Interesting Lives of Normal People RH Projects

We sit down with Segun Olagunju, born in Nigeria but raised in the US, who through a series of humbling experiences (“only out of humiliation comes humility,” he says), learns that if you’re pursuing a meaningful purpose in life, setbacks are minor blips—and even laughable rabbit trails—in a life with a clear direction.

Most of the time on the Interesting Lives of Normal People, we try to dig into the stories of our guests to find out what they’re all about, what’s been on their mind, and what they ‘just need to get out into the world.’ This podcast turned out to be a bit of the reverse.

If you’ve ever seen a music video from the band OK Go, that’s basically what it’s like hanging out with Brandi Shigley. Over there is the flamethrower, in this corner is a family of ferrets dressed in matching outfits, in walks a mailman with a green mohawk who is also her tattoo artist, and here you are sitting on a giant hand-shaped chair that smells of funnel cake. The whole thing is L-I-F-E, turned up to 11.

When you listen to Brandi’s story, you’ll understand; she eeks her way through college but becomes the hottest purse-maker circa Y2K (literally #3 on AOL), such that she has her bags showcased in Paris. Then, she becomes the de facto Fashion Queen of Denver by uniting, inspiring, and coaching dozens of CO-based fashionistas to take the plunge and “do what they love and love what they do” by becoming fashion entrepreneurs themselves. And then, she gave all these newly minted fashion entrepreneurs their first big breaks by selling their wares at her store (which she wrapped up like a burrito for customers).

But her life also smacks of realness and...even normalcy. She grapples with understanding how being an adopted orphan continues to shape her; she remembers her now-past mother through videos of her on Facebook; she experiences the questions of God’s character.

Enjoy Brandi and the authentic, whole-hearted joy she brings to every moment of life--and this episode.

Transcript

Question of the Day
What is a time in your life when you tried something, it didn’t go as expected, and you let it be the ending rather than a lesson? What would it take to revisit that moment, to reframe it as a step forward in the form of a lesson, and to transform it into something to be grateful for instead of a flop?

Links from the Episode
BrandiShigley.com

FashionDenver.com

Books
The Bible

The Four Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

Naked by David Sedaris

Show Notes
[HIGHLIGHT] [TIMESTAMP]

[3:58] Born in Manila, Philippines

[15:36] Sold everything but a sewing machine and a skateboard to move and grow the business

[32:07] Purpose in your work beyond passion

[42:05] Viewing flops as lessons rather than bad endings

[47:51] Advice for folks starting a podcast

[50:29] Self-confidence from vulnerability

[52:10] Honoring a lost loved one

Here’s a classic Would You Rather: “Would you rather be blind your whole life or go blind gradually?” For Lindsey Blankenship (Siegel), she didn’t get to choose, but she has a rare eye disease that is slowly making her blind. As a teenager, she skied regularly; as a 41-year old mom, she has to look carefully at her feet to make sure she doesn’t walk into her 4-year old son. When your peripheral vision drops to 3 inches in either direction and you’re effectively night blind, it’s almost like your skiing days were a dream.
OK, so here’s another one: “If you were going blind gradually, would you rather spend your seeing days going to the Seven Wonders, or watching youth baseball and building a website for people with other ailments to tell their story?” For Lindsey, she chose the latter and happily so. Between mom-ing and soaking up her son’s baseball games, Lindsey has chosen to create ThrivewithDisability.com, a storytelling platform that connects the differently-abled and shares the unvarnished stories of their journeys with the world. 
One last one: “If you were gradually going blind, would it better to live with high hopes or low expectations?” Powerfully, Lindsey has chosen both because she believes it’s the only way to live her ‘normal’ life. Her challenge to us is do the same.

Here’s something of a truth: ‘normal’ people don’t make commercials for a living. They don’t write 30-second spots featuring Muppets talking on a Facebook Portal, they don’t have their words read by Arnold Schwarzeneggar, they don’t direct actors in Romania over Zoom, and they definitely don’t have their work seen by millions of people watching March Madness. 
Husband and wife duo, Andy and Elly Holdeman, are two normals that do these very things. They market some of the most recognizable brands in the world--AirBNB, Facebook, XBOX--and, not surprisingly (given what we learned about their job to find human truth), they shared some very recognizable (even normal) facets about their lives: insecurity about your ideas, struggles for inspiration, frustration with clients, bosses/coworkers who just don’t get it.
As Andy and Elly share bits of their creative process, they drop truth bombs (as Andy is wont to call them) that are accessible and useful no matter what you do. Take “Underthink”, which is salve to the weary souls of we anxious, neurotic, or perfectionistic types; sometimes, we just need to take a “less is more” approach. Another pearl of wisdom was “If you’re going to do it, you better enjoy it” because...life’s too short, man.                                                                              
Finally, everyone should take heed to the Holdemans’ #1 axiom: “Take long walks.” So, download this pod, get your sneaks on, and take that stroll these creative genius normals ordered up.

In the Summer of 2008, Tory Leggat took the leap to move from Seattle to NYC with no job and no real friends, but all the optimism and pluck of a 22-year old ready to live out a dream of a year in the Big Apple. But when the (financial) world crumbled within days of her arrival to NYC, Tory had to recalibrate her expectations for work, personal finances, and community—and also her perspective on living out her one-year ‘passion project’. Being lonely, jobless, and aimless in NYC, Tory learned the value of being pot-committed on scary things, saying ‘yes’ to everything and going all out to live the biggest life possible. 
Throughout this journey, and many others since, Tory thoughtfully reflected on these life lessons and others, and began articulating them as ‘guidelines’ for her life. Accumulating these rules for living—like “Remember what YOU are trying to do and forget others’ commentary on it“, “Don’t stress spending money on great experiences” or “Appreciate your job”—she’s created a wise-beyond-her-years framework for big-life-living.
Listen to Tory as she shares this framework, being challenged by the realization that the wonderful, big-life she had lived (happy, comfortable and optimized for fun) was coming up against the even-better life she wanted to live (sacrificial, meaningful and bigger than herself). 
Takeaways:
Remember the variablesSpot the opportunitiesDon't take too much adviceOwn what you're trying to do
Question of the Day
What variables do you have in your life that you're overlooking?
What's true for your Experience Self at this point in your life? Describe what you see for your Narrative Self?
Links from the Episode
Lehman Brothers Declares Bankruptcy
Alexander West: custom men's dress shirts
Yuval Harari on the Armchair Expert podcast
Book: 'Principles' by Ray Dalio
Book: 'A Million Miles in a Thousand Years' by Donald Miller
Book: 'Shoe Dog' by Phil Knight
Book: 'Ride of a Lifetime' by Bob Iger
Book: '12 Rule for Life' by Jordan Peterson
Music by Hygge - "Quarantrap". Please follow her on SoundCloud
Highlights and...