Outside Insights
Outside Insights with Chris Burkhard is a podcast for people who want more — more clarity, more purpose, more impact.
Hosted by entrepreneur and lifelong learner Chris Burkhard, the show explores how bold leaders, builders, and thinkers close the gap between the life they have and the life they want. Through honest conversations and powerful stories, we unpack the lessons that shape real lives and careers.
If you're looking for ideas that challenge you, motivate you, and help you grow — you’re in the right place.
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Outside Insights
The Moving Meditation: Living with Gratitude, Resilience, and Awareness - Episode 68
I had the honor of hosting a long-time mentor and friend, Robert Larson, CPC. Bob’s journey is one I’ve followed since the start of my first business, and he even inspired my own early yoga practice by bringing his personal interests into the workplace.
The episode is less about business growth and more about personal resilience and the powerful difference between working on your business versus in it; and ultimately, working on yourself.
From Bicycle Messengers to Boutique Practice
Bob's career spans decades, starting when résumés were shuttled by bicycle messengers and a portable fax machine cost $4,500. He built a large, successful staffing firm. However, as the conversation reveals, he deliberately chose to downsize a few years ago.
He found that running a large operation meant working on the business. Downsizing allowed him to return to the craft, the hands-on work of interviewing and placement, and find fulfillment, proving that the work is more fulfilling.
The Catastrophic Gift of Life
Bob's most compelling story is about the massive health crisis he faced over 20 years ago that put him on life support, reshaping his outlook on life, work, and gratitude.
He discusses how his decades-long practices in silent meditation and Bikram (hot) yoga became his lifeline. When he woke up on a respirator, he used the machine's rhythm to perform Ujjayi breathing meditation. As his sister-in-law wisely noted, he "trained his entire life for these illnesses." Now, at 75, he embodies reinvention and acceptance, trading marathons for chair yoga, and viewing every physical challenge as a teaching moment.
The Core Takeaway: Find Your DNA
Life comes with no warranties or guarantees. Bob's advice on career and contentment is simple yet revolutionary: find what is in your DNA and what you love to do, and the money will follow. His perspective on career fulfillment, the necessity of personal practice, and the struggle to stay in the present moment is a powerful reminder that awareness is the practice, and coming back to stillness is the key to clarity.
"If a person does what they love, the money follows because they rise to the top of what they're doing." — Robert Larson, CPC
Listen to the Full Conversation
Don't miss Bob's incredible story of resilience and his profound advice on living an aware and grateful life.
Books, Websites, and Resources Mentioned
We always highlight the resources mentioned by our guests so you can follow their lead.
- Substack: You can follow Bob Larson's active daily blog and get a peek into his daily practice of gratitude and awareness
- A Book for Letting Go: Let Them by Mel Robbins
- The Business Essential: The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber
- Career Assessments: The Kuder Career Assessment and Campbell Interest and Skill Survey
Until next time, friends,
Chris
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