We recently connected with Joe Huff and have shared our conversation below.
Joe , so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
At age 18, I watched my father’s life come to what looked to be a sudden and very early end. I came down to discover him slumped at the kitchen table, white as a sheet and drenched in sweat. I called 911 and sat there waiting, helpless, until the paramedics showed up. He was rushed to the hospital to begin what would become a living nightmare that lasted over two months.
My dad didn’t have an ulcer—it was a dire case of undiagnosed cardiomyopathy, or swelling and scarring of the heart. His condition was so grave that he was immediately added to the top of the heart transplant list—odds of survival: less than 10 percent.
Time seemed to stop while we waited for a miracle. As we paced the halls, it felt horrible to think this was how so many people lived, eking out vacations and waiting on a retirement they might never see. Postponing life now for a future that might not exist.
The more I turned it over in my head, the more upsetting it was. In the end, I could only come to one conclusion: This. Is. Bullshit.
And that terrifying moment gave me a great gift. It gave me urgency.
I had been made suddenly very aware that there wasn’t a guarantee on how much time I had to fulfill my goals and live my dreams.
The health situation with my dad may not have been avoidable. What was avoidable was the regret he felt about the many things he hadn’t done yet because he thought he would have more time.
How many people are going through this same situa- tion right now? How many people just suddenly found out they’re out of time? That all the things they planned on doing someday would never happen?
What would you do? How would you feel? Would you try to start planning things you had always wanted to do now that you have a deadline?
Time constraints can work magic for getting to the truth and finding focus. Cramming for midterms. Pulling an all-nighter before a big meeting. Getting your taxes done on April 14th. We all know how a deadline can motivate us to get the important things done…but only if it’s specific and feels urgent.
This isn’t tax day. This isn’t the night before a midterm. This is your life, and it’s happening right now, whether you’re asleep at the wheel or not. You can’t just cram it all in at the end and hope for the best.
Luckily, my dad’s story has a happy ending. He did receive a heart transplant and was given a second chance at life. And as he started to recover, and found himself on permanent disability, with a very limited income, literally $716 a month, he could have done the safe thing and stayed stuck in his inner city apartment, close to the safety of the hospital. But after what he went through he knew what was at risk. So instead, he moved to a small beach town in Mexico. Where he learned how to sail and swam in the sea of cortez, he played in chess tournaments, organized sunset dinners on the beach and went dancing every night, he went kayaking, mountain biking, and all kinds of other things I would never have imagined my dad doing. I didn’t even know he wanted to do those things. But he was given a second chance at life….and he wasn’t going to waste it.
His second life made a huge impression on me. Up until then, I was lost. I was kicked out of high school at age 16 and barely managed to get my diploma. But I took that urgency and attacked life head on, finding ways to achieve my goals and have the experiences that I knew would be meaningful to me. And that’s when my view of wealth started to change. That’s when I started to really learn the truth to that statement that we all hear that our time is our most valuable currency. Because of those early moments, I became convinced that the key to life is investing in our experiences.
That led to a life I only dreamed of. I came from a blue collar family (my parents met on an assemble line making brake pads) with a very humble background, zero connections and had no higher education. Yet with that urgency to live life now I was somehow able to become an entrepreneur, start several For Purpose business, most notably with LSTN sound co., where we traveled the world helping to provide the gift of hearing for over 50,000 people, be featured in national media including the Today Show, Good Morning America, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, Bloomberg, and Buzzfeed, work with celebrities and politicians on important social causes, and perhaps most importantly, build a life rich in experiences doing things like traveling to over 50 countries, danced with the northern lights, tracked silverback gorillas in a hailstorm, stood face-to-face with hungry lions on safari, sped across glaciers on dogsleds, absorbed life lessons from Maasai tribesmen, built schools for kids in need, studied with monks, helped give 50,000 people hearing, swum with sharks, and explored many more of the experiential riches life has to offer.
From there, I became obsessed with helping others build lives rich in experiences. Which is why I became an author, entrepreneur, and keynote speaker. on the topic of experiential wealth. To do that, I facilitated of one of the largest studies on life experiences ever done,
I am most passionate about helping and inspiring others to find purpose and to live intentional, more fulfilling, and regret free lives. And it’s because of those early moments, that I became convinced that the key to life is investing in our experiences. That has continuously evolved and grown, all the up until now with the release of our best-selling book, Experiential Billionaire: Build a Life Rich in Experiences and Die with No Regrets.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Joe is an author, entrepreneur, global thought leader, and inspirational keynote speaker. He’s a leading expert on the art, science, and path to building a life rich in experiences. As co-author of the upcoming book, Experiential Billionaire, a self proclaimed experiential guinea pig, and facilitator of one of the largest studies on life experiences ever done, he is most passionate about helping and inspiring others to find purpose and to live intentional, more fulfilling, and regret free lives. With more than 30 years experience as an entrepreneur, founder and owner, Joe has helped tens of thousands of people around the world. As co-founder of several For Purpose businesses, his philanthropic work has spanned over a decade, most notably with LSTN sound co., where he traveled the world helping to provide the gift of hearing for over 50,000 people. Joe has been featured for his work in national media including the Today Show, Good Morning America, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, Bloomberg, and Buzzfeed.
Told through his own life experiences and backed by science, Joe’s keynote gives leaders and their teams the actionable tools they need to navigate and overcome obstacles to build lives, relationships, careers and communities rich in experiences. “Make Someday Today” has inspired thousands of people at Google, Amazon, Pernod Ricard, UCLA, Delta Air Lines, Virgin Atlantic and more to not only connect on a deeper level with their teams (proven to increase workplace experience, happiness and retention), but to follow and achieve their dreams in both their personal and professional lives. The results of achieving those goals and shared experiences further helps to fuel motivation and creativity, enhance and deepen relationships, and allow careers, teams and business to thrive.
Joe’s book, Experiential Billionaire – Build a Life Rich in Experiences and Die with No Regrets – is a best-selling book and can be found on Amazon and on the site, www.ExperientialBillionaire.com
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Finding resilience, staying the course and doing something you believe in completely.
Big, important things are hard. But they are always possible if you start by taking steps. You don’t need to be great to start. But you need to start to be great. Getting started is the most important advice. People wait for inspiration or some other excuse to live their “Someday” goals and that is a recipe for inaction and regret.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I’m extremely passionate about sharing this message and the tools to help build a life rich in experiences because I truly believe they are transformative. As such, I am always looking for places to deliver my keynote and workshops (companies, communities, etc.) as well as Podcast partners where I can be a guest. I would love any introductions.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.joehuff.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joehuff/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-huff-20bb026/
