Ep. 102: The Adventurous Life with Erik Seversen

“Ordinary to Extraordinary” is something Erik Seversen (SEE-ver-sin) lives by, and he’s been pretty successful at it. Born into an average, lower-middle-class family in a suburb of Tacoma, Washington, Erik received no (or even negative) support from school counselors and others, but Erik didn’t let them crush his desire to accomplish amazing things. Erik also took life experiences. like rejection from his dream school UCLA, and turned them into challenges to overcome. He excelled in a community college and got into UCLA two years later. Erik studied Anthropology (often voted the least-likely-tosucceed major), and used anthropology in business, helping a company grow from $7M to over $100,000,000 in ten years as VP of International Business Development. He also taught English as a Second Language for 10 years in Japan, France, Thailand, and universities within the USA. Erik uses entrepreneurial success formulas and motivational materials in business, but he’s also pioneering their use in the field of education. Erik has traveled to over 80 countries around the world and 49 states in the USA. He has ridden a motorcycle on six continents and crossed the USA on one twice. He also climbs mountains, having summited the highest peak of eight countries and five states. Experiences ranging from discussing philosophy at cafés in Paris to having a machine gun stuck in his mouth in Nigeria to living with a remote Indian tribe deep in the Amazon have forged a unique perspective that Erik uses to work through both the big, life questions and small decisions we make every day. Erik is a writer, speaker, adventurer, entrepreneur, and educator who refused to let others tell him what he could and could not do. He continually worked toward his goals even when others said they were unreasonable. Erik’s travels and intersections with people from around the world weren’t just a fun romp around the planet, but they were a deep study of people, love, struggle, and ways of thinking that can be used to tackle problems in school, business, and life. His most current ambitions are sharing the lessons he’s learned through his business and climbing mountains which he says makes everyday challenges seem a lot easier.