- Hey everybody. Welcome to the Hoffman Podcast. It's Drew Horning and Eric Larson is our guest today. Eric took the process 15 years ago and he describes what led to him coming to the process, and then a few moments during his process, and then the 15 years intervening and all that happened. All that's transpired and I think about authenticity when I think about Eric's story here. See if you can see his authenticity.
I also want to add that in this episode, he does speak to physical abuse and the abuse he's had physically from others, and that includes spanking. And it may not be suitable for all listeners, but we hope you enjoy it. Thanks for being a part of the Hoffman Podcast and a part of the Hoffman community. - Welcome to Love's Everyday Radius, a podcast brought to you by the Hoffman Institute.
My name is Drew Horning and on this podcast we catch up with graduates of the process and have a conversation with them about how their work in the process is informing their life outside of the process. How their spirit and how their love are living in the world around them, their everyday radius. - Hey everybody, welcome to the Hoffman Podcast. Eric Larson is with us. Eric, welcome. - Thank you Drew. And uh, I am absolutely stoked and honored to be here today with you. - We're honored as well.
Eric, will you share a little bit about who you are? - Absolutely. So I'm 57. I am recently retired and I am the father to two of the most extraordinary kids on the planet. Uh, my daughter Anya's 23, just finished her master's at Sydney University starting her career. And my son Luke, is at Sydney University, but also at Copenhagen Business School right now. And, uh, he is 21 and finishing his degree and I'm flying to Copenhagen tomorrow to spend some fun time with him.
So I am a graduate of the Hoffman Process 18 years ago and a recent grad of a my fourth Q2. - Wow, you're fourth. Yeah. You, you enjoy those quick post-process. Weekends, three day intensives as a re-ignition of spirit. - Well, the first, second and third didn't fix me, so, uh, I had to go back again. . So yes, they are absolutely phenomenal and I, I know that I will do more. - Beautiful, Eric. So I wanna ask a little bit about 18 years ago. Take us there. What brought you to the process?
What happened that had you say, alright, I'm signing up. - It was October 7th, 2005 and I was in my office jamming away on a big project with a big deadline, and my wife was at home mothering our four and 6-year-old, and I got a knock on my open office door. And in walks this guy and I vaguely recognized him. He is the guy that you would see around town putting boots on, uh, on cars, something which I never had. But anyway, he said, I need to hand you something.
And I said, great. I said, we just set it on the corner of my desk there. And so I continued cranking away and eventually I looked over to see what he had said on my desk and it said, disillusion of marriage. And I thought, oh, wow, I wonder what client this is gonna be for. 'cause we did a lot of forensics and, uh, litigation support for big nasty Aspen divorces that had million dollar legal fees on either side of the table.
And so, um, I kept cranking away and pretty soon I look over and I read down a little further and I saw my name and I literally, my life flashed before my eyes. And the first thing I thought of was my kids. I thought, I'm not gonna get up and get 'em off to school every day and lay down next to them and read them a bedtime story and put them to sleep. They were six and four at the time, and I was absolutely devastated.
And I walked in and I shared with my office manager who had recently gone through a divorce, what had happened, and he just threw his arms around me and my parents were in town at the time. So I did that walk of shame on the way home wondering how am I gonna explain this? And, uh, I got to our other home where my parents were staying and went in and, you know, gathered them and said, I need to tell you something. And I shared with them. And, you know, my mom's reaction was interesting.
She certainly didn't like the news, but, you know, got on the phone and was trying to get a flight to get out of town. And my dad ended up staying another 10 days during that time that, uh, my dad was there, a woman in the house next door was having a housewarming party. And I went to that with my dad, and my dad's very social, so he was talking to a bunch of people. And I, you know, I was just like really down.
And a friend of mine was there, and he came up to me and, and, uh, he was part of a business group. I had started through the chamber and I was presenting one day and I got really emotional, but I didn't share why. And so at this housewarming party, he comes up to me and said, Hey, I, I know you're going through a challenging time in your life and I did this thing once called the Hoffman, and I think you should go. And I'm thinking, oh my God, this is Lloyd.
You know, it's probably some airy fairy thing. And I literally walked next door to my house and went in and Googled it and looked at it and sat there and saw the leg negative love syndrome and thought, ah, man, I don't get it. And later my dad came home and he looked at it and he said, man, I don't know.
I don't get it. And I called the next day and I went as soon as possible, I would've gone to the next available, which was three weeks later, but it was my son's fourth birthday and I wasn't gonna miss that.
So I went on November 3rd, 2005, and at that time it was an eight day process, which meant that I graduated on 11 11 0 5, which is a date I'll never forget, - Eric, with inspiration and plenty of motivation based on what the papers you received from your wife around dissolution of marriage, you step into your process and invite us into your week, if you will. What happened? Well, - Let me just back up briefly and, and share with you the next day.
I went into the office and I told my partner what had happened, and the first thing he said was, the first thing we need to think about is the practice. You know, no compassion, no empathy, no nothing. And then when I told him I was gonna go to Hoffman, we had a, a client that went and he said, well, don't go for cancer treatment when all you have is a splinter in your little toe.
So flash forward to the moment that I was leaving, I told my kids that I was going off to better daddy school, - Better daddy school, - Better daddy school, you know, growing up I learned to wear a lot of social masks so that I could fit in. So I, I flew out to San Francisco and I stayed with a dear, dear friend of mine who's ultimately gonna go to the process this year after 18 years of nudging and, um, wake up the morning that I'm supposed to go up to this thing.
And he's like, dude, I forgot to tell you, Tracy and I are flying to LA to a Stones concert. And I'm like, my life is unraveling, you know, what are you talking about? And he said, don't worry. And he threw me a key to a brand new black convertible Porsche, my favorite car, and said, this is your ride. And so I went roaring up to Napa, pulled into the property, and made sure that everybody could see me get out of this car.
And because that was my identity check, so that I could be the cool guy getting out of this Porsche right now, he must be cool. Look at that car, entered the process, and it was the most surreal experience. Drew, I remember, you know, the part about, you know, when you're ready, stand up and give us your name and, and why you're here. And, and I, my self-esteem was the size of a, a grain of sand at that point in my life. And so I could barely sit still watching it come around to, to my turn.
I think we eventually went in some sort of order and my heart was pounding so hard, I didn't know if I'd even be able to get a word out. And I stood up and I was in tears before I even got a word out. And so, you know, I, I knew that I had landed, um, I got up and said whatever I said and sat down and we went through that first day and I was thinking to myself, and this was a pattern from growing up, you know, I, I just, I don't get it. Everybody else gets it but me.
So we go into the second day and I remember on one of our breaks, this gal came up to me and she comes up to me and she says, Hey, can, can I talk to you for a minute? And I said, sure. And so we went and sat in the corner in the dining hall and she said, Hey, I just wanna share with you why I've avoided you. And I said, sure. And she said, you know, I grew up around serious abuse from grandpa, dad and two of my five brothers, and the mask of anger that you wear scares the shit outta me.
And so I have avoided you. Of course I was oblivious to that, but I thought, oh my God. And I wasn't offended by that, you know, I took that as feedback, but I thought, geez, I wonder what, what that, where did that come from? And a couple hours later, another guy comes up to me and he says, Hey, are you available for a cup of coffee? I said, yeah, you bet. And so we went and sat down and he said, Eric, my dad used to beat the living shit outta me.
And he said, the, the look on your face reminds me so much of my dad. And I was like, wow, do you know so and so ? Like this wasn't an exercise, you know, a process-based exercise, but I guess it was something that I was meant to hear.
And then later that day, another gal comes up to me, and of course we're not supposed to talk about our vocation, but she says, Hey, I just wanted to share with you, I worked with troubled teens and I've noticed this vacillation between the look of an angel and the look of a very angry guy. And I said, hang on a sec. And I literally ran out of there into my room and looked in the mirror, and this is gonna sound a little bit woo woo, but I swear, drew, I scared something outta me.
And the scowl that I used to wear around on my face from that moment forward to this day is gone. And the energy that it takes to put a sowl on my face is, is really draining. So really profound experience on day two when I still didn't quite get it. - Eric, what do you think's happening there? As you mentioned, it's a, it's an almost a non sanctioned Hoffman time, and yet people are having courageous conversation and sharing things with you that you're really taking to heart and learning from.
What is that? Why is that happening? - Well, if, if we back up again, I remember, I remember a couple of occasions sitting in my office thinking, and this is the, this is the absolute truth. I wonder if I take some duct tape and take, take my eyes up and go to sleep if the next day my, that whatever this, this scowl thing that I have will go away and thinking, I wonder when the last time was that I took a deep breath.
'cause I, I realized how much anger I held within me, but I wasn't, I was sort of oblivious to it. And so I think that was really the universe saying, you asked and we're gonna deliver. And that was a message to me to really take a look at that pattern that I wasn't necessarily all that aware of in my homework. But then come day three, I'm still having these feelings of like, God, everybody seems to be writing and getting it. You know, I'm sort of checking out a little bit.
And I think it was later that day that we did the, the hands-on heart exercise with a partner and all of the barriers to personal happiness came crashing down. And I landed in that moment. And the rest of the process was the most mind blowing experience I've ever had in my life. It was truly the turning point in my adult life. - Eric, you mentioned the patterns that come up of not getting it, of what am I missing? Other people are getting it and I'm not.
And it just feels noteworthy to mention that so often in people's processes, patterns come up and the best way forward is to use the experience of the patterns emerging in the middle of this supposed healing journey and to work with the patterns that come up. And it sounds like that's exactly what you did. - Absolutely, a hundred percent. I had a commitment to myself to play it a hundred percent. And that's a motto in my life now.
And I gave the process everything I had for the remainder of the experience. And there was stuff that we did that took me so far outside my comfort zone to a place that I just, I simply didn't wanna go and yet I was willing to go. Sometimes I think about my life and wonder whether I would still be here, you know? And I didn't have suicidal thoughts, but, you know, I drank every day and, uh, you know, I haven't had a drink since the day I left Hoffman 18 years ago.
But yes, it was absolutely embracing every moment and drinking up the process knowing that this is the holy grail for me. And I hadn't really done a lot of stuff prior to that. It was a godsend, absolute godsend. - Well, let's go to your childhood. That's certainly an, an early part of the process where people explore childhood patterns, things they learned in childhood. And I wanna ask in particular, around anger and that desire to change the scowl on your face.
What happened in your childhood that caused so much anger? - Well, so I grew up, uh, as a, a PK , a pastor's kid. My dad was an extraordinary human being and, uh, was a Lutheran pastor During my upbringing, um, my mom was a teacher to mentally handicap kids, mostly down syndrome. Two, truly extraordinary vocations because my dad had 900 people begging for his attention as kids, you know, we didn't get as much.
And of course I have fond memories, but that feeling of abandonment created anger in me. And then my mom, who was the primary, you know, caregiver, if you will, to us kids always there after school, picking us up, picking us to piano lessons or sporting events or whatever. She was tired from doing all that, and she adopted anger from her mom. And so I experienced that while I experienced my own abandonment.
I remember in second grade, you know, all the kids would go out to recess and I would be in there, you know, needing help from my teacher on long division. 'cause I, I, you know, I, I didn't get it, but once I got it, I was the best at it. That there was, it just took me a little extra time to like really catch on to stuff. But, you know, that carried out into my adult life. And I had the stigma of kids, you know, saying, you know, oh, what's it like to be a pastor's kid?
And, you know, knowing what I know now, I would've had a completely different answer. But, you know, I became a bit of a rebel. I was a pretty darn good kid, all in all. But I got into some trouble , and I remember four distinct events that were sort of guilt by association. One was riding my dirt bike on private property and, you know, I got caught by the police and I wasn't doing it intentionally, but it was, it was a, a thing.
And then I was, uh, in some friend's car and we were driving home and decided to peel off onto somebody's front lawn and spin donuts and do a lawn job. And the police caught us on that. And then, um, I was walking home from a friend's house one night, and, uh, it was after 11 o'clock and a cop drove by and we had curfew, I don't even know if curfew's a thing anymore, and pulled me over and, you know, was talking to me and, and, uh, my pockets were loaded with firecrackers .
So he drove me home and, you know, I got in trouble for being out after curfew. And the last one was, I was in a friend's car and was running outta gas. We pulled into someone's driveway and he gets out his siphoning kit and starts siphoning gas out of this motor home. And pretty soon the people pull in their driveway right as this is happening. And so he's like, get in the driver's seat. And we drove out of there and I had him drop me off at my girl's house, uh, girlfriend's house.
And, uh, he had flipped the hose in and I was covered in gasoline. And pretty soon my dad calls and says, Hey, the, you know, the police are here at the house. And was like, that's weird. Why. And anyway, putting that all together, I got a call or my parents got a call from a juvenile detention officer, something I didn't even, I didn't even know what that was, and called us in and had to go and sit and talk. And they recommended I do a month in juvenile detention hall.
And I'm like, what? My dad's like, no, absolutely not. So I ended up spending a, a weekend in there and, you know, here's the pastor's kid, you know, in juvenile detention hall with all the school books, you know, studying with all these kids that are like really in trouble. So, you know, there was shame around that and I think there was some anger around that that I never really addressed.
And so just, you know, events in my life that was obviously a theme that I never addressed and got to see it front and center on, uh, day two of, of my process. - So you are reliving and remembering some of those experiences. How are you fitting that in to understanding what happened in your childhood - In terms of the process? - Yes. And, and the learnings about how you came to be the person you were based on what was happening in childhood?
- Well, certainly the experience of having those three people come up to me and, and share that experience, and then going and having that out of body experience, if you will, and scaring some something out of me. And then that landing moment of the heart to heart, just, it didn't matter if I wasn't getting something, I then learned to ask for help. And I asked my teachers for help a lot over the course of the next, that would've been another five days, which seemed like forever until it didn't.
And I absolutely stepped into, you know, who I am as a human being, as a dad, as, as a, a businessman, as a mentor. And things really came full circle for me. And I am, I embraced all of the things that we did at the process from that point forward. And if there was something I didn't get, I suddenly learned to ask for the help I needed and work through it instead of punishing myself for not getting it. Again.
- I'm just struck by the, the nature of how your process changed and how those moments helped you stand up, ask questions, advocate for yourself, not just sitting in the confusion of, I don't get it, - Some of the things that we do at the process, but get someone well outside their comfort zone. I'll leave it at that. You know, when I, when they were explained to me, I just, my heart sunk and I just thought, oh no, you know, this is like my biggest fear in life.
And yet in the moment of participating in those things, there was a sense of absolute elation and like, I'm here, I have arrived. I am willing to be seen and to be heard. You know, we'll talk about more of, you know, my career change and literally being on stage every day. Something that I would never in a million years would've done before Hoffman.
I just, when I would go to continuing ed classes, I remember sitting at the back of the room and if the instructor was even going to glance my way, I wanted to crawl into the table 'cause I didn't wanna look like an idiot. And post-process, I sat literally everywhere I went in the front row center seat if it was available, knowing that if I got called on, I perfectly legit answers. I don't know, I don't have a fricking clue. Does anybody in here know the answer to that question?
I certainly don't. And I didn't care what other people thought about me from that point forward. I mean, I wanted people to like me, but I learned very quickly that what other people think of me is none of my business. And I learned to function at a very high level by essentially asking for help instead of thinking, I'm gonna look like an idiot. Wow. What, what a absolutely profound experience it's been. - Yeah. Let's, let's keep going to life post process.
What did your process experience manifest for you in your life afterwards? - Well, so, so growing up a little bit more about my upbringing, um, you know, I would get the, when I was being a rascal, I would get the wooden spoon and, you know, ultimately had wooden spoons and spatulas broken on my butt. And of course I learned to do that to my kids. 'cause that's, that's what I knew. And I remember coming home from the process and seeing my kids for the first time.
And when we got back to, you know, our other place where I was then living from the moment that, uh, I walked home from my office learning about that I was gonna get divorced, but I got down on my kids' level and I looked him in the eyes and I said, guys, you know, I just got back from better daddy school and I have so much to say to you. And one of the things that I wanna say is I will never under any circumstance strike you again. You know, spanking's a thing of the past, you know?
And there it was just a, I don't know, maybe a, a a subtle sense of relief. And here, from that day forward, I never spanked my kids again. I had a better way, you know, I get down on their level and look 'em in the eye and say, guys, you know, what I'm experiencing is, is really driving me nuts and I'm wondering if, you know, we can do something else. And they were sort of oblivious and said, yeah, and they would switch gears and go on and do something else.
And I, I learned a new way and, and I did a ton of self insight work subsequent to my experience at Hoffman. But, you know, I learned things along the way. So when we would drive off to school in the morning, we'd play the gratitude game and I'd say, Luke, what are you grateful for? And he'd place his little hand on his heart and he'd say, dad, I'm grateful for lacrosse, let's say. And I'd say, awesome, Anya, what are you grateful for?
And she's put her hand on her heart and she said, dad, I'm, I'm grateful for volleyball. Or, you know, something. And we just go round and round and round and round all the way till we got to school. And we had lots of other things that we did that were just such positive things where I've got this list of, uh, attitudes of a warrior. And Luke would call out hands on heart and would say things like, I am a warrior.
I act in spite of fear, you know, and we'd go down this list of eight things at ending with, I am a warrior. I never give up. And it's really fun to watch these things play out in my, in my kids' adult life. Now, you know, I knew that I didn't wanna stay in the career that I was in. I really wanted to go and do something off the charts physically that was gonna challenge me to the nth degree. I was looking, I thought, there's gotta be a Navy SEAL training course out there.
And I looked it up, and sure enough, there was one. And I thought, oh God, close that browser. But I, I looked and I saw this gal on this link on this website called sealfit that said, US tactical CrossFit. And that word tactical always caught my attention. And there's a gal doing this workout, she's swinging this yellow cannonball with a handle on it, which I later learned was a kettlebell. She's doing kettlebell swings, thrusters with a barbell and burpees, which are horrible.
And I thought, God, that looks hard. So I researched and I found a, a CrossFit gym, and I started training CrossFit, and I thought, God, this, this is like Hoffman for fitness. And so three months later I open a CrossFit gym while I'm a partner in, in this firm. And while I'm or a dad to two young children, and you know, my life is full. And I learned that, you know, you have, you can have results or excuses and the choice is yours.
And I started training CrossFit, and I started coaching people and doing something that I never in a million years would've dreamt I, I could have done. And found an awesome space and built out a gym that was one of the best in the world. Here's another thing. I used to say to myself, I don't have a creative bone in my body, and if you could have seen my gym, you would've been like, wow, that is a work of art. And I had people that would come and train, you know, it's a resort town.
And I had people come and train, and I had a guy who was like a high level exec come and, and say, Eric, I've been to 200 plus CrossFit gyms around the world in my travels for work, and I've never seen anything like this. I ultimately had a guy come and, uh, visit and he called and said, Hey, my wife and I want to come train at your gym and we wanna ride our bikes. And I said, great, where are you? And he told me.
So I rode down and met him, and we're riding out to the gym one day and he says, how'd you get into CrossFit? And I said, well, I was looking at this thing called sealfit, and he just about fell off his bike. He said, I just did that. You have to do it. And I thought, oh no. And that was July of 2010. And so fast forward to October or September, and he calls me and says, Hey, what are you doing about that camp? And I said, nothing. And he said, no, seriously, you, you gotta go.
And there's only one spot left. And I said, well, when is it? And he said, October 22nd. And I said, that's my 45th birthday, I'm going. And so I interviewed and went and subsequently coached out there for six years. But I switched gears, I changed careers, I became involved in community, I volunteered, I started the Aspen grad group like three months after I got back, which was a bit unusual, uh, at that time for them to let some, a newbie, if you will, start a grad group.
And I ran that for a decade or more in Aspen. I really just embraced life. And, you know, I think about now, in fact, the process, uh, has the annual picnic, or at least did, and I saw a tweet that said, tweet in six words, what Hoffman meant to you. And so I said, turning point of my adult life. So I tweeted that and I won a raffle ticket for that. And then my raffle ticket won the grand prize. And so I've been to Hoffman, my sister's been to Hoffman.
I put down the deposit for my mom for Mother's Day one year, and my mom went to Hoffman and my brother-in-law went to Hoffman. And I gave my dad at the age of 70, 78, gave him the process for his birthday, and he ultimately went. So my whole family's been to, to Hoffman. - And through the work you did and community you built through your CrossFit gym, you've also had the chance to recommend the process to how many people have gone. - I've had well over 250 friends and family go now. Wow.
I can't even begin to vision the ripple effect that that's had - Notice, Eric, of all these people that have gone to the process, and you've kind of known them on the front end and on the back end, and then as they transition into regular life post-process, what observations do you have about people who go through the Hoffman process? - Well saved for one person out of all them. And this was somebody that was like really sick with gastro stuff.
So aside from that person, everybody had an absolutely, you know, the, the, the foundations of their universe were rattled and they discovered things about themselves that they never knew. Most people say, I can't imagine my life if I hadn't gone to Hoffman.
And the connections and the conversations, uh, I have had the, you know, the, the cards that people write, I've got a stack of those cards, and every time I go back and, and read the messages, you know, I just, I get choked up and, and, uh, you know, the tears just flow thinking about the impact that that's had, you know, I know full well the profound life-changing. Perfect. That's had on people.
- Eric, you recently, from a couple years ago anyway, closed your gym and, and started a new chapter. So what happened that had you shift gears? - Well, of course we all went through the pandemic. You know, the worst possible thing you could have owned during the pandemic was a gym. So I shuttered my gym on March 15th. The governor officially shuttered us the following day, and I put a sign on the door saying, we'll be closed for the next week.
Two and a half months later, we're stumbling along, still closed, and trying to figure out how to make it work. During that time, I got the worst phone call of my life. On July 8th, 2020, I ran in my office and I noticed that my phone was just blowing up. I had missed phone calls from my kids, from my sister and texts from my nieces. And I thought something's really wrong. And I figured it was something with my sister's husband.
So I called her and, you know, when you're crying so hard that you can barely get in a breath, it's like you got the wind knocked out of you. And I told my sister, I said, take your time. And, uh, she ultimately squeaked out the words Dad died. And I remember I had just talked to him That morning and, um, he'd gotten a haircut, which I know drove my mom crazy during the pandemic, and he'd stopped and gotten some stain for the fence.
And he was sitting by the pool and, and, uh, told my mom, my chest is kind of tight. And she said, get to your gp. You know, she didn't go with him because what's she gonna do? She can't go in the office, you know, and so he drove himself down and soon my mom got a call from, from his GP saying, Joan, Bob's having a heart attack. What do you want me to do? And my mom said, what do, what do you want me to do?
And so he drove my dad across the street, and this is a guy that grew up in my dad's church and ultimately went off to med school and, you know, is now my dad's, my dad's doctor, and handed my dad off to his favorite cardiologist. And the cardiologist called my mom and said, ma'am, your your husband is in a very bad way. Will you honor his DNR? You know, and how do you answer that question?
So I got that phone call and was just, oh, absolutely gutted Drew And I, I took the opportunity to reevaluate life in that, in that split second. And I thought, my God, you know, I, I need to, I need to figure out how to get the wheels on the bus and sell this thing and, and, you know, retire and at least you know, for now and go and help my mom. And 10 days later, my son, uh, my daughter had already been at school for a year or two, and so I'd already done that painful goodbye.
And my son was leaving to go overseas to go to school, and they had to get out of the country. They were about to start charging for the quarantine in Australia, which was like $4,000. So it was like, you guys don't, you're not staying on my account. Go, you know? And so my dad dies, my son leaves. I'm literally figuring out how to sell my business, which I ultimately did about five months later, six months later.
And I rented out my home, which, you know, is awesome in one sense, but I love my home. And so all four of those things occurred simultaneously, if you will.
And I packed up and, and left for Oregon, and it's been a blessing to be out here and help my mom and, you know, give her some, you know, from 59 years of marriage to single the next day, you know, having done everything with my dad and played Rummy Cube every night after dinner, and they were life pals August 19th would've been their 59th wedding anniversary. So all that came crashing down.
So, you know, I've been out in Oregon and living part of the year in Australia for the last two years, but have literally pumped the brakes on anything related to my spiritual life. I jumped on the complacency boat, if you will. - Is that what led you to seek out another Q2? - Well, over the course of those two years, I literally put my spiritual life on hold and, and quite frankly, having all day every day is not what it's cracked up to be.
You know, my next chapter in life hadn't landed, you know, it was frustrating to me to, to not figure out what's next for me. And I'm, you know, I'm dear friends with our buddy Raz, and I was talking to Raz one day and he said, dude, you need to get your ass to Q2, like now . And so I said, I'm listening. And he said, literally, now when can you go? And I, I told him, and so I was enrolled and I went to Q2.
- That sounds a little bit like the relationship you have with Raz, where you're honest with each other. So that was a, a loving nudge of get your ass to Q2, right? - Oh, a hundred percent, absolutely. It was a loving nudge. And Q2 was another complete wake up call for me. Day one was great. Day two at two o'clock, um, checked out going, uh, oh, you know, I don't get it. Participated the rest of day two, but was having some, some challenges in really engaging.
And then day three came and hit me over the head like a sledgehammer. And what became clear to me was, you're not here to figure out what Eric 3.0 is. You are here to get your internal affairs back in order so that the universe can begin to open these doors for you. Post Q2, though, I don't have a clear picture on what's next. The, the, the universe is spoonfeeding me.
And I've had some extraordinary experiences with some of my classmates who I, each and every one of them, 32 of 'em, I am so grateful and I know that there's a reason why I went to that particular Q2. I'm very confident that, you know, my next chapter in life is going to reveal itself, and it's gonna be something beyond what I can even comprehend. It's gonna be so badass.
- Hmm. Eric, you know, we have a saying in the process, when you're connected to spirit, when you do the work of connecting to connect, it can feel like the universe is supporting you. It can feel like the universe is conspiring on your behalf to help you. And it sounds like that's exactly the case for you. - Oh my gosh, I'm back on my game. I'm back. Eric is back in a big way. And with a vengeance and a vengeance in a positive way, I'm not gonna muscle my way through.
I'm gonna continue living in who I truly am as a, a friend, as a son, as a dad, you know, as a brother, as a brother, to all my brothers and sisters out there in the world, and something magnificent is coming my way and I, I, I couldn't be more completely stoked. - I'm struck by the fact that you're pointing and really doing the work of stepping into your true north. What's next for you in your life? And you're, you're doing this conversation from your childhood home, your childhood bedroom.
What a great contrast. - Literally. Yes. And you know, my commitment when I left Q2 was to go pedal to the metal on my practices and use of tools every day I've meditated for 30 minutes. I've done the Instagram live check-ins in the morning, in the evening.
I'm back in that fifth dimension flying, not all the time, you know, we're at a five to seven most of our days, and then occasionally we bump up into that eight to 10 and miracles happen, and then you come back to that five to seven and, uh, it's just, man, it's amazing, drew, absolutely amazing. And I look forward to my buddy going at the end of the month and my friend going in November.
- Eric, what's it like to tell your story, to walk us as listeners from in your process and then flashing back to childhood and then fast forwarding into present day life? What's that been like for you to share? - It is such an honor and a blessing, and I'm completely humbled at the opportunity to share in a glimpse my life over the last 18 years because Hoffman, if you can't tell already, is front and center in my life. I parked it for two years, , and I'm back.
And it is front and center in my life. And I'm just so blessed to be able to share this with anybody and everybody who's out there listening. And if anybody has somebody that's on the fence about Hoffman that's opening to talk to people, by all means reach out to me because I seem to have a, a way of people saying, yeah, I'm, I want that. I'm gonna do that. So I'm truly grateful for this opportunity. Drew, - Eric, thank you for this conversation, for your honesty. I appreciate you.
- Thank you for listening to our podcast. My name is Liza Insi. I'm the CEO and President of Hoffman Institute Foundation. - And I'm Rasin Rossi Hoffman, teacher and founder of the Hoffman Institute Foundation. - Our mission is to provide people greater access to the wisdom and power of love - In themselves, in each other, and in the world. To find out more, please go to Hoffman institute.org.