Philip McKernan On Why It’s Impossible To Fail Pursuing Your Gift And How To Uncover Your Calling

The Fail On Podcast with Rob Nunnery - Fail Your Way To An Inspired Life

Philip McKernan works with entrepreneurs and business leaders all over the world. When people are seeking clarity about their future or want to move through roadblocks, seen and unseen, they call Philip. As a speaker he has inspired and challenged the Canadian Olympic Team and The Pentagon to name a couple.

What separates Philip from a lot of coaches, speakers and gurus is originality. He brings new conversations to the table and spends an obscene amount of time thinking and challenging the status quo, instead of simply repackaging business & life hacking strategies. Today, Philip talks about pursuing people’s truths, delving into the core to understand problems and focusing on how important self worth is.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Philip tells us what set him on the course to doing what he does today.
• Find out when Philip realized he was not living the life he was meant to, at the core.
• Hear Philip’s thoughts on fear and the things that hold people back from living in alignment.
• Learn why Philip believes no one can ever fail at doing what they are destined to do.
• Philip talks to us about low self-worth and how it impacts people.
• Philip shares his number one question in helping people recognize and understand their own behaviors towards others.
• Understand why Philip focuses on the origin of a problem rather than on the outcome.
• Find out how Philip uncovered his gift.
• Learn how Philip gets himself out of his comfort zone to take action in new areas.
• Hear why Philip feels strongly about people doing things on earth not only for themselves.
• Find out who had the most profound impact on Philip’s life.
• Understand why Philip believes it’s necessary for being to go through their pain.
• Hear about significant events in Philip’s life that led him to who he is, and where he is.
• Find out what’s next for Philip McKernan.
• And much more!

Tweetables:

“Who I am, and who I'm trying to be, and who I’ve become is not a reflection of who I am at the core.” — @PhilipMcKernan

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“It's not possible to fail when you fully align yourself to what you're destined to do” - @PhilipMcKernan

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[0:10:20]:00]

“In the absence of clarity, take action.” - @PhilipMcKernan

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[0:26:07]:00]

“Whatever it is you do on this earth, do not make it about you.” - @PhilipMcKernan

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Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Philip McKernan — http://philipmckernan.com/

Philip’s Twitter – @PhilipMcKernan

Philip’s Vlog – http://philipmckernan.com/vlog/

Philip’s Book, Rich on Paper Poor On Life – https://www.amazon.com/Rich-Paper-Poor-Life-Meaning/dp/1492758094/

Philip’s Book – Dead man walking: A journey from mindset to soul set – https://www.amazon.com/DEAD-MAN-WALKING-Journey-Mindset-ebook/dp/B009KA3CTM/

Cole Hatter – http://colehatter.com/

Cole’s event in San Diego, Thrive – http://attendthrive.com/

Jayson Gaignard –http://www.jaysongaignard.com/

Philip’s Retreat, Brave Soul – http://philipmckernan.com/product/bravesoul/

Philip’s Film, Give and Grow – http://giveandgrow.com/

Transcript Below

Read Full Transcript

“PM: Ultimately, everybody that's had a serious wake-up call, if they choose to act in an aligned way and authentic way as a result of it, all they simply do — All they simply do, if I can wrap it up in one sentence is they simply give themselves permission to do the shit they've always wanted to do all their life. That's it.”

[INTRODUCTION]

[0:00:23.2] ANNOUNCER: Welcome to The Fail on Podcast where we explore the hardships and obstacles today’s industry leaders face on their journey to the top of their fields through careful insight and thoughtful conversation. By embracing failure, we’ll show you how to build momentum without being consumed by the result. Now, please welcome your host, Rob Nunnery.

[INTRO]

[0:00:50.2] RN: Hey there, and welcome to the podcast that believes if you want to create the life of your dreams, then embracing failure by taking urgent and bold action is the only way. Today we’re sitting down with Phil McKernan. We’re here in the Bahamas on the island of Eleuthera. Just a little bit more about Philip, he's an inspirational speaker, writer, and filmmaker. He's worked with celebrities, very well-known entrepreneurs, Olympic and pro athletes, and even high-ranking government officials.

We’ll be chatting about how to gain clarity around what you are actually on this planet to do. How living in unaligned life will leave you with nothing but regret, and how it absolutely impossible to fail if you are actually pursuing your true gifts and calling, and obviously much much more. First is stay up-to-date on all the Fail On Podcast interviews and key takeaways from each guest. Go to failon.com and sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of the page.

[INTERVIEW]
[0:1:50.6] RN: Hey there, and welcome to the Fail on Podcast. I am really excited for a couple reasons today. One is — I don’t know. This might be the first podcast beachside in Eleuthera, in the Bahamas. I’m sitting here with Mr. Philip McKernan. He's an inspirational speaker, writer, and filmmaker. He's got one of the biggest hearts of anybody that I know. He told me the fail stuff. No, but he was really able to help me get through a tough transitional period in my life that actually led me to start Fail On. So for that, thank you Philip, and it's an absolute honor to have you on the Fail on Podcast. Welcome.

[0:02:21.7] PM: Thank you. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it.

[0:02:23.5] RN: You have got it. For some context in the setting, we’re staring off into this beautiful, crystal clear, the picturesque view that you would imagine when sitting in the Bahamas, and we've got piña coladas. We’re partying today.

Just to get back into it. Having worked with celebrities, billionaires, Olympic athletes, high-ranking government officials, what set you on the course to be doing what you're doing today and what is it that you actually do?

[0:02:49.1] PM: I think at some level I believe as corny and this clichés as it sounds, I do believe at some level I was put on this earth to do what I do now and I think I did everything in my power to not see it, to complicate my life, to head down avenues and paths that actually were almost bringing me in the opposite direction of who I was. I think I failed and floundered and meandered my way through so much of my life. I mean I'm 44 years old now. By the way when I say this, I’m not trying to imply that I’m at some perfect destination even though right now it's hard to argue that one in a physical context.

I think I spend probably most of my life trying to be anything but me, like anybody but Philip McKernan, and I think probably the most powerful thing I did was I actually just stopped and it wasn't a moment or a day, but it was a period of my life where I stopped and I allowed the pain and the realization that I was lost and I wasn't happy grip me and consume me to some extent. A lot of people today, and I was one of them, which I was staying so busy and I was running and running and running, and of course I was running from something I did know what that was. For me, it was just the realization that who I am and who I'm trying to be and who I’ve become is not a reflection of who I am at the core.

I stopped, and number one is I had to recognize the pain of that. Number two is start to consider the cost of that if I didn’t do anything about it. Then number three, in no particular order, was actually delving in and saying, “Okay. Forget about what's next. Forget about living in the now. Who the fuck am I? Who is Philip McKernan at the core? Am I the story I’ve been telling myself? Am I the byproduct of this surface story, like my name is Philip and I grew up here, and I have two older brothers and whatever, or is there something deeper? The reality was there’s something way deeper. When I started to uncover that, then I started to show up using that and allowing that to be a part of myself in a way that was never there before.

[0:04:42.2] RN: We’re probably — I don’t know. Maybe a few hundred yards from the airport and we got a plane landing right now. If you hear a little background noise, that's an airplane landing not far from here, and if you hear another clink or some ice, that's Mr. Philip drinking his piña colada. Don’t mind us.

[0:04:58.9] PM: Are we trying to piss people off? We’re trying to actually inspire them here.

[0:05:02.7] RN: Maybe a little bit of both.

What you said there was interesting in terms of knowing in your core that you were living the life that you are meant to and you weren't being who you are at the core. Tell me more about that moment. How were you able recognize that? Was it a gut feeling? Was it something intellectual, or what?

[0:05:23.3] PM: I'd love to tell you it was more proactive, and I think there was a bit of proactiveness in it and I am. Typically, unfortunately, in the world that we live in today, men and women have to almost find that they’re reacting to that place. In other words, they hit a place of lowness. They hit a place of depression. It manifests itself physically, mentally, emotionally. In other words, they hit a wall.

I have this idea of writing a book. I'm just about to give it away for the first time ever publicly, but this idea of writing a book called Wake-up Call and the idea of this book is inspired with the question you just asked. For somebody who says, “What is that? It sounds interesting. What is it?” I said, “It would be basically interviewing people who’ve had a type of wake-up call and some type of physical, mental, or emotional sledgehammer or wall, and who they were before, what happened? As they move through it, what did they do as a result?

For example, I would interview people who’ve had a serious physical ailment that one could argue was brought on by ultimately a lifetime of misalignment. Somebody has some mental or emotional kind of breakdown, which again is brought on by a series of misalignments or longevity of misalignment in the life, like doing shit that they weren’t meant to do, and then what they do.

Here's the very basic so no one ever has to write by the book by the way if it does go live. All of your audience can just basically, “Here's the beginning, middle, and end all wrapped up in one thing,” is ultimately everybody that's had a serious wake-up call, if they choose to act in an aligned way and authentic way as a result of is, all they simply do — All they simply do. If I can wrap it up in one sentence, is they simply give themselves permission to do the shit they've always wanted to do all their life. That's it.

I've interviewed enough people to know that there is — I’m simplifying it for obvious reasons, but there is some commonality, like if somebody says, “I have nothing to lose at that point, so I decided to open up the pizza parlor,” or “Nothing to lose, so I end up writing the book.” “I had nothing to lose, and I told her I loved her and asked her to marry me,” and whatever it was. Ultimately, I think, sometimes — And it's unfortunate that we have to waste — You asked me what do I actually do now.

I suppose in a way, I'm trying to wake people up. I’m trying to wake people up to the realities in which they exist in and letting them know and give them permission and assisting them to get clear on, number one; that it doesn’t need to be that way, and sometimes we settle for ordinary where it doesn’t need to be. It can be more extraordinary. It can be whatever. I help guide people in a coaching mentoring capacity to make those decisions and transition into a place of more alignments, so they love what they do, they love who they are, and they love who they’re with.

[0:07:46.2] RN: What do you think is holding most people back from living in alignment?

[0:07:50.6] PM: I think there’s a few things. I think people use fear, and I think fear plays a part for sure. The most common one I’ve found is people almost feel undeserving. They don't feel that they deserve. They’ll talk a great, they'll have the vision boards, they'll write their mantras, they’ll write their vision statement, they'll create their goals and dreams and the aspirations in writing or, and as I said, in a vision board of some sort or whatever. Often, deep down, they don't really feel that either, one; it's available to them. Two; is they’re good enough to deserve that. For various different reasons; stories, lack of belief, self-worth is a huge huge challenge in the world today. Some might call it confidence, but self-worth is a foundational thing that I can't speak for you Rob.

As a kid, no one ever took me by the hand guided me to understand what my self-worth meter was and how to reconcile it and how to maybe shift it. When I shift my self-worth and I started to believe I deserve more, I'm worth more, and therefore what I do is I invite and I go after things in my life that represent that. To me, self-worth is a huge one.

Sometimes people are just genuinely scared of actually achieving something that really is part of who they are because they rather run the risk in failing doing something that's not aligned than run the risk of actually uncovering what they're here to do, because, fuck, if you fail doing what you're here to do, there's nothing left. There’s nothing left.To me, actually, really, sometimes people are really afraid of how powerful they could be.

[0:09:14.7] RN: That brings an interesting question. Can you fail at what you're here to be doing?

[0:09:20.2] PM: Never. Never been asked that question, an extraordinary question, and I don't believe it's even remotely possible, because what you're here to do is literally what you're here in this earth to do. It might be singular but it can evolve into something. For example, I’d love to tell you I woke up someday, I realized I was misaligned — aligned my life to do what I do now, and I will literally — As you said before we went on air, I'll be doing this to the day I die. How I do it will pivot and shift and change, it will be a book, it will be a movie, it will be a documentary, it will be a...