It was the last weekend in May, and I just finished another amazing event with Evolution Room crew. At the end of every Threshold event we take on 30 day challenges to move us forward towards something we want to see manifest in our life.

When it came around for me to make a declaration, I closed my eyes, felt into my heart, and softly said,

“I want to have more fun in my everyday life.”

The day we had just finished was filled with water balloon fights, dance parties, and an overall fun vibration, and I wanted to keep that feeling alive!

So as I made this declaration to the Universe, I was flooded with the feeling I get right before something BIG is about to happen.

If I only knew!

During the next 30 days I played basketball, had movie nights with friends, went on a train excursion to LA, toured the Getty Museum, rode electric motorcycles, went paddle boarding with dolphins, went to Mexico and surfed…

The list of things I did was nothing short of spectacular, but it wasn’t about what I did during that time that had the most impact on me.

It was the realization that I am a powerful manifestor!

I had told the Universe that I was looking to have more fun in my everyday life, and it opened doors that previously weren’t available to me. It brought people into my life that I didn’t know existed, as well as re-connect me with people from my past. I had people invite me to all sorts of random awesomeness!

Almost every time I told someone about my 30 Days of Fun challenge, they wanted to be a part of it. I was a vortex for fun and I was pulling in people and activities faster than I could handle!

In fact, I had so many opportunities that by the middle of June I started to feel a bit overwhelmed. I mean, I had something fun to do every. single. day!

I know what you’re thinking, first world problems, and you’re right. I feel so blessed to have so many amazing people and experiences in my life.

“Too much of a good thing can be just that, too much.”

I felt unbalanced, and began to lose focus on my work. I was spending 90% of my waking hours with other people and it was wearing me out! I consider myself an extroverted person, but even I need time to myself. I needed time alone, away from all the stimulations and distractions that were making me feel like I needed a vacation from having so much fun!

When I finally took time to stop, take a breath, and spend a day alone (on day 24), I realized how starved our world is for fun. It was shocking to me that so many people were craving fun and lacking excitement and connection with others.

This realization was a game changer!

Since then, I have consciously thought how I can bring more fun into EVERYTHING I do. There is no separation of work and fun for me now. I make my work fun, and make my fun work!

If we look closely we can intentionally inject fun into anything we want to.

How?

Well it’s not about what you do, it’s HOW you do it and WHO you do it with!

Moving forward I am aligning myself with people who know how to have fun, enjoy any activity, and not take life too seriously. This is what the world needs. This is how we transform boredom into productivity, work into play, and life into living.

If you’re wanting more fun in your life, start with what you’re already doing and see how you can inject fun into it. Then surround yourself with people who share your affinity for life and see what happens!

My name is Matt Ritchey, and I am addicted to fun   🙂

I did. I HATED them.

The way they exposed my hairy feet…

The way people would wear them with jeans…

Even the annoying sound they made when you walked!

Needless to say I had A LOT of judgment around flip flops and people who wore them.

When I would wear them I felt self-conscious, naked even. I had made up my mind that flip flops were stupid and didn’t have much use in my life.

This all changed about 9 months ago when I moved a block from the beach. Not only did I start to wear my flip flops daily (before this I had only worn them less than 15 times in the 7 years I lived in San Diego), but I actually bought 2 new pair of them! I found myself wearing them more and more, and not to the beach, but EVERYWHERE. Once I got over the judgement of how they looked and how they sounded, I began to realize that they. were. awesome.

They coddled my feet, let them breathe, and were so easy to flick on and off at a moments notice!

The point is this: We all judge things from time to time, and you never know what you’re missing out on until you give it a fair, unbiased shot!

So where are YOU judging things in your life?

How can your life be even better by letting go of those judgements and trying new experiences?

When will you let go of the need to be right?

And what else is possible?!

When I was younger, I used to hear people talk about “the meaning of life” and what their theory was.

To tell you the truth, it made life seem really heavy.

The weight of our entire existence is a pretty big thought to ponder!

I mean, who REALLY knows why we’re here, and what we’re supposed to do?

When I started my journey of self discovery 4 years ago, I thought about this often; this only lead to more questions and less peace.

When I thought about the meaning of life my head would start to hurt!

After the first year of being somewhat frustrated I decided to give up on that question and focus on living life.

So after 3 years without pondering the meaning of life, the question came back into my head today. So much has happened since I last thought about it; it was like seeing an old friend and I barely recognized him! I feel like an entirely different person, made up of different cells, thoughts, and a different outlook on life.

So as I reflected on the past 3 years a smile came to my face. I knew MY answer to the question “What is the meaning of life?”

The meaning of life for me is to be in the present moment.

To experience life at its fullest!

Think about it; we’re only here for a finite amount of time, so having a FULL life and experiencing it with as much richness and texture as possible seems logical to me.

Being HERE, NOW, and connecting with whatever is in THIS moment is an extremely powerful way to live. If you’re feeling all the emotions life has to offer- love, joy, fear, sadness, etc- then you are making the most out of your human experience. And if you are conscious enough to be aware of your thoughts and feelings, then this is going to bring you some really amazing truths.

Instead of asking ourselves “what is the meaning of life?” We should be asking ourselves questions like:

• What do I love most about life?
• How can I have the most fun and serve the most people?
• Where do I feel the pain of the world, and how can my talents be used best?
• If I were to die tomorrow, what would I want to experience today?

Questions like these get us closer to living a life of happiness and fulfillment. In these questions we can find what our true purpose is, and how we can best use it in this present moment.

The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away”. ~Pablo Picasso

So what do you think the meaning of life is for you?

This powerful question can lead you to many places, but I hope that it leads you within to find your own unique definition so that you can be a light in the world around you.

Having trouble answering this question?

Feeling stuck in your life?

As a lifestyle designer I help you get clear on where you’re at, where you want to go, and reverse engineer the steps it takes to get there! To receive a complimentary clarity and breakthrough session, click here.

It’s 2 pm on a Friday in May; MOST people are at work, counting down the minutes until they can go enjoy happy hour and start their weekend.

But, I am not most people (and I’m guessing if you’re reading this you don’t want to be like most people either).

As I stepped onto the yacht I would be on for the next 3 hours, a huge smile came across my face as I realized, I created this. 🙂

The fact that I was about to board a giant boat and hang out with some super successful, highly conscious people, was no accident. This is what I like to call Life By Design.

So why am I taking off on a Friday afternoon to relax on a yacht and enjoy sunshine and great conversation? Well, not that I NEED a reason, but the best one I can come up with is…

BECAUSE I CAN!

The work I would be doing if I wasn’t on the boat can wait until I get off; besides, I have found that some of my biggest breakthroughs come when I do things that my rational mind says I shouldn’t do.

That last sentence pretty much describes the biggest reason I am where I am along my journey; the reason I followed my intuition to stop racing motocross, to leave a “secure” high paying job and to drive across the country to live in San Diego to dedicate my life to helping others step into their greatness.  I find when I follow my intuition and don’t rely on what others think I “SHOULD” do, that is when I stumble on to opportunities and into situations that provide the most growth.

I was joined by a dozen other New Economy
Entrepreneurs on that yacht

Between the conversations and deeper connections I developed, it was by far the BEST thing I could have done on a Friday afternoon or any afternoon for that matter!

This is a question I ask all my clients:

 “What do you want your life to look like?” The answer to this holds the key to what action steps you need to take to make it a reality. Those action steps aren’t always easy; in fact they are usually very challenging!

In order to get something we’ve never had, we have to do something we’ve never done. In order to do something we’ve never done, we have to believe it is possible to accomplish, or our subconscious mind will make up an excuse of why we can’t do it. Once we get rid of any limiting beliefs around the action that needs to be taken…

THEN we can step powerfully
in the direction of our dreams!

My friends and I call this bold new way of working and living the “New Economy,”  basically we have made a decision to lead from our inspiration and our hearts and let that determine the course of our lives.

We’ve decided to design lifestyles and an economy of integrity and sustainability for ourselves, our communities and our environment.  If you are interested in learning more about the New Economy and how you can join us, check out this video!

Continued from part 2.

After finally eating some food,

and having some conversations it was time for bed. 6 hours of solid sleep and I was awake and ready. Now I had heard that you can feel a bit tired, emotionally depleted, and/or even sick the day following a ceremony, but I felt A M A Z I N G !

For the next 6 weeks I let all my learnings integrate as I took in the thoughts and feelings, and turned them into action.

So in no particular order, here are the top 5 takeaways from my Ayahuasca experience:

1. More self-awareness.

   1. Self-love

   2. Self-acceptance

   3. Self-connection

   4. Stronger intuition

2. Deeper love for:

   1. Myself

   2. Strangers

   3. Family/Loved ones

   4. Mother Earth

3. Connection to my purpose.

   1. Clarity of 30 year vision

   2. Service to others

   3. Enjoying the journey

4. Ability to create.

   1. Owning and believing my creator status.

   2. Taking action on projects I had put off

   3. Writing, singing, and dancing more

5. Surrender.

   1. A knowing that everything happens to my maximum advantage

   2. Trust that I will be provided for

   3. A feeling of relaxation and UN-stress like never before

So if you’re thinking about doing an Ayahuasca ceremony, hopefully this will give you some feedback to use in your decision calculator. If you’ve never thought of doing one, and aren’t sure if it is right for you…

Well I know the feeling 🙂

Keep exploring my friend, and be great!

Want to Take Your Life to the Next Level? Do These 3 Things…

We all hit plateaus from time to time; whether it’s in our relationships, our business, or even our golf game.

These can be frustrating times because not long before we were on a roll! We were making progress, feeling good, and then all of the sudden…BOOM! We get stopped in our tracks.

When we get stopped it’s usually by some new problem or obstacle that is in our path.

When this happens we can either grind it out and keep plugging away in the same manner we have all along….OR we can do something different!

‘We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them’ ~Albert Einstein

When you hit a plateau try these three things:

1.) Change. Whether it’s your morning routine, your environment, or even your thoughts about the problem. Instead of thinking of it as a “problem” you can reframe it to be a fun challenge. Merely changing our daily patterns helps shake up the brain function and gets us out of unconscious auto pilot and into a new way of thinking!

2.) Find a new perspective. Whether it is hiring a coach, masterminding with a mentor, or merely asking a friend for their opinion. This shift in perspective can give you new ideas and let your creative mind build upon the new tid-bits put along your path.

3.) Stop. When we hit a roadblock our mind wants to plow through it, beat it, or even destroy it! Instead stop and take a step backwards. Take a breath, or even take a day off and rejuvenate your mind, body, and soul so that you can come back and tackle the problem with fresh vitality.

If you’re reading this then you’re already ahead of most people. Having awareness of a problem or obstacle is often the first step to overcoming it.

The next step is to take action and
integrate this change in your life.

If you’re not sure where to start, or if you feel like you’ve been stuck for a long time, then you’ll want to attend our “Radical Awareness” conference happening May 17th. It’s an all day intensive that will help you transcend sabotage and adversity and ignite the greatness that is lying dormant within you waiting to be accessed!

Learn More Here: Radical Awareness.  Early registrants get a free breakthrough session with one of the event speakers.

The hours leading up to our journey into the unknown helped set the stage for an amazing experience. (continued from Part 1)

We practiced yoga, did breath-work and meditation, and got to know some amazing new people. Our group was small; there were only 12 of us. I’m not sure I realized it at the time, but the impact from this night would be huge.

Before taking the medicine, they ask you, on a scale from 1 to 10, how deep you want to go. Of course my inner child wanted to do a 10! My practical adult voiced a 2 or 3, and I ended up going with a 7.

I felt like I was strapping myself onto a rocket
preparing to blast off into outer space!

We all have expectations (whether we want to admit them or not) when we go into an event. Since this was something I had never experienced before, I only had the words of others to form my expectations. Some said they waited hours and experienced nothing, while others felt the effects within 20 minutes. Some had amazing feelings of connection to life, and beautiful visualizations, while others vomited and felt scared and vulnerable.

What would happen next?

While I held the cup of ayahuasca in my hand, I set the intention that I would surrender and allow whatever experience awaited me. I believe that everything happens to our maximum advantage, so whatever was about to take place would help me grow and expand along my life journey.

The 12 of us set up our own cozy space in a large room and got ready for our own individual experience to take place. We were instructed not to interfere with others, and be sure to ask before physically touching anyone since everyone would be having their own unique experience.

The next 3 hours took me on
the wildest ride of my life!

Within 15 minutes of ingesting the medicine I felt a strong tingling feeling throughout my entire body. For the next 2 hours I went on a journey unlike anything I had experienced before outside of maybe my dreams!

The colors, the feelings, the sounds; they were all so rich and vivacious.  One minute I was experiencing the pain of the earth, and all those who are suffering, and just minutes later I had the biggest belly laugh of my entire life realizing how beautiful our world is and how amazing all the people on it are! Never before had I felt the depths of these beautiful emotions: Happy. Sad. Excitement. Fear. I realized that no matter what emotion I am feeling I have the power to shift it. By merely shifting my thoughts, and visualizing something different, I could completely shift my physiology!

Time disappeared!

Moment after fleeting moment I enjoyed the roller coaster of sensations throughout my body; It was though time actually didn’t exist. I had lots of breakthroughs during my ceremony, but I want to share two particularly powerful ones with you.

The first realization came when it felt like my skin had evaporated and my energy was merely a part of the larger energetic field. I felt connected with every single person in the room, with the earth, with everything. It was amazing. Never in my life have I felt love that strong to every single person on the planet, as well as the ants and bugs. My love felt omnipresent, and my connection to God, source, the Universe, or whatever other label you want to put on it, was absolute.

The second realization came when I was able to transmute images in my mind instantaneously. At one point my vivid pictures turned evil; they looked like a combination of skulls and death. In this moment I realized, that I was creating that image, and that I have the power to change it. I automatically thought of love and beauty and was able to morph the visual into something stunningly beautiful! I played with this for a minute, flipping thoughts and morphing one visual into another when I realized; I am a creator!  Never in my life did I think of myself as a creative or artsy person, but I realized that we are all creators! This simple shift in thinking, opened up the possibility for me to CREATE something in my life by allowing me to believe that I am creative…

Click here for part 3

For the last 60 plus years…

western culture has been experimenting with Ayahuasca and it’s psychoactive ingredient, DMT, which is a chemical that is naturally found in plants and is actually produced in our own bodies.

Essentially Ayahuasca, is a combination of specific plants that when prepared properly act as a delivery vehicle for DMT. Research is ongoing, but organizations such as MAPS have done studies on the effects, and also found a high success rate of healing drug addicts with DMT/Ayahuasca.

If you know me at all then you’ll know that I absolutely LOVE having new and unique experiences. Anything from getting on stage to do spoken word, traveling and meeting new people, to adrenaline pumping activities!

So when you think of the term psychedelic drug, what comes to mind? The word for me usually has a very negative connotation, and it comes with images of junkies overdosing on LSD and passing out on a street corner!

But, it also has some intriguing images that come to mind; such as Pink Floyd, rainbows, kaleidoscopes full of random shapes, and visions into different realms of consciousness.

While reading about Ayahuasca before I went to Peru last year, I found that it has been used in South American cultures for thousands of years.

It was a right of passage for many tribes and the medicinal effects on the mind, body, and spirit were allegedly profound. Whoa. Sounds like it would be a pretty unique experience!

But was it an experience I wanted to have?

When I asked friends and colleagues about it, many had very positive stories of how they had a conversation with God, felt the pain of the Universe, and became more loving, empathetic people afterwards!

After reading everything, and listening to the experiences my peers had to share, I checked in with my heart.  Was this something I really wanted to do?

Surprisingly, It was a definite YES!

While in Peru though, the Universe decided that the timing wasn’t right for me to do a ceremony while I was there. However,  I left the door open for a future visit if the Universe decided the timing was right.

Fast forward 6 months later, and I am riding in a Tesla to a remote house out in the wilderness to partake in my very first Ayahuasca experience.

Boom!

After much anticipation, juicing for 36 hours prior, and fasting the day of the journey, I was excited to call in my experience…

 Continued in part 2

For 15 long years I had a secret story of shame and judgement.

A story I was afraid to share with anyone.

Because of what happened to me, (which I will reveal in a minute) I created a story that kept me stuck and playing small.

What if the one thing that was stopping you was the very thing that could set you free? An interesting Paradox Indeed.

By now, you’ve probably noticed more than a few paradoxes in life.  Along my journey I’ve come across so many paradoxes that I have almost come to expect them! Often, when I’m least expecting them, this is when I have the biggest breakthroughs. (Check Out the Power Paradox Article).

Back to the “Secret Shame:”

I didn’t know at the time, but this story  was so powerful it impacted my ENTIRE life:

• my relationships
• my career
• most importantly, myself.

Because of what happened, I had come to believe that I couldn’t truly love myself. As a matter of fact, I didn’t think it was even possible to do so.

The story I had created wouldn’t allow me to fully accept myself and be true to who I really was. But, what I thought was my biggest secret, turned out to be my biggest breakthrough.

When I was 12 years old I was sexually molested by my friend’s dad.

It was a one time ordeal, and afterwards I never told a soul. Nobody. I didn’t even believe it myself for the longest time. Through that pain, I created a story that it never really happened and I lived with this story, this lie for over 15 years. It was only when I started to become more aware of my thoughts, feelings and actions around the age of 27, it started to unlock the truth that I had hidden away for so many years.

Thankfully a beautiful woman, named Jess Johnson, who ran an organization called Jeans 4 Justice, helepd me open up enough to share my story. If it weren’t for her amazing ability to create a safe space, who knows, I may still be holding on to this deep, dark, secret.

In the months that followed I told my girlfriend, my parents, and some of my close inner circle the truth about the secret I had been hiding all those years. Most were shocked (especially my parents) because I was able to live such an outwardly happy, outgoing life!

For over a year I thought that telling my close inner circle of people was enough, but when I started to study NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) and I realized the true power of our thoughts and emotions, I realized this event was still very charged for me.

Once again, I decided to step up and take action. I wanted to completely free myself from feeling the guilt, shame and fear that I associated with this life altering event. For 5 months I studied NLP, then saw a psychotherapist for EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprogramming ) treatment, and finally I took place in an Ayahuasca ceremony that really accelerated things for me (Another story for another time!).

Acknowledgement, acceptance, love, release, and sharing; these are the phases that helped me to transcend a story that took me 15 years to discover. The self love, acceptance, and learning I found through this healing process was nothing short of amazing.

I’m writing this story for 2 reasons.

The first is because I want to create an open space for others to step into and share their story so they can take on their stories the way I did. Helping people free themselves of emotional, mental, and physical trauma is something that is obviously near and dear to my heart.

The second is to start clean. When I chose to rewrite my story from an empowering context, I realized that the only way to do that is to rid myself of all the things that were disempowering me.

Cutting the ties from my past has helped me to step powerfully into the future from the present moment; and from the present moment ANYTHING is possible.

So as I move forward from this point, I want to ask you:  What’s stopping you?

The answer may change your life…

But only if you choose to let it  🙂

Matt Ritchey, Life Coach and Entrepreneur has dedicated his life to helping others expand their potential and live the life they really want to live! "The only thing standing between you and your true potential are a few simple tools that I can teach you!" If you are interested in working with Matt, learn more on his coaching page.

As I sat there, hunched over, waiting for them to call my name, I thought to myself “I’ll probably never race again.” I shuddered as the realization that everything I had known and worked for the past 6 years was coming to an abrupt end.

Sadness began to sink in. I didn’t know it at the time, but that would be my last race and a huge pivot point in my life. That was over 10 years ago, and looking back now, that injury helped shape the way my life would unfold.

I wouldn’t go on to become a professional motocross star like I had dreamed since I was 13 years old; the Universe had bigger plans for me. In these moments, that are sometimes seemingly out of our control, we have a choice. We can fight or surrender. In my life I have done both, and it is up to us to decide which one feels right in that moment.

1. Deciding to race motocross at age 13

2. Deciding to give up motocross at age 19

3. Deciding to move to San Diego at age 22

4. Deciding to become a life coach at age 28

Everyday we are faced with small pivot points such as the food we eat, who we associate with, and what we do with our time. These pivot points can ultimately have as much of an impact as the larger ones we face (especially when multiplied thousands of times), and should not be discounted. However, it is the larger ones that can shift our reality in an instant. If we choose to eat at In-N-Out burger one time instead of a healthy alternative, that probably won’t change our life much.

But when faced with a life changing opportunity- such as quitting your job to follow your passion- we create a possibility strong enough to forever shift our journey. These are the moments where it is imperative that we follow our intuition and step into our Best Self.

Looking back at the crucial pivot points of my life, I notice three things that were present every time:

1. Fear of change

2. Excitement for something new

3. A voice that told me to go for it

When I was only 13, I remember being fearful for my safety (motocross is an extremely dangerous sport), yet excited to step into a new challenge. I listened to that voice that told me to go for it.

When I got injured at 19, I was afraid that I didn’t have the skills needed to be successful outside of racing dirtbikes, but I was excited to finally make money and be independent from my parents.

Fortunately, I listened to that voice that said go for it.

Fast forward three years when I was 22 and burnt out from working 60 hours a week, but I still feared quitting my high paying job and moving across the country to experience something new. Thankfully I listened to that voice yet again that told me everything would work out.

And, once more when I decided to use my transformational experiences to help others by becoming a life coach, I had BIG fears that I wasn’t good enough to be successful. However, the excitement and passion for my mission was strong enough to allow me to step in and listen to that voice that told me this is what I was born to do.

Are you beginning to see a pattern here?

1. Feel a pivot point coming
2. Be still and consult your intuition
3. Take action with courage
4. Savor the results, regardless of the outcome!

But don’t forget this secret ingredient:

Repeat after me: Everything in my life, good or bad, happens to my maximum advantage.

Let me say that again, cause it’s THAT important: EVERYTHING, no matter how it may look in the moment, happens to our maximum advantage. Having this belief allows me to pull the lessons from seemingly “bad” choices, and celebrate when things turn out awesome. Either way, it helps to trust, and have faith that no matter which road we take, no matter which decision we make, it will be EXACTLY what we need.

The times when something unexpected happens, and it looks like an awful situation, those are the times I experience the most growth. The times when everything lines up perfectly and it goes better than I could have ever planned, that’s what gives me the confidence to step in and take action the next time I am scared.

There is no such thing as failure. There are only results.” ~Tony Robbins

When you take failure off the table, it gives us permission to dive in, learn our lessons, and come out stronger. This strength is what separates us from those who are unwilling to take on their fear and settle for lives of quiet desperation. And make no mistake about it, we all have fear. What you chose to do with that fear is what will make the difference in your life.

Most men lead quiet lives of desperation” ~Thoreau

So, the next time you are faced with a pivot point in your life, remember:

• Acknowledge the fear
• Feel into the excitement
• and listen to your intuition.

When you make choices from this space, you can have faith knowing that whatever you choose will work to your maximum advantage.

Feeling a little foggy, or unclear of what to do next with your life? Are you looking for a change, but aren’t quite sure where to turn?  Learn how to more powerfully tap into and listen to that inner voice in a complimentary 20 minute breakthrough session with me.