Embracing My Journey ~ Living with passion & purpose!

Today I welcome Joshua Dawson of the Experience Genie to “The Living the Life of my Dreams” interview series.  Joshua has a creative way to allow for people to truly experience life….thank you Joshua for sharing your story with us.

Tell us about the path you traveled to arrive where you are today: Have you ever heard of Newfoundland?  Well, it’s a small unique Canadian Provincial island situated off the east coast of North America (just up from New York) where the unique people are used to doing things for themselves and have a natural entrepreneurial tendency.  It’s where I am from and is a big part of who I am.

I’ve never really felt comfortable working for someone else and was always interested in repackaging ideas in what I thought were more interesting ways.  This being said, I did work for others and enjoyed the lessons I learned as Marketing Communications Manager and Joint Venture Account Manager with Sabre (the company that owns www.travelocity.com).  Then, one day while taking the subway to work I looked around while being pushed onto the escalator and decided that I had enough.  I was going to start my own business and try to do things a little different than the average person.  Up to that point something always held me back – It was Fear of Failure.  Looking back, it’s funny when I think that the main thing that helped me overcome fear of failure was fear of boredom.

I had been writing business ideas in a little black book and had collected hundreds of the “next best thing” ideas over the past 5 years.  So, I picked the best idea that most fitted my personality and I was off to the races.  Within 3 years, my first company Big Day Out – Canada’s first experiences company – was doing quite well and I was approached by two companies to sell it.  I was given an offer I couldn’t refuse and sold it to relax a little more, help raise my son and travel the world.  I’m now thirsty for success again and have started my second bigger and better experience company – www.experiencegenie.com.  This time around we’re thinking global, acting local and giving back by surprising a person in each major city with an experience wish.

What kept you moving forward on the days things were not going exactly the way you were hoping they would? What ultimately keeps me going is the desire to succeed and live life on my own terms.  I realize that to do this it is important to keep forward momentum.   So, when things get hard and my day doesn’t go according to plan (which happens regularly) I try to keep the forward momentum by doing something that I love (not spreadsheets) that will still drive the business forward.  So, I may reach out and help a person satisfy one of their experience dreams or test an experience and review it on the website www.experiencegenie.com.

What piece of advice would you give to someone who has decided they would like to live in a world of their own creation? Believe in yourself.  Help others before you help yourself.  Enjoy the ride.

What is your favorite audio material and what do you enjoy most about this material? I like listening to anything that has a good beat, and has a happy feeling.  Right now I’ve been listening to a lot of Black Eyed Peas.  Music is a great way to keep your spirits up when you’re sitting in front of the computer writing your life’s manifesto!

What is your favorite reading material and what gives it that special place in your heart? I like epic novels because they remind me that the journey what is important – not the destination.  I also ready a lot of unconventional books and blogs that focus on living life by a different set of rules.  Here are my favorites at the moment:

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/

http://www.sethgodin.com/sg/

http://chrisguillebeau.com/3×5/

Who has inspired you and what is it about them that you found inspirational? My father was very inspirational as he lived life on his own terms and touched so many people while he was alive.  When he walked into a room there was a light that came with him and people loved him because he was always looking to help others.  He didn’t help others because he wanted something in return.  He helped because he enjoyed it.  I have always respected that trait in a person and try to live my life by that mantra.

What / who are you most thankful for and why? I am most thankful for my children, wonderful family and partner.  The ultimate goal of my life is to love, be loved and continually learn.  These people remind me of this every time I see them.

What is your favorite way to contribute or give back? I help people realize their experience dreams and do unique things via www.experiencegenie.com .  There is nothing more satisfying than seeing the look on someone’s face after they have just finished jumping out of a plane, driving a Ferrari or petting a tiger and knowing that you helped make one of their dreams come true.

Video of my creation – the experience genie.  He helps people live their experience dreams – anywhere in the world:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4uMF5Psg9Y

If you’re intrigued by anything you just read, be sure to visit:  http://www.experiencegenie.com and connect with Joshua Dawson today!

In gratitude,
Caryn

Caryn Gottlieb FitzGerald, the Manifesting Queen
http://www.CarynFitzGerald.com

This entry was posted on Monday, December 21st, 2009 at 5:59 am and is filed under Caryn's writing, Living the life of my dreams. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.