ďťżTEN Episode 108 Audio Edited
00:00:00 Rob Dube
So if you look at your wheel of life and being with friends is important to you, make sure there's a ritual around your friends.
00:00:22 Rob Dube
Hello, everyone. My name is Rob Dube, and I am here with Gino Wickman. Gino, what's happening? How are you?
00:00:29 Gino Wickman
I am fantastic.
00:00:31 Rob Dube
Great. Good to see you. I'm excited to talk to you today, have a dialogue about rituals.
00:00:39 Gino Wickman
Ooh.
00:00:41 Rob Dube
All right. So the inspiration for me on this topic came from a blog post I read. And I got thinking about rituals, so I looked up the definition about it, and it said, "Rituals are symbolic actions performed in a set way to mark transitions, support well-being, or nurture community and spiritual connection. Examples range from religious ceremonies and daily personal routines to cultural celebrations and community events."
00:01:13 Rob Dube
So I got thinking rituals are actually really important. They shape the experience in our life. They can calm our mind. They can connect us with others and to something bigger than ourselves. They're a sacred act. You might think about it in the context of alignment of your outer life and your inner life. And some rituals, and I hope some of the ones we discussed today, remind you of who you really are and actually what matters most to you in your life. They kind of keep you connected to the rhythm of life itself.
00:01:49 Rob Dube
So when you do this with intention, they give you the opportunity to surrender, to let go of your ego, and become a vessel through which peace, wisdom, and compassion can flow through you into this world. So, Gino, what's coming up for you on this topic?
00:02:08 Gino Wickman
Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. Two starting thoughts. One is, I love where you are. I had no idea what we were going to talk about this one. All I saw was ritual on our topic list. So I'm going to want to bring something else into it that's very much rituals, but I want to take it beyond just spiritual. I want to throw a little fun in there. Okay? Love it.
00:02:34 Gino Wickman
Fun rituals. But just so that's coming, not yet. And then just the other point is just something really funny. I wrote a stream of words because we're calling it a ritual. That's just a word, right? So many different terms for it called a routine, a cadence, a pulse. But then I wrote rhythm of life. You can see my words right there. Your exact words that you said.
00:02:56 Gino Wickman
And that's probably the best word for it because this is how the universe works in a rhythm, and that's you figuring out your universal rhythm that makes you whole. And I'll share some of mine. I hope you're going to share some of yours, but on that note, I'll turn it back to you.
00:03:13 Rob Dube
Yeah. So let me give some examples of rituals. You were going exactly where I was hoping. So religious or spiritual things like prayers or mantras, daily rituals might be like meditation, journaling, or saying grace before meals. There's rites of passage like wedding vows are rituals, placing flowers at a gravestone or a bar mitzvah.
00:03:33 Rob Dube
In Judaism, connecting with your breath can be a ritual, getting away with intention to go inside, such as going on retreat. Expressing gratitude is a ritual, journaling your thoughts, your feelings, lighting candles, going into nature, eating mindfully or mindful preparation, say like of coffee or tea. So I wanted to ask you, what are some of your rituals?
00:04:03 Gino Wickman
So this is where I'll bring in just a little more robust beyond spirituality. And it's going to bounce all over the place because I'm going to start at the top of my list and go down. But there's one ritual that's been going on with me and two friends, and I write about it in Shine for now 25 years, probably closer to 30 now.
00:04:22 Gino Wickman
But three of us go to Boulder, Colorado every single year in May, and it is absolutely a ritual. And as part of the ritual, it's three friends getting away, blowing off some steam, having a blast. But we also bring in some form of a healer, coach, guide to take us deep and shed a layer. And so that's an example of a ritual that has been very profound and made a big impact on my life.
00:04:48 Gino Wickman
The next is a ritual I have where once a week I'm typically out with a friend or friends having a drink or two. So that's one of my rituals. Every week, I just want to be sitting with a buddy, having a conversation. And it's a variety of friends. And so it's probably seeing the same friend maybe every couple of months or every month, something like that.
00:05:09 Gino Wickman
But that's a really important ritual to me, just hanging out with my buddies, hanging out with the guys.
00:05:21 Gino Wickman
Next is my morning meditation. And I do it three to five times a week, and sometimes it gets upwards of seven. But just that morning meditation ritual, doing it most mornings.
00:05:36 Gino Wickman
I have a mobility routine that I do about twice a week that my trainer taught me, which is really awesome. It's just something about it. It gets my energy going. I sauna every Saturday morning. I see my trainer every week. I prepare every night.
00:05:50 Gino Wickman
So obviously that discipline, vital. I do an annual golf trip with my high school friends. So I revert back to 17 years old once a year for three precious days, and that's plenty. But it's awesome.
00:06:04 Gino Wickman
And then I just wrote down hugs. It's like, I'm a hugger. And so I consider that a ritual. That connection to people is very important to me. And so those are some of the ones that come to mind.
00:06:17 Gino Wickman
Certainly there's family rituals, holidays, things like that. With my parents, for decades I would make sure I was visiting them once a month outside of holidays.
00:06:33 Gino Wickman
Now that they're older and they're needing help and care, I see them every week now. And so I have a weekly ritual with my parents now. That's been going on for about two or three years now.
00:06:47 Rob Dube
And so for you listening, the idea here isn't that we're just sharing our rituals so you can hear what we do and it's all about us. But really, hopefully it's getting your mind going around what your rituals are in your life.
00:07:03 Rob Dube
Mine are, I have daily meditations twice a day. I do yoga every morning, every evening as well. I do breathwork. I get into nature on a very regular basis. I connect to the five elements, which is really important to me.
00:07:20 Rob Dube
I go on two silent retreats every year by myself. I do a trip with each one of my kids individually every year. So those are some of the things that I do.
00:07:35 Rob Dube
So what are some of the things that you do? Take a moment after this podcast and jot down five things that you do in your life that are ritual. Maybe you'll come up with more.
00:07:47 Rob Dube
As you heard, Gino and I have definitely more than that. And yeah, so I encourage you to do that.
00:07:47 Rob Dube
Now in Shine, discipline number two is Take Time Off. And also as it relates to taking time off, we talk about the value of taking a sabbatical and the space that it gives you to reconnect.
00:08:10 Gino Wickman
No, it's. And as you're talking, I'm thinking of others. I forgot 60 percent of them. So again, you're hitting me with this topic fresh.
00:08:21 Gino Wickman
But the point, I like what you said, is it's not to hear all of our rituals. It's to develop your own rituals out there and borrow some of ours that you love.
00:08:31 Gino Wickman
But yes, the sabbatical. Another one that came to mind is we do a family vacation. With the kids and the grandkids, in the last three years we now have grandkids.
00:08:44 Gino Wickman
Before grandkids it was the kids, but we would do an amazing one week vacation every year. We've been doing this now for 15 years.
00:08:55 Gino Wickman
My four day personal retreat that I've now talked about on a couple of episodes, I did it for the first time this year. And I'm like, oh, that is an annual ritual.
00:09:06 Rob Dube
So that's interesting you brought that up because I was thinking about my rituals and how they've evolved over time.
00:09:29 Rob Dube
One thing I notice is I become more comfortable with my spirituality.
00:09:58 Rob Dube
And these rituals are really key on a daily basis to bring those things to light.
00:10:07 Gino Wickman
Yeah. So where that takes me is you're talking about outcomes of rituals.
00:10:25 Gino Wickman
So when I go have a drink with a buddy every single week, it's balancing my life.
00:11:01 Gino Wickman
If you look at your wheel of life and being with friends is important to you, make sure there's a ritual around your friends.
00:11:19 Gino Wickman
Then I put fun. Are you having fun in your life?
00:11:32 Gino Wickman
Growth is going to be an output.
00:11:45 Gino Wickman
Think of a balanced wheel. Family, friends, personal.
00:12:10 Rob Dube
Yeah. I'm curious, in business do you have a favorite ritual?
00:12:18 Gino Wickman
My clarity break. My two hour clarity break every week sitting in a Starbucks.
00:12:44 Rob Dube
Yeah, I love that. We had a ritual at Image One when I used to run it.
00:13:08 Gino Wickman
And by the way, quarterlies and annuals, there's a ritual.
00:13:21 Rob Dube
Absolutely. Any other thoughts?
00:13:24 Gino Wickman
I've got nothing else, bro.
00:13:26 Rob Dube
Yeah. All right. Well, thank you as always for joining us, and we'll see you next time.
00:13:35 Gino Wickman
Thank you for listening in today. We truly appreciate you taking the time to spend with us. And please tune in for the next episode. Until then, we wish you all the best in freeing your True Self. Stay focused and much love.
