As the trip to Siargao wraps up...again...this time for real..we reflect on those magical moments and valuable lessons learned from casual and random conversations with other travelers, and people you meet along the way. The clarity of thought from one girl we met just partying and dancing in the rain summed it all up. She had an incredible talent for baking cakes, but refused to expand her business as she did not want to lose herself in chasing money. I refreshed so much on this trip and...

Today we discuss how travel can improve your quality of life from an educational to a holistic standpoint. We also talk about the benefits of group versus solo travel and which one is right for you. Is it better to just plan a trip and your tours (if any), by yourself, or is it better to book a total itinerary through a tour operator like Contiki or G Adventures. Both have their advantages and disadvantages but ultimately it depends on you and what you're looking for!

There's a curse in Siargao where they say that once you travel to Siargao, it sucks you in and you never want to leave. Well, I thought that would never happen to me but...I'M BAAACCKKK!!! Yep, after just a few days I decided to return to Siargao, this time with a buddy of mine named Thailandy who was criss-crossing Thailand and visited Bangkok and Chiang Mai to see the Loy Krathong festival. I was going to go home to help my Dad but even he said to just hang out for longer. So today I...

After a week, my stay in Siargao, Philippines is coming to a close. It's been an eventful week, full of great memories, relaxation, and the continued realization that I don't like living in big cities or dealing with people every day. When your biggest concern is whether to order a matcha latte or spanish latte, it's safe to say, that life is going great. Listen in on my closing thoughts before I fly out back to Cebu!

So I just spent a couple of weeks on this amazing island paradise known as Siargao, in the Philippines. You may have heard the term Cloud 9 and believe it or not, it exists and Cloud 9 is actually here in Siargao as it is the name of the famous surfing area. There are plenty of hostels and small boutique villas and hotel along with the normal accoutrement of Bohemian style restaurants. Amazingly, the food at the restaurants is exceptional regardless of whether you're ordering sushi, or...

There's a meme floating around the internet where Keanu Reeves says that he won't argue with people. To be precise (assuming he said it): "I'm at that stage in my life where I stay out of arguments. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right. Have fun." It's a great quote because in life it really is true. The biggest waste of time and energy you can engage in is arguing with people. Let people believe whatever they want. Unless it's a family member who needs guidance and their belief...

As empaths we tend to be the target of other people asking us to do stuff for them. I've found myself being asked by everyone to do everything, including things they could do on their own. As empaths, people feel way too comfortable asking us for things and favours. Check out today's episode on how to set boundaries because what you'll find is people won't get mad at you for hot helping them, they'll just do what they should have done to begin with, which is figure it out on their own!

"Friendship" can be a justification for many things. It's important to not let that be an excuse for putting yourself second. I've always had a bad habit of putting everyone else's needs ahead of mine, especially my friends. As life's demands stacked up, it became increasingly harder for me to keep fulfilling my imagined obligations to my friends while managing my own life. This problem would rare its ugly head every time friends would want to visit me in LA. I would have to put my life...

As an empath, we have a heightened sense of other people's character and their emotions. As we all have empath power, even if you don't define yourself as an empath, we have to respect that we all have a gut instinct. Unfortunately, as we grow up, we often are trained to disregard our instincts. Instead of accounting for the intangible feelings we have around certain people, we revert to the more objective facets of our interactions with them in order of judging a situation. Perhaps we...

Once upon a time there was an Indian trader who went to Africa to acquire some local products and animals. In the jungle, he saw many colorful talking parrots. He decided to capture a talking parrot and take him back as a pet. At home in India, he kept his parrot in a cage, he fed him honey and seeds and treated him very well. When it was time for the man to return to Africa, two years later, he asked his parrot if there was any message he could deliver to his friends in the jungle. The...

In life it's easy to be risk averse, especially if you're an empath.  We fear rejection, failure, and loss so much that we often live in a state of analysis-paralysis, and never actually take a step forward to achieving our dreams or bigger goals in life.  If you're happy and you know it, then going with the status quo is totally okay - you don't always have to be reaching for that brass ring.  However, if there are any areas of life in which you feel stagnated, or you're not as happy as you...

In life we often don't take time to smell the roses until something negative happens that forces us to actually stop and smell those roses. After the passing of my aunt today I decided it was time to become more introspective and see what lessons I learned from her life and her passing.

The law of attraction states that thoughts become things. What you think about, you bring about in your life.  Once you recognize this, you can take control of your life and attract almost anything you desire.  Sounds too easy, doesn't it?  Today we talk about what the Law of Attraction is, and how it was made popular by the wildly best selling book and DVD, "The Secret", by Rhonda Byrne.  I'll share two incredible stories of my own which are so amazing, the odds of these stories happening...

You can improve your life, achieve all of your goals and your dreams if you stop pushing so hard!  Sounds counter-intuitive, doesn't it?  To achieve your goals, try less?  No of course not!!  Put in the effort at 100%, but work on the 1%.  By accomplishing a one percent change in your life every day, you'll experience 100% in only three months (give or take a few days).  The one percent solution is broken down into two parts:  1. Taking baby steps to achieve a goal, 1% at a time, and 2....

Do you find it hard to be assertive in life?  Perhaps when you need to speak up the most, you sit in silence, pissed off, only later to wonder why you didn't stand up for yourself when you had the chance. Especially for empaths, we are averse to conflict and avoid it at any cost, and therefore stay silent when we shouldn't.  It might seem better to avoid standing up for yourself, but I've found that it is actually healthier to speak up.  While I also used to afraid of conflict since the...

Have you ever witnessed the career or life of a friend, colleague, or stranger and wondered if you should be "trying harder", or "doing more" in life?  Recently, I was thinking about some of my friends.  The ones from undergrad, spent years in their government jobs and have climbed to the highest levels, from being trade commissioners, to ambassadors.  The friends from MBA have stayed in banking and have become VPs, hedge fund managers, and climbed pretty high on the investment banking...

As empaths, we are naturally averse to conflict.  Because of our sensitivities, we find ourselves staying silent when we should speak up, even if it means getting screwed over.  We are so afraid of getting into an argument and having our energies drained, that we let ourselves get ripped off on lots of things like fraudulent billing by big companies, to letting regular customers at our own businesses take advantage of us.  But because we can't stand conflict, we often let ourselves get...

On this podcast, we talk a lot about stress and how it is quietly and slowly, killing you. There's a great book I was reading called "The Stress Solution", by Rangan Chatterjee.  In today's podcast, I'll discuss the book, and how our bodies are experiencing daily micro-stress-doses which are affecting our mental and physical health.  It's not secret that stress is going to send you to an early grave, however it's important to learn why we react the way we do to certain things in life so we...

In this bizarre time, conspiracy theorists are popping out of the woodwork.  Those whose brains are not geared for conspiracies, are nonetheless being subject to the truly ridiculous stories put forth by such theorists.  It can be exhausting, and stressful dealing with those who can't accept simple events for what they are.  In my life I've learned it is best to stay away from such people, especially as an empath.  The conspiracy theorists will drain your energy because their brain has not...

What is Reiki and how can it help you? In the ever-growing sea of self-improvement options, from yoga to meditation, your options to live a better and happier life seem limitless in this day and age. In recent years, you've probably heard more and more about Reiki as a form of healing and overall wellness. In this episode we will talk to Manali Haridas, an actual Reiki master, and learn about what is Reiki and how it can help you to heal as well as give you insight into what is holding you...

One of the best parts of traveling is the people you meet along the way. In just a few days, you can form friendships and bonds with other travelers that are deeper and stronger than with friends you have back home whom you've known for years. During my trip through Central Asia, I met Mark, who I decided to nickname "Dally", since he was from Dallas, Texas. When I travel, I often call people by the city or place they're from since it's easier to remember. Dally and I became good friends as...

Have you ever wanted to run away from life?  In 2015 I was feeling so overwhelmed that I fled the country and ran away from being a lawyer! I told no one where I was going and fled to Thailand to be alone and save myself from having a breakdown. It was one of the best things I had ever done.  I went to Bali, Indonesia, then Chiang Mai, Thailand, and finally Calcutta, India for a month and told no one.  In this podcast I'll share what I did, I'll talk about the awesome travellers I met, and...

Do you find yourself always taking on other people's problems?  I don't mind just listening to their problems; I mean you actually mentally and emotionally bear the burden of other people's problems as if they were your own!  You find yourself stressed, anxious, and tired. Depending on the time of job you have, your personality and shouldering other people's problems all of the time can crush you. Today I discuss how to separate how you can be involved in helping solve a problem without...

Resolutions you can use to change your life for the better as an empath. If you're always putting other people first, including strangers, it's time to stop and put yourself first! Learn how to be selfish, unavailable, and unreliable so that you can take care of your mental health, and pursue your dreams.