and realized in general is for people to find their own and to integrate an approach that works for them.
But these four directions, are all encompassing. And then once you get clear on those four directions, what you're creating, how you're measuring impact, who's supporting you, your most important relationships, your relationship and your with yourself, and then putting yourself in a position where you can experience purpose and meaning.
And then in time, the belief is that you'll be able to name it. So right now I'm able to say that my North Star, my sense of purpose and meaning is the next generation. Prior to this, my purpose statement was to activate a sense of potential and possibility within the hearts of humanity. and I'm like, cool.
That's what realized is about. But as I truly experience life and I observe it, [01:13:00] and I look at all the things that I'm a part of, kids are a part of everything from my own children to the causes that I most compelled to help out and support to when I connect with native elders and I see like their teachings are teachings for the next generation.
And then every individual person that I'm, that I've worked with so far not to say that this is exclusive, but they're apparent or they're on their way to starting a family. And so whatever that is for me, kids are central to it. And so I've now named my North star, the next Generation. And I believe that the work that we're, Doing right now is going to be central towards sort of encapsulating a lot of these teachings in a way where we can share this with future leaders.
Mm-hmm. That came through living it. And however you want to approach your [01:14:00] compass, you can fill it in whatever sort of sequence that, you know, some people might be more clear on their why, less clear on their contribution. A lot of us aren't measuring all of the impact.
And we know that we have to be honoring our relationships, you know, with ourself and others. So that's what we guide people through. I would say step. And then on from there. Stu, we've created the adventure part of our program. We call it explorer, just cuz we're speaking to that spirit of the explorer, the people that are, you know, beyond the status quo.
They're seeking an alternative way. They want to integrate this new approach. We actually work with people one-on-one at this stage over three months to do that work. And we take them deep into contribution, deep into impact, deep into support, deep into purpose and meaning.[01:15:00] And primarily we help people discover really their highest value contribution.
And that's the journey that I'd been on was when, and realized, started to really come together is that when I. Recognize the true value of my offering when I found the people who needed me most. And I got a real good sense of what those people were willing to pay me to support my contribution.
And I'm actively guiding people through that process, which is, I would say one of the more, is one of the tougher parts is getting clear on that. But that's what I'm most passionate about. Cause I really want to see people in their sweet spot. I really want to see people sharing their gift with the world.
We live in a time where people need to continue receiving money and support for the work that they do in the [01:16:00] world and to ensure that we're having the kind of impact that we're hoping to have. So the Explorer program is set up in a way to really help people discover that. So at the end of that 12 weeks of working together, you are extremely clear on these four directions.
But then also, clear on what you're creating, who needs that most, and how you are positioning it and pricing it out to the world. A lot of people, you know, if they're not in that position and they've got jobs and they don't need to figure out, so of how the position and price, then that's awesome.
We say, okay, your revenue is satisfied by this awesome job that you have that's aligned with who you are. Mm-hmm. . And now on top of that, let's work on contribution. . So it doesn't necessarily always need to be super entrepreneurial, but we tend to attract [01:17:00] a lot of people who are trying to figure out how to be supported by doing their work.
Mm-hmm. .
Stu Murray: Yeah. And even if they are, there's so much other aspects of that, like some of these people that you've already been working with are very successful. Like you said, that realize you're missing out on something. And so even beyond being financially compensated, it's dropping into that feeling of I'm exactly where I need to be.
My schedule is mine. I'm in control of it. Exactly. Not reacting to everything, but responding to life and having the space to breathe and having the space to be able to enjoy breakfast with your children, , and to really be there without thinking of all of the other things.
And so that journey. That the Explorer embarks on is going to be unique for each individual because life is a unique expression for each of us. And I think that's part of the magic, is [01:18:00] the how dynamic, the compass and how dynamic the program is for each individual. And even in our communications, it's been that way for every person that's gone through this already, that it's been such a unique journey and such unique realizations.
But each one of them is powerful and it's been life changing, and each one of them is coming back with these major ahas and actualizing on the shifts, which is really reassuring. Really fantastic to see and witness these people moving
Dan Gillis: through that. Yeah, it's really fun. It's extremely fun when you're in that, like, it's like we're quite playful.
I love the playful energy of it all, but it's these aha moments. , you know, I think realized the realized name is quite intentional. But those moments are huge and significant. And so we're experiencing breakthroughs and helping people get to this place of what's [01:19:00] true for them and a real sense of knowing. And then we talk a lot about the how and money comes up so frequently stew because it's the primary detractors, it's the primary trigger. It's the biggest thing that people struggle with that keep them from making their contribution to the world.
Mm-hmm. . So we're into all of that stuff because we want to support the practical integration of the work that we're doing. I'd say that's the biggest challenge is that, . We don't want to guide people down a path that isn't applicable, that isn't practical, that doesn't truly guide them to wherever they're trying to get to them next.
Mm-hmm. It is personal and it's really fun. So for us, it's also in its inception, so this has been a year now of working with individuals, working with people privately, one-on-ones supporting their individual journeys.
And then, so as a part of that, we've been extracting all the [01:20:00] tools and practices, that we've been applying and we're now building the realized.life platform. So an online cajabi site. Well, cuz we talk about all the tools that we use, so that we can make this experience the Explorer program available to more and more people.
Super low cost. So we're producing all the videos that guide people through the experience we provide, the worksheets and all the questions and the feedback, that people need to do the work. So that's what we're, that's what we're onto to next. And coming into 2023, I think that's, if there was something that we wanted to share with people, that is, this is the offering that we are.
In the process of making and that we're excited to put it out in a way that, that people can connect with it, in various ways. So from the Compass, is and is the part that's always free, the Explorer program [01:21:00] is if you want to do a deep dive and you really want to go for it, and if you need support, you can work with me on it.
And then quite soon we're actually going to be releasing the, what we're calling the self-guided, which is, if you don't feel like you need to work with somebody on this, but you'd just like to have access to all the information and work through it on your own then that's going to be the realized Explorer program, self-guided addition.
You'll be able to go through and do that work, on your own for you. So, we're quite charged up about it. It's cool to be in a stage where this gift, this contribution is coming to fruition for me. It connects all the dots of all that, that started way back then in my kitchen when I was having that conversation with my cool friend about his awesome life and what he was living.
And I wasn't destined to be a longboard skateboarder, but I was destined to be a dad and an entrepreneur and an artist and to be sharing [01:22:00] this gift now at the world. And so I really feel like I found my thing. Mm-hmm. And as a part of that, my passion is to help people find theirs and realize, to set up in a way where we can put that in people's hands. They can get to that. So the level of clarity, that sense of knowing, and then they can get on with doing that work without. The doubt of, am I on the right path? Am I on the wrong path? To be beyond the fomo, the fear of missing out, the fear of missing your life, to be out of that chaos of the crazy times that we're living in right now.
But to know that you are doing your part Hmm. And that you're doing it consistently, and that through doing that, you're making a big impact, a big difference in the world. And we really want to see as many people as we can in that position.
Stu Murray: It's powerful stuff, man. I've seen it with the people you've [01:23:00] been working with.
I've seen it in what we've been working on behind the scenes, taking all of these things apart and really trying to create that highest value offering for people that can really mm-hmm. , activate that sense of potential and possibility. And I've seen it even in myself through the process of what we're doing, actually taking that and reflecting it into my own life.
Yeah. So anybody listening to this feeling inspired feeling, that call where they know they want more clarity, they know that there's something. Is calling them to step in and to lean into this work and even explore that free resource and just experiment with that alone.
Where could somebody go to find more of this information? For sure, Stu.
Dan Gillis: So our goal in making it accessible as everything is going to be at realized, with a Zed, not an ass realized life. So that's our, that is our platform. That's the domain, that's the beginning of [01:24:00] the online. Curriculum and programming that we're gonna be doing.
So everything will always come back to realize.life, and that will be the central guide. And so the destination, if you're looking for the latest work that we are doing, uh, right now, the Compass is there. The self-guided Explorer programs in the process of launching. But right now the work that we're doing with Explorers is one-on-one.
So if you wanna have a conversation more and more about Explorer, let's just connect, we'll do a Zoom and we'll chat about it. And we'll talk about where you're at, what you're working through and where you're trying to get, so that's it. Realized life and it continues to be, and it would really be an honor to support anyone that's listening.
If there's any support that you feel like you need, it would be an honor to be a part of your journey. Hmm.
Stu Murray: It's been an honor to be on this journey with human, and I look forward to how it continues to unfold and getting these offerings out there more and [01:25:00] more to the world in all different kinds of ways, because there's so much value.
You are a man that lives from his heart, but has a beautiful mind that can help, weave that with man. I love and appreciate you so much, .
Dan Gillis: The feeling is absolutely mutual. Stu, thank you. Thank you for having me on the podcast and for doing everything that you're doing in the world.
And I'll stay tuned for all the Stew Marie Adventures . Amazing. Thank you, brother. Thank you.
