#42 – David Wagner – HAPPINESS.info

David H Wagner, an internationally recognised spiritual teacher. Many people seek David out to learn how to meditate and he is considered one of the best teachers alive today. He has dedicated his life to the exploration of personal transformation and over the last 21 years has worked with people from all walks of life including military personal, combat veterans, Fortune- 500 executives, Hollywood actors, Grammy award-winning musicians and even outlaw bikers. Most recently, David has taken on the mission of serving the transformational needs of men and is the author of the book: BACKBONE – the Modern Man’s Ultimate Guide to Purpose, Passion and Power.

In This Episode:

David and his 3 brothers all got into drinking and drugs from a really young age and David’s problem with substance abuse was the worst. He explains why this turned out to be a fortunate thing.
He describes how he spent his 20’s living in India, in ashrams, studying the ancient wisdoms and practicing celibacy.
What happened in 2007 that changed the direction of his entire life?
“I actually realised that a lot of the stuff that I was doing in the name of spirituality had become sort of bullshit or dogmatic and so then I just started exploring me again, you know and just being this guy from Illinois who likes to listen to Black Sabbath and ride motorcycles”
He describes how AA meetings were his introduction to spirituality.
“When you’re learning to pray and meditate so you can get through another 24 hours without calling your dealer or learning to pray and mediate to pull yourself out of a totally psychotic anxiety attack, it really teaches you how to pray and mediate in a way that just going to the yoga studio and ringing the gong just could never do”
David describes the problems and concerns with today’s modern man.
David’s work emphasises the importance of men identifying their mission in life and to work our their purpose. I ask him how he suggests we go about figuring this out?
We find out what the ‘Fuck Yeah’ factor means.
“You deserve the best of life, and life deserves the best of you”
We talk about some of the pit falls of just settling and coasting through life.
“The thing that really feeds a man is his need to accomplish missions and to have a purpose and that’s the thing that at the end of the day really helps a man to feel deeply happy, is when he knows that”
What does a fulfilled life mean to David?
What is 1 thing our listeners can do today that will have a massive positive effect on their lives?
Which books or resources have changed/had a big impact on your life?