[quote style=”boxed”]Blocking out each month and everything I want to accomplish during that, then reviewing it afterward and “grading” myself on how I did. This helps me hit my A-game as often as possible. I also do this weekly with a smaller scope.[/quote]
Jonathan Talat Phillips’ memoir “The Electric Jesus: The Healing Journey of a Contemporary Gnostic” has become one of the must-read books of the new consciousness movement for its honest portrayal of life on the emerging edge of the transformational culture. Phillips is director of Talat Healing and its certification program, a co-founder of the cutting edge web-magazine Reality Sandwich and The Evolver Network. He created “The Ayahauasca Monologues: Tales of the Spirit Vine,” writes a religion blog for the Huffington Post, and is a life coach and Bioenergetic Healer, holding Skype sessions for clients around the world and in his San Francisco office.
Where did the idea for Talat Healing come from?
I had suffered from bouts of anxiety, depression, and panic attacks my whole life. I tried the usual Western medical modalities to no avail. When I started having experiences with the human energy field (utilized in yoga, Tai chi, martial arts, acupuncture, etc), it gave me many new avenues to heal things I thought were impossible. Like a phoenix, I was granted a healthy new life and I wanted to share this wisdom and positivity with others so they wouldn’t have to suffer like I had. I wrote a book about this called “The Electric Jesus: The Healing Journey of a Contemporary Gnostic.” I received intense training in Bioenergetic therapy and life coaching, and now travel the US and abroad giving workshops and working with clients across the world (via Skype)
What does your typical day look like?
I’ll get up and do yoga and some Thai chi (or go for a run in Golden Gate Park), then there’s usually a couple early morning Skype clients (usually from the East Coast or Europe) and then I’m off to a cafe to do marketing, interviews, write articles, and general business development. In the afternoon, I may have a client or two come to my office in Haight Ashbury, then it’s time to teach an evening workshop, or meet up with friends or healers I like to hold exchanges with to improve my knowledge. Sometimes I’ll ingest cannabis in the evening with the yoga and energy healing as I find it super effective in transforming energy in positive ways.
How do you bring ideas to life?
The universe. I feel we live in a magical world and if I’m present and listening to what’s presenting itself, usually really great ideas seem to come out of nowhere — friends, the news, an insight during a yoga pose (especially with a little CBD plant amplifier).
What’s one trend that really excites you?
Extreme sports and fitness. Healing is often about finding your edge and expanding it. I love that there are all these new ways to find your edge and go deep and test yourself in physical reality – whether it’s CrossFit, speed rock climbing, big wave surfing, heli-snowboarding, P90X, etc.
What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?
Blocking out each month and everything I want to accomplish during that, then reviewing it afterward and “grading” myself on how I did. This helps me hit my A-game as often as possible. I also do this weekly with a smaller scope.
What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?
Shoveling manure from horse stables. It was my first job (maybe I was 11 years old) in the Colorado Rockies and it was absolute hell when it rained and everything got all soaked and disgusting. This job reminds me of the lotus flower, and how some of the most beautiful flowers in the world literally grow out of the muck. I went from that job and a string of horrible temp jobs to eventually defining my own career and living my passions every day. That’s the kind of transformation I work for with all of my clients.
If you were to start again, what would you do differently?
Not go to college. I would take all that time, money, and energy to get trained in the healing modalities I’ve been using for my professional/personal life – yoga, bioenergetics, massage/Rolfing, nutrition, etc. That English degree helps with writing copy, but it wasn’t much on the holistic or entrepreneurial end of things.
As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?
Market, market, market. Build up that newsletter, post on Facebook/Twitter page, flier the town, mention your practice/offerings at every workshop and speaking gig you get.
What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business? Please explain how.
Writing a book. When you have a book, people see you as an authority and they feel they already know you on some level and instantly have a deeper level of trust and commitment to the work.
What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?
My health conked out for a few months. It was like being a professional athlete on injured reserve. I didn’t feel I could heal during that time, so I struggled a bit with money, but learned tons of awesome new modalities to pick myself up. When I got my health back, I came back onto the field with a whole new level of skills and precision that would take my professional practice to the next tier, while giving me an unexpected confidence to go even deeper with my clients.
What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
I’d like to see an app that turns anything you say into the vocal tones of your favorite famous person/hero. For instance, I’d love to create voicemails and e-greetings sounding like Bob Dylan, Lady Gaga, or Barry White. Cans someone please makes this happen? It would be a blast.
Tell us something about you that very few people know?
Although I’m a counter-culture writer/figure (as well as a healer and life coach), I was actually kind of status quo in high school – valedictorian, student senate president, even prom king. It just shows you can get weirder, wilder, and have more and more fun as you get older.
What software and web services do you use? What do you love about them?
-GoToMeeting: allows me to teach my healing certification class and workshops to people across the Globe.
-Skype: a free way to do counseling/life coaching sessions around the world
-You Need a Budget: simple way to track revenue and expenses
-Right Signature: for having people sign waiver forms and contracts before beginning the work.
What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?
Malcolm Gladwell’s “David and Goliath” because it shows how your perceived weaknesses and disadvantages can turn into major strengths.
What people have influenced your thinking and might be of interest to others?
Anyone living at their edge and expanding it for the rest of us.
@LairdLife – Laird Hamilton who surfed the 35-foot “Demon Wave”
-Banksy and graffiti street artists
@Tony_Horton – Tony Horton of the P90X extreme workouts
@RickDoblin -Rick Doblin of MAPS (Multipidisciplinary Study of Psychedelic Studies), who is helping coordinate MDMA PTSD treatment with war Veterans
@johnelway – John Elway – the ultimate comeback quarterback and his wild-legged scrambles for unexpected touchdowns at the end of the game (a great inspiration for those trying to overcome difficult mental/physical health situations)
Connect:
Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.