Where do you find inspiration? And, once you do, how do you have the courage to follow it? Grappling with these questions, Marc and Light break down notions of success and reveal ways we can follow our hearts every day.
Inspiration is the central pillar to Light’s book, Knowing Where To Look, which you can learn more about here.
Light Watkins is a renowned meditation teacher, inspirational speaker, and author. Once a model with aspirations to work in advertising, Light soon found himself traveling across the globe teaching thousands of people to meditate.
He quickly became a popular teacher in the wellness space, leading to a viral TEDx talk, publishing three books (The Inner Gym, Bliss More, and Knowing Where To Look), founding a global movement, The Shine, and hosting his weekly inspirational podcast, At the End of the Tunnel. Through these endeavors, he hopes to continue spreading inspiration to others.
A bestselling author, Light is back with his third book, Knowing Where To Look.
In June 2016, Light decided to take the leap and began sending out a Daily Dose of Inspiration to his email list. Five years on and he’s compiled 108 of those powerful personal anecdotes, essays, exercises, as well as parables classically told in yoga classes and meditation circles, in this pocket-sized book.
Read a page, turn the book upside down, or devour it cover to cover. Whichever way you chose to absorb it, Knowing Where To Look will have you recognizing inspiration, grappling with fear, and reflecting on your idea of success.
In this episode, Light delves into inspiration and intuition: what they are and why we should cultivate the courage to act on them. With the release of Knowing Where To Look, Light debunks the discipline illusion and reveals how a $4,000 contract between friends led to the completion of his third book. He shares moments of inspiration (both his own and of celebrities), the time he was stronger than his greatest fear, and the time he wasn’t. Marc and Light also bond over meditative practices, spirituality, and identity.
“I like being very clear about the fact that I don’t have any more discipline than anyone else. What I do have though, what I have cultivated over the years is a stronger ability to be honest with myself about my shortcomings.”
“I’ve run all the experiments. I’ve taken on too much. I've over-promised. I have overextended myself. I've swung back with a vengeance in the opposite direction… And then finally, I got to a point where it’s like, look, I just gotta be really honest with myself.”
“The problem was not that I had writer’s block or any of that. The problem was I didn’t have any skin in the game. […] I had nothing to lose if I didn’t go through with it. So, once I checked all those boxes, I got the thing out.”
“The ideas just started coming through me. […] And I realized it was happening because I kept showing up.”
“If something’s wrong, chances are unplugging it; resetting it will cause it to work again.”
“Grappling with those kinds of decisions on a day-to-day basis - it’s our heart; that’s our internal GPS that’s keeping us on track to our purpose, our passion, our destiny.”
“I think we just have to have the courage to get a little bit stronger than the fear. And that’s what inspiration does.”
02:31 - The structure and inspiration behind Knowing Where To Look
07:26 - How honesty, accountability, and compassion lead to success
19:03 - Practicing meditation and acting on inspiration
23:59 - Getting comfortable with stepping outside your comfort zone
34:51 - Reflecting on hardships and understanding who you really are
38:42 - Do we ever overcome fear?
45:10 - The time Light went against his intuition
Light’s Info
Knowing Where To Look On Instagram
At the End of the Tunnel On iTunes
At the End of the Tunnel On Spotify
References made in the episode
Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art
David Lynch’s Catching the Big Fish
Marc’s Info