A show about living life on your terms.
Join me, Neville Andrew Mehra, for conversations with people who have escaped from the boring “default life plan” to find freedom, success, adventure, and more.
Get inspired as we explore their journeys and discuss the lessons they’re learning along the way.
Listen and Subscribe on:
You can find all of the previous episodes of Never Normal here.
You can find all of the previous episodes of Never Normal below.
By day, Vikram Seth is a Senior Economist working on renewable energy at Shell. By night, he is the co-founder of Bounce Bhangra, an award winning combination of high energy cardio and Indian dance.
In Never Normal Episode 018 we discussed Vikram’s sabbatical – taking a break from work to find balance in life.
In this episode we discuss how Vikram approached making money without a job, and the process and struggles of turning something you love doing into a business.
Highlights:
Jonathan Hillis is the founder of Creator Cabins. It began as a single cabin in the Texas Hill Country, a place for creators to gather together to work on exciting projects ‘IRL’. They’ve since launched a token and formed the Cabin DAO and now they’re expanding into a decentralized city.
Prior to founding $CABIN, Jon was Director of Product, Shoppers, and Marketplace at Instacart, where during the pandemic, he grew their workforce of shoppers 5x.
Jon also recently published an excellent essay on the history of centralization and decentralization cycles in Western Civilization.
We cover all of that and more in this episode. Enjoy!
In this episode we discuss:
By day, Vikram Seth is a Senior Economist working on renewable energy at Shell.
By night, he is the co-founder of Bounce Bhangra, an award winning combination of high energy cardio and Indian dance.
And at heart, Vikram is a philosopher. Someone who spends much of his time thinking deeply about life and the meaning of it all.
In this episode we talk about how Vikram has cultivated balance between a demanding career (working for one of the largest corporations in the world), his personal passions, and his spiritual side.
In this episode we discuss:
What is it like becoming a digital nomad these days?
Over the past year, Justin Gary ditched his office, moved out of his apartment, and got rid of his car to become a digital nomad. Now Justin runs his businesses while traveling and living around the world.
Justin Gary is an award-winning game designer and entrepreneur.
He started his career in gaming at the age of seventeen when he won the Magic: The Gathering US National Championships. Justin then escaped from NYU Law School to pursue his dream of becoming a professional game designer (we discussed Justin’s journey in a previous interview on Never Normal).
He’s since made games for global brands including Marvel, DC, World of Warcraft, and Bakugan. In 2010, Justin founded his own publishing company, Stone Blade Entertainment and released the hit deck-building game, Ascension.
Justin has also taught creativity principles at the Wharton School of Business and to companies including Twitter, Zillow, and Google.
Earlier this year, Justin and I launched Quality Questions together, where we collect and send questions that help you apply the key lessons from self improvement books and lectures to your own life.
Justin’s latest project is the Level Up habit journal.
In this episode we talk about:
Kevin Maguire writes The New Fatherhood a weekly newsletter dedicated to “Helping dads be better dads.”
Kevin is also a former Google employee and the founder of QuickHatch where he uses Design Sprint thinking to help bold companies solve complex problems in record time.
In this episode we discuss:
Paul Millerd left the “safe” , predictable corporate world behind in 2017 to embark on what he calls, “The Pathless Path.”
Now, instead of grinding on slide decks and racking up billable hours for the likes of BCG and McKinsey, Paul is making it up as he goes…
A self-described, “curious human”, Paul spends his days exploring ideas, writing, and having conversations with others about their journeys into the unknown.
In this episode we discuss:
Tom Hirst consistently earns over $100,000 / year, even though he’s never had proper job. Tom’s found success as a freelance WordPress developer, working on projects for the likes of England’s National Health Service, sportswear brand Umbro, and Facebook.
Tom also writes about the business of freelancing and mentors other freelancers. Tom is the author of two eBooks: 10 Steps To Becoming A Better Freelancer and Pricing Freelance Projects, and the creator of the video course, The Personal Website Playbook.
You can find all of these resources and more on Tom’s website.
In this episode we discuss:
Serenity Pearlman is an 11 year old originally from California, who is now living in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in Spain’s Canary Islands.
Joining us is Serenity’s dad, Shane. Who is the CEO of Modern Tribe, a fully remote digital agency with team members all over the world. They’ve worked with some of the biggest brands in the world, like Nike, Microsoft, and Harvard University.
In this episode we discuss:
You’re supposed to be satisfied once you’ve “made it”…
But what if you’re not?
What if you “check all the boxes” but find yourself craving a new adventure? What if you’d rather go build something new?
What do you do when you have a crazy idea that you just can’t let go of? How do you chase a dream when it the world wants you to settle for safety? And how do you balance your aspirations with your obligations?
Amanda Goetz is the founder of House of Wise, a luxury CBD brand for women. She’s also the part-time Chief Marketing Officer for Teal. And she has a popular account with a very engaged following on Twitter.
On top of all that, Amanda is a single mom with three young kids!
In this episode we discuss:
By day Alex is a fractional COO who helps technology companies grow quickly without falling apart.
By night he’s a “curator of people” who builds communities wherever he goes around the world, from impromptu 14-person dinners at conferences to a pop-up co-living space in Colombia.
In this episode we discuss:
Award-winning game designer, author, and speaker Justin Gary, returns to discuss goal setting, plans for 2021, and our new project together, Quality Questions.
In this episode we discuss: