Chasing Dreams and Relaunching into a Life of Purpose!

All right, welcome everyone, to the ReLaunch podcast and you know how much I get inspired, I light up, I get fired up when I have a guest that just really is one of those that has such a great relaunch story. I know it's going to inspire you. I know that you are going to walk away with some of those pearls, those golden nuggets. And here's the thing, there's going to be a little magic dusted in here as well. And if there's not, I'm gonna have us redo the whole thing because I know that that's where I am placing the bar. My guest today is Saul Blinkoff. He is a Hollywood filmmaker who has worked for many high profile clients including Disney, DreamWorks, Netflix and Amazon. He animated on the Disney film Pocahontas who doesn't love Pocahontas, the Hunchback of Notre Dame Mulan, another one of my favorites, and Tarzan. And then he directed Winnie the poo spring time with a Roo. And crocs New Groove. I mean, this guy has done so much but it doesn't stop there. So also worked on the hit Disney show Doc McStuffins, Barbie Dreamhouse adventures, llama llama, and the award winning dreamwork series Madagascar, a little wild soul speaks around the world sharing practical tools, you know, I'm going to be hitting him up for those practical tools for success and meaning and fulfillment, which is ultimately what we all are going for. Life of awesome is His inspirational podcast, saw lives in LA you know, that's where I grew up with his wife and his four kids.

You're listening to the ReLaunch podcast and I'm your host, Hilary DeCesare, best selling author, speaker and transformational coach widely recognized in the worlds of neuro psychology and business launches, which cultivated the one and only three HQ method helping midlife women. Yep, that's me to rebuild a life of purpose, possibility and inspiring business ventures. Each week, we'll be diving into the stories that brought upon the most inspirational relaunches while sharing the methods and the secrets that they learned along the way, so that you too, can have not just an ordinary relaunch, but an extraordinary relaunch.

Saul, let's just start to unpack this now. I gotta say, You know what, kudos to you. Because those films, what you have brought the entertainment is one of my actual core values, which is that you ought to vie that joy of life. And I gotta tell you, so many of the joys of my life have come from the films that you've been involved in? Kind of like, I'm literally tingling right now with excitement on?

Well, first of all, I have to thank you so much for having me on your on your podcast, the work you do is incredible. I've known about you, I've been following you. And it's just an honor to be here. And when you know, when you read that list of all that work I've done. And I'm not, this is not a line, I'm telling you, this is the truth. I listen to that. And I really am like that I really want to do that. I really get to live my dream. Like if you would have told me in 1990, whatever, when I was dreaming to become a Disney animator that some day, Hillary would be reading that I would have. I don't know if I would have believed you. But now you're right now,

right now we're pinching ourselves. Pinch yourself. I got a little energy going here. It is. So it's unbelievable that I'm sitting here interviewing you. So I feel the same way. And this is so awesome.

Especially you know, when I started out like I was 11 years old. I grew up in New York, and I was watching the movie ET and when I was watching that movie, I saw the credits are rolling and I tap my mom and I go Mom, that's what I want to do some day and my mom was like, what you want to leave Planet Earth in a spaceship? And I was like, no, no. I want to be a filmmaker. You got to remember like I grew up in New York. I didn't know any filmmakers. I didn't know any creative people. I knew doctors lawyers business. Zoners teachers, I didn't even know that that was a job you could do. And all I knew is when I looked up to that screen it was, it just called to me. You know, to me the biggest tragedy is when I meet teenagers, teenagers, not 40 year old teenagers who will tell me I have a dream to do this, but I'm not going to go for it. I'm like, Why, like, well, it's too hard, too complicated. I'm like, Dude, you're the one. That shouldn't be a cynic. Yet. You're the one that shouldn't be a naysayer, you're the one that should have this delusional optimism and naivete to go for that dream. And guess what, you know who else should all of us it doesn't matter how old you are?

This is, you know, what, such a sweet spot for me because I have had high tech companies to keep kids safe online, to make sure what they are involved with is no, no anti bullying, and yeah, all this and, and one of the things that we're doing with something that we have created, which is a tune in process, which sometimes I got to share this with you because you are going to go Cromie bananas for it honest to God. And if we have time, a little later, it might take you through it. But we're creating the same process that we've created for adults. And we're about to launch it for teenage college kids, and it's to get them. It's called Tune in, or tune in process, and it gets them to really start to connect the head with the heart with that highest self. So love thee. Okay, so you're sitting here, and you are watching at That's right. And you're the end the the credits roll, and you're like, that's what I want to do. What did you do next?

I have goosebumps hearing you tell that story. You know, I still listen to the ET soundtrack. Once a week when I'm in my most creative zones, I put on that final track from et Can you guide me still inspires me. But you know, like, I see that movie, it inspires me. I wanted to be a filmmaker. I just didn't know how, you know, so often I'll meet people and I'll be like, what's your goal? And some of them that are lucky enough to know that? I'll ask them the next question will how will you accomplish it? You know, you go to a great restaurant, you taste an unbelievable dessert, creme brulee, a tiramisu, whatever you want to make it at home, you can do it. If you have the recipe. Well, I didn't have the recipe to know how to become a filmmaker. So I went to a building that my kids will never go to. They've never heard of. That's right. And if you're under the age of 20, right now, this is something you've never even heard of or seen. It's called a library. Yeah. That's where we used to go for information as my kids call it the olden days, right. So I go to this library and I get books on cameras, lenses storyboarding. I find out the director VP Steven Spielberg made movies every weekend. So I get a film camera, my twin sister, my older brother kids in the neighborhood. And I started making movies, murder movies, monster movies.

Oh, yeah, remember is so cool. I made a

kidnap movie. We tied my sister up to a tree really tight. Afterwards, we go into the house to watch the movie. I still remember my mom going I liked the movie. But where's your sister? I said she's still tied to the tree. What's wrong? So look, you know, I knew I was going to be a filmmaker until I got to high school. I was a sophomore in high school walking down the hall. One day somebody comes up to me, they're like, hey, blink off. What are you going to do? When you get out of high school? I'm like, Well, I'm going to be a filmmaker. I'm gonna be directed like, now you don't want to do that? I said, No, I really do. They go, No, you don't. Because if you want to be a filmmaker, you're gonna have to move out to Hollywood. And Hollywood is filled with strange weirdos. They looked at me and said, you don't want to end up a weirdo, do you? I'm telling you, right?

That's the best content right there. You don't want to end up.

And I'm telling you right then and there. I gave up on my dream because one person told me I would end up a weirdo. And look, of course today I do live in Hollywood. And my four kids would tell you daddy is a weirdo. So for that, that is true. Well, look, at that point in my life. I gave up on that. Because you know, sometimes we allow people to come into our lives and say something, and empower us, make us believe in ourselves make us believe we can accomplish. And then there's the flip side. A person could say one thing, make us doubt ourselves, make us change the trajectory of our true dreams. So I gave up on that. I give up on filmmaking. And then my parents like what are you going to do? I'm like, Well, I'm gonna just go back to drawing. That's what I love to do. So I'm just I'm very lucky Hillary. My parents are incredibly supportive. They hired an art teacher to come to our home, teach me privately to draw from life, bowls of fruit, all these different things and one time she says to me go to restaurants and draw people from life. So I bring a sketchbook.

Now, are you right now saw I got to be I'm 60

Even at this point, right, and I'm in restaurants drawing and read people, and then we show her this portfolio, she looks at all the drawings, and she's like, I like it. But how come there's no hands on any of the people? And I'm like, well, because hands are hard to draw. She goes, Okay, here's your homework. Draw your hand from a different position every single night before you go to bed. And you know what will happen in six months, you'll get good at drawing hands. And she taught me one of the most valuable lessons in life. And by the way, everyone listening right now, if you could forget everything I've said up until now, you could forget about llama, llama and Madagascar, you can forget about my sister tied to the tree, that's fine. You want to walk away with one tool to apply to your life. It's get yourself a mentor, get yourself a teacher, so that they can help you understand where your strengths are, and where your flaws are. Because if you find out where your weaknesses, that is the answer key to growing, boom, in collectible T,

is that is the money shot right there. Right has when I in the middle of the night, last night, no joke. I was going through my mind about the difference between mentors, coaches, and advisors. You know, this is what I do on the melonite I think of and I'm like, everybody, everybody needs a coach. Because the coach is going to help you go and get things faster, get to that end, make sure you're dialing in and honing. What is working, what is your I call it your G zone, that great zone that you need to be in? But then I thought, you know, as I was thinking about even what you know, I do. And I'm like I'm I'm a co pilot in that rocket to your Northstar? Yeah, I'm just helping you get there a little faster, making sure that you don't go off course. And when you and it's Malcolm, Malcolm Gladwell. Gladwell said, you know, 10,000 10,000 times 10 hours. Yeah. And what was interesting is that actually got disprove that it doesn't necessarily have to be that, but it's the commitment. It's the commitment, like, mom, like your mom said, every day, I want you to draw your hand deposition different. And taking that and practicing. It's like people these days that, oh, you know, I want to be successful. I want to be an entrepreneur, I want to have a successful business. But I hate being in front of the camera. I don't want to go live on Instagram. I don't want to do tic TOCs. I don't. And my first question to them is always well, then, how are you going to? How are you going to spread your message? Right? How are they? Like you said, you know, you from sitting in that theater watching at? Yeah, that's where that that seed was planted?

Yeah. But you need to know where your flaws are, what your weaknesses? Are, that's the answer key to growing. Believe me, if you went by Steve Jobs when he created the very first iPhone, and you told them, Steve, I love what you made, he would have said thank you any other ideas of what I can do to make it better if you could give him an idea, he probably would have hugged you. Because people didn't really achieve greatness. They don't want to hide from their their discomfort. They don't want to hide from their flaws. They want to highlight them. So they can turn them into their strengths. Weaknesses can become strengths.

Talk about this a little bit more. Do you believe in all the people that you have worked with? The ones that Could you could you spot them? Because you've worked? Oh, yeah, actors, the actresses, all these different people? Could you spot the ones that were going to be like that, that that actors going places?

Yeah, I mean, first of all, I work with lots of professional actors. And I also work with lots of professional artists. And I'll just tell you, you know, all those projects that you mentioned, that I worked on, I remember the people, the co workers, whether it was leadership above me, or when I was in leadership, as a producer, and artists that worked alongside me, I remember the ones that had that mindset of wanting to really achieve their limitless potential. And let me tell you, that's rare because what I find which is, which is a tragedy is, I find that most people will do the least amount of effort to feel like they've accomplished greatness. Listen carefully. It's what's the least that's really their goal. What's the least amount of effort I can make to give myself or the world the perspective that I've achieved something as opposed to I actually achieved something? I've worked with big actors. I can't mention the names of the ones that didn't impress me. But you know, I remember, you know, James Woods, you know, James was like He did a voice and something I was directing or John Mahoney remember him from Frasier the Father? Yeah, of course, like or Rob Schneider. Right Adam Sandler's buddy. Like these are three actors that I work Tracey Ullman, all these are all superstars that I worked with, who just again and again, how can I do it better all in? Then there's the other list, which I can't say, because I don't talk negatively about anybody. But yeah, those that just just didn't bring their A game. So look, that teacher I had taught me that and I was destined to be an artist at that point, until I went to the movies and I saw another movie that changed my life. And Hillary, we're gonna test your Disney knowledge now. To see which one was that. Hum the song and you tell me what movie? Okay. I can do this. My voice Ah, no, I have it. This one. The seaweed is always green. If somebody yes, you go.

Oh my god, but it was the one that I really liked that my daughters and I always saying was um, you know, what, what is that stuff?

Look at it. Isn't it neat? What did you think my collections complete?

And the girl the girl who?

By the way, it was that scene in the movie there go the Goosebumps it was that scene in the movie that inspired me to want to go into animations. When Ariel was singing She sings one lyric. She says, What's a fire and why is it what's the word? Burn? And when she says burn? The animator Glen Keane, who I later found out as the greatest animator that ever lived. He didn't have the acting for her. So what's a fire and why does it what's the word? And then all of a sudden she's like, remembers Oh, burn no for the word burn next time you watch the movie. Liquid she does. This is what makes Glen Keane the greatest animator that ever lived. She takes her hands, puts it across her chest, closes her eyes, arches her back as if there's a fire inside her. What's a fire? And why does it burn? You know what she's saying to us? I want to understand the world. I want wisdom. Because the more that we understand the world around us, the more we understand our place in the world. And that's primal. Everyone relates that that means I'm not watching a movie about some mermaid. I'm not watching a movie about Luke Skywalker or Daniel in Karate Kid. No, it's about me. It's primal. We all feel it. And that animation really affected me and I'm like, I leave the theater. To tap. My mom was a mom. That's what I wanted to do. And she's like, what you want to fall in love with the fish. And then I want to work at Disney. I want to take the drawings and make movies and combine my two passions, my love of filmmaking, my love of drawing animation. And plus, I find out that Disney has a studio in Orlando, Florida, I don't have to go out to LA to be a weirdo. So there that is in high school, and I knew exactly what my dream was. My dream was to become a Disney animator.

Okay, I am going to tie us together. All right. Six Degrees of Separation together, Hillary and I didn't know it until right now. Wow. Here's the thing. We did watch that probably in our house. I am not even exaggerating by saying 100 plus times. Okay. So when I created and I've had multiple companies, but when I've created this one, relaunch, guess what my book is named? It's relaunch spark your heart to ignite your life. And my signature course that I teach, you know, yeah, you explain to your courses Yeah. Okay. It's called the fired up entreprenuer

spark and the spark and the fire the Ignite is what we're talking about.

I think that I probably at some point that that resonated with me. Yeah, and you know how things always you said it, I literally felt the energy in my body, like go from the top. Yeah, like literally explode out. Oh, what if what? Okay, so now you're on this path. You're on this journey? Well,

the first thing is at this point, I find out I know I want to be a Disney animator. I just had a huge problem. I had no idea how to do it. Right. This is before the internet. Okay. You want to be Disney animator? You type in Google and you'll get the answer. I didn't have that. When I did have was the support most supportive mom in history. My mom took me not my older brother, not my twin sister took me on a trip to Disney World from New York, walking me around Disney World to ask the Disney cast members that's what they call other employees how her son could become a Disney animator. And we're getting the it's a small. Oh yeah, we're getting on the It's a Small World boat ride, right? And the lady disease like how many of your party were like to my mom's like, by the way, my son wants to be a Disney animator. Yeah, it was very embarrassing Hillary, it was very embarrassing. So the lady's like, Man, this is a boat ride. Like we don't hire animators. Don't you think? She does? But look, if you want to work at Disney, you got to go to the Disney casting building. It was four minutes away from where we were in Disney World. So we go to this building. And I can just imagine from beauty, the whimsy of what a Disney office building must look like. The doorknobs look like the ones from Alice in Wonderland. The ones that talk they were made out of bronze. I open up the doors. I walk into this atrium, gold statuettes of Mickey Donald Pluto, Goofy, even the air in there was like, like pixie dust in the air. It had a smell. It really had a smell. I sit there for an interview and the woman says, Can I help you? I'm like, Yeah, my dream is to be a Disney animator as a high school kid. She goes, we don't hire those here. I'm like, Well, who do you hire? She goes, Well, we hire people that work the rides. People that make the tea cups, spin around and make the Dumbo ride. That's not my dream I said to her. She goes, Well hold on a second. She comes back in hands me a piece of paper. That piece of paper became the most valuable piece of paper I've ever held in my hands. Other than my wedding contract. Of course, I tell my wife, I said that. You know what that piece of paper was, it was a list of eight schools, eight art schools that Disney recruits their artists from and she says to me, if you want to be a Disney animator, you need to go to one of these schools. Boom, that was it. That was that was the recipe that I needed. And in my head, I heard my dream as an equation saw plus go to the school will equal dream. So I ended up going to one of these schools in Columbus, Ohio, the Columbus College of Art Design. And the first week in school. A Disney representative from Walt Disney Animation comes to our school on a tour stands in the auditorium. The auditorium is filled with every freshman, sophomore, junior and senior over 500 students. And he's gonna give a presentation by me this guy was one of the original animators on Sleeping Beauty used to hang out with Walt Disney, which is inspiring seeing someone like that. He stands on the stage, he looks out to us. And he says, Before I tell you how to get into Disney, show of hands, how many of you want to be Disney animators? Every hand went up. And he said just so you know, out of the 500 or 600 of you in this room? Maybe just maybe four of you will ever work there. That's how competitive it is. And when he said that I only thought one thing. I wonder who the other three are going to be? No Why? Because luck in life. You either believe in yourself that you can accomplish or you don't and I don't mean what you post on social media. What you talk to your friends about me deep down? Do we really believe in ourselves? Do we really believe that we can achieve that dream job? Do we really believe that we can turn our marriage into Good to Great to awesome. Do I really believe that I can wake up every day and become a better parent that I can have a better life Do we really believe it? That's where it starts. We need to believe in our limitless potential and at that point in my life, I did.

Okay, so here's the thing and this everyone I said we were gonna bring your magic. This is the magic. But a lot of people are like, yeah, I get that believe in yourself. It's so important. But in today's world, and you know there's been a lot of I call them global relaunches personnel relaunches business relaunches that are happening. And for some, they feel like, you know what, my my trains left the station? Like where where do I go from here? With the younger kids, I think we still have a shot, you know, forming them but the but the older, this is where I love because

the older the more we grow up, the more people begin to give up.

Right? It's like a person who said to you, you know, no, I'm and then you go off to a different but But what do you how do you work with people and help them really tap back into that first and foremost and I agree with you, you got to believe in yourself. You got to know that if somebody else is doing it, right? So can you

right? So the way that I approach when I'm coaching people is like this, I never start and this this could people don't always agree with this, but this is this is my this is my process. I don't start with asking a person what is your goal? Let me help you become accountable, give you tools to achieve what you want. Don't do that. I speak to them about everything they want. And then we help them discover we meaning me and them together discover what it is they need. See, I'm not a filmmaker. I'm a filmmaker. If you watch a movie, right, you'll see what a character wants. But then there's what they need Mrs. Doubtfire. I'm just doing in my head was watching our kids. Like, what does he want, he's divorced from his wife. He wants to be with his kids. This is a story about a man who wants to be with his children constantly. You know what he needs. He needs to learn discipline, he needs to learn that you can't just be the cool fun dad. You got to be the one that actually helps them with their homework and makes dinner and learn structure and is a responsible parent, you need to learn that because if you have that, and the fun part of you, that will be your greatness, right? So all of us have a wanton need. So what I strive to do with people, and I urge everyone listening, don't just ask yourself, What's going to make me happy. If you ask 99% of the world right now, what you want, you know, they're going to tell you I want to be happy. And for most people, happiness is contingent on outside experiences. Meaning if I meet my dream date, dream, girl, dream, boy, I'll get happy. If I get another zero to my bank account. I'd be happy if I get that job. I'd be happy. Don't go for a life of happiness when you can go for a life gets so much sweeter. Now what is that? A life of meaning? What we really crave isn't that dream job? Because I know people that had that dream job that weren't happy. So do I know people that have extra zeros on their bank statements? They're not happy. Don't go for a life of hat go for a life of meaning. You know what that means? meaningful lives are? How do I wake up every day? Focus on what's my passion, what's my ability and turn my abilities into response ability. Because responsibility is one thing, the ability to respond. And when I wake up every day, and I see where I have the ability to make an impact, and I use that passion and ability to respond take responsibility for the world. That is a meaningful life by the way you don't move it you see that in The Lion King. Simba remember Simba in the beginning he wants to be gay and he thinks being a king is I can do whatever I want. With Foster's like Simba. There's more to being a king than getting your way all the time. Seems like there's more right daddy dies, right? I hope I didn't ruin it for anybody but the movie is 30 years old. So if you haven't seen it by now you deserve to have it spoiled. Daddy dies Sybil goes and lives in Hakuna Matata world member Hakuna Matata. What a wonderful singing Disney music here people he goes into Hakuna Matata world. And Hakuna Matata is the greatest thing in his life. He's living in like Hawaii. It's lush, there's waterfalls, there's flowers, it's colorful. He sleeps in a hammock hangs out in a Jacuzzi. Everything's perfect. No worries, no responsibility. Life is great. Who shows up to the end of the movie to see him. Nala the little Linus he played with when he was little when now she's all grown up. She's got the big eyelashes, right? They're singing their song. Can you feel the love tonight? Right? They're rolling around. This is the sunset, right? They're about to make out. There's that weird scene when they're about to kiss. I was covering my kids eyes and like that they're just lines like still inappropriate, right? And then after they roll around, they decide to talk and she says to Simba, Simba, it's so good to see you. But you got to come back with me. He's like, No way. Look where I live. She's like, No, no, no. Nobody made myself clear scars taken over everything. And if you don't come back with me, everyone's gonna die. And you are responsible. Then you know what he says? Hakuna Matata? I'm staying right here. She's like, What do you mean? When are you going to grow up? She actually sings she sings the lyric. Why won't he be the king? I know he is the king I see inside. And you know what she does? She leaves him leaves him alone. You know what she's really singing to us? Why won't we be the greatness that we have inside? That's what she's saying. When are we going to wake up? Finally Rififi comes hits him in the head with a staff. He sees his father right. Mufasa is in the clouds remember who you are, but goes back to feet scar. And lion king becomes the biggest animated movie of all time B F before frozen. Do you know why it becomes the biggest animated movie? Not because we all love animation about lions. But because that movie gives us a taste of what real greatness is you know what it is? waking up every day with a singular focus with the clarity that I have a unique purpose. And if I'm a unique person, which we all are, if we're unique, we must have a unique purpose. That means no one else in the world can have the same purpose which means we're not in competition with anyone. And he was we have our own purpose. And when you have that singular mindset, bring it together to one goal how Do I take what makes me unique and take responsibility for the world? Boom. That's it.

You know what, there is something right behind me. My dad used to say when I was little he passed last year it says, My name is Hillary, but my family calls me Haley. Haley, your magic. Wow. And you have just given us so much magic and what you just said, Thank you. It is it is so brilliant. And that ability to be responsible, right? Take full responsibility for yourself. No blame, no shame. You're

never too old to do that. By the way, even if you're in a career right now that you don't love. Find a way to take that and look at it as an opportunity. lead someone look at someone who's starting after you. How are you going to impact them? Let me tell you something. When I started as a producer at DreamWorks, I was hiring all these artists. This couple years ago, every single person I hired I think got these young people in their 20s right out of school. Right? And I'm like, What can I say to them to let them know what's really important, right? And here's what I told them when I interviewed them. I said this quote, is it cool to be a DreamWorks? Yeah, it's cool. Is it cool to be working on a Madagascar franchise thing? It's awesome. But if you don't go home every day, feeling respected, appreciated, and that you're contributing to this. Who cares? Who cares? What you know, I, you know, I have a podcast life of awesome, right? That's my shameless plug. There you go. And I interviewed on my podcast life of awesome. I interviewed George Foreman, right people know him as the boxer heavyweight champion the world if you're younger, you

know, airfryer. Right. Yeah.

I had one for my wedding I've done on the register,

if you ever have like pitching this as like an infomercial, or is that right

by and didn't have the greatest smile, by the way.

He just looks like you just want to go up and hug him.

He so I get him on the podcast, and the guy's heavyweight champion in the world twice, which is arguably the greatest accolade a sports athlete could ever have. Because it's the most painful, difficult job you could it's just you in that ring with someone that wants to destroy you. And if you can win that, that's amazing. He makes $138 million the first year with the grill. That's a reason to get him on my podcast as an entrepreneur. He's a gold medal winner from the Olympics from boxing. He's amazing. Amazing. I go through all this stuff with him. And I asked him a question, George, what is the legacy you want the world to remember about you? George? What's the legacy you want your children to remember about? You know what he said without blinking an eye. One thing. I want the world to remember that I loved humanity. That when I walked down the street, I could smile at someone and make their day just a little bit better. He didn't mention grills. He didn't mention money. He didn't mention his heavyweight. Nothing. You know, look, all of us have had our names printed somewhere before. Think about it for a minute. You have your name printed on a bank statement. See what it looks like when your name is in some font. But the truth is, and this isn't more, but this is reality. Someday our names will be carved into stone. Do we the last place your name is ever printed? What is the legacy you want the world to remember about you? Okay, big deal. I worked on some Disney movies. Is it cool? Yeah, that I work on it? Yeah. My kids are gonna want to remember Oh, Dad worked on polka. They want to know one thing? Was my dad trying to become a better human being. Did my dad try to be a better dad, try to live a life of integrity and humility. Because at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter what we accomplish. It matters who do I become along the way? Because ultimately, that is the legacy that we leave the world. You know what you just said a moment ago about Foreman smile, you wanted to hug him. He knew that he was given a blessing. He was given a great smile. What are you going to do with it? What are you going to do with that? Potentially, nobody's like, you know what I'm going to do with it. I'm going to share it with one person out there. And that is the legacy I leave the world. That's what we need to do. wake up every day look in the mirror. Realize what makes you unique realize what makes you special. We all have things about us that we wish we could change. Believe me, Jeff Bezos has challenges. He's got problems to Kim Kardashian. There's things about herself physically that she wishes were different. I promise you it's true. But guess what, there's the other side.

Hold on, I have something I want to ask you. Talk to me. I do this in in the fired up in the fire, of course. And I say all right, fire it up. I love that you're 90. Right, knowing everything that you know, by the time you're 90. What do you tell yourself today?

That's right. What is that? What is that clarity you will have on your deathbed.

You can tell yourself what would you tell yourself right now?

There's only one thing to say. And I wish I knew this when I was in my 20s I wish I knew it in my 30s. And now that I just turned 50, this year, the Big Five Oh, you're in the midzone. Baby. There you go, man, I'm ready to go. It's really one thing. It's, it's, it's three words, it's Don't waste time. Don't waste time. What does it means don't waste time, here's what it means. It means first realize that time is so fleeting. It slips through our fingers, no matter how successful you are at anything, you can never get more of it, period. That's number one. Number two, we don't know how much time we have left, you look at your bank statement, you can see exactly how much how much money you have, you know exactly what's left with time, the most valuable thing that we have, we have no idea how much we have left. The tragedy for all of us is, and I include myself in this. We forget how valuable it is. And we think we have unlimited. That's what I'm trying to live and how do you how do you embrace realizing that well find little moments of your day that you are in control of, you know, if you think about it, our minds are controlled by things that we see. You see, a billboard tells you Coca Cola is great, you know, you're gonna get there. So you're going to drink Coke, things that you see focus on what we're thinking. The second thing is things that people say to us, things that people say right, right now I'm using words, Hillary's using words, to get you to think something, we're literally trying to control your mind. How many people out there are trying to control us every day, and social media, everything that we see every minute. The third, it's the rarest and the most valuable. It's the things we think of that we choose to think about. Choose to think of, I want to, I want to think about my relationship with my wife, I want to think about my relationship with my grandfather, I want to think about how I can control my anger more as a parent, I want to think about what I can invest more in my relationship with my spouse. And then I want to make an effort to do that. So the first thing is actually taking control of our time, and choosing to clarify who I want to become. We're not human beings. We're human becomings we're growing, we evolve. And the last tool that my wife and I use and this is just great. And if you're out there I hope you use this tool because it's changed our lives. And that is looking at life as compartmentalized windows of time we call them what is the window of time, here's a window of time. Yesterday I picked up my 10 year old from carpool right from school, my wife and I it's our first day of school. And I'm like I don't care how busy I am. I'm gonna be there that first day. And when we're in the car with her before she gets to the car of course I'm videoing I'm a filmmaker but I'm also a loving parent with an iPhone so I want to video that expression when we pick her out right? She's 10 My wife and I have a rule at carpool when you pick up your kid. Never will you ever be on a work call when they get in the car. The last thing your 10 year old deserves to hear when they get in the car at the end of the day is show I can't talk I'm on a work call right now. So no matter what so what do you do? You're off the phone. They come to the car and just the fact that you're not in a cone. You're on the phone shows them. I love you. You matter to me. And then in that car ride home for 15 minutes. You know what we do? We talk to her and we listen to her and she can say whatever she wants. And you don't she'll tell you you know when you pick up a teenager Hillary you know you got kid you have five right? So you know when you pick up a 20 year old a teenager whatever you ask them about their day. Say what do you do today? Nothing How is your day fun, right? They will tell you but you pick up a 10 year old you pick up a six year old you don't they'll tell you about their day everything. Red Crane, I use the blue guy went to the bathroom, I wipe myself I use the faucet somewhere between telling me everything and nothing is the sweet spot I want to be in right. But when you pick up your kids, they tell you everything about their day. But now comes the magic. Tuck in at night you know who we tuck in at night. Not only our 10 year old, we tuck in our 14 year old our 17 year old our 18 year old and what we do is we don't just tuck them in quickly and run off and binge watch TED last night which is a great show you should all be watching haha love a guy is amazing, right? It's just so funny what we do. We sit with our kids for five minutes each. And we listen. And we listen because you know what happens at the end of the day and this is the magic at the when you pick them up at carpal you find out everything they did that day. But when you sit on their bed for five minutes, at the end of every day, you won't find out what they did. You will find out what they felt about that day and the emotions come out. And when you are absorbing those emotions. Not only are you going to understand what your kids going through more, but your kids going to know you know what, my parents, they're there for me. You know whatever relationship with your kid when they're 18 and they open up to you start At talkin, be there Listen, realize that we're losing time. We don't know how much more we have. But when we have the time which we have so limited, control it, compartmentalize it, appreciate it use them as opportunities to grow.

Saw, I said that this was going to be a tremendous amount of magic. It is. And I wish everybody could look outside the window right now behind behind this, there are hummingbirds going off like just crazy. And it's just such a beautiful sight. And as you were saying all that such a great way to wrap this up. And I learned very quickly about time, and how fast it can go from us when I held my mom's hand. And she took her last breath after battling a year of colon cancer. Women in our family lived into the early hundreds, and all of a sudden at 78 she was leaving me and it changed my perspective on everything. And how fast from a woman that thought you know, my identity is I'm I'm halfway through my life right now I got plenty of time. And you start to appreciate those moments, you start to look at things different, you start to have different perspectives. And thank you for making all of us just a little bit better today with your your suggestions, your comments, and everybody. Make sure that you are really go back really listen to this episode, I plan on doing it. I think that it was so impactful for me as well. So how can people find you and follow you and hear more of these great suggestions?

Thank you, Hillary. Well, you can check me out on Instagram, Saul sau, AOL dot blink off, check out my website, Saul, blink off.com. That said, you can sign up for my email list, you can see all the programs I'm going to be launching a dream awesome experience coming this fall to help people achieve their dreams. But you see all the things I'm doing on my website. I also travel as a speaker. So if you're interested in me coming to speak your corporation about leadership or your communities, lots of things I speak about. I also just wanted to just just take a moment and you know, thank your audience for tuning in. Because you know, with all the things that are pulling us in different ways, the fact that all of you have tuned in to this episode, it you're already ahead of the pack, you're already showing that you're hungry for wisdom, you're hungry to connect. And, and just also be careful because you know, sometimes when we get inspired or we feel inspiration, we forget it. It slips through our fingertips. It's like one minute or inspire the next bit like what Wait, what did Hillary say? What did she say? So whenever you hear wisdom that inspires you, make sure you write it down, write it down, because it's one thing to be inspired. It's another to live inspired, turn these things into practical tools and apply them to your life. And when you wake up with that clarity of like, Yeah, I'm going to do this, I'm going to accomplish this. You're gonna make a mistake along the way. Don't give up on the clarity that you had. It's like when you're in the car and you set that navigator. You got that goal. You know where you want to go? What happens when you make the wrong turn? What is your car do? reroutes? It doesn't say, You know what, forget it. I'm not driving to the Grand Canyon. Now I made the wrong turn. Oh, we got to do that ourselves. So I urge you take inspiration, turn it into tools. And when we make mistakes along the way, and we all do that's what it means to be a human being. Just reroute, come back to it. And then wake up with that sweet pleasure of, of growing. Because when you grow as a human being, your life isn't just good. Your life isn't just great. Your life is awesome.

Such magic. Thank you so much. And everyone we have now been touched with three HQ On this episode, your headquarters heart, head, highest self. And a lot of hard here a lot of highest self. And if you're trying to figure out now where are you? You might have gotten a little glimmer, go to therelaunch.com and take the three HQ quiz. Get Started, right? You've heard so much amazing, but you got to take action. Just that first step gets you to break through that the invisible barriers that we all have. So Saul, thank you for being here. I'm gonna put everything in the show notes. It was truly a pleasure for me. And for everyone out there. Please go check out Saul. I want to make sure I know where you're going to be speaking. I want to see that. So look forward to I'll be the one in the audience you know, waving you down. And again, everyone. It is about live now. Love now. Relaunch now and we'll see you back next week on our show. Take care

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