Cultivating a Home from Within to Create the Home We Seek Without

Beyond Your Default

"Hey, I made it home safely!"

I fired off that text message just before midnight on Sunday night, as my face was in a state of free-fall, hurtling at top speed toward the soft pillow on my bed. I was exhausted. After a long weekend of shenanigans and making memories out of state with a few close friends, I had finally made it back to Connecticut in one piece.

⚡ Related: What Is Beyond Your Default? (The Start of the Journey)

Here's what's funny about that text message. I hadn't used the word "home" to describe where I've been staying since ... well, March of this year? Maybe even February?

For those who've been listening to the podcast for any length of time, that's not brand new information. Earlier this year, I smashed the "detonate" button on my life. I got a divorce from the man I had been with for more than 15 years. I moved away from Maryland to Connecticut. And on and on. It's been a year of change, of forced fresh starts, of taking charge, of leaping into the unknown in very big ways ... and also intense feelings of being unmoored and adrift.

Belonging nowhere.

In places, never quite "of" them.

Then, with little to no fanfare, and no particular catalyst moment I can identify ... suddenly my short-term rental tucked away in the shadow of Yale Hospital in New Haven became a home. But it was a sensation that had less to do with my surroundings and more to do with a sudden warmth and knowing I felt within my heart.

⚡ Related: Mastering Fear to Understand + Harness Your Emotional GPS

And that's what this episode is all about. The idea of "home" is different for each of us. But how do we define home? What are the mindsets and ideas one can embrace to create that sense of belonging that we crave, as humans, so deeply? Join George and I as we explore the home within that's waiting for each and every one of you.

Questions We Discuss

• What does it really mean to be at "home" somewhere?
• What is the difference between a house and a home?
• How is finding a home a choice we make?
• What do happiness, originality, mastery, and evolution come together within to help us create a sense of home and true belonging?

Key Conversation Points

• By the time George had turned 15, he had moved 15 times. So, his relationship with the idea of home — as well as how he defines it — is different than most. He learned to cultivate that sense of belonging within at a young age.
• What do academics say about home? It's a place to entrust your sleep. It's a symbol of ourselves. It's a firewall against chaos.
• What do our body and spirit have to do with the idea of home? This is essential to understand, as it unlocks our ability to live beyond our default. Our body is the building, but our spirit (mind) is the real home.

Key Conversation Points

• "A house is built by wisdom, and it is established by understanding; by knowledge, the rooms are filled with every precious and beautiful treasure."
  ― Proverbs 24:3-4
• “I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself.”
  — Maya Angelou
• “Home isn’t where you’re from, it’s where you find light when all grows dark.”
  ― Pierce Brown, American author