Best of VVV – Steve Pavlina – Embracing the Path with Heart

Steve Pavlina and I shared a fun and insightful conversation covering a wide range of growth stories and a ton of laughs...instant best-of show!
Steve Pavlina Podcast:  Steve's mission is

explore, clarify, and elegantly codify conscious growth
challenge the status quo, to take intelligent risks, and to experiment
strengthen our global society's alignment with truth, love, and power
advance conscious growth ambitiously, tenaciously, and sustainably
balance inspired innovation, co-creative teamwork, and disciplined execution
progressively embrace the highest standards of excellence and mastery
lead and inspire with authority, audacity, playfulness, and love

In short, his mission is to help you discover your truth, explore your desires, and develop your power.
Steve Pavlina Podcast:  Family upbringing focused on mental performance

His parents and family were very focused on all things mental and intellectual.
Steve is not interested in having a "sexy" body, but being able to do new fun things.
All through high school, he was vrooming not interested in anything athletic or related to using his body.
In college he veered...deciding to study martial arts.  He focused on creating new psychical abilities like braking boards and learning to spar, and do amazing kicks.
In the 90's Steve ran the LA marathon.
He exercised everyday for 25 minutes for 1 year...he didn't miss one day.
His diet also evolved from Standard American Diet to vegetarian to vegan.
Steve finds it more effective to set "FUN" fitness goals instead of boring fitness goals.
The benefits of improving your body also improve your mental performance and your emotional health.
Great book called "Spark"

 Cool Sleep app for the iPhone and Android called Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock

Steve Pavlina Podcast:  Vrooming with a Fear of public speaking

Starting in the 1st grade he was terrified to speak in front of people.
He had a good friend who was not afraid, but very calm speaking in front of people.
He faced his fears.  He took opportunities to speak while working in the computer game community.
He found it more fun to speak about topics he wanted to talk about, and it was less frightening.
There was a real reward, when people thanked him for sharing his knowledge.

Labeled an introvert as a small child

Before high school he was labeled a shy kid, and an introvert.
He went to a high school that was focused on academics, so being smart made you a cool kid.
Because Steve was smart and a high achiever, he started to become more of an extrovert in High School
Steve eventually joined Toastmaster's and was a member for about 5 and 1/2 years.
He eventually joined that National Speakers Associations for a while.

Vrooming with a fear of touch

Grew up very much touch adverse.
His family didn't hug much out of affection.
Friendly and affectionate touch was something that was alien to him as a child.
In High School he remembers seeing girls greet boys with a hug, and that seemed very strange to him.
People would never do that with Steve.
Steve figures now that people can get a sense of whether someone is open to hugs and affection.
In college, while studying with a woman friend, his friend began to stroke his forearm.
Steve freaked out and made and excuse to leave and it was awkward.
Steve avoided her for the rest of the semester.
His veer was very gradual, he realized he was bad and accepting touch.
He started pushing himself to touch more.
Steve was like the therapist in the movie 50/50.
Once he started he wanted to veer to master touch and enjoy touching.
Steve tells the story of Daan Buckinx who learned to hug more during Steve's workshops.
He was getting strangers to hug him in less one second.
In 2010 he got cancer, but still came to Steve's Workshop.
Because of Daan's example, Steve started to hugging hello to everyone when they show up to his workshop.