Three Conversations That Changed How I Think About Being Alive | John R. Miles EP 789
7/3/202631 min
What if flourishing isn't something you achieve someday—but something you practice in the life you're already living?In this episode, John R. Miles explores the first step toward becoming fully alive: presence. Drawing from three unforgettable conversations with Navy SEAL and Paralympian Dan Cnossen, entrepreneur Blake Mycoskie, and spiritual teacher Gabby Bernstein, he examines the questions that emerge when our old ways of living no longer work.If you've been waiting for life to settle down before you fully show up, chasing achievement in hopes that it will finally make you feel enough, or caring for everyone around you while losing touch with yourself, this episode offers a different path forward.In this conversation, you'll discover:
- Why the life you're waiting to begin may have already begun
- How to stop treating difficult seasons as interruptions instead of your actual training ground
- Why success and achievement can never answer the question, "Am I enough?"
- What it means to remain connected to yourself when the applause grows quiet
- How self-compassion becomes the foundation for lasting transformation
- The powerful question that can reveal whether you've become a safe place to come home to
- Why flourishing begins not in some future version of your life, but in this ordinary, imperfect moment
At the heart of this episode are three questions worth carrying into your own life: What are you waiting to begin that has already begun? Who are you when there's nothing left to prove? Was I a safe place to come home to today?
Because becoming fully alive isn't about finding another life. It's about inhabiting the one that's already here.
Connect with John
- Pre-Order The Mattering Effect: https://matteringeffect.com/
- Book John to Speak: https://johnrmiles.com/speaking/
- Keynotes, books, podcast, and resources: https://linktr.ee/John_R_Miles
- Children’s Book — You Matter, Luma: https://youmatterluma.com/
- Substack: https://www.theignitedlife.net/
Support the Movement: https://startmattering.com/. Every human deserves to feel seen, valued, and like they matter. Wear it. Live it. Show it.
Disclaimer
The Passion Struck podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. The views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Passion Struck or its affiliates. This podcast is not a substitute for professional medical or psychological advice.
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsJohn Miles· Host0:00
Coming up next on Passion Struck. I think most of us have become very good at managing our lives without actually inhabiting them. We move from meeting to meeting, responsibility to responsibility, milestone to milestone. We tell ourselves that when this season ends, when this project finishes, when life finally settles down, then we'll become the person we want to be. But flourishing doesn't happen in some future version of our lives. It happens here, in ordinary mornings, in difficult transitions, in the parts of life that don't feel important enough to deserve our full attention. Over the past few weeks, I've been looking back through hundreds of conversations on this show, and I noticed something I hadn't fully appreciated before. The people who became most fully alive all reached a moment when their old way of operating stopped working, and each of those moments forced them to ask a different question. Today, I wanna share three of those questions with you. [upbeat music] Welcome to Passion Struck. I'm your host, John Miles. This is the show where we explore the art of human flourishing and what it truly means to live like it matters. Each week, I sit down with change-makers, creators, scientists, and everyday heroes to decode the human experience and uncover the tools that help us lead with meaning, heal what hurts, and pursue the fullest expression of who we're capable of becoming. Whether you're designing your