04 - Part 1 - If You Do Right, You Feel Right - Ryan Wolfington

This is the first interview in a special series spotlighting the Inspiring Children Foundation. I'm starting off the series with co-founder Ryan Wolfington.  Ryan and I met during a social hour of the Mindful Leadership Summit in Washington DC where I was doing interviews for the Meditate This! Podcast.  I'm standing at my table just cleaning up and putting away my mic, and this lone wolf appears out of the crowd and asks what I'm up to, and the next thing you know we've been standing there talking for about an hour and half.  I found a lot in common with Ryan, certainly a passion for meditation and mindfulness, eating plant based, but something about him seemed a little off.  You know different from most people I've met.   As I talked to him over the next couple days of the summit, it became apparent that Ryan operates completely on intuition, doing what he feels is right, with little or no agenda.  Quite honestly, until I sat down with him for this interview two months after that initial meeting, he was a total enigma.  But then I learned that Ryan used to be a much different person, perhaps more "normal" if you will.    

He grew up in Philadelphia, part of a big Irish Catholic family, and from a young age he and his twin brother Sean were a on a path to greatness, full of ambition.  Ryan aspired to be a titan in business, but something got in the way if his aspirations.  That something was what you might call the abyss, a feeling of nothingness, emptiness, or meaninglessness in life.  He was a 26 year old, president of a company making almost a half million dollars on track to achieve everything he ever dreamed of and then found himself lying in bed one day, feeling like he was dying crying out to god for help. After an event you'll hear about in this interview, Ryan examined his life with a deep heartfelt sadness and honesty.  He eventually harnessed the same energy he had once used on his way to becoming powerful in business, to becoming a complete human being, living by intuition only and with deep sense of meaning.  He underwent a personal transformation that has led him to living with peace, happiness, and joy. 

Meaningful relationships are important to Ryan, and we start off this interview talking about the earliest and most meaningful relationship in his life with his twin brother Sean.  In Part 1 we cover his personal transformation and then continue in Part 2 discussing the start of the Foundation and the challenges along the way.  There is a lot in here, a lot of insight, wisdom, emotion, and honesty. And by the end you will see clearly why the Foundation has positively affected the lives of so many children.  Something they often say in the Foundation is if you do right you feel right.  It's as simple as that.   And nothing sums up the message of this interview better than that.   So please welcome, Ryan Wolfington, co-founder of Inspiring Children Foundation. 

Thanks for listening,

PF

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