Day 257: Chris Gloss
“… your answer that you develop and you come up with will trigger something in you, and it will spark a fire. It will be like the kindling wood necessary to turn into a roaring flame, to ignite your passion to succeed, to do everything you’ve always dreamed to do, but doing it with a passion.”
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Toni Reece: Thank you so much, Chris, for agreeing to be part of this Project, and before we begin, can you introduce yourself?
Chris Gloss: Yes. I’m Chris Gloss, the Possibilitarian. I’m an author, coach and trainer, and best of all, I am Toni’s new friend.
Toni: Absolutely. Okay. Oh boy, here we go! So Chris, when you think of the word inspiration, who do you inspire, and how does that happen?
Chris: Yeah, I inspire those people that are much like myself. I believe that I’m connected, I’m cut from the same cloth as the people growing up that were kind of discounted, or the people that had great potential on the inside of them but never recognized it. Those people that always knew that there was something more to life, that there was something more beyond the cars, beyond the house, beyond the fame and the lights – that there was something more, that there is a plan and there’s a purpose, and that there’s just this hunger, the thirst, the desire, just to know what this is and to be in that place and to live it.
So those people, I am connected to. Those people are inspired by my message because we are operating on that same vibration. When we see each other, when we meet, whether it’s in person or whether it’s via technology, we connect and we resonate with each other. Our energy is connected, and we become dangerous and explosive, and operating a force of positivity because we are connected on a level of seeking, of searching, of finding and desiring to really operate in our purpose in life.
Toni: Fantastic! There is a lot that happens when someone is in your presence, isn’t there?
Chris: Yeah. I pray that. I pray that I am the difference maker in the lives of people I come in contact with. You know what, Toni? Here’s something I personally believe, that once I meet you, you should always leave my presence better than when you came … better than when you came. It’s not really anything that I do, but it’s when we connect. I mean, because of the energy in our bodies and what we believe in, it should leave both of us on a better level, in a better place. You know, so part of my life … I really consider it as a seed. You know, I look at my life as being a seed, and everybody I meet, I want to plant something in them to inspire the best in them.
Toni: Well, it certainly sounds like you’re incredibly passionate about what you do, and I can only imagine the gifts that you share when you’re in someone’s presence, or they listen to you on the radio or have an opportunity to hear you speak. When that human transaction occurs between you and other people, how do you think you help people to explore their own potential?
Chris: I help them to explore their own potential, I believe, by asking the questions. I believe for me life has a lot do with the questions that we are asked, because one of the things that’s my personal intention whether I leave my house, or every phone call, or every interaction on any kind of a technology platform, is my intention is to create a healthy dissatisfaction for what your current standing in life is. And I believe the best way to do that … because I do believe the best motivation that you can have or the best inspiration experience you can have will come from within, not from the outside.
You know, like Zig Ziglar said it best – motivation lasts for 24 hours. But just like a shower, it’s good to do, but it’s better when it comes from within you. So for me, it’s asking the questions, and in the questions you begin to look at yourself and have a self-assessment or a self-examination. And those questions … your answer that you develop and you come up with will trigger something in you, and it will spark a fire. It will be like the kindling wood necessary to turn into a roaring flame, to ignite your passion to succeed, to do everything you’ve always dreamed to do, but doing it with a passion. I just like to ask the questions that will create the fuel for that.
Toni: The fuel for that, absolutely. And Chris, as you know, there’s a lot of people that struggle with knowing what that passion is. They may have that feeling that they want something more. There’s an inkling, but they’ve never been given that opportunity to really explore that. Is that part of what you do as well?
Chris: Yes, yes. You know, when I think about that, Toni, here’s a quote that I came across that really kind of put that in perspective for me. I was reading the book, The Alchemist, which I really believe is one of my favorite books. I’ve read it three times now, and in the book, somewhere towards the beginning, there’s this quote that made the difference in my life. It reads: “It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”
You know, it’s that feeling. People that are addicted to different substances, they can always go back to that first experience, that first high, that first feeling, and then the rest of their time they spend chasing that feeling. So it’s sort of that like with the possibilities or that dream or that idea, the thing that’s been stirring up on the inside of you for so long.
It’s that possibility of having that come true in your life, that once you experience that first taste – whether through using your imagination or through using meditation or your visualization – once you experience that first taste, that idea of that possibility coming true makes life interesting, and you’ll spend your days and evenings and nights thinking and dreaming and fighting for that. So that’s the kind of aides in our catalyst that I see I am in that particular area.
Toni: So, Chris, what inspires you?
Chris: What inspires me, every day – the day; the waking up and having a new opportunity, and having that new opportunity. One of the things that happened over my life over the past two years I would say, Toni, was really focusing on the now. Being present, being aware in my conversations and my interactions.
So what inspires me is every new day I have thinking about the relationships I have that’s going to come by, to meet, to explore, the new things I learn. The new opportunities to practice not staying in the past, whether it’s good or whether it’s a challenge. Not so focused on the future that I don’t get to enjoy where I am and what I’m doing, but staying focused and being present and being aware in this day – this day that I have.
Not the day that I may have or the day that I had, but this day that I have. That inspires me, because there are a lot of things that I have not yet experienced that may happen today, and things that can happen just by me exploring and having this mindset and this focus of “Man, something good is going to happen to me.” I have great expectations, so that inspires me of the new experiences that I will have each day.
Toni: Now how did you come to this? I mean, was this something, an attitude that you have always had, or is it just … is it a journey and an evolution that has gotten you to turn over to this way of life, to think in this way?
Chris: You know, the easy answer would be I read this great book and I got steps one through eight; I’m arrived. I arrived here. But it didn’t happen like that. It was a journey. And you know what? What most people don’t like to talk about – and I know it’s probably taboo in most circles – but you know, a lot of times you fail your way to this place that I am today. There was a lot of pain. There was a lot of things that I went through.
At that time, I felt like it was a negative experience, but not really. It was a life lesson teaching me, whether it was about gratitude or whether it was about appreciation or whether it was about love or patience or kindness or gentleness. Whatever it was, those lessons on life, a lot of them were hard-fought lessons. Many bumps and bruises.
Many traps and snares were along this way, on this journey to be here, and I guess at some point in time I got sick and tired of sick and tired of resisting things, right, and then I arrived at this place of surrendering. When I arrived at that place of surrendering, I think that’s when I really began to experience what we call life. I like to define L-I-F-E as Living In Full Expectation; expectations for me every day that something good is going to happen.
I don’t like to … some people ask the question “Well, Chris, what if something negative happens to you?” Well, it’s too early to determine if it’s negative or not because that’s a part of this journey. There’s no finish line. It’s just a constant journey, and I arrived here through a lot of different scenarios and challenges, but at the end of the day, I’m thankful that I am here.
Toni: I’m also hearing an enormous amount of resilience.
Chris: Yes, yes.
Toni: Because it’s not only surrendering, but it’s being resilient, and I think that sometimes … that’s what I’m hearing from you as well. It was everything that you have been through and the failing that you said you had done along the way. If you weren’t massively resilient, maybe that also wouldn’t have gotten you to this place, so I think that’s really important, because that’s what I’m hearing from you.
Chris: Absolutely. You know, a lot of that comes from my mother. You know, my mother was a single parent while we were growing up in Bronx, New York City, while it was the murder capital of the world. But over the past 12 years … my mother is now a 12-year cancer conqueror. My mother is the woman … you know, people call me the Possibilitarian, but let me tell you, the essence of focusing on the possibilities, that came from my mother, and watching her through this 12-year challenge and her becoming a cancer conqueror, watching her strength and her energy, that “no quit” attitude and mindset, you know, and the mindset of “This too shall pass” – I get that from her. I get that resiliency from her, you know, where you stay in it. You don’t quit. Quitting isn’t an option. I had to say it sometimes because people look at that as just a motivational slogan and they take it the wrong way, but really quitting is not an option.
Today … I think Martin Luther King, Jr. said it best, that at the end of the sentence of life, it doesn’t have to be a period, but it can be a comma to loftier terms. So that there is something better along the way, that there is the possibility. But just to continue to stay in it. Don’t quit, just ride it out.
Toni: So what are you doing now to continue to explore your own potential so that you can continue to inspire others with your message and your way of life?
Chris: Well, I’m a sponge. I’m a sponge, and I love being a sponge. I’m reading. I’m ever reading, but at the same time, I made a switch in my life where it’s not like I read books just to read them to finish and have that sense of accomplishment – “Oh yeah, I read that” – no. When I read now, I’m reading for studying and practicing. Especially books that come highly recommended from my mentors or books that have some significance in the past or that I’ve chosen in this journey – those things help keep me grounded, especially in the area of meditation.
I think that’s the single most important thing that I’ve learned and incorporated in my life over the past three years was being able to get still. And in that place of stillness, I’ve met myself. In that place of stillness, my vision became clear. In that place of stillness, my purpose was clear. I believe a Sufi writer said it best – that stillness, the language that God speaks and everything else is a bad translation. It’s in that place of stillness that I find everything that I need to continue on my journey and to become a change agent or become a catalyst in the lives of the people that I meet and that I get connected to.
Toni: Thank you so much for everything that you have brought to the Project today in your interview. You can hear it, you can sense it. We’re doing this by phone, and it is just coming across loud and clear, and I know that others that are going to listen or read your transcript will feel it as well. We appreciate so much what you’re doing, the message that you’re putting out there, and the teaching that you’re doing as well. Chris, it’s been an absolute pleasure to have you on the Project today.
Chris: Thank you very much, Toni. I love being on this Project.
Toni: Thank you, Chris, and take care of yourself.
Chris: Thank you. Have a great day.
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For more information about Chris Gloss: www.ChrisGloss.com
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