U Can Do It with Michael McGinnis: Inspiring Growth ~ Igniting Potential - A Modern-Day Vision Quest: Stories of Growth, Discovery, and Enlightenment, Part 4 - 1st Stop, Europe

A Modern-Day Vision Quest: Stories of Growth, Discovery, and Enlightenment, Part 4 - 1st Stop, Europe

02/14/25 • 29 min

U Can Do It with Michael McGinnis: Inspiring Growth ~ Igniting Potential

Thank you so much for joining. What an honor it is that you chose to share time with me. This podcast series uses the art of story telling to share one of the most amazing adventures in life, what I refer to as “A Modern-Day Vision Quest.” The adventure was my journey of Personal Growth, Self-Discovery, and Enlightenment.
To sum it up briefly, I had healed most of the wounds and impact from a traumatic childhood which I talk about in my book, Discovering Michael: An Inspiration Guide to Personal Growth & Self-Discovery. Following this phase of growth (which I term Personal Growth), what surfaced were nagging thoughts deep within to related to understanding who I truly am (Self-Discovery), and what life was all about and how I fit in (Enlightenment). Inspired by the movie, "Dances With Wolves", and The Call" by Jennifer James, I left a full-time job to backpack and volunteer around the world. I came face-to-face with situations that challenged my prior beliefs and ultimately resulted in learning about life itself and Discovering Michael. This talk is a collection of true stories about my adventures and learnings to hopefully engage you in a thought-provoking manner, while guiding and inspiring you for your own journey of self-discovery!!
Part 4 continues with real-life stories about the segue I made from the Personal Growth stage to the Self-Discovery stage. In Part 3, I talked about the synchronistic events and people that came into my life that were preparing me for my Modern Day Vision Quest. As I reflected on the recent events and encounters, it became clear that it was time for another leap of faith, this time to venture out into the unknown, the world around me. I had two key intentions phrased as questions: 1) Why Did I Experience So Much Pain & Suffering?, and 2) What is The Meaning of Life? Low and behold, my friend called me and asked if I wanted to join him and his brother on a trip to Europe. At the same time I was returning to home and volunteering in some profound ways, all having to deal with death, although I had no idea of this commonality at first. Off I went on my first leg of my quest. Here are stories to help guide and inspire you to take your own journey within!!
This Episode Image portrays the wonder I had as a child to escape the bondages of my past and eagerness to discover what is out there!!
Discovering Michael: An Inspirational Guide to Personal Growth and Self-Discovery, Balboa Press
Link to Book on Amazon

Previous Episode

A Modern-Day Vision Quest: Stories of Growth, Discovery, and Enlightenment, Part 3

Good morning, afternoon, and evening everyone. Thank you so much for joining. What an honor it is that you chose to share time with me. This podcast series uses the art of story telling to share one of the most amazing adventures in life, what I call “A Modern-Day Vision Quest.” The adventure was my journey of Personal Growth, Self-Discovery, and Enlightenment.
To sum it up briefly, I had healed most of the wounds and impact from a traumatic childhood which I talk about in my book, Discovering Michael: An Inspiration Guide to Personal Growth & Self-Discovery. Following this phase of growth (which I term Personal Growth), what surfaced were nagging thoughts deep within to related to understanding who I truly am (Self-Discovery), and what life was all about and how I fit in (Enlightenment). Inspired by the movie, "Dances With Wolves", and The Call" by Jennifer James, I left a full-time job to backpack and volunteer around the world. I came face-to-face with situations that challenged my prior beliefs and ultimately resulted in learning about life itself and Discovering Michael. This talk is a collection of true stories about my adventures and learnings to hopefully engage you in a thought-provoking manner, while guiding and inspiring you for your own journey of self-discovery!!
Part 3 continues with real-life stories about the segue I made from the Personal Growth stage to the Self-Discovery stage. There was a change within me following all the work I did in the Personal Growth stage, that was longing for a deeper understanding of self. It was characterized by questions such as "Who Am I?", "What Do I Stand For?" and "What Do I Want to Be When I Grow Up?" Before I was aware of the questions was a nagging feeling to learn more about myself and life. I share my story about the events and people that came into my life to clarify what this feeling was all about, and ultimately the amazing adventure I was about to embark on.

Next Episode

A Modern-Day Vision Quest Part 5: Signs, Synchronicities, and Sedona: From Skeptic to Believer

Part 5 continues with real-life stories about the segue I made from the Personal Growth stage to the Self-Discovery stage and now Enlightenment. As you may recall, I had two key intentions for this quest that were phrased as questions: 1) Why Did I Experience So Much Pain & Suffering?, and 2) What is The Meaning of Life? Synchronistic events and people continued to come into my life that were preparing me for the next adventure of my Modern Day Vision Quest.
I had returned from Europe and became an active volunteer domestically. Many of these activities had death as a common denominator. These experiences we forcing me deeper and I was confronting mortality. I began to contemplate what death was all about? My mother's own death when I was 14 years old, left me with a fear of death and the realization that dealing with these situations left me alone since others did not want to talk about it.
My experience talking with the monks while visiting the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, Italy, provided me with the first understanding of the word "spirituality" as an option to religion. I wanted to learn more about this, but had no idea how. Well, be careful of what you wish for, since this would all soon evolve into an amazing new segment of my journey and into the topic of enlightenment.
This segment of my jouney would begin with a random event where a "Pennysaver", a publication that features classified adds for local goods and services, somehow dropped on the floor across the room, and amazingly opened to a page that would open another amazing door to my Modern Day Vision Quest.
Discovering Michael: An Inspirational Guide to Personal Growth and Self-Discovery, Balboa Press
Link to Book on Amazon