459. Loving Life by Loving Our Food

Malcolm learned about following his passion when he discovered his love for jazz. He played in a succession of bands and enrolled in a two-year jazz program in a community college, where he learned about his drive to immerse himself entirely in whatever he pursued. He set out on a hero’s journey, which included “busking”—playing music for money on the streets—learning and practicing yoga, living on the road and practicing deep meditation at numerous retreats. “My experiment with being homeless, shall I say, lasted until I was about 23 or 24. At that time, I met my life partner. We were both traveling, coming back to our home town for a few months.”

Having a baby and settling in for a while with his in-laws, Malcolm recognized clearly that he wanted to be an entrepreneur. Not only did his mother-in-law share his lifelong interest in food and holistic health—she owned a practice as a colon hydrotherapist—she also introduced him to the business side of his dream. “She introduced me to the world of personal development, success and entrepreneurial training. Since then, it’s been a path of reading books, going to seminars and constant learning. Their home was a landing place for us to figure out what we were going to do. We launched our first venture, The Light Cellar, in my [in-laws’] basement.”

“As amazing as my extended period of yoga and meditation was, I remembered a saying: ‘There’s yoga on the mat and yoga off the mat.’ You can be all nice and peaceful, doing your poses, but how are you walking down the street in real life? Intuitively, I felt a shift coming. I knew I needed to take what I had been nurturing internally and bring it out into the world, and apply it to my life. Meeting my life partner and having a child was definitely the impetus. I remember thinking, if I’m going to be the provider, how am I going to provide?”

1. Learn to balance your inner journey with your outer life.

2. Take back your control of the food that sustains your life from the food and pharmaceutical industry.

3. Re-think and recreate your relationship with food.

4. Find and maintain your own balance between your personal life and your business. Find a separation that works for you.

Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?, by Seth Godin