Friday, May 17, 2024

"Uncertainty is the gateway to possibility": A Conversation with Jonathan Fields

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"Uncertainty is the gateway to possibility": A Conversation with Jonathan Fields

It's time for a new interview! Next up: JONATHAN FIELDS, Author of SPARKED and founder of Good Life Project.

Chris Guillebeau

May 17

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Our interview series features interesting people with something to say that the world needs hearing. Let me know what you think—we’ll continue to experiment and evolve along the way. 🙏

Introducing Jonathan Fields

I’ve known Jonathan Fields for more than 15 years. Among many other connections: when I started the World Domination Summit in 2011, Jonathan was our closing speaker. He then came back the following year, the year after that, and—in fact—all ten years of the event, speaking many times and ultimately giving the closing keynote of the entire series.

Of course, he’s done a lot more than that. You can read his official bio below, and you should definitely subscribe to his new newsletter. I just wanted to note first that he’s a very special person and friend to me.

Here are a few highlights from Jonathan’s bio:

Jonathan Fields is a dad, husband, award-winning author, executive producer, and host of two of the top-ranked podcasts in the world, Good Life Project® and SPARKED™. He is also the founder of a series of companies focused on human potential, currently serving as CEO of Spark Endeavors, where he developed the groundbreaking Sparketype® Assessment, which has been tapped by over 650,000 individuals and organizations to identify, embrace, and cultivate work that makes people come alive. His latest book, SPARKED: Discover Your Unique Imprint for Work That Makes You Come Alive, is both a rally cry and a field guide to reclaiming work as a source of meaning, joy, and possibility. Jonathan’s work has been featured widely in the media, from the New York Times, FastCompany, and the Harvard Business Review to Oprah Magazine, Parade, Reader’s Digest and many more.

Naturally, we’re more interested in the person behind the impressive bio. And since this is 🌻 A Year of Mental Health, I’m interested in how people think about wellbeing in general.

So let’s have some questions and answers with Jonathan! (There’s also a short audio recording from him—scroll down for that.)

Qs & As with Jonathan

What does mental health and wellbeing mean to you?

Short answer, when I feel like I can breathe. So much of life, even the good parts, feel like they’re screaming by at such a fast pace that I find myself in “hold on for dear life” mode way too often, and don’t spend enough time just kicking back, reveling, savoring and celebrating. That’s largely on me. Self-generated. Sure, there’s uncertainty and struggle, we can never entirely opt out. Both internal and in the world around us. But, there’s also so much to be present with, and grateful for, at any given moment.

I’m also of an age where my body and mind have taken enough hits that I know what it feels like to go through the wringer, to recover to whatever extent my body and mind allow, and carry both the literal and metaphorical scars and the lessons of the journey. Every time I keep getting back up, it helps me know I can. And, that I’ll find a way to be okay no matter what comes my way.

In the end, I think mental health and wellness are about being in the world, saying yes to experience, having people you can turn to, both in times of whimsy and seasons of need. It’s about allowing yourself to feel, being able to drop into moments that move you deeply, with people you adore, and who love you right back. It’s about feeling like you don’t have to hide, like you can show up fully, be seen and embraced.

It’s about the capacity to be intentional and aware, to devote yourself to what truly matters, and let go of what does not. It’s about your ability to find grace, to access even fleeting moments of stillness and ease, even when things are hard, and you don't know when or how they’ll end. And, it’s about having meaning, purpose and joy in the mix. Mattering really does matter.

What is your primary or most important message?

It really goes back to Ram Dass. We’re all just walking each other home. Our time is short. Nothing is promised. To the extent we have agency in the moments and circumstances of our lives, fill them with people who you cannot get enough of, doing things that make you come alive. Center love. And, be kind. Because none of us knows how long or short that walk home will be.

What’s something contrarian or highly unusual that you passionately believe?

Uncertainty is the gateway to possibility. Having to live and breathe, to make decisions and take actions in the face of the unknown, especially as the stakes rise, can be a brutal experience. We fear it. Our minds want to run from it, because it’s so viscerally uncomfortable. So, we think it’s bad.

Problem is, when we back away from the experience of uncertainty, we unintentionally back away from possibility. Because they’re two sides of the same coin. You cannot have one without the other. And you cannot abandon one, without abandoning the other.

Rather than running from uncertainty, especially when the opportunity holds astonishing potential, the better option is to cultivate the practices and skills needed to breathe more easily and function more optimally in the face of it.

Jonathan’s Audio Recording 🎙️

I usually ask our interviewees to make a short audio recording in addition to the written questions. This isn’t a long podcast interview, it’s just three minutes long—so you don’t want to skip it. Here’s the one from Jonathan! ⬇️

Listen now · 2:52

Okay, back to some more Qs and recommendations!

What’s difficult for you right now? What are you struggling with?

Doing too many things at once. I’ve known that I’m both happiest and also showing up as my best self and doing my best work when I’m doing fewer things better. But, right now, I’m not. The reasons are entirely of my creation. I’ve said yes to running two companies (and a new Substack, lol), each of which could be full-time endeavors. Much as I’m blessed with an amazing team, it’s taking a toll on me. Both physically and psychologically.

I’m aware of why I keep saying this to multiple, spinning plates, and have put certain checks and balances in place. There’s a timeline to it all, and a bargain I’ve been willing to make. Still, it’s hard, and I’m looking to transition into a simpler pace and narrower focus as they year progresses.

What is a simple thing (or 2-3 simple things) we can do to be better?

Learn to dance with uncertainty, instead of snuffing it out. Mindfulness practice and cognitive reappraisal are powerful tools to get started.

Practice exquisite attention, the art of casting a spell of attention that is so generous and generative, it transforms your interactions, relationships, and life.

Lastly, what are a few things you’d like to recommend to our community?

Well, of course, this newsletter from Chris! I also love the Substacks from my friends, Elizabeth Gilbert, Emily McDowell, Susan Cain , and ❤️ Jenny Blake.

I’m a massive U2 fan, and have had the song, Every Breaking Wave, and The Joshua Tree (one of the most perfect albums ever) on heavy rotation lately.

For an all out soupy TV romp, One Day, on Netflix. And, I tend to revisit Khalil Gibran’s The Prophet and Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist on an annual–ish basis, so they’re always on the list.