Breakout Living

By Michael Kreidler

Breakout Living provides practical steps to achieve what you want and need in your life. It takes you on a journey of self-discovery through personal experiences, research, and shared insights from thought leaders in the areas of productivity, success, and high level achievement,. The content is oriented around practical ways you can set, achieve, and evaluate the various steps necessary to get what you want and need from life.

Bundled with a companion workbook, Breakout Living provides valuable resources, exercises, and questions to allow you to go from the first steps all the way to accessing the life you most want to live.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael Kreidler
• Release date: Aug 9, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386211662

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Disclaimer

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means - graphic, electronic, or mechanical including recording, photocopying or by any other information storage or retrieval system, - except for brief quotations in critical reviews, or articles, without the written consent of the author. The workbook pages may be reproduced for personal use only but may not be reproduced by any means for any other reason without the written consent of the author.

Disclaimer: This book is sold as information only. The author has forthrightly and sincerely presented this information on the subject to the best of his knowledge as of the date of publication. The information in this book is provided as is and without warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied. We disclaim all warranties, expressed or implied, including but not limited to implied effectiveness of the ideas or success strategies included in this book. Neither we nor any of our respective licensors or suppliers warrant or make any representations regarding the use or the results of the use of the information, strategies, or techniques in this book, in terms of their correctness, accuracy, reliability, or otherwise.

No Professional Advice: The information contained in this book cannot replace or substitute for the services of trained professionals in any field, including, but not limited to, financial, medical, psychological, or legal matters. In particular, you should regularly consult a doctor in all matters relating to physical or mental health, particularly concerning any symptoms that may require diagnosis or medical attention. We and our licensors or suppliers make no representations or warranties concerning any treatment, action, or application of medication or preparation by any person following the information offered or provided in this book. Neither we nor our partners, or any of their affiliates, will be liable for any direct, indirect, consequential, special, exemplary, or other damages that may result, including but not limited to economic loss, injury, illness, or death. You alone are responsible and accountable for your decisions, actions, and results in life, and by your use of this book, you agree not to attempt to hold us liable for any such decisions, actions, or results, at any time, under any circumstance.

Prologue

To live a fulfilled life, we need to keep creating the what is next, of our lives. Without dreams and goals there is no living, only merely existing, and that is not why we are here.

Mark Twain

The Personal Greatness Institute (PGI) is my brainchild. I have lived a life that has been varied and at times has been remarkable. I have lead a National Evangelization Team, served as a Youth Minister, worked with the Stocks & Commodities markets, helped organizations establish non-profit radio stations, worked as a corporate trainer, and now I’m living my dream as a writer, trainer, and entrepreneur.

Breakout Living: A How-to for Achieving What You Want and Need From Your Life is the culmination of years of blood, sweat, and tears working through ideas that have worked and countless others that did not. You will find the hard-won lessons I have learned through the years detailed here, distilled to discrete, actionable steps. My journey has seemed erratic to me. I have suffered tremendous loss, struggled through my mental health crises, and have lost everything due to unfortunate circumstances and not a few unskilled behaviors. However, I have also been blessed to have shared in the joys, struggles, and triumphs of so many adults and young people. I have watched my children grow into amazing people, and have had the rare privilege to call some truly amazing people my friends.

The lessons I have learned don’t just apply to mental health issues or ministry. Instead, I have learned to transfer these lessons into my professional life with stunning impact. While I have a great passion for working with people with mental health challenges I am equally passionate about working with anyone who wants to make changes in their lives. Through my speaking and my in-person, group, and individual coaching, I have had the opportunity to journey with over a thousand people. I have been excited to watch them take steps to make changes to improve their mental health, relationships, and their personal and professional lives.

My journey has lead me to this very moment I am sharing with you. Just as your journey has led you to this time with me. I am honored to journey with you for this brief time.

My mission and the mission of all of PGI is to provide resources to anyone who is looking to make changes in their life. Achieving goals has a specific DNA: whether it is dealing with depression, wanting to get a raise, or making the dream of climbing Mt. Everest a reality, all have certain core processes. These processes are distilled here into a series of common steps.

If you are willing to work the process, follow the steps, and do the hard work necessary, you have the opportunity to achieve what you want and need out of your life.

Introduction

I loved the old TV series The West Wing (1999-2006). The writing was fantastic, the acting was superb, and the story lines were gripping. I remember hearing a story on the show that left a great impact on me. The lead up to the story was one of the characters (Josh) was experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress due to being shot during an assassination attempt on the President. Subsequently, he was struggling emotionally and physically. The Chief of Staff (Leo) pulled him aside to let him know that he was seeing what was going on and that he wanted to help. When Josh asked him ‘Why are you doing this?’ Leo told him this story:

This guy's walking down the street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep he can't get out. A doctor passes by, and the guy shouts up, 'Hey you. Can you help me out?' The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along, and the guy shouts up, 'Father, I'm down in this hole can you help me out?' The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by, 'Hey, Joe, it's me can you help me out?' And the friend jumps in the hole. Our guy says, 'Are you stupid? Now we're both down here.' The friend says, 'Yeah, but I've been down here before, and I know the way out.'" [SOURCE]

It was a compelling story for me. It demonstrated for me my need to, not to be rescued, but to journey with others and to find companions who had ‘been down there’ before and knew the way out.

0.1 My story

It was not too long ago that I was taken to Psychiatric Emergency Services (a mental care facility with a locked ward). For the second time in my life, I had made a serious attempt to kill myself. The reasons were varied and at times complicated, but there was one simple reality: I had tried to kill Michael. It was serious, very serious.

I’ve battled depression most of my life. I would work as hard as I could to overcome this darkness, but I kept falling. Each time it seemed I fell harder. By most accounts, I lead a good life: I had what I thought was a deep faith, I went to Church every week, (plus Bible study, Men’s fellowship, Knights of Columbus). I was involved in the community working with the homeless and men and women working to ‘reenter’ society. I tried to be a good husband and father. As a family, we would hike most weekends. Besides, I made good money, bought a house and saved aggressively for our future. It seemed like I had everything in place for a good life.

Still, I struggled. I had many character flaws. I was immature and evidently difficult to live with. On top of this, I contracted Lyme Disease and was sick for two years. I lost my ability to work. The stress from it all made me even more difficult to live with, and my character flaws were magnified. I became more depressed

What followed was a painful separation and divorce, moving out of my home and in with my parents. I floundered for direction. I was lonely, depressed, and was hanging on by a thread. I kept trying to pull myself up by my boot-straps, but I realized I didn’t have any boots with which to do so.

I put all of my energy into a new job. I got my own place, and it seemed like this was a new beginning. However, I soon became emotionally and physically depleted. I realized I would not be able to continue to work. The future seemed bleak. I was facing bankruptcy, homelessness, and complete and utter failure. Things spiraled out of control, and I made an attempt on my life.

What followed my hospitalization was six months of homelessness. I lived in short-term housing but needed to leave every thirteen days. I was going to intensive group therapy of three hours a day, five days a week for 15 weeks. While I faithfully went to