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... And I Breathed: My Journey from a Life of Matter to a Life That Matters
Jason Garner is a husband, father, former Fortune 500 company executive, and spiritual student who spent the first 37 years of his life working his way up from flea market parking attendant to CEO of Global Music at Live Nation (the world's largest concert promoter) - never taking a breath in the belief that to be loved he had to be the best. He has worked with rock stars and sports legends and was twice named to Fortune magazine's list of the top 20 highest-paid executives under 40. His second divorce and the sudden death of his mother from stomach cancer caused Jason to re-evaluate what mattered in life ... and to finally breathe. He has spent thousands of hours sitting cross-legged with Masters of body, mind and spirit including learning from the monks at the Shaolin Temple in the mountains of China. In... And I Breathed, Jason shares his story in his uniquely confident yet vulnerable style. The book gives the reader a backstage pass to Jason's career as a concert promoter with stories of Coldplay, Toby Keith, Jenni Rivera, Enrique Iglesias and boxing champion Julio Cesar Chavez as well as an in-depth look at his studies with Guru Singh, Dr. Bruce Lipton, David Wolfe, Ron Teeguarden and Shaolin Master Wang Bo.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2014
33 people are currently reading
172 people want to read
About the author
Jason Garner
1 book3 followersJason Garner is a husband, father, former Fortune 500 company executive, and spiritual student who spent the first 37 years of his life working his way up from flea market parking attendant to CEO of Global Music at Live Nation (the world's largest concert promoter) - never taking a breath in the belief that to be loved he had to be the best. He has worked with rock stars and sports legends and was twice named to Fortune magazine's list of the top 20 highest-paid executives under 40. His second divorce and the sudden death of his mother from stomach cancer caused Jason to re-evaluate what mattered in life ... and to finally breathe. He has spent thousands of hours sitting cross-legged with Masters of body, mind and spirit including learning from the monks at the Shaolin Temple in the mountains of China. In... And I Breathed, Jason shares his story in his uniquely confident yet vulnerable style. The book gives the reader a backstage pass to Jason's career as a concert promoter with stories of Coldplay, Toby Keith, Jenni Rivera, Enrique Iglesias and boxing champion Julio Cesar Chavez as well as an in-depth look at his studies with Guru Singh, Dr. Bruce Lipton, David Wolfe, Ron Teeguarden and Shaolin Master Wang Bo.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 29, 2017
I loved the spiritual parts of this book, words from Guru Singh and the positive and hopeful voice of Jason Garner. As a yoga teacher, I am always using my platform to share this idea of living our lives on a conscious level and doing the work on ourselves first. Deep breaths and movement are what allows us to open up the gates to this self-reflection. Thank you Jason Garner for sharing your experience to pure samadhi.
June 28, 2020
This memoir is honest, brave and raw, and is inspiring in showing the journey of a man in search of happiness beyond his programmed way of being. One of the most refreshing aspects is that the takeaways are given in almost no particular order, and swing back and forth between different aspects of life (spirituality, religion, family, love, connection, friendship, health, guidance, etc). This mirrors how things are in real life - we don't nail new ways of thinking in one go, we seem to dabble in things and change focus often to new ones... and yet we progress in the journey of self knowledge, unraveling old ways of thinking.
April 22, 2015
A book written more for the author than the reader, "...And I Breathed" offers neither the literary panache of a memoir or the evident lessons or clear instructions of self-help. It falls somewhere short of both, leaving us with a rather uninteresting, overly detailed, and emotionally stiff book. In his rise from poverty to CEO of Live Nation to spiritualist, Garner could've given us a ride that most books can't, but, forget the story, we hardly even get a sense of his identity. Don't recommend it.
August 14, 2017
I read the On Being newsletter every Saturday, and during an early-morning deep dive this summer, I saw one of the columnists mention the impact of Jason Garner's book. That got me thinking, "Why not?" I thought I could use it as reference material in some of the writing I do for the university where I work.
After finishing it, I will. But only so far.
Garner writes about the classic rags-to-riches story arc of going from a flea market entrepreneur to a big-time executive with Live Nation who hung out with the likes of Coldplay and President Obama. Then, after two divorces, the death of his mom and a hellish lifestyle that feels like a ramped-up treadmill, he leaves it all to ask these two questions: "Who am I?" and "Who is God?"
Big questions many of us ask at some point in our life, right? Anyway, Garner dissects his life in 26 essays, and later in the book, he gets introspective about himself and his journey. He's a decent writer with a conversational flair, and he answers those two big questions this way: "After all the searching I have come to believe the answer is simple and the same for both – LOVE."
Well ... OK.
Some would see this answer is superficial. I mean, you're not going to get Richard Rohr here. But Garner tells a good story. Plus, "And I Breathed" is a quick, decent read, and I did find some anecdotes and excerpts I can use in a book, essay or video script I'll have to write in the future. But biggest thing? I came away with seeing a bit of Jason Garner in my life.
Maybe, that's the best part. After reading "And I Breathed," I believe there is a little bit of Jason Garner in almost all of us.
After finishing it, I will. But only so far.
Garner writes about the classic rags-to-riches story arc of going from a flea market entrepreneur to a big-time executive with Live Nation who hung out with the likes of Coldplay and President Obama. Then, after two divorces, the death of his mom and a hellish lifestyle that feels like a ramped-up treadmill, he leaves it all to ask these two questions: "Who am I?" and "Who is God?"
Big questions many of us ask at some point in our life, right? Anyway, Garner dissects his life in 26 essays, and later in the book, he gets introspective about himself and his journey. He's a decent writer with a conversational flair, and he answers those two big questions this way: "After all the searching I have come to believe the answer is simple and the same for both – LOVE."
Well ... OK.
Some would see this answer is superficial. I mean, you're not going to get Richard Rohr here. But Garner tells a good story. Plus, "And I Breathed" is a quick, decent read, and I did find some anecdotes and excerpts I can use in a book, essay or video script I'll have to write in the future. But biggest thing? I came away with seeing a bit of Jason Garner in my life.
Maybe, that's the best part. After reading "And I Breathed," I believe there is a little bit of Jason Garner in almost all of us.
May 12, 2019
A life well learned
You really connect with Jason through the stories of his life and the lessons he takes away from them. He tells them with a vulnerability that is really sincere and meaningful. You just wanted to know this person.
You really connect with Jason through the stories of his life and the lessons he takes away from them. He tells them with a vulnerability that is really sincere and meaningful. You just wanted to know this person.
August 29, 2015
Only thing that e have to do is breath! Interesting story.
June 29, 2015
Very interesting, helps to give a good perspective on the importance of just slowing down. I liked it.
September 4, 2015
loved this book! Easy beach read and lovely. Thanks Jason for sharing your journey.
December 28, 2015
A couple of great nuggets of beauty and truth and a whole bunch of not that interesting personal history.
December 7, 2014
Thought provoking, entertaining and easy to read.
February 2, 2015
Five stars! I loved this book and encourage everyone to give it a try.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews