Mindful Loafing & Living

W.I.L.D.
A Radical Manifesto

Out of touch with your W.I.L.D. side? Want more “What I Love Doing” in your life?
(W.I.L.D. stands for “What I Love Doing”!)
Feeling burned out? Stuck? Scared you’re running out of time?

If you answered yes to any of these

questions, you and I have some things
in common!
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Yeah, I know, to look at me
now you’d never think I
could have ever been out of
touch with my W.I.L.D. side,
but I was. For years.
But today I’ve found some genuine peace of mind: I’m not
plagued by negative self-talk the way I used to be. And
I’m not running to margaritas and banana cream pie to
soothe my feelings anymore. I’ve found some tools and
a way of looking at life that has given me great freedom.
How would you feel if you could say the same thing for
yourself? I believe I can help you get there. Here’s some
of my story.
IT'S EASY TO BE W.I.L.D. IN YOUR YOUTH
Coming out of college I felt on top of the world. High
hopes, total freedom to do my own thing, the life of the
party. I fronted a popular comedy rock‘n’roll band called
“The Dogmatics” and people loved us. I enrolled in
improvisational theatre classes at the famous Second City
in Chicago and my mentor/teacher Jo Forsberg said in
ten years time I’d be famous. Wow!
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3 Mindful Loafing & Living | W.I.L.D. – A Radical Manifesto

Shortly after that I started my own weekly non-broadcast

talk show, Not Late Night with Ben Hollis: The Talk
Show That’s Not on TV. I did it live in a comedy club
and interviewed pre-famous Chicago stars like William
Peterson (CSI) and Nora Dunn (SNL.) The show created
a lot of buzz and led to a shot at landing a real, live talk
show on a major network. “Right on time,” I thought. (No
gratitude or humility there! Ugh. Makes me wince today.)

MY BIG SHOT AT LIVING THE DREAM

The audition was set for a Saturday night in the dead of

winter. Three execs from the station came to the club at
around 11:30pm. The place was packed. The band
Nora Dunn on set, Not Late Night with Ben Hollis
kicked in. The lights went up. Two hours later I knew
I’d blown my chance. To put it mildly, the show had not
gone well. One of the execs even fell asleep!

Sure enough, Monday morning I got the word: Thanks,

but no thanks.

The writing was on the wall. I was getting married soon

and the time had come for me to “buckle down” and get
a “real job.” I threw in the towel and let go of my show-biz
dreams of being a star.

GOOD-BYE, DREAM, HELLO, PLAN B

The next three years saw me working first as a copywriter

and then a writer/producer of corporate educational films.
Simultaneously two of my former team members from
Not Late Night got jobs at Saturday Night Live. Was I
envious? Dang right I was.

This new life was getting me down. I was exhausted

all the time and started living for the weekends when I
could get drunk and act like everything was going great.
Drinks after work and at lunch became a regular thing. I
remember thinking, “Hmm. Now I get it. This is all there
is: working and partying. Until you die.”

Beware of phony wildness

My true, authentic W.I.L.D.-ness was being displaced by

the phony wildness of alcohol, denial and false revelry.

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And then, to make matters worse, I got laid off.
4 Mindful Loafing & Living | W.I.L.D. – A Radical Manifesto
We’re free to give up on our
dreams, but our dreams will
never give up on us
CATASTROPHE OR OPPORTUNITY?
This is where things get really interesting.
I was at a turning point. Would I continue soldiering
on with a career I didn’t think suited me, or would I do
something else? My wife wanted me to take the path
of perceived security. But for me, a truly W.I.L.D. plan
appeared in an instant. My heartfelt dream of working
in the entertainment business –- dare I even say it? – of
having my own show, came alive once again in vivid
color. And bolder. Because this plan was about moving
to Los Angeles, Show-Biz Capitol of the World!
There I was, at our kitchen table, laying it out for my
skeptical wife.
ANOTHER CHANCE?
“I’ll get a job in advertising at first. We’ll do the research,
come up with a killer campaign and I’ll go out there to
land a copywriter position. Then you’ll come out to join
me. We’ll rent a sweet little apartment, start a family and,
once established, I’ll migrate over to show biz and get a
super job. It’s gonna be great!”
Bless her heart, my wife backed me up and off I went to
L.A.
The story has many twists and turns and is actually the
core of a talk I give called “Living and Loving W.I.L.D.
– Rescue Your Dreams from The Endangered Species
List.” It’s an amazing tale and too long to cover fully right
now. But here are the two main points I want you to get
right now.
Moments after getting the word that I was going to be
laid off, my dream of working in show business, doing
what I love doing, came rushing back to meet me. I
believe the same is true for you. If you give your dream
even the tiniest room to breathe, it will fill you up with
new passion and energy to pursue it. Or you can bury
your dream and try to forget about it. But the miraculous
thing is this: your dream will never die. It can’t. It’s part
of Something Greater, and it comes from a Source way
bigger and stronger and deeper than anything we can
put up against it. It will wait patiently for you until you dare
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give it attention.
5 Mindful Loafing & Living | W.I.L.D. – A Radical Manifesto

Once I knew I was going to follow my dream, I was filled

When you follow your with an amazing sense of power and enthusiasm. And
man, did I ever need it. Because the work ahead of
dream you gain access to me was intense: Researching all the ad agencies in
Supreme Energy LA, creating a clever campaign to make myself stand
out as a great candidate, writing the letters, making the
calls, following up with more calls, going on interviews,
navigating the freeways, staying upbeat, all while being
2000 miles from home.

LIVING W.I.L.D. IS A COMMITMENT – AND

COMMITMENT PAYS OFF

When you commit to your dream there’s work involved.

Ask any successful artist, athlete, businessperson or
mother. It’s no cakewalk. No one hands it to you. But
the good news is this: Inspired work born from your true
W.I.L.D.-ness is supplied with the power necessary to
follow through.

As I said before, it’s a longer story

than I can get into here, but here’s
the punch line:
I got my own TV show.

ONE OF SEVERAL, AS A MATTER OF FACT.

Over the years I’ve been awarded 8 EMMYs. I’ve

quit drinking and have stayed quit 22 years. I have a
loving wife and family. I’m enjoying ongoing spiritual
development and gaining greater and greater peace of
mind. I got it good. I’m living The W.I.L.D. Life.

YEARS OF LIVING W.I.L.D. HAVE TAUGHT ME A

THING OR TWO

Looking back on this story I see how freeing it is to live

the “What I Love Doing” life. The reason is crystal clear:

TO LIVE A W.I.L.D. LIFE IS TO LIVE A LIFE

MOTIVATED BY LOVE

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6 Mindful Loafing & Living | W.I.L.D. – A Radical Manifesto

THE ALTERNATIVE IS TO LIVE A LIFE MOTIVATED

BY FEAR.

Fear of what might happen if I don’t do “the right thing.”

Fear of not pleasing my mother. Fear of failing. Fear of
people not liking me. Fear of going broke. The list is
endless. My years working in corporate America were
motivated by these fears and many more.

WHAT I LOVE DOING IS CELEBRATING PEOPLE

When I got clear, largely thanks to quitting drinking and

developing a spiritual life, I was given another major gift:
A burgeoning interest in other people and a passion
for helping them see their own good. This became the
consistent thread throughout my work.

For example, my TV shows focused on celebrating

people doing what they love doing. I began doing live
performances of something I called “What’s It Like to be
You?” where I interviewed -- live on stage -- members of
the audience about who they were and what they loved.
Many times guests thanked me for helping them see their
lives in new, positive ways. I still do “What’s It Like to be
You?” and it feeds my soul deeply.

I even returned to corporate America, conducting

“What’s It Like to be You?” workshops and producing
W.I.L.D. Life videos to lift morale and offer recognition to
hard working employees at companies like GE, Takeda
Pharmaceutical, Underwriters Laboratories, Allstate and
others.

So how are you going to live? Run by Love or run by

Fear?

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7 Mindful Loafing & Living | W.I.L.D. – A Radical Manifesto

Are you running on Fear or Love?

Marianne Williamson (A Return to Love) says we’re

either coming from love or we’re coming from fear. The
problem with coming from fear is that it requires you to
either try to control and/or master everything around you
(driven Type A personality), or you try to run away and
escape everything around you (addiction). Either way,
you’re a captive. And you’re always on the run. Not
W.I.L.D. at all.

TIME TO SLOW DOWN

Yes, life is for enjoying, not mastering or controlling.

Trying to master life is silly, really. It can’t be done. (There
is such a thing as “Mastery” but it’s very different from
what I’m talking about here. True Masters will tell you
there’s a lot of “letting go” involved, relaxing, calming the
mind.)
Take a couple of deep
TRYING TO MASTER LIFE ONLY BETRAYS ONE’S
breaths. I just did. Feels INSECURITY
great, doesn’t it?
You’re trying to bend life to your will. You’re trying to
make life your slave so it gives you what you want.
Because you’re afraid that if you don’t, you won’t get
what you want. (Or think you want.) What an exhausting
way to live.

But to enjoy life…ahhh. That’s where I want to be. Look

at the word enjoy. It means, quite literally “to put joy into”
or “to cause joy to be in.” It’s not about getting, it’s about
giving.

Joy is about giving, not getting

Which is exactly what I try to do today and every day.

HERE’S HOW I CAN HELP YOU

By offering encouragement. Asking questions. Listening.

Giving direction. All in service of helping you see who
you really are – a uniquely creative Child of The Universe
with gifts and talents the world is begging you to share
right now. What are these gifts and talents?

They are your W.I.L.D.-ness…your “What I Love Doing!”

Take a moment and think of what you’ve always dreamed

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of doing, being, seeing, having, visiting. Have you given
up on those things? I hope not.
8 Mindful Loafing & Living | W.I.L.D. – A Radical Manifesto

I loaf and invite my Soul; Check out this quote from perhaps America’s
W.I.L.D.-est poet, Walt Whitman.

I lean and loaf at my ISN’T THAT AWESOME?

ease, observing a spear of
summer grass. NOW I ASK YOU…

When was the last time you slowed down long enough to
invite your Soul?

Do it today! Because that’s where your

dreams are hiding out, awaiting you.
And how long has it been since you’ve paused to
observe your dreams, take claim of them and breathe
new life into them?

Been too long? Don’t fret. Everything you need is within

you at this very moment. You may just need a little help.
To slow yourself down. To show you the tools and steps
to have the life you really want and deserve. Not an
ordinary “life coach.”

YOU NEED A LOAF COACH™.

Feeling pressured? Scattered? Stuck? Discouraged by

nagging bad habits or just life in general? Ready to take
action? Let me be your Loaf Coach™.

WHAT’S POSSIBLE FOR YOU WITH LOAF

COACHING™

Loaf Coaching™ is your gateway to The W.I.L.D. Life.

Your W.I.L.D. Life.

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9 Mindful Loafing & Living | W.I.L.D. – A Radical Manifesto
I want to hear your story. Send me an email stating
what you’re hoping to achieve through Loaf Coaching™
E gowildwithben@gmail.com
T 773 5029842
It’s a transformative process that can make many so-
called “miracles” come true. Here’s what’s possible with
Loaf Coaching™:
• Gaining a sense of your purpose in the world
• Discovering joy in what you do
• Freedom from addictive behaviors
• Freedom from incessant negative thinking
• New appreciation for who you are and your value in
the world
• Honest, respectful, fulfilling relationships
• Deep, abiding comfort in knowing you are not alone
HERE’S WHAT YOU GET WITH LOAF COACHING™:
• Gentle and firm support in assessing where you are
now
• A course of action using practical tools and disciplines
• A framework within which you will be accountable for
your actions
• Encouragement to push yourself beyond the
comfortable, yet miserable, familiar
• Full permission to be your very best, authentic self
“Let’s talk and see if we’re a good fit.
No obligation, free of charge.
Limited to First 10 Qualifying Respondents
IF YOU WANT WHAT I HAVE, DO WHAT I DO
I want to help you. I want to hear your story. I want to
work together with you, one on one, to help you get
where you want to go, to unleash the W.I.L.D. within you.
Just send me an email briefly stating what you’re hoping
to achieve through Loaf Coaching™. Include your phone
number and, if you qualify, I’ll give you a call to set up your
complimentary 30 minute telephone session.
I’m only taking on a very limited number of Loaf
Coaching™ clients, so please, serious inquiries only. If
we are a good fit, this opportunity is available for $449/
month with a three-month commitment ($1347). Tangible
results – like changing life habits – take at least 90 days
to begin manifesting.
It’s time to rescue your dreams from the endangered
species list. Let me show you how.