Enjoy My Story (Ben Gioia)

I’d like to take just a few minutes and tell you my story. Because I’d like you to know who I am, where I’ve been, and what I’m about. And to let you know where my insights and discoveries have come from.

So I invite you to take a moment, take a deep breath, smile, and imagine me trekking in the mountains of southern India with a guide named Vijay (who had a huge smile).

At 6,000 feet, it was hot, dry, and dusty because it hadn’t rained in four months. The sun was beating down on our heads and shoulders, and Vijay shared his story as we walked along the path.

Suddenly, from somewhere behind the trees, I could hear screams and shouts (not in English, of course). And then Vijay yelled, “Run!” over his shoulder as he ran down the path.

So, I ran. And ran. And ran.

I didn’t know why I was running, but I knew I was running for my life.

And this was the second time—out of four times in 72 hours—that I almost died in India. As I kept running along this dry and dusty mountain path, my life flashed before my eyes.

• I remembered my childhood, then high school in New York City (mostly), and college, where I earned a BA in psychology and creative writing.
• I remembered producing magazines published by Hearst and Condé Nast, working with multiple startups, and traveling around the world.
• I remembered helping launch AARP The Magazine, which was mailed to 32 million people.
• I remembered helping two chapters of The ALS Association through an organizational consolidation so they could serve half the people in California living with Lou Gehrig’s disease (a few years before The Ice Bucket Challenge). Not to mention creating their first mindfulness program for patients and their families.

Then I remembered being fed up:

• Tired of the business world because everything I could see was focused on profit at the expense of everything and everyone else.
• Discouraged by nonprofits because I could see that most didn’t have the power, knowledge, training, or resources to make a bigger impact (even though so many nonprofits and NGOs do incredible things).

That’s when it dawned on me. I want to make an ongoing, major, positive shift on the planet. So I chose to help the individuals, organizations, and movements already making a difference: those that want to turn up the volume on their influence, income, and impact.

With this clarity, I focused on becoming a top-notch leader, coach, marketer, and communicator. I also started a regular meditation practice that I’ve been doing since 2006 (including over 130 days of silent retreats so far).

I spent years synthesizing everything I’d learned, created, and achieved (at school and in the corporate world, nonprofit world, and my life). I studied with incredible coaches. I joined masterminds with influential people and learned from powerful mentors. I analyzed genius copywriters. I read tons of books, took lots of courses, and took pages and pages and pages of notes.

The more I learned, the more action I took. More action meant more feedback; more feedback meant more clarity. More clarity meant more results.

I also made lots (and lots) of mistakes. So, I reflected on all of these “failures,” learned the lessons (some tough ones), and integrated my wisdom and insights.

Today, I’m a four-time, best-selling author, podcast, and international radio show host. My teachings are used by more than 80,000 leaders and game-changers around the world. I help folks write great books in as little as five weeks, enjoy five-figure speaking fees, and attract six-figure consulting. (That’s before they even publish.)

I’ve trained hundreds of millionaires and helped a Fortune 100 create an empathy video game for 20,000 employees. With 39 years of writing and publishing adventures, I helped launch the world’s largest magazine (AARP) and received a patient services award from The ALS Association.

And that’s what’s up at the time of this writing.

(By the way, the "almost dying" was my bus (almost going off a mountain road), then running from a wildfire, then encountering a poisnous snake, and then, finally, a mountain lion. All in 72 hours!)

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(Oh, and also there's this FREE Summit coming up next April 8 to 11!)

https://www.magneticinfluencesummit.com/