Natalie: Hi Chris! Welcome to the show!

Chris: Hi Natalie!

Natalie: I'm so glad to have you here. Because you don't just live a life of passion, but you are a passion expert. And you actually help people. You have a passion test to help identify what their depressions are. You know, you are really on board with that. But I know you've had an interesting journey. Together you want to always help people to find their passion. Can you share a bit of your story with us.

Chris: sure. I'd love to. You know, I was fortunate for good part of my life where I did follow my passions a lot. You know I didn't know any better but I did, I went for what I wanted and I ended up spending 10 years in long meditation. Meditating for four to eight hours a day, traveling in the different parts of the world, studying the ancient literature of india and it was an amazing, incredible transformation experience. And then I came out.

Natalie: Right.

Chris: And when I came out, I discovered what insanity is. You know. we all probably know this definition of insanity is, right? You keep on doing the same thing over and over again you expect to get a different result. So, over a period of five years, I did the same job, basically over and over again. It was a job that paid me money. I made a decent amount of income. But I was totally miserable and I wasn't even good at the work that I'm doing. So, on top of everything else, I seem to go deeper and deeper in the debt. It was about this time that I got married. And I have this concept that I was the one who was responsible for making the money in our family. You know, that I had to pay the bills and I had to be responsible. So I get a job and I do that job. And I was miserable and unhappy. So, as a result naturally, things would come up and would blow apart. And so I get another job the same thing happened. I'd get another job and the same thing happened. And finally Janet, my business partner, introduced me to the passion test. This simple process for getting clear on the things that really matters to you in your life. For the first time I consciously began to make decisions based on my passions. Whether on how much money I'm gonna make or how much, what chance of advancement there was.

Natalie: Cause that's the thing, it would be very scary if people out there would , you know, if you have financial commitments and you have to support a family. To take that leap and go what if I do what I feel passion about, am I still gonna be able to make money.

Chris: Yeah.

Natalie: You know, I often find it's like a specific event or a fine thread, a series of little events that get you from, you know, working in jobs that you had and feeling responsible financially, to, you know, teaching people to identify their passion. So what was those events for you?

Chris: So Natalie, for me, it wasn't just a series of small events, you know. It was, I went to this kind of groundhog day over and over again. And it got to the point that I was in a business. I was actually a partner. It was a small business. But I was a partner in the business. And it was costing us more to deliver services than we are bringing in. And you know you can only do that for so long, right?

Natalie: Exactly.

Chris: We weren't able to make payroll. I went 3, 4, 5 months without getting paid. I was totally stressed out. Totally stressed out. I remember waking up in the middle of the night about 3a.m. and I was just shaking. And my body wouldn't stop shaking. This wouldn't stop shaking. And I was married to Janet that time. And Janet, is my business partner as you know, we're married for five years, we are no longer, but I've remarry now of course Janet is the godmother to my children. So, we have this amazing relationship. But that time Janet and I were married, Janet sort of helped me this time where I took an hour and a half of the shaking. It was like a panic attack, you know. And, at that point I realized I had to take a different direction toward things. And so I took a job that was really different, it didn't have a fancy title, it didn't even promise to pay a lot, but it seem to be something that I was good at. That I could do well. And so I did it, and I did do well. And I actually became the top performer and made a lot of money. It was fulfilling at that sense. And I would enjoy the learning that was going on. But there came a point, about 18 months to it, that I had learned to do it. I knew how to do it. And I realized that that time it's not enough to do things you're good at.

Natalie: Yup.

Chris: And it was around that time that I stepped out of that work, I took a break again, took a couple of years off. And again went back to my meditation routine. You know, that was sort of my fall back. And then I came out, and Janet called me. And she had been contacted by Mark Hanson, the co-creator of The Chicken Soup For The Soul. Janet, had developed friendship with Mark over a number of years. It kind of accidentally but and that's all mother story. But she said, "Chris, if you may come and, Mark, if I may do this, work with him, and I need you to help me within." So we ended up partnering with Mark Hanson and Robert Allen. And that was the beginning, a beginning to take a very different direction in my life. My choices are based on the things that I love better that how much money I was gonna make.

Natalie: Now, my next question is, you know, as of we both know, success doesn't just happen. And every successful person I know has certain success habits or certain routine that they do on a daily basis to keep them on track. So what are the things that you do on a daily basis to keep you on track?

Chris: Good. I love that question. From what I've already said you might guess it, meditation is the key one. I meditate everyday, morning and evening. It's become such an ingrain part of my daily life. That I don't know how it'll be without it. And thankfully, the refreshment, and the energy, and the clarity that comes as a result of that. I've just come to take it for granted. And, so that's what really the important key. And for me, the other things are, to me this sounds ridiculously simple, but the thing going to bed early, for me, I love to get up early in the morning. And so, when I'm rested, then I'm fresh, when I'm rested and fresh, then I'm clear, when I'm clear, then I make good decisions. The other things is I love to cycle. So me, not everyday but three or four times a week. I'm out on the bike. And riding and you know, getting exercise, moving my body, getting the juices flowing, getting those endorphins going. And it's such an interesting thing because our bodies are, you know, they're like little chemical labs, right? And so, there are things that any of us can do but you notice, when those endorphins kick in when I cycling, I can feel it, you know. There's a high that comes, and that high carries over to your activity. And when you're excited, when you're happy, and you're fun, and you're turned on by what you are doing, people just naturally a drive to you. It's like a magnet, and everything comes easier. You don't have to work so hard because things are just easier.

Natalie: You, fortunately, you live in Germany.

Chris: I do. for five years.

Natalie: I'm sure there are some beautiful parts of the world to cycle around there. And you can tell or not, we are here in Hawaii watching a seminar together. So I'm glad I have the opportunity to tell you down to this, but you must have a beautiful countryside to cycle around.

Chris: We do.

Natalie: now, my next question, and you probably quite get this as well, is that I got a lot of e-mail from people asking me "how am I to stay positive when everything around me is negative?" Like for example, "how can I have an abundance mentality when I don't have enough money to pay the bills?" So what type of advice you have for people in that situation?

Chris: That's a great question. And this really ties in to the previous question. Which you asked about this kind of habits or routines cause when we describe our work is being about inspiring transformation through love. And what we've realized is there is no more powerful transformation tool that exist in the world today except for love. And what does that mean? It's not just "can I love you? Can I love the person that's, I mean, can I love my family, my friends. Those are all easy. Right? The key to using love as a transformational tool. And this is something that I do, do in a daily basis consciously. Look when things are tough, things are difficult, when things are challenging, where's the gift in that? Where is the opportunity in that? How can I find love even in this? How can I love and appreciate this when it comes down to the fundamental question of, do I live in a benevolent universe? And when can I answer that question with a yes, then I know that everything that comes into my life, how awful it may seem, no matter how terrible it may seem in this moment, it's here for my benefit. And it doesn't feel like that, then there's something in me that's holding on. That's trying to keep things from moving in the direction that will allow me to open up to fulfillment.

Natalie: so i mean a bunch of difficult situation could really be a learning opportunity.

Chris: Absolutely.

Natalie: It could be a stepping stone to something else. Sometimes you have to get through the bad stuff to get into the good stuff.

Chris: Well, what is in the difficult situation that makes it a difficult situation? It's our thoughts!

Natalie: Exactly.

Chris: It's how we think about that situation. Because if you talk to really successful people, a lot of them had been through refer times, and most of the people listening to this video and yet they didn't perceive those things in the same way. They interpreted them differently.

Natalie: Yeah.

Chris: And that's really good. One key difference from people who enjoy success and those who don't. Those who enjoy success learn somehow to shift their thinking the way in which they interpret the experiences and advance in their life so that they find the benefit, the gift that exist in those things.

Natalie: Yeah.

Charlie: And use those as stepping stone to their next opportunity for progress.

Natalie: Yeah perfect. Okay, I have one more question for you. Now, it maybe hard to narrow this down to just one thing, but if you can leave people watching this video today with one thing that they can implement right now to facilitate a positive change in their life, what would that one thing be?

Chris: That's easy, probably easy. It's what we call the secret that guarantees a passionate life. And it's, whenever you face a choice, a decision or an opportunity, choose in favor of your passions. Now i'll say it again cause it's really powerful; whenever you face a choice, a decision or an opportunity, choose in favor of your passions. This is the one rule that every single successful person in the world, whether they know it consciously or not, they all do it. Every significant decision they base it from what is it that has the most meaning for me in my life, what is it that is more meaningful to me, and they base their decisions on that. not whether what someone else would think about them, not whether they think it's possible or not, not any other criteria other than, is this something that connects to what i really want? And thinking that's the value of the passion to us. Because you can't choose in favor of your passion until you know what they are. Passion is the simplest way for people to connect with what they want to be. And then you put that advice into practice.

Natalie: Excellent, excellent, thanks chris. Now if people want to find out some more about you and the passion test, where can we send them?

Chris: Simple. Thepassiontest.com.

Natalie: Thepassiontest.com, or remember if you click on the banner to the side that'll direct you to that site. So thanks again Chris.

Chris: Thank you!

Natalie: You are a wealth of information. And now, guys remember if there's anything in this video you'd like to share the information here, you click the twitter and facebook share buttons above. And if you have done so already, make sure you put your e-mail in the box above there. We'll send you the six pre-made mind movies and we'll send you e-mails to keep you up to date. So until next time, remember to live large, choose courageously, and love without limits. We'll see you soon.