Episode 122:
Ordinary to Extraordinary is something Erik Seversen lives by, and he’s been pretty successful at it. Erik studied Anthropology (often voted the least-likely-to-succeed major), and used anthropology in business, helping a company grow from $7M to over $100,000,000 in ten years as VP of International Business Development. He also taught English as a Second Language for 10 years in Japan, France, Thailand, and universities within the USA. Erik uses entrepreneurial success formulas and motivational materials in business, but he’s also pioneering their use in the field of education.
Erik is a writer, speaker, adventurer, entrepreneur, and educator who refused to let others tell him what he could and could not do. He continually worked toward his goals even when others said they were unreasonable. Erik’s travels and intersections with people from around the world weren’t just a fun romp around the planet — they were a deep study of people, love, struggle, and ways of thinking that can be used to tackle problems in school, business, and life. His most current ambitions are sharing the lessons he’s learned through his business and climbing mountains which he says makes everyday challenges seem a lot easier.
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
- Ordinary to Extraordinary: how Erik lives this out in his life
- Why the way we approach an interaction with people determines how it is going to play out — positively or negatively
- The tendency for entrepreneurs to spend too much time preparing and why they’re ready way sooner than they think
- Asking for help and not being afraid of what other people think
- Why things will change in your favor when you step back and take a deep breath
- Erik’s upcoming book that shares lessons from his life and structures them around the pillars from Emily Esfahani Smith’s book “The Power of Meaning”
- Ways to imbue your life with more purpose and meaning
- Recalibrating yourself by occasionally breaking your routines
- Leading by absolute example (or leading by action, not command)
- Staying focused and doing what needs to be done to work on your goal
- Perfectly balancing family, work, and self (and why you cannot neglect the self part of that triangle)
- Staying focused on what truly matters
Ways to contact Erik:
- Website: erikseversen.com/absolute