251 Do A Day Is Mindfulness Says Bryan Falchuk

Bryan Falchuk has an amazing story; he went from being obese and depressed to losing over 100 pounds and running marathons. He’s faced the trauma of nearly losing his wife to illness while their young son watched. He became vegan in just one day. He got his masters from a top school and rose to a senior executive position in a successful business. He’s transformed his life and developed an approach to help others do the same that he teaches in his best-selling book “Do a Day: How To Live A Better Life Every Day”.

Contact Info

• Website: www.DoADayBook.com
• Book: Do a Day: How To Live A Better Life Every Day by Bryan Falchuk
• $4 Discount on the Do A Day Book For Mindful Tribe
• Social Media: @DoADayBook / @NewBodi
• Inc Magazine Columnist Bryan Fulchuk

Most Influential Person

• Rich Roll (Author and Ultra Athlete)

Effect on Emotions

• Mindfulness effects all of my emotions right now. It's what keeps me able to handle everything that's thrown at me.

Thoughts on Breathing

• Breathing is a very centering exercise. It released and brings you back in. I find when I'm less mindful, a few very deep breaths pull me right back into the moment.

Suggested Resources

• Book: Open Heart, Clear Mind: An Introduction To The Buddha's Teachings by Thubten Chodron
• Book: Do a Day: How To Live A Better Life Every Day by Bryan Falchuk
• App: Headspace

Bullying Story

• I mentioned I was the fat kid. So, was I bullied? Yes, very much so by plenty of people.
• I think I'm very lucky because there were a lot of people who didn't bully me as well. There were a lot of good friends.
• The story I will tell you is not from that period in my life. I wasn't the blatent [obvious person] who was going to get picked on.
• In the role of being a successful senior executive, I can tell you, the grass is not green anywhere. We all struggle. Just cause I've had success doesn't mean everything's easy.
• I had a situation where someone was essentially trying to take me down. It's someone who's very well respected and used to be a litigator so they know how to attack people and how to make a case. It's a person who's been pretty successful at that.
• Whether they are aware of it or not, they were essentially trying to get me fired. It didn't happen, which is good.
• The key reason is, it's all in how I responded in the moment. Historically, I would have gotten really riled up.
• We were in a meeting where .... I knew it was coming. The attack came full force and they were quoting a lot of facts that were not actually facts.
• They were just statements of things that they put out there as facts and then everyone sort of nodded and said, that's interesting, or that's true. None of it was true.
• And so the question for me was, how do I respond? Historically I would get defensive and argue back. Guess what? It doesn't tend to work out so well because you're feeding into what's making that bully thrive.
• They're thriving off negativity and the confrontation of it. So if you give that right back to them, you're just amping it up. So what I did instead was, I kept very calm.
• I've been studying Buddhism and I was in the midst of my early days of studying it. This was a really good and strong early test but it worked.
• I kept mindful about one very important fact about everyone in the world. Ultimately, we all seek to be happy. That may not feel that way in that moment and you may think, that person doesn't want to be happy, they just want to hurt me.
• That's a very, 'the world is doing this to me', kind of view that doesn't help you. The reality is, that person wants to be happy.