Inspiration, Travels, Spoken Word
Yali Sharon
Shapeless Future
Shapeless Future
Inspiration
Yali Sharon
The Go Seek Manifesto
The Go Seek Manifesto
Inspiration
Yali Sharon
Home
Home
Epic Moments
Yali Sharon
#4 Getting Your First Paycheck Doing What You ...
#4 Getting Your First Paycheck Doing What You Love
Motivation
Yali Sharon
Susceptible to Possibility
Susceptible to Possibility

Updates

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Escape Mediocrity / Phase 1

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For the past 10 years I’ve strived to break free of many different types of resistance and self-imposed limitations. At times I’ve succeeded - I’ve spoken at TEDx, I’ve worked on emmy award winning TV shows and I did the most overwhelming, fear facing thing imaginable to myself – pour my heart out and share personal struggles through Live Unbound. 

Whether it’s from my own experience, studying high achievers, dozens of books, events or retreats, I’ve learned so much about this process. I’ve condensed it down to 7 phases which guide the path of finding, navigating and accomplishing worthy pursuits. 

The phases are on the left column and I included the dominant habit, priority, emotion and outcome of each phase. Of course it’s different for everyone, this was based off of my own experience. 

Try to identify where you are, where you have been and where you want to go. 

The first phase is about escaping the limited perspective that mediocrity fosters.

Mediocrity is the result of rejecting the calling to become what we believe we have the potential to be. Striving to fit into a mold as opposed to breaking it. Abiding by it’s walls made of doubts, fears and insecurities – held together by a need to protect ourselves from having to feel these emotions.

This is a time to rise above the walls to a vantage point which reveals the mountains we were meant to climb. To get a glimpse of a future that lies beyond resistance. A place with endless possibilities, true freedom and absolute fulfillment.

Life is ours to design and it’s our one and only. Those that respect this truth by clawing towards their carefully chosen peaks are rewarded with something far greater than comfort. 

I’m currently developing a course with practical tools on how to achieve this. If you’re interested in getting it for free in exchange for a testimonial then contact me. 

I’m posting daily on instagram, facebook and if you missed last weeks video you can watch it here. Thanks for reading! 

- Yali

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Live Unbound is Back!

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Just relaunched Live Unbound after spending a couple years working on TV shows and doing some aimless traveling.  

I decided it’s time to dive back into the work that I love the most. Just finished the 8th video for a series of one minute videos made from speeches that had a big impact on my life.

Here’s the first one and I’ll be releasing a new one every week. 

I’ll be posting regularly on Instagram @weliveunbound & Facebook facebook.com/liveunbound

If you have suggestions for speeches, quotes or any insights that have inspired you then just reply to this email or contact me here. Or if you just want to say hi and chat then that’s cool too :)  

– Yali

LU Movie Script

Just finished writing a script which you could definitely say is the Live Unbound movie. If you’re interested in reading it then you can download it here. Feel free to send it to anyone. I’m looking for input and who better to ask then fellow Live Unbounders!  

It’s a story about the importance of uncertainty, vulnerability and challenge in life’s pursuits and the dissatisfaction that occurs when they’re avoided.

It's inspired by this excerpt of “The Dream of Life” by Alan Watts.

“Let’s suppose that you were able every night to dream any dream you wanted to dream. And you would naturally, as you began on this adventure of dreams, fulfill all your wishes. You would have every kind of pleasure during your sleep. And you would say 'Well that was pretty great!' But now let’s have a surprise, let’s have a dream which isn’t under control, where something is going to happen to me and I don’t know what it's going to be. You would dig that and come out saying, ‘Wow that was a close shave, wasn’t it?’ Then you would get more and more adventurous and you would make further and further gambles what you would dream. And finally, you would dream where you are now. You would dream the dream of living the life that you are actually living today. That would be within the infinite multiplicity of choices you would have.”

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My TEDx Talk

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I’m sitting at a TEDx event unsuccessfully trying to pay attention to what the speaker before me is saying. I’m a couple minutes away from giving a very personal talk and my irrational fears are in the forefront of my thinking.

Ironically the talk is titled “Follow Your Fears” and the main message is that fear serves as an internal compass towards growth and opportunity. Even though I fully believe in this message it’s really not comforting me right now. My knees feel weak, I’m developing a strange pain in my stomach and my mind is acting like a worst-case scenario generator.

It’s no wonder that I’m nervous; I didn’t quite follow the typical TEDx formula. For example I was advised to validate that I’m an expert in my field and instead I wrote lines like, “The most exciting part about what I do is that I really have no idea what I’m doing.” 

I try to calm my nerves by thinking about the times I overcame fear. Like when I used to go off 100 foot gap jumps on my snowboard. I recall feeling a similar tension right before committing and then an unshakable certainty that ‘I got this’ right after dropping in. I really hope it will be the same in this case but my doubts are fighting harder than usual.  

I know that this anxiety can slip out of control rather easily so I figure that reciting parts of the talk in my head will help. This plan fails when I can’t recall the closing sentence, which happens to be my favorite part. The words have mysteriously vanished from my memory but what I do remember is that I have a cheat sheet in my pocket. With a fast, swift movement that startles the program organizer who is sitting right next to me, I grab the cheat sheet and read the closing line. She looks over at me concerned and whispers, “Are you okay?” “Yes, I’m fine” I tell her with a forced smile as she gives me some coconut water claiming that it cures anxiety. 

The speaker is now delivering his closing line, which I vividly remember – “See the impact that you have on your own world.” The sentence reminded me of something very important I once heard – “You are not the victim of your thoughts.” Perfect timing for this memory to have popped into my head. 

I’m staring at the lights, cameras and 700 quiet people sitting in the audience as the announcer calls me up to the stage. I drop in and feel an immediate shift in my thinking. The pain in my stomach turns into a tingle, I feel focused and in control. This doesn’t surprises me; I’m always fine while I do the things that I think I won’t be fine doing. I think it’s because my anxiety is fueled by what could happen and never from what is happening. Either that or I just drank some pretty magical coconut water. 

July 2015

There's been a couple of exciting developments in Live Unbound world this month included a possible book deal with NationBuilder. After my TEDx talk I was approached by them to write my story and the first thing that popped into my head was – really?? But it’s not all that exciting. I mean maybe I got a good beginning but that’s about it. The second thought was – okay why don’t I make it more exciting by going out and living the story I’d want to write. Definitely an inspiring thought that is now steering me in the right direction.

The old me would have stuck with that first thought. I would have held on as tight as I could so I would feel okay with saying no to a potential opportunity. Nowadays I’m fully aware that I create the path where my mind wanders. I try to stay conscious of where it goes because once it finds the perfect limiting thought then I'll remember it forever. I re-visit it every time I need an excuse not to do something I know I must do. I have a lot of these types of thoughts that I can’t seem to let go of. You’d think it would be easy to move past them but they become a part of you. So needless to say I’m not trying to create new ones.

I think Cormac McCarthy said it best – “You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget.”

Other than that I’ve been taking on lots of client work (how we fund LU vids) and adventuring on weekends (documented on instagram: @whereisyali)

Follow your fears & respect the dash!

- Yali

MAY 2015

May has been one of the most incredible months of my life. I gave a TEDx talk then set off on an intense road trip to shoot Go Seek. There were many ups and downs but it's not an adventure until things start going wrong, you ditch the plan and go with the flow of wherever life wants to take you. 

Here is an excerpt from the video which will be out in a couple weeks » 

Chase the version of me I want to be, stay on track by following the fear that holds me back.

Climbing up a setback, deep inside of what I lack, I’m stalling, running as fast as I can but feel like I’m crawling.

I tell myself take a break, relax, let what you lack be an empty crack, you don’t have to be whole to be intact.

But I’m not very good at lying to myself, I know I need to catch that uncatchable self.

I know that trying to be more than I am is who I am, I know that I’m in love with the never ending search.

It’s my drive, my passion, my thirst.

And it’s not because I’m never satisfied, it’s because I’m always satisfied.

Untied, fully amplified, learning how to glide in this bumpy ride.

This is my life commute.

It’s not the pursuit of happiness it’s the happiness of pursuit.

ALWAYS take the scenic route

On May 1st we'll be taking a road trip to shoot "Go Seek" which is all about seeking experiences that challenge us, inspire us and remind us why life is so incredible. Email me if you have ideas on epic locations which are off the beaten path!

Also on April 19th I'll be speaking at TEDxUIUC about the Live Unbound journey. Never spoke in front of a large crowd before but it's a pretty good first to have. 

Last but not least if you're an adventure photographer and want to connect with fellow creators and share your images then join our LU photographers group. 

-Yali

Photo by Dylan Furst

Sphere Skydiving Formation

While shooting our next short Doc on skydiver Dan BC we met Brad Patterson who told us about his idea to re-create Paul Bonds 1980 human sphere painting (the poster in the beginning of the video). Brad came up with an execution plan and assembled an incredible team that nailed it on the 2nd attempt. Welcome to the world of 3D Formations! The options are limitless and the team will be experimenting with new techniques at Skydive Perris.

Where We Thrive

2014 was a reminder that a worthy pursuit is less about accomplishing the goal and more about the incredible life you’re given when you strive to accomplish it. I tend to set my goals much higher than I can reach and see what happens when I try. The hard part is to not be disappointed when you fall short and remember that you’re much higher than where you began.

At the end of the day we’re having a blast here at LU, dreaming up new ways to inspire and bring this incredible community together. We will most definitely live 2015 unbound because adventure is where we thrive. As a result every year, every day & every second is full of possibilities.

Photo by The Watch Judge

New Poster Series

Had a great time designing our new posters with the talented Sam Larson.

Purchase here »  

Let Your Dreams Awaken You

More funding from the I Do It For Her foundation just came in for the Dream Enablers initiative so apply now! We'll provide the winner with funding and encouragement as they pursue their wildest dreams. This is also how we find our next video subjects as you saw with our latest film "Follow Your Fears" so take a moment to share your story.  

New At The Shop

Finally re-stocked and added a bunch of new items at our shop. As always purchasing an item enters you to win and Unbound Experience. Congrats to our last winner Zoheb Davar!

Our New Short Documentary

A couple days ago I released our new short documentary "Follow Your Fears" and since then it's been featured on dozens of blogs, licensed by GoPro, nominated for short of the week and Vimeo staff picks. 

Creating it was a beautiful struggle filled with many unexpected hurdles but the experience is certainly one I'll never forget.  Thank you Brad O'Neal for pouring your heart out without hesitation and putting everything on the line to make this happen.  

It all started when Brad applied to our Dream Enablers program saying »

I am currently building a ramp in an attempt to be the first person to jump a motorcycle high enough to base jump from. This has been my dream since I was 12 yrs old, when I thought of the idea.  Now at 26 yrs I'm still working on it and hopefully 2014 is my year! Actually the ramp is halfway built and sitting in my driveway lol. Just need outside support and this could be done in march this year.

He did wind up completing the jump in March and walked away safe and sound. Witnessing this process has been an important reminder that obstacles don't exist to stop you, just to test how bad you want it.  

- Yali

Purchase poster here // Designed by Harsya Ibrahim

Die With Memories, Not Dreams.

Ideas are easy, cheap and overrated. They are nothing without execution. Brad O'Neal has become the first person to jump a dirt bike high enough to parachute down (not off a cliff). It’s part of Live Unbound's next documentary “Follow Your Fears”.

Update: It's out! Watch it here.  

New at the Shop

Teamed up with Nectar sunglasses to create these limited edition sunnies designed to take a beating so you can live as unbound as possible.

Unbound Sunglasses
sold out

Lightweight and heavyweight hoodies are finally in!

Live Unbound Lightweight Hoodie
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Had to design this one due to the popularity of a Facebook post (see below).

Live More T-Shirt
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Live Unbound is 2 years old!

The more significant a journey is to our soul’s evolution, the more resistance we’ll feel towards pursuing it.

In the last year I learned that this resistance doesn’t stop when you make the choice to begin, when you choose to take that exit off the highway (as seen on "we live unbound"). You have to overcome it every day, sometimes every second and it almost got me this past year. For example my resistance would ask me questions like “What makes you think you’re worthy of being a source of inspiration?”

The beautiful thing is there is always an antidote to a doubt, I just have to take the time to find it. In this case it’s a simple line by Marianne Williamson, “Your playing small does not serve the world.”

I look back at the videos and writings I did this last year and wonder if it really hit the points that I was trying to make. I try not to care too much. All that matters is I didn't hold back and gave it everything I had. For this year, I have overcome the resistance.

Thanks for joining us and making 2013 such a remarkable year!

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The Sweepstakes Have Begun!

Lack of money often stops us from broadening our horizons and experiencing life fully. Live Unbound is starting to tackle this problem by launching “Unbound Experiences” which rewards our customers by giving them a chance to win an adventure of their choice. One that is outside their comfort zone or helps to overcome a fear. Learn more »

Photo by @DMARLATT

Photo by @DMARLATT

Photo by Jetpack America

Photo by Jetpack America

Live Unbound Stickers and Bracelets

Wear as a reminder to treat life like the adventure that it is.  We now ship anywhere in the world!  Visit our shop for more pictures.  

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