How I Mastered My Life by Brendan Burns

From a very young age, I was unfortunately no stranger to childhood abuse. To cope, I dove head-first into my schoolwork as a way to escape my daunting reality at home. After receiving my undergraduate, MBA, and law school degrees from Cornell University, I spent several years working on Wall Street in various banking and hedge fund roles.

To the outside person, I seemed “successful” on the surface, but deep down, I was completely depressed and anxious.

This came to a peak when I woke up one day to find my live-in girlfriend gone, my Wall Street boss firing me, and my brother in the hospital. My life was falling apart.

I was 25 at the time, and with my world crashing down around me, I did the only thing I could. I headed straight to the Self-Improvement section at my local Barnes and Noble and ultimately began studying 1-on-1 under top experts (many of whom were authors of these books).

I began reading several life-changing self-improvement books that would transform my life forever. I read and read and read until my life and mindset starting shifting drastically. And although these books were a great start, I knew I needed more.

While watching one of my friend’s Facebook Live videos earlier this year, she mentioned how much she and her husband enjoyed watching the recent Tony Robbins documentary “I Am Not Your Guru,” which profiles his annual Date with Destiny event.

That evening I watched the documentary, and over the course of the week I watched, re-watched, and soaked in every scene that the documentary had to offer. As soon as I finished, I called in and signed up for Tony Robbins’ next in-person course: Unleash the Power Within in San Jose, California.

The experience was so game-changing for me that I began to attend more and more of these events. I saw Adyashanti in North Carolina, Jack Kornfield in Northern California, and more. Being in person allowed me to connect with the energy and power I needed to harness my transformation.

I found it extremely helpful to learn from someone in person to make real life changes. Here are just a few of the things I learned about how to make real and lasting changes:

1) Learn from and model someone who is outstanding and has exactly what you want or who has made the exact change that you seek

2) Learn by total immersion. Get on a plane. Get in front of the right people. Expose yourself to this person or the right group of people, and live and breathe exactly what you want. Hunger is the biggest factor in getting what you want, so Tony Robbins says you must make this goal a total obsession.

3) Spaced repetition. This is defined as “a learning technique that incorporates increasing intervals of time between subsequent review of previously learned material in order to exploit the psychological spacing effect.”

In other words, model experts who already have what you want. Get as close to them as possible and pursue opportunities for total immersion. And make sure you surround yourself with other like-minded people who are on a similar journey.

I was so inspired by the culmination of these experiences and everything I’ve learned over the past few years that I wanted to create something similar to guide people on their journeys. This information is too important not to share, and it is now my mission to share it, inspire people to take control of their lives and help them create whatever they long for in life!

By Brendan Burns

Join Brendan on an adventure to master your own life in the magical town of Nosara in Costa Rica, May 4-9, 2019. Get ready to change your life!

Making My Mess My Message by Maya Jules

As I sit down to write this, I’m reminded of a line in one of my favorite songs of all time - “Once In A Lifetime” by The Talking Heads - when David Byrne says, “And you may ask yourself, well, how did I get here…?” It’s pretty wild to look back at the bumpy, treacherous road that landed me in this spot right here, right now, introducing myself to a community of beautiful souls who are deeply committed to health, wellness and transformation. I never would have guessed I’d be here, although when I really reflect, it makes absolute perfect sense, like everything eventually does.

So, how did I get here? Well, my life looked very different just two years ago. I was working my butt off in the music industry, surrounded by energy vampires of the highest degree. Don’t get me wrong, it was a lot of fun, too. I live and breathe music and live experiences, and I had some truly extravagant experiences, but the universe had other plans for me. To back up a bit, I had a history of debilitating depression. There were far more days I wished I could be dead than alive. This began seasonally and situationally, but it didn’t end there. I tried multiple types of therapy and several medications, but nothing moved the needle on my mental health. There was something wrong with me and no one knew what it was. Although I spent more nights than I want to admit researching how to quickly and effectively end it all, there was still a persistence inside of me to find an answer. I’ll save you from all the grueling details of that part of my journey, but fast forward to that answer.

I got a diagnosis. I learned that what I was experiencing made perfect sense for what was actually happening in my body. I had an autoimmune condition called Hashimoto’s, which often comes equipped with depression, apathy, low energy and other symptoms of that nature. I was so relieved to finally know what was causing me to feel as bad as I had for the last four years, but I was also terrified. This news changed just about everything for me. I would go on to change my diet numerous times, adopt intensive healing protocols, work with holistic healers and coaches, read everything I could get my hands on about Hashimoto’s, nutrition, biohacking, wellness, etc., and finally, after six months of sneaking breaks to research health at work, I left my job, and essentially my life, to start a new one. 

At first, my new life had no real agenda other than learning and healing. I traveled, went on retreats and enrolled in a nutrition certification program to arm myself with more knowledge and practical tools. The information I was absorbing was life changing - from nutritional science to personal development practices to spirituality and energy systems. I started meeting more people in the health and wellness space, and I found my tribe.

I had to figure out how I was going to make a living out of this. Having worked in events for 10 years, I wanted to keep that part of me alive and apply it to my newfound passion. Human connection has always been a top value for me. So, I started a transformational events company to create containers for people to heal and expand. I started manifesting incredible, inspiring clients and would work with them to produce their workshops and retreats. Then, upon completion of my certification program and practice hours, I launched my wellness concierge practice to offer personalized nutrition and lifestyle consulting. Everything was lining up.

Fast forward again - I met the amazing Kori of Revamp Retreats. We chatted on the phone after connecting in a Facebook group. We later met up in person and quickly realized we had a similar vision for our businesses and our lives. The communication was sporadic at first, and eventually the pace picked up and we started working on various projects together. It was so fulfilling to be working alongside another person, not to mention a totally magical person! I never wanted to fully work alone because I’m quite extroverted, and Kori was looking for more help with retreats. One thing led to another and we decided to join forces. So that brings me to now. I’m extremely grateful for all the hardships that guided me here, and I’m happy to share that my Hashimoto’s is in remission and I am no longer depressed. Rather, I look forward to each day and love my life! Functional nutrition approaches, retreats and mindset work saved me. 

Kori and I are now working on planning lots of transformational experiences for you next year and beyond, and I really hope you can join us! Feel free to reach out to me if you or a loved one is struggling and looking for answers. I am fully committed to spreading wellness and helping people optimize their lives. Let’s revamp together. 

You can find me at mayajules.co or @my.oh.maya on Instagram. I can't wait to connect!

xx Maya