12 Akshay Nanavati Pt.2: Focusing on Clarity, Using Milestones, Meditating on Death and Finding "Fearvana"

On this episode of Second Half Comeback, I bring you part 2 of my conversation with Akshay Nanavati from Existing 2 Living.

As a reminder, Akshay is a U.S. Marine and war veteran as well as an explorer and outdoor adventurer who is on a mission to run across every country in the world! We pick up the conversation as Akshay is telling us about a few of his daily rituals. His rituals tend focus on health and energy. He likes to incorporate green smoothies and daily exercise. He also journals and uses a few different reminder and to-do apps to help him find clarity in his day. He goes on to talk about “priming” your subconscious and truly striving towards clarity of lifestyle.

My favorite tip from Akshay was to focus first on having true clarity of lifestyle. What kind of life do you ultimately want to live? What kind of adventures do you want to have? What kind of legacy do you want to leave? Then work backward from that primary goal and create milestones towards that goal. Now, plan and execute only the action items that take you to the next milestone.  

We talk about the importance of adding elements of “higher mission” to your life as well as focusing on leaving a legacy. Akshay is starting a non-profit foundation that will partner with organizations in each country where he is running to leave a positive impact on the local community. That way his run is ultimately a Higher Mission that will leave a legacy. We talk about the value of using a “meditation on death” philosophy to live your life to the fullest.

“Most of us live our lives as if we are never going to die then we die having never really lived”.

Finally we talk about what’s next for Akshay and his mission. This September he will be running across 5-7 countries in Europe. He gives us some great advice about tackling a large, intimidating mission. Do the smaller pieces first as you learn the necessary skills and build confidence. For example, He is starting his runs in Europe in the smaller countries while he learns how to manage the logistics and then he will run the larger countries. Also, “ find somebody who has done what you want to do and ask them how they did it”.

We finish by talking about the book he is writing. He explains the term “Fearvana” as “a state of unity and bliss without fear that is only achieved through immersion in fear.” This concept helps us turn fear into a positive thing.

You can follow Akshay on his journey to run across every country in the world at Existing 2 living 

Resources

The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz

https://www.youtube.com/user/Existing2Living