Ryan B. Fahey's Blog, page 3

Partnering With Outcast Foods

If you are reading this, you probably have some basic idea of what FaheyConsulting is and what I (Ryan) stand for.

Wellness has been a foundational component of FaheyConsulting (FC) since it's inception in August of 2019. If we aren't well, how can we lead well in the areas of life that we are called to lead? This is one of the many questions that keep FC moving forward. This is also how many of my great products and services are initially created. Helping individuals go from good to great has to have wellness at the center of that shift. And I want to help individuals and businesses own that shift.

This is why I am beyond excited to continue to be the lead foot in Canada when it comes to wellness and the wellness industry. While it's always changing and growing, it's my desire to move the field forward with FC.

In this effort, I am more than excited to announce a new partnership with an innovative company stemming from Atlantic Canada who is changing how we interact with our food.

This company is called Outcast Foods.

Moving forward Outcast Foods will be fueling FaheyConsulting. From running trails to lifting weights, Outcast Foods is helping me stay fueled to bring top-notch Consulting services and peak state thought leadership to people and small businesses all over the world. It takes a ton of energy and a sharp mind to keep my clients happy, so having a nutritional edge is a game-changer!

Outcast Foods uses the 'rejected' or 'slightly expired' produce from grocery stores across Canada and through their innovative dehydration process, transform these otherwise 'garbage worthy' fruits and vegetables into delicious, nutritious, plant-based protein powders. This process is called "Upcycling" and it is the new uber for humanity. This process (and technology) is going to allow us to reduce our carbon footprint by reducing food waste while simultaneously allowing us to eat healthier by consuming the high nutrient, plant-based protein powders over other powders on the market that are filled with additives, chemicals, and artificial ingredients. You can read more about their upcycling process here.

When I first came across Outcast Foods about a year ago, I was excited to see behind the curtain of what they were doing. Having been taught in the past by their Co-Founder, Dr. Darren Burke, I was thrilled to learn about upcycling. I couldn't believe that this was possible but in the same breath couldn't believe we hadn't been doing this sooner.

Fast forward to 2020, and I am proud to be partnering with such an innovative wellness company here in Canada that can fuel me as I continue to live and lead a healthy lifestyle.

I would encourage you all to check out Outcast Foods and to grab one of their plant-based powders here.

Our wellness is such a crucial investment and we must invest in this area first and foremost throughout life. But it doesn't stop there. We need to continue to invest in ways to better support our environment and the planet as a whole. One way to do this is by supporting companies like Outcast who are pioneering positive changes towards improving our environmental wellness. As I have said in my recent book, Your Best Decade, I firmly believe that our legacy is greater than our resume and we all have a small part to play in making the world a better, more healthy place. :)

Give them a follow on Instagram to hear all about their great recipes and ways that their products can support your health and wellness and to see how you can get involved in their sustainability initiatives!

Ryan

The Only Constant In 2020 Is Change

In 2020, the ageless lesson of “The only constant is change” has taken on a whole new meaning.

Regardless of how you feel about change, in 2020 it is inevitable.

Now that we have accepted this, the real decision we have to ask ourselves is:What are we going to do about it?

In answering this question, we can look at change two ways…

Change is overwhelming and uncomfortable — “I don’t want change.” Change surfaces new challenges & opportunities — “I accept change and am ready to embrace it.”

The choice is now yours.

In looking at these choices, let’s look at change from the second vantage point.Accepting change for what it is is in fact a small victory. Many of us ignore change or drown it out in the trenches of our social media platforms. We tune into our own echo chambers and tune out the change that is happening in real time, regardless of our personal opinions, following or ideologies.

The next step in our attempt to grow through accepting change is to get ready to embrace the change that is happening.

This can take many forms depending on your pre-existing experiences, knowledge, and understanding of the area that is changing. This is where our strategies for embracing change can deepen.

Let’s use checkers and chess to break this down.

In a game of checkers, you react to the pattern you are seeing on the board. It is very cause and effect. I am now going to move this piece because of the piece that just moved.In 2020, an example of this is what is now commonly known as contactless delivery. The change that you have accepted is that in order to get your delivery, it may now need to be contactless. You accept this change and make 1 or 2 different actions based on what you see on the board (selecting the contactless delivery option that was not formerly there before) and go on with your day.

However, while most of the world is playing checkers with all the change, the most successful folks are the ones not only accepting change, but playing a game of chess with it.Unlike checkers, the game of chess requires much deeper thought, skill, problem-solving, and decision-making. Rather than reacting to what you see on the board, you must see beyond the board and envision what is likely to come. There could be a combination of 10 or more moves that may be necessary to achieve success rather than just reacting to one single move.

If you are operating at this level of change acceptance and embrace, you will win in the 2020s.

In your pursuit of navigating the changes that are constant in 2020, it will be imperative to surround yourself with other chess players (from 6 ft away of course) and to consistently look for what is beyond the board that you see changing in front of you each day.

Here are three examples of how I approached this vantage point in my life in 2020 while playing chess rather than checkers.

Scaled My Small Business

While chaos was paralyzing many small businesses in Canada, I decided to sift through the reactionary chaos and to intentionally scale my business intentionally. I had a hunch back in March of 2020 that we would be in the midst of a pandemic until there was a cure — which would be at least 6–12 months. This would cause governments to change their decisions constantly, thus shifting the board almost daily.

Seeing beyond this, I decided to hustle on scaling my business. Given the extra hours I had in my weeks from a lack of events, gatherings and sitting in traffic, I knew it was prime time to scale.

Scaling my business came with many challenges, yes. However, the opportunity was too good to pass up. It was time to harvest, rather than time to gather resources and prepare for winter.

Created A New Product

Pre-pandemic when things were less turbulent, I had planned to launch a journal product in 2021. Given the logistics, time, and energy needed to create something like this, I felt it was a January or February 2021 project.

However, on a beautiful spring morning this past spring, my wife and I were sitting outside and I threw around the idea of creating this product now rather than waiting for 2020. I was shocked to hear how supportive she was in me creating this product now rather than waiting. She was seeing a move that I wasn’t. I had to trust her and made it happen.

That move allowed me to create Your Best Journal in 2020, rather than 2021.

Improved My Remote Productivity

Disclaimer: I am both grateful and blessed to still have full time work in 2020.

Given my full time work moving remote, I immediately began finding ways to improve my full time remote working productivity levels. Having experience dabbling in part time remote work for the past 5 years, I definitely had a leg up in creating these optimal conditions for maximum productivity.

This is something I have continued to refine over the past 5–6 months. Remaining productive in a remote setting day after day, week after week is an art. It takes intentionality and effort. It also takes creativity and experimentation. We are not built to work 40–60 hours a week in isolated, sedentary positions. So, we have to train ourselves to adapt to these changing conditions.

Improving my remote productivity over the past 5–6 months through things like journaling, taking walking phone meetings, and 30-minute siestas, it has been increased my productivity during a time where productivity is a rare commodity.

At the end of the day, none of us intended to be working remotely.We didn’t intend to have our kids at home rather than “at school”.We didn’t intend to have to wear a mask in public settings.We didn’t intend for the unemployment rate to reach double digits.We didn’t intend for this much change in 2020.

However, the sooner we accept and embrace change and the more often we treat it like a game of chess rather than checkers, the more success will follow.

Ryan

Create A New Story -> Create A New You

We are nothing more and nothing less than the stories we tell ourselves and the repeated headline in our mind is the headline the frames our time.

Best-selling Author ,Benjamin Hardy is launching a new masterpiece this month called, "Personality Isn't Permanent". Being an acquaintance of Ben and supporter of his former book, ",Willpower Doesn't Work" he graciously gave me the opportunity to have a sneak peak at his latest piece which did not disappoint.

Before I dive in on Ben's amazing book, I want to provide some context as an author who writes in the personal growth space like Ben. In my second book second book, "Your Best Decade" I dedicate a chapter to the concept of rewriting our narrative through the stories we tell ourselves. Along with our stories, if we redefine our time, we redefine our prime. In believing the stories we tell ourselves (whether for good or for bad) we inherently live according to those stories.

If we feel like we aren't going to get that promotion because of X,Y and Z, we probably won't get a promotion.

If we think we will never be financially free, well you guessed it, we likely won't become financially free.

Ben takes this idea about rewriting our personal narratives to a whole new level in his latest book. Having a strong background in ,psychology, and ,leadership, Ben brings deep insight into the fluidity of our personalities. Turns out, we can in fact change.

Think about it - are you the same person you were 10 years ago? What about 4 months ago before this pandemic swept across the globe? Are you different now? I bet you have picked up a new hobby, recipe, or a new book that has changed you and shaped you in some way.

In his book, for example, Ben dives deep into the dialogue that we should be having between our former self and our future self. We all talk to ourselves and about ourselves, so why not learn from those stories to grow, learn and become everything that we were created to be?

In shaping what your future self can look like, here is a list of questions Ben asks around imaging your future self three years from now:

By going through these questions, you begin to shape a new story and lay the foundation for what your future self can look like, regardless of what your past story has been.

Inversely, if we look back to our former self, we can often see the breadcrumbs that have landed us to where we are today. But that doesn't mean you should stay there.

To quote Ben, he says this, "By looking at your past, you will change your past. Every time you look at your past it will change. Every time you look at yourself in the mirror, you will change."

He also goes on to say, ,"Your former self is not gone. They are alive and well. You carry them around with you wherever you go, just as you carry your future self with you wherever you go. However, you’re probably carrying around a bruised and broken version of your current self, ,which is greatly limiting your current and future selves. It’s time to heal and change your former self."

I couldn't agree more. When I turned 30, I was sitting on a terrace having brunch with my wife and a couple of friends in Ottawa, CA when one friend asked me, "Ryan - what is so different about turning 30?".

I paused for a second and replied, "Nothing necessarily feels different in terms of age, but my approach to life has changed. I take life and time way more seriously and who I choose to spend my time with more seriously as well."

My former self (pre 30) did not do those things. In thinking ahead to the future self and the future of my marriage and my family, things had to change in my life to get us to that future state. My old story wasn't going to get me to where I wanted to go. In looking ahead, it forced me to think critically about who I spend me time with, how I spend my time, and how I approach my life. Simply put, I had to begin acting in accordance with my future self rather than resorting back to my former self. Once the vision is cast, the how becomes clear.

When we commit to recreating our stories and begin to act in accordance with where we are going rather than where we've been, our life begin's to change dramatically. Ben's book is an incredible tool to help us ignite this change by taking us through the step-by-step processes needed to ,deconstruct our former selves in order to ,reconstruct our future selves.

I would strongly encourage you to connect with Ben and to pick up his latest game changing book here or click the photo below!

#HerBestDecade --> Sara Cowper's Story

What Impact has #YourBestDecade (YBD) left on your life?

Reading YBD really helped me narrow in on exactly what needs to be done to reach my goals. I’ve learned what things are going right, and what needs some work in order to reach my full potential. It really solidified that what I want for my life IS attainable and I can still excel in all areas of life on my way there.

Which chapter most applied to you and why?

For me, it was Chapter 8 - The Stories We Tell Ourselves. Negative self-talk is a trap I get caught up in often. First of all, knowing I was not alone in this was huge! Secondly, having some tangible steps to address this was exactly what I needed. One of the things that stood out to me was ,,“We can become something greater than we were just one day before. What a blessing.” Why was I wasting time telling myself things that I would never in a million years say to someone else? And to think he was going to leave this chapter out!

What most excites you about living out YBD?

What excites me most about living out my best decade is how it is going to impact us as a family. The next decade will be a time of major growth for us, and such impactful years as we grow our family. Bringing them with me on the journey and putting these chapters into action in our life will help me be an example to them that we can work towards our goals with determination, while still enjoying life to the fullest.

If you could describe this book to someone in three words what would you say?

This was a hard one! The first few that came to mind were:

Engaging
Applicable
Inspirational


What is one major takeaway you have from the book?

My biggest takeaway would be that living with intention is the key. If you make every decision and move with your best decade in mind, you will succeed. Is this going to benefit me and my family, and get me where I want to go? And if you’re not in a period of change - what can I be doing today that is in line with my best decade?

When you envision living out YBD, what does it look like?

My vision for my best decade is time freedom. To spend my days with my family, allowing us to travel, visit family, serve others, and do so as a team. It will be a blessing for us to have the tools to help us reach our goals and be able to live out our best decade all together.

 For everyone out there who hasn't read YBD yet, what would you say to them?

If you’re looking for raw tips and tools on how to live your life at full potential - this is it!! Take it in, do the exercises, and then put it into action. There is no way you can read this without coming out empowered and stronger on the other side!

To connect with Sara about her story and her passion for personal development and wellness, feel free to reach out to her on IG: @saracowper

Alberta --> Dubai --> Macau. How Jace Ferguson is Living His Best Decade

What Impact has #YourBestDecade (YBD) left on your life?

As I read YBD I was very purposeful in doing so in a way where I could silence the noise of life and listen to the words and concepts that Ryan explores in his writing. It took me a full year to read YBD because life has be extra noisy and we need to be in the moment to be truly reflective and identify where we need to grow as individuals.

Why did I have to do this? Because I knew that there were going to be things in here that would stop me where I stood and have me reflect on my current trajectory. YBD has had the impact of affirming that I have been making the right choices and challenging others that I have made as I have made some major decisions that have a huge impact on my professional, personal and my family life. To be successful we need to be challenged to look critically at our actions and intentions, and that is what YBD has done for me.

Which chapter most applied to you and why?

For me, the best chapter did not come until later in the book where becoming the hungriest person in the room is a critical step towards developing a successful decade. For years I have taken the leadership approach of getting a feel of the room, finding the hungry people and empowering them to achieve their passion. This approach may have a time and place, but I found that my own passion and hunger were coming in second place. I felt that if I was not building up others, I was not doing a service.

This chapter reminded me that it’s okay to put my interests in front and build something great with the support of others. Using the passion and hunger that I have for quality education and learning for all, and being able to build supports where others can be part of the process as they apply their hunger is huge. Be hungry, but be a leader that empowers!

What most excites you about living out YBD?

The thing that excites me the most about my best decade (MBD), is living outside of my comfort zone. I love it here. It has brought me so much experience and success that would not have happened if I stayed in my comfort zone.

If you were to ask me a few years ago if I was happy, I would have said yes because I was comfortable where I was at. Now, I am constantly pushed to be out of my comfort zone and embrace a world often filled with unknowns. If it was not for the unknown, I do not think that I would already by living out MBD right now!

If you could describe this book to someone in three words what would you say?

Thisbookneedstobeonyourdesk and embraceit! (Don’t spell check that...just read it slowly)

What is one major takeaway you have from the book?

Everyone’s best decade will look different. My destination is different from yours, but we might take the same mode of transportation to get there.

When you envision living out YBD, what does it look like?

Freedom.

Freedom to work and develop the initiatives I feel with improve and benefit others. The freedom to be critical and not considered cynical. The freedom to spend time with my family and not have to spend time working for someone else.

For everyone out there who hasn't read YBD yet, what would you say to them?

Below is a link to the book. If you want some insight on how to grow your potential, this is it.

www.faheyconsulting.org/books

Who Are You Becoming

We are two months into the new decade. What has changed?

For the majority, likely nothing.

Why? Because many people across the world are lost in the busyness of life. Their goals, ambitions and values all take a back seat to the urgent and important. However, the most important question you can ask yourself this year to find yourself actually making changes in your life is this: "Am I happy with who am I becoming?". 

In the World Happiness Report from 2019, it stated that Americans are the most unhappy they have been in years. While there are many reasons for unhappiness, most of us fail to acknowledge the root cause of what truly makes us happy or unhappy.

I can tell you this, we all work. We are all humans and we are all "doing" things.

Rather than focusing on what we are doing to steer us from being unhappy to being happy, what if we just started asking ourselves, "Am I happy with who I am becoming?". 

If that answer is no, then it is time to start thinking about what you are doing. If the answer is yes, then keep going regardless of your income, influence or status. This spring, take some time to really think about this and how you can move from being "ok" to being your best .

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It is time to create the decade that you want.
It is time to create your best decade.

How Two People Are Forming Their Best Decade

Recently, our good friends Cory and Mallory decided to hit the pause button on work to reflect on what they really want for their lives. This is something many of us fail to do because life happens and we remain too busy to step aside from what we are doing, to then step into who we want to become.

In following their journey together, I reached out to Mallory to see if they could share what they discovered over the past couple of months while diving into Your Best Decade while adventuring the world together. 

Here is what they had to say about their reflections…

What impact has Your Best Decade left on your life while traveling?

For us, it has been being able to find out what we really want in this life — not settling for something that doesn’t seem right to us. When we read the book and really paid attention and reflected on what our goals are relationally, personally, and professionally, we knew that change is a good thing.

Stepping outside the comfort zone and going for what you want in this life is the best thing you can do for yourself and for those around you. Living out our best decade is a choice and we are making the choice to do just that.

Which chapter most applied to you and why?

We really liked Chapter 10 — the Yes/No equation.

We both were saying yes for so long to things we should have been saying no to. We don’t regret the steps we took- our job offered us so much experience, so many friendships gained and for that we are thankful. We just believe that we could have had a bit more stress-free time doing it. For so long we kept saying yes to getting trained in multiple areas at work, saying yes to doing call, saying yes to everything basically that we were told to do. That takes a huge toll on someone. We are in our late 20’s/early 30’s and we were heading for burnout. We stepped back and wondered “Is this conducive to our future goals”, and “What is going to be our next step?”.

We decided a change was needed. That lead us to leave our security, buying an RV, and doing that travel trip we always wanted to do. 

Saying no is incredibly uncomfortable, especially when society tells you that you have everything…A job, a house, a spouse, money. We were saying yes to all that, but now it was time to say no, and start living the life that we wanted.

What excites you about living out your best decade moving forward?

What is exciting about living out our best decade is the fact that we now can choose what is best for us and align this with our future plans. We both have different goals- we think about going back to school, or simply aligning our schedules to allow for more of what we want to do. We’re excited to be able to put those goals into motion. It wasn’t easy to take the leap but we’re excited and optimistic for the future. After all, if you’re not excited for the future something needs to change. It’s a beautiful world with lots to see, do, experience and of course endless learning.

If you can, describe the book in three words.

It took us a while to come up with three words-since there really are so many but we decided on these three:

Attainable

Practical

Empowering

What was one major takeaway from the book?

The biggest takeaway we took from this book is how to make choices that will benefit us in the long run. It isn’t just one simple fix- it is taking the variety of tools and information in this book and putting it all together to find the right direction. Of course, the directions we want to be in must align uniquely with our own goals. Life looks different for so many different people and that is okay. We need to do what’s best for us and everything else should fall into place. Yes, life always has curve balls and hurdles yet being equipped mentally is unbelievably helpful and we only wonder why books of this nature are not mandatory in school.

When you envision living out your best decade, what does that look like?

We have already started living out our best decade and it started with asking ourselves what do we want to do? We have always wanted to travel and see North America. We have had a desire to invest more time in reading, traveling, family and ourselves. For the past few years, we kept saying let’s plan a west coast trip…it just never happened, it was never the right timing. It eventually occurred to us there will never be perfect timing unless we did something to make it happen. We had to make the choice to do what we wanted or keep up what we were already doing. 

We chose us. 

That was the best decision we could have ever made.

We will eventually go back to work — absolutely! We are alright with that — we enjoy the work we do, the people we help. The difference this time is that we are going to find the right fit. We will make decisions based on if they’re aligning with future goals. For us that looks like spending fewer hours at work and spending more hours with books, traveling, activities, family and each other.

For everyone out there who hasn’t read YBD yet, what would you say to them?

First of all- Read it!

This book is for the long haul — Ryan gets you reflecting on all areas of your life. At the end of reading it, you’ll have a clearer understanding of how your life should look like according to your own goals.

We encourage everyone to highlight, write down ideas and thoughts, reread it, and have discussions with other people about Your Best Decade!