For years, I knew what I wanted in life. I just couldn’t articulate it.

Characteristics like fun and passion have always shown up in my values and I wanted to model my life after those values. I was missing the “how” to give me a roadmap for living that kind of life.

Then, I met Chris Suarez. He was living his business and life through a lens that he coined “Xperiential.” His mission then, as it still is today, is to give people the platform to live a fully immersive life. I realized that he and I shared the same vision.

We put even more language around what it means to actually live an experiential life. Turns out, it’s more than Instagram-worthy vacations, meals or other share-worthy moments that you might want to broadcast to the world.

To fully experience life, it takes living life in a fully immersive way everyday. A life where you have alignment and integration of the pillars of life that give you meaning, energy & fulfillment. 

The Pillars of an Experiential Life

Career

Career is more than a job. Yes, it is about the day-to-day job that you do. It also is a place to find meaning and self-worth.

Lean into the tangible aspects of your career, the income it provides to fund & fuel your life, the skills you acquire, the achievements you make. Also the intangible role that your career plays in driving a personal mission forward and the relationships that you cultivate through your career. That’s when a career becomes an experience.

Relationships

The most amazing research findings on the human condition that I know of is that the quality of someone’s relationships in their 40’s translates to better health in their 70’s. Your relationships in midlife are more of a predictor to your longevity and health than any other health marker.

As you’re reading this, the best investment you can make for your future self are in the relationships you grow today.

More than just family and friend relationships, relationships extend to work colleagues, wealth determiners and mentors. Diving deeper into the relationship pillar in this article: The 5 Crucial Relationships You Need to Thrive.

Wealth

It’s more than money or numbers on a spreadsheet. Yes, those numbers are quite important and need to be carefully cultivated. Yet, wealth is more than that.

In fact, in our Xperiential MBA development program, we invite our members to create their personal definition of wealth. It means different things to different people.

Being able to define wealth on your terms gives you a vision to achieve it. Mine is heavily weighted toward freedom. To be clear, money is a big part of being free. For me, though, there are emotional & physical components to it as well. Find your wealth definition, you’ll have a North Star.

Personal Growth

Your growth as a person is paramount to you experiencing life. It encompasses the other pillars as well.

We define it as growth in your mental, emotional, physical, cognitive abilities. Learning a new language = personal growth. Changing your health routine = personal growth. Gain a new skill set in your job = personal growth. Being thoughtful with your words in the face of adversity = personal growth.

Growth happens. Much like change, we are always growing in some ways. Personal growth is all about the intentional growth that we pursue to become better on purpose.

Health

Without health, we really don’t have much on this earth. Our health gives us the physical strength and ability to conquer the other pillars.

Health is not the lack of illness. It’s the optimization of the body & mind. We see health as the intersection of nutrition, movement & rest. Does your food give you the nutrients you need to have optimal health? Are you getting the movement and exercise necessary for strong muscles, bones, mobility, balance, stamina? Are you giving yourself the mental & physical rest required to recharge your body so that you can perform at your peak when necessary?

Those are the considerations for health. When you are experiencing life, the elements of nutrition, movement and rest are used with full intention.

Spirituality

Spirituality is tapping into something bigger than yourself.

For some there’s a strong religious component to the notion of spirituality. For others, it’s a drive towards greater purpose, mission, values.

Tapping into spirituality drives our energy. I was facilitating a group session of Xperiential MBA recently on the topic of spirituality. The discussion was around what happens when you’re sick. The group said when you’re sick you’re unable or find it extremely difficult to get into movement and you get out of your rhythms due to your lack of energy. We agreed that’s typically correct.

I asked, “where does the energy come from to get you up and moving toward a goal when your physical energy is down?” That connection to something important comes from your connection to a greater purpose.

Much like personal growth, spirituality flows energy into the other pillars, which is why it’s a critical component of a fully experienced life.

Chris & I are on a mission to pave the way for leaders to live their life experientially and influence others to do the same. We have a much anticipated event coming up in New York in June. Click HERE to get the details on Xperiential MBA New York and to sign-up to go much more in depth on these 6 pillars.