burning questions with jonathan fields: family, leadership, and the passion-drive

Hedgefund lawyer turned yoga teacher.

I could stop there, because that's one impressive conversion that would make me instantly love anyone.

But there's so much more...Author of Career Renegade; featured in USA TODAY, Newsweek, Forbes; founder of Tribal Author - and I can tell you this man knows publishing inside and out, and is riding the edge of it; and the voice behind Awake At the Wheel - one of the most highly read blogs for entrepreneurs.

Jonathan Fields starts most of his days on Twitter with, "Good morning, how can I help today?" I was suspicious at first (but I'm like that,) but the man's plan is to truly be of service, and it rings through all of his work. Must be all that yoga.

1. What are you positively addicted to? (Note: my shrink defines positive addiction as “a healthy high, it makes you stronger. As long as the craving for it doesn’t take you over, then it’s, like totally cool.”)

Learning. I once took the famed Signature Strengths survey run by U Penn professor, Martin Seligman, and it identified "knowledge acquisition" as one of the 5 things that makes me come alive. And, yeah, it was dead on. I devour knowledge and love, love, LOVE to create. Especially things that impact peoples' lives in some positive way.

These healthy addictions have manifested themselves in businesses, books, painting, music and a voracious desire to help others succeed in similar endeavors. I'm also fascinated by the human body and the intersection between the way the East and West look at both the human body and spirituality.

2. What do you know the most about?

How much I don't know. Seriously, I consider myself early into the learning curve of pretty much everything in life. Probably has to do with my love of learning. I always see the body of knowledge to be learned as being vastly larger than the nuggets I've stumbled upon to date.

Beyond that, though, if you look at the lists people add me to on twitter, I guess I've become known for launching, building and marketing passion-driven life-enhancing businesses and books and helping others do the same.

3. What was the dumbest thing that you used to believe in?

Conventional wisdom. Please, I should buy into the collective perceived limitations of large numbers of people who've either tried and failed or, far more likely, never had the balls to try?

Why would I ever let THAT guide or limit my own life?!

4. If you had an altar, what would you put on it.

My daughter and wife. They're first in my heart, my mind, and my spirit. Everything else is cosmic icing.

5. What global policy, credo, practice or law would you like to decree?

Be kind.

6. In the mammoth sphere of all things on-line, who do you think has got it going on? Whose stuff do you actually read? And to put a fine point on it, would you pay to read any of it? Big question for a social media cat like you, I know.

Probably not supposed to admit this as a card-carrying member of Intergalactic Order of Social Media Heavy Users, but I don't read ANYONE regularly.

I read a ton of books...yes, paper books. I'm the guy who returned his kindle. Go figure.

And, I have about 100 bloggers in my reader. They all write amazing stuff...sometimes. And, yes, that includes me. Nobody hits it out of the park every day. So, I scan for headlines that draw me in and turn me on. Sometimes Chris Guillebeau, Naomi Dunford, Gina Trapani or Seth Godin call me, other times it's Chris Brogan, Brian Clark or Clay Shirky or author, Steve Pressfield and of course, the amazing Life Remix crew (disclosure, I'm a card-carrying member there, too, lol).

For me, it's more about authentic voices, because I actually DO pay to read every post, we all do. Not in dollars, but in time. And, that's a more precious resource to me, because I can't make more of it. When it gone, it's gone. So, I tend to veer away from rehashed prescriptive content and more toward stuff that makes me say, "hmmmm."

7. What are you teaching your daughter about money?

Money is a lousy metric for a life well-lived. It matters, but it should be sought as the byproduct of following a path makes her come alive. Wealth is about relationships and experiences, not stuff. Start with passion, then if need be get hyper-creative to MAKE whatever you need to live well in the world follow.

8. What are you trying to discover?

How to be the best dad and husband on the planet.

[need proof? check out Jonathan's article: Daddies Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Strangers]

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FIND JONATHAN FIELDS

His blog
Twitter: @jonathanfields
Tribal Author
Career Renegade