Cameron Atlas: Get Clear, Go Bold, Be Relentless

 What does it look like to rebuild your life on purpose and then turn that courage into a roadmap for everyone else? In this episode, keynote speaker, musician, and mindset strategist Cameron Atlas shares the real stories behind The Edge of Possible from leaving the Australian Outback, to a defining tragedy that reshaped his mission, to the moment he sold everything he owned and stepped into the unknown. You will hear the simple framework that anchors his work, why “relentless recovery” matters as much as relentless ambition, and how he is blending music and AI to create next level audience experiences. If you have been feeling stuck, his one question cuts straight through the noise: “How do you want to feel next?” 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Welcome to Insight Live, the podcast where we talk with top professionals in the meetings and events industry, sharing insider knowledge and perspectives. Whether you're experienced or just starting out, this is your go-to podcast for event industry wisdom. Each episode will dive into challenges, trends, and strategies for success. So get ready to level up your skills. This is Insight Live. Well, hello everyone. Today I am joined by Cameron Atlas. I've been really excited to have Cameron on the show on the podcast, and he's made time for us. And it's going to be a great, great addition. Now, Cameron's a keynote speaker, a musician, and a mindset strategist whose mission is to help good people achieve extraordinary things. Now, from the Australian Outback to global stages, he's built a career blending purpose-driven storytelling with performance and music. Now, his keynote topic, The Edge of Possible, challenges audiences to step beyond comfort zones into bold, intentional growth. And as always, he's got something fresh and new up his sleeve that he's been testing out. So I'm excited to have him share that with us. Welcome to the program. Cameron, how are you, sir?

SPEAKER_01 1:29

Doing really well, Timothy. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_00 1:31

Oh, it's a pleasure. And uh, you know, you and I touched bass a little bit last month or even in the months right before IMAX and things got crazy there. But uh sounds like you've settled back in for a little stretch from your travels.

SPEAKER_01 1:42

I've got a couple weeks at home. It's uh it's been so good just being having a little bit of time uh and doing the doing the things that I really enjoy when being at home. I uh we spoke a little offline about pickleball and uh some other things that that I just love being able to do, being able to get to the gym and and my you know, I've got a little pup as well. So, you know, it's uh it's good getting some cuddles from from the dog as well.

SPEAKER_00 2:04

Oh my gosh, I feel like we could just pause the the podcast there and talk about puppies and pickleball and like we'd have a great show.

SPEAKER_01 2:11

I think puppies and pickleball. I think that's uh that's maybe the name of the new show. There it is, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:16

All right, well, let's dive in because maybe there's some people with some of our listeners that you know might not have heard uh the the the presentation or maybe they haven't run across you yet. So I just want to ask you a couple of just like kind of orientation questions. Let's just you know get to know you a little bit. You left the Australian Outback in 2002 to chase music, and that's not typically a speaker's origin story. Okay. So I how did you define your appetite for risk early on, you know, in that in you know making a decision like that? You know, that tell us about that. That might tell us a little bit about who you are.

SPEAKER_01 2:51

Yeah, I mean, I it I yeah, as you mentioned, I I grew up on a farm. It's a long way from anywhere. Like the closest big city was a nine-hour drive away. And, you know, we had 11 people in my graduating class. And yeah, it's just the middle of nowhere. And I I love going back there each year. I my family, I still have family back there, like young nieces and nephews, and I go back and surprise them by dressing up in costume every year. Then we go back there, and um, they were just asking a few days ago about what are you where when are you coming back and what you know, what's it gonna be this time? And I so I don't know if I'm coming back this time. I've got to keep a little bit of surprise going still. So it's amazing going back. Um, but yeah, I I did leave uh 2002, so it's yeah, over over two decades ago now, and uh lived in Australia for a for a period of time, um late 2010. I mean, I I didn't have any intention actually of speaking as such. I didn't I mean I didn't even know it was a career. I do, I just had a memory. In my 11th year of school, there was a guest speaker that came to our presentation night. And I remember thinking, I I'd love to do that one day. But I I had no idea no idea that it was an actual industry or anything like that, there was anything like that. I just didn't know about that stuff. Uh, but I wanted to be able to achieve something that would have me worthy of being on a stage like that, of being able to inspire maybe the next generation. And um it wasn't until though it was about mid-2010, and it was a pretty tragic situation where um unfortunately a a boy took his own life from across the road from where I was living at the time. And um, it's it's what led me down the road of uh seeing how I could help to to alleviate suffering, to uh, to alleviate people's challenging situations that they go through and you know, witnessing everything that a family goes through after that, because I was the first neighbor uh across the road when when that had occurred. And um yeah, it led to the it led me down the coaching road road before the speaking road. And I just wanted to help. I just wanted to solve people's challenges and help them to um work through whatever it was that they were going through. And so it wasn't until, you know, a couple years after that I'd been speaking a little, but it was really just from a coaching standpoint. Um, but it wasn't, I mean, I'd ended up selling everything that I own, and we might talk a little about that, but went on this big, beautiful journey around the world and there was this moment when I was in uh Argentina at the time, and it was the moment where everything changed for me because there was this question that I asked myself of if uh if this all ends today, what haven't I done yet that I wish I had? And I'd done a fair bit of stuff by then. I'd created a lot of music that had made a decent amount of impact. Um, I'd coached a lot of people. Um, but I'd had this answer there of like I really wanted to deliver a talk with a grand piano on stage. And I like I got booked for one two years earlier in Australia, and a couple days before the conference, the entire thing got cancelled. And I was like, little boy from Outback Australia. I was crushed, man. I was absolutely crushed. Uh, but there was just something about that day in in Argentina that was if you really want it, like go and make it happen. And so I just reached out to anyone who'd listen. And uh rejection after rejection after rejection after rejection, eventually someone gave me my shot. And it was uh two events on the same day, 700 people at each of them. And I opened up one of them, closed out the second. And I remember walking off the stage of the second one, thinking, if that's possible, I wonder what else is.

SPEAKER_00 6:27

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 6:28

And and there's just been this continual uh desire to continue challenging what's possible, I guess, and just seeing what what else could be possible, especially from someone who just, you know, grew up again in the in the middle of nowhere. It's there's something beautiful about continuing to be curious about that and to be inspiring and empowering other people to do the same through the keynotes and through other means is um yeah, is is is something that I'm incredibly appreciative of.

SPEAKER_00 6:53

Well, we're okay with parking and unpacking things in this podcast. You mentioned selling everything you own and um you know what is what was that like? I mean, you because we're talking about what you're really getting at is a sense of purpose, right? Like for you. Uh and so once you have that, it sort of becomes the like I always like think of it as like a North Star and orientation point where you can't really steer wrong once you've got that locked in. Is that what happened in that tragic moment um of your life where where you discovered your sense of purpose or you were discovering your sense of purpose? Is that maybe better said?

SPEAKER_01 7:27

I I think I'm always discovering my purpose. And and at the same time, absolutely it it grew massive amounts. I I I did a couple of years of psychology at university. I dropped I ended up dropping out a couple of years after being into it because I was doing the work, but I wasn't that interested in it. And it wasn't until Well, what were you chasing? Impact? Was it impact that you were chasing? Back then, I think I was just chasing something to do. You know, I don't I I really deep down I wanted to pursue music and and create impact on that side of things. And um, I went and did something because it was the thing that you do, you know, you know, finish school and go to college. And yeah, I a couple of years into that I went off the rails a fair bit and partied way too hard. And um, yeah, uh crazy, crazy time in my life. And uh yeah, dropped out and and yeah, again, just went off off the rails a bit, not a bit, a lot. And it wasn't until that moment that occurred, um, that tragic moment, that yeah, it it it brought about a sense of purpose about like what you what are you doing? Like, how how are you going about making change in the world? And I I I had been doing a bit at that time, like with from a music standpoint, but was I really going after it? I wasn't. And uh so so there was a sense of purpose there. That really brought me into the coaching realm. The the selling everything that I own actually came after I uh the relationship that I had back in late 2014 came to an end, and you know, it was a serious relationship of mine, and I think the heartbreak wasn't just about the relationship ending, but the realization that my life wasn't where I wanted it to be at the time. Yeah, and there's this quote uh by Oscar Wilde of to live is the rarest of things, most people just exist. And and I asked I asked myself this question after that occurred, after the breakup happened. I said, Am I really living? And it's such a confronting question to ask, it can be, if if the answer is what it was for me, which is I wanted to say yes, but the answer was a resounding no.

SPEAKER_00 9:44

And and so especially if especially if you your one thing gets taken away from you, right? Like if this one thing goes away and that collapse happens, I mean that's that's where I find most people are asking that question, like, what was I doing? Like, what am I living? Like this is just one thing in my life, and now that I define myself by this one person or this one relationship. And I'm not saying that's where you were, but maybe that's where you were, because it sounds like that's where people get the most hung up is I defined myself or this other thing defined me, and I hadn't even defined myself yet.

SPEAKER_01 10:18

Yeah, there's there were definitely pieces of identity in there, and it was I I remember the relationship almost coming to an end as it was coming fairly close to an end, was that uh her mentioning that I I was very rigid as you know, just like set in this ha it had to be a certain way. And so when I moved out, I I just decided to basically do the opposite and just see what would happen. And so over the like there was a 40 40 days to begin with. Um, over the first 40 days, I went overseas for the first time ever. I went repelling down waterfalls, mountain climbing, uh, white water rafting, gliding, uh jumped out of an air, you know, out of a plane, dancing. I just went all in on these different experiences. Exactly, right? Um, it's like, you know, just do the opposite, and then you can scale it back if you need to. So um, but what the crazy thing is, is that uh when I was in Bali, uh, this was the first country that I went to, I went to Bali and I was in a bud in Bali, and it was a couple hours before I needed to be going to the airport. And I was in this cafe, and uh I ended up hearing this song, and this beautiful song. It's called uh Experience by Ludovico and Audi, I think is how you pronounce his name. And it's this beautiful piano song. And I remember sitting there as I was listening to it in this Bali cafe, thinking to myself, you need to be doing more of this. You need to be doing, like creating more music of your own. You need to also be having more experiences that make you feel alive. And, you know, it took a pewter time after that, but that that set it was a large part of the decision of okay, what could I do that would enable me to create more music and have more experiences that make me feel alive? And I had this idea of a why I wonder if I could like roll up a piano in my suitcase and take that around the world with me. And there is one, there's online you can go and look it on Amazon right now. It's really bad qualities, like$50 on Amazon or something like that. Yeah. Um, and so that wasn't going to cut it, but it I I didn't shut the idea down already because that's the important thing about coming up with great ideas is that you need it, it needs enough space to breathe. Like curiosity needs enough space to breathe. And curiosity does tend to feed on itself, but only if it's given enough space to breathe. And and it's a really important thing to do in a time and a uh an age where so many things are needed right now. You know, we need to execute on things right now. There's there's so many distractions that can be going on. Our ability to be able to take some time, to be able to dream, to be able to be curious, to be able to be wonder about what could be. And like clockwork later that day, I thought, oh, I wonder if there's places around the world that I could stay in that have pianos in them already that I could go and like create on while I live there and then continue coaching and training and speaking. And there is, there's a bunch of them on short-term rentals back when, you know, before remote work was as popular as it as it is now. And I didn't intend at the time to get rid of everything necessarily. Uh, but that's the thing that just thing that things eventuate and things progress. And yeah, I ended up getting rid of it all.

unknown 13:34

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 13:34

And here's the thing that I think is a good one to mention. The last things that I got rid of was my TV, my TV cabinet, and my sofa. The last three big items, right? A bunch of stuff I gave away, other stuff I sold. These three things I sold, I just put them on$1 no reserve on eBay and just go, whatever I get for them, I get for them. And this was a Saturday afternoon, the items ended. I get a message uh saying, can we come pick the? I think at least two of the items were from the same person and one from the other person. They both wanted to come pick them up the next day. And there's something about there's something very different about saying you're gonna go and do something and then something actually happening and realizing that you've got no way out of this now. And that it was like this moment of final for me of, oh no. Like this is this is my last last little safety net that was there. Because we can talk about, oh yeah, I'm thinking of doing this or I'm thinking of doing that. But now it was real, and the fear crept up. And we're like, what am I doing? Right. And I so I did what any sane person would do. I binge watched three adventure movies. I I sat on the sofa that I was about to get rid of. I watched the TV that was on the TV cabinet. It was uh Hector in the Search for Happiness, uh uh The Secret Life of Walter Middy and Into the Wild, and three amazing movies. Oh, yes. And I remember watching all three of them and the end of it just going, ah, take the TV, take the soap right I need it, right? And um, and they came and came and took it and and away I went. And, you know, there was beautiful, amazing challenges along the way, but just to see uh how much eventuated out of that simple decision and of that heartbreak that led to, you know, there was a TEDx talk in Rome and a National Geographic Explorer project and giving my first talks with Grand Piano on stage. Like it all came out of that. And I I wonder what would have happened if the breakup didn't happen. I wonder what would have happened if I didn't make the decision to go, you know, to be overseas. I I wonder if I you know just what would have happened.

SPEAKER_00 15:38

And and I yeah, what a what a physical representation of being stripped bare, like of being like a blank canvas and having that. And that must have been where your fear came from. I was like, there's nothing now. Now there's nothing. And and we're gonna get into it because you you talk about in one of your in in your in your talks about the way you say now what? Like, hey, or now what? Like kind of and this is this is sort of a launching point for your philosophy on the way you see life. Because when I think about your was it an apartment or this empty place that you must have been in, I'm vi I'm envisioning it and standing there and going like this is terrifying. Like this is nothing. There's nothing here. And and what does that say about me and what's next? That's what an incredible place to be at.

SPEAKER_01 16:22

You know, I'm a very I'm a big believer in being a living, breathing example of what I speak and coach on. I think it's important. And continuing to uh go through the different experiences and come out the other side and go through the messiness all in between because there's no going around it. Like there's going to be messiness that occurs and the ability to be able to go through those experiences, but also do it in a way, not just for the purpose of going through it and being this almost like this guinea pig, but but doing it because that's life. And the ability to be able to explore what's possible, the ability to be able to unlock your own edge, the ability to be able to challenge your limits and push the boundaries, is is your ability to be able to know who you are, where it is you're going and why you're going there, your ability to be able to make really bold decisions and your ability to be able to pursue that relentlessly and be able to continue doing that for years and years and years. And if we have those key pieces in place, um, life can be pretty extraordinary, both personally and professionally. And so yeah, I'm continuing to learn lessons of that as well, though. You know, just even from this last month, I it was a grueling travel schedule. Last month, two months, even this year, has been there's just been a lot of things that have happened, a lot of speaking engagements, but also just stresses and challenges and other things that have come up here and there and everywhere. And there's one thing that I've learned over and over again, and I think I I just seem to have to continue learning this, uh, as maybe some others you know tuning in might might need to, is not only being relentless in your pursuit of excellence and in the pursuit of challenging what's possible, but being relentless in your recovery as well. Because if we don't, burnout and exhaustion is is maybe one big challenge away. And that's a um yeah, I a friend of mine just the other day posted about this, about some stuff he's going through on LinkedIn and shared that, you know, maybe we're often usually one just just one decision away or one challenge away from from being really, really challenged. And so our ability to continue building our sense of recovery. And there's the basics. Relentless recovery, sleep, nutrition, hydration, getting to bed early, getting a great rhythm there, finding the things that bring you joy, building a sense of community. Like each of these pieces are so incredibly important because I was just chatting with a really good friend of mine last night about this. We're not machines. As technology continues to infiltrate our lives, we are not machines. We're not built like machines. We're built to expend energy and we're built to recover. Athletes know this, right? If they don't, they are no they're not becoming a world champion, that's for sure. The recovery has to occur. And we've got to do that as well within the events industry. We've got to do that as well in our own lives, we've got to do that as well, any industry, right? Otherwise, we're on the on a journey to um, yeah, a not favorable outcome.

SPEAKER_00 19:39

The secret life of Walter Midi. I'm assuming it was the remake uh with Ben Stiller or was it the remake? That's a phenomenal movie. I love that movie. I it's one of my all-time favorites, and I can't imagine what it would have been like to watch it just before you're about to experience it.

SPEAKER_01 19:56

So I've I've watched it multiple times since I've got to be a good thing. You've been agreeing with it.

SPEAKER_00 19:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:59

I haven't been yet. So uh, you know, when I do, I'm gonna get on a helicopter with a guy that's drunk a fair bit of stuff and um jump out of it at some stage. So it's just sounded into the water.

SPEAKER_00 20:09

Throw me an invite when you're out there just so I can see it. I can join. I'd love to see it. Yeah, for sure. Um, I feel like we've been talking about your like what your your talk is called The Edge of Possible. I feel like we've already covered a lot of the heartbeat of it and where it came from. Um, so you know, your I'm I'm I have like a list of questions, but we're just having such a great conversation. Um, you know, what is how are audiences, you know, responding to your talks these days? Like what are what are you been you've been you've been honing this talk over so some time. And it seems like over the course of 20, 30 years now that I talk to you, like this is a lifelong topic. You're sharing, you're being so vulnerable on stage, you're sharing everything you're living a life exposed and and open and honest and vulnerable. That's gotta be lighting fires, right? Like that kind of honesty, that kind of integrity and character of being willing to just put it all out there and say, like, this is this is what happened, this is who I am, and here's how I you can grow and learn and not, you know, and and navigate some of these these challenges that like you just talked about burnout, and and I'm sure that you're just having the responses that maybe you'd never dreamed possible when you were even setting out. I mean, this impact that you're having, and we're gonna get into your songs. I know you've written over a hundred songs, and I've I've got I want to I want to talk cover all these topics, so I just want to move quickly through like what what what your impact is having, what are you seeing out there in this space?

SPEAKER_01 21:31

Yeah, I mean the the one I love receiving the most, there was a keynote a little while ago where uh somebody came up afterwards and just said, it's it's like you're talking to me. The moment that I can have that experience, uh, that that experience, that uh impact on somebody in the audience, uh uh, you know, on the audience or somebody in the audience is is a beautiful thing because it's we're we're all just living human beings at the end. Of the day, and we're going through these different experiences that we're having. And so I I really appreciate the the frameworks that I that I build out within within the edge of possible because it really is. There's these three key areas of get clear, go bold, and be relentless, right? And those three key components is the core of being able to achieve extraordinary things, right? You have those three things in place and you are rocking and rolling no matter what comes up, whether it's AI or the next technology that comes up. If you have those three things in place of get clear about who you are, where you're going, why you're going there, you go bold by having the courage to go for it and go after it, and you're being relentless in seeing it through, right? And that is the pursuit and the recovery. Um, you are you are on the road to achieving extraordinary things no matter where you are right now. And there are challenges that come up on the way. And as I share these different moments, yeah, ideally, it's going to have people see themselves in those stories in their own in their own way. And um, and I love that I get to have that experience. I I had there was uh somebody that came up actually at this um uh new thing I did. I I built out an AI story video in this song that I performed. And I was at the piano performing the song, then we had the full backing rock rock track for for one of my songs called Wondrous Encounters. Um and it's about heading into the unknown, it's about stepping into the unknown, right? And um, you know, the drums and everything kicks in, so I get off the piano and then I'm just singing with the microphone out to the audience um while the story video is going on on the screen of this person being a baby and then growing right into becoming the career that the uh the keynote was for, and then jumping back onto the piano afterwards. And uh a gentleman came up to me afterwards and he's uh yeah, he was he teared up and said how much the that that specifically like the story that was in the video itself impacted him and and we had a deep conversation about some some private stuff and some personal stuff, and that was it was beautiful to be able to connect on that level. And so I I love being able to share uh both the art side of things as well as the frameworks that can help leaders to grow, to evolve, to innovate, to adapt, to be resilient. And how can you also utilize those pieces in your personal life because there's challenges that are coming all from all different angles in that area as well.

SPEAKER_00 24:25

So gosh, yeah, balancing all of it. Gosh. Okay, you jumped topics for me, and I'm okay with you doing this. Um, but what you can well you don't know is I have actually gone back and listened to your catalog of music. I do my homework, Cameron. I love it. I love it. So I'm gonna quote you some lyrics. Unknown, where life well lived, feels right at home, where knowing too much can be a curse of its own, and far too little is where ignorance grows. Those lyrics hit me, man. And I wanted to talk about the inspiration of those lyrics. This sounds like somebody that's I mean, these were these written like in the wilderness. Where were you when you wrote those lyrics? What were you living through when you wrote those lyrics? Those are powerful lyrics, Cameron.

SPEAKER_01 25:06

Well, it happened, I I appreciate you bringing this up. You have done your homework. I have done that. That's uh that's so good. I don't fall so good. I don't fall my work in, sir. Yes, yes, yes. So in the middle of the pandemic, okay, I attempted to get to where my producer is in a small city in Bosnia and Herzegovina of all places. And just said as soon as one border opens, that opens up, I'll I'll go to that country in Europe and then I'll eventually get to get to where I where I need to be.

SPEAKER_00 25:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 25:39

I I flew across to Slovenia was the place that opened up. I had a connecting flight that had to go from Atlanta to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to Belgrade, Belgrade to Ljubljana in in Slovenia. I get to Amsterdam, get through customs, they say, Yep, you're good to board. This is when everything's closed off from each other, right? Right. And I go up to the next airline to board my flight and check my luggage in. And the guy says, You're sir, you're not allowed to board this flight. And I said, What? And I said, Of course I am. I had I had the official information from the police of Slovenia that said I was allowed to be in there, and uh I fought with them for 45 minutes, wasn't allowed in, and ended up getting stuck and stranded in a country that legally I wasn't allowed to be in at the time. Uh no one knew I was there. I didn't tell anybody except for my family. And uh yeah, about a week in, I I ended up finding a rehearsal studio. I thought, well, if I'm gonna be here, there's probably a song in this. And so my that song called Wondrous Encounters is about uh the experience of yeah, being in a completely unknown situation, not knowing what comes next. And um the reality that that's that's what life is, you know, that that's where all the magic is. And um, while I was writing about my experience at the time, it really is about the experience that we all have of of diving into uncertainty at different times. And if we can, especially with how fast things are changing now, if we can learn how to harness the power of that uncertainty and lean into that and step into that, that's where the magic is, right? And the ability to be able to do that in a way where we can know enough, but not too much. Because knowing too much is you you just become, you know, know it all, and and you're you're gonna get overtaken by somebody who is curious enough to find out and challenge the assumptions and challenge what they believe. And we need to be doing that consistently because over the course of the coming years, there will be things that we believe to be true that will actually end up being false.

SPEAKER_00 27:39

Wow. What you just said is like I hope our listeners will will really hone in on that. And you're talking about there's a theme with what you've been sharing, rigidity, right? And and then being curious about and and inquisitive about the unknown. And this is a theme that seems to be arching out. I'm I'm hearing, and what you just said was if you're too rigid and you think you know it all, then somebody else with a curious mindset about what's unknown is going to surpass you because you've you've already given ground. You've given ground. The the unknown is it's a you're blowing my mind here. That's I'll just say that.

SPEAKER_01 28:20

This is where all disruption occurs. Yes. A certain company organization who has a monop, you know, has has the dominance over the market, thin they have it a certain way. This happened with taxis, right, before Uber came in. Before Uber, right? Is that you know that just because you've got dominance over a market doesn't mean that you have loyalty in the market necessarily. All right. You have somebody that comes along that's better, more convenient, provides it a better experience, and you're in for big trouble, right?

SPEAKER_00 28:47

So yeah, that that curiosity was there too. Like, what if what if this? What if what if this this is scary getting in a car with some with a stranger, getting in someone else's car? Like, that's scary, that's unknown. And someone was like curious enough to say, well, well, let's let's explore that a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 29:00

You know, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:01

That's so powerful. Um, okay, so let me let me let's move on. And because some of these other questions I wanted to jump into. Um, cool. So um you you mentioned to me that you uh were were trying out some some new things with this talk, with um some new experiences or some new angles on it. Can you can you tell us? I don't want you to, you know, to s to spill all the secrets um because I want people to book you and bring you into their events uh to hear some of this new exciting stuff. But you know, tell me a little bit about what's some of the what's new on the horizon for you right now.

SPEAKER_01 29:33

Yeah, one of those I I did mention uh that was tested out for the for the uh first time of uh having a a greater A V style experience and building in uh you know, I built out this this entire A AI video um story video, and that that was playing on the big screens while I was playing on live on stage during the keynote to create this this beautiful immersive experience. So that was a really good one. And that I mean that one of one of the reasons for that as well is again just driving home with an example, like that video took me less than 20 working hours to do. Nobody else helped. And it's a demonstration that just a year ago that would have taken an entire film crew, days, weeks, maybe even months to complete. And the realization and understanding that change is here, it's not going anywhere, and your ability to continue unlocking your edge, continuing to challenge what's possible is absolutely vital. So, so yes, that that's a big one. Um continuing to as well, I I I'm continuing to to um to play and and and play around with audience participation and integration of that to ensure that they feel part of the experience. And so some call and response stuff we've uh started to do as well, which is which is really cool, and um, and has been really fun of having um the audience again feel really part of it.

SPEAKER_00 30:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:55

Um and that and that just brings in that you know element of music in there as well. So um, yeah, there's a couple of couple of pieces that um that are there. Um and just continuing to refine, you know, we have the edge of possible keynote. There's also the the resilient mind and some others as well. Um, but the edge of possible is definitely the one that I that I get booked for the most at at this point in time because just with the sheer amount of change that's occurring and um continuing to ensure that we're inspiring and empowering folks to really challenge what's possible.

SPEAKER_00 31:23

It's incredibly insightful um just hearing just a a just a glimmer of what you talk about. I wanna I wanna backtrack a little bit um because you talked about music and you do incorporate your songwriting and your music into your into your um presentation. And I uh I had to ask you, you know, this is a completely nerd question. I'm just nerding out on your music because I'm a musician as well. Um I hear crowded house inspiration, uh, because I love crowded house. I grew up listening to them. Uh I like Oasis. I hear Oasis and Crowded House as like some kind of like of the textures of the way that you sung, right? I don't know. Am I am I in the right neighborhood here? Or what are some of your musical inspirations if I'm wrong?

SPEAKER_01 32:00

Yeah, I mean the the the great ones there. Matt, I mean, honestly, Matchbox 20 was a big one as well of just their their style and and Rob Thomas there. Um Sparkle Pop. Yeah, they were classics, classics there. Um and you know, I I really I really do appreciate Coleplay's experience that they deliver as well. Like it's it's pretty incre like not pretty incredible, it is absolutely mind-blowingly incredible what they're able to create on stage um in terms of an experience. And so um that and and the songwriting ability of Chris Martin um is is outstanding. Oh yeah. And um so so yeah, seeing that, but there's a there's a bunch of others as well. It you know, I I I look for uh both writing about the experiences that I'm having and then also writing about the experience that I see happening as well. And it's it's always been always from the first song that I wrote when I was 15 about more than just music. Like the music is absolutely a part of it, but it's but it's more than that. Like my first a line in my first song at 15 that I wrote had the lyrics in it, um, follow your heart, it'll take you where you want. And and I've aimed just to live in alignment with that, and it hasn't when I when I haven't lived in alignment with that, it's taken me off track. And uh, I don't know. Um I didn't really know what I was talking about back then, but maybe I did unconsciously. I don't, I I don't know. Uh, but you know, it's it's been a continual unfolding of understanding of this world that we live in that is mighty complex and mighty challenging at different times. And, you know, if I can write and create in a way that that impacts people's lives in in its own unique way, depending on whatever song it is, that's uh it's a beautiful thing to be able to create for the world. And um, I got that first experience, you know, when when that situation happened back in you know, early 2000 and or mid-2010 with The Boy Across the Road, I I I released a song about bullying and suicide in it came out officially the full version in I think it was September 2011, and you know, it reached views all over the world. It was like a couple million, couple million listens and um used in school projects and dance projects and film projects and people reaching out saying that it that it stopped them from doing something uh stupid in their own lives that they were thinking of doing. And so that um yeah, there's just this beautiful power of music and being able to bring the two together now in a way that's educational and entertaining is um again, I I could have never, ever dreamed of this being I didn't even know this was even possible from a career standpoint, right?

SPEAKER_00 34:48

And that's if if just that that impact that you just described back then, if that's the only thing, the only box you ever checked it was worth it, what you stepping out into this and bringing your passion for living. You have a passion for living, you have a passion for learning, and it's just infectious. And I just I am I'm just blown away now. You talk about following your heart. Um is it true? I mean, are you is your podcast launched? Have you or is it in beta testing? Like are you full are you full? I've done my homework. Are you I love this?

SPEAKER_01 35:18

You think you're right on you're right on the edge of this being so the first episode comes out in uh from this episode that we're you know recording here. Um well though I will say the the episode comes out, the first episode is on December 3rd. And so it's about um at the time of this recording, about five weeks away. Um and it's the Edge of Possible podcast and all about empowering people to unlock their edge. And it's it's incredibly exciting. It's been something that's been in the pipeline and been building for for a long period of time. And it's been about ensuring that we get the message right and in a way that enables, yeah, people to come on and share their stories and for us to deep dive down into these conversations of change and resilience and challenge and purpose and um, you know, to be able to have those conversations with world-class achievers, but also those pioneering experts in health and in relationships and in business and in money and all these other areas that make out an extraordinary life. Like, how do we become the best version of ourselves in a world that is changing faster than ever? And yeah, this is a um something that will be a very, very, very long-term pursuit for me. Um, a weekly occurrence, a weekly episode coming out where we're able to have these beautiful conversations. And it's uh it's an incredibly exciting, exciting time.

SPEAKER_00 36:37

It's just seems that way. And you've got a a subs, your first subscriber here. I'm sure you've got a lot of that. If there's any other people that are waiting in line, I know I'm add my list that where can I where can I sign up to to catch it? Is it right on uh cameronatlas.com or Jai, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:51

CameronAtlas.com forward slash podcast. And yeah, within the next couple weeks there'll be the ability to be able to subscribe. And then yeah, when the obviously the the main episodes come out, then it's um then it's all all there from there.

SPEAKER_00 37:04

If someone's listening right now and they feel stuck and they're listening to you talk, do they're listening to these uh the these this exchange and they they start hearing, you know, I I I I feel stuck, I feel I I I can relate to this. What what would be uh a small the smallest possible action they could take right now?

SPEAKER_01 37:26

Ask yourself the question, how do you want to feel next? Many of us try to work out what we're gonna do next and it gets us stuck. But I think most of us have a really cool understanding and a clear understanding as to how we want to feel next. And once you've got clarity about that, then you can start going about okay, what could I do that would move me one step closer to that? Right? Because once you've got that, that's an element of a North Star without necessarily having to have, oh, this is my purpose, this is the mission that I'm on, right? It get clarity comes from not knowing at first.

SPEAKER_00 38:04

Clarity comes from not knowing at first, yes. Yes. And that is how do you want to feel next? And I hope if anyone hears that message, that they will take that step and uh maybe even reach out to Cameron. I'm sure you'd love to like get them some resources. Just log on to Cameron Atlas.com because when I logged in, I was like, okay, I can see some of your your chats, I can see some of your music, it's all right there. Previous um uh things that you've shared and in moments of inspiration. And honestly, Cameron, I can't see why uh the future isn't very, very bright for you. And I mean, you've already had such an illustrious career of speaking and sharing, and I'm sure it's gonna this podcast is gonna just explode. So count me in. Count me in for that.

SPEAKER_01 38:45

Thanks, man. I appreciate it. I'll I'll keep an eye out for the comments in the comment section for you, my friend.

SPEAKER_00 38:50

You will see neither. Um yeah, it's been a pleasure having you. And uh I just want to share again that your website is cameronatlas.com if folks want to reach out and book you and uh you're traveling next. Where are you headed off to?

SPEAKER_01 39:02

Yeah, we've got uh the next keynotes in Florida, and uh and then I've got a big amount of travel coming up going back to uh Australia, so and getting time with family and over the holiday period as well is the one that I'm really excited about. But yeah, there's some stuff to do before then.

SPEAKER_00 39:18

Well, we wish you the best of luck, and we hope we see you out there down the road. I'm sure I will see you out there, and when I do, I'm gonna give you a big old hug, sir, because you've inspired me.

SPEAKER_01 39:26

Dude, definitely Timothy, it's been an absolute pleasure. This has been a great conversation. I really appreciate your time. Appreciate you, sir. Talk to you soon. Awesome. Cheers. See you guys.

SPEAKER_00 39:39

Thank you for tuning in to Insight Live. We hope today's episode gave you actionable tips to elevate your career and skills. If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe, Ray, and leave us a review. It helps us reach more listeners and bring even better content your way. And if you're interested in getting more involved with the MPI Texas Hill Country Chapter, visit our website for opportunities to connect and grow. Until next time, stay inspired and keep leveling up. This is Timothy signing off. Thank you for listening.