So a few weeks ago I was interviewed by a lovely gal named Mimi Vavilala for TNGG (The Next Great Generation), a cool blog focused on the lives and values of Generation Y.

I thought I would share the interview with you today as I get a lot of questions from people wondering what I actually do and how it is that I got to where I am today. I am hoping this will help answer some of your questions!

In her article, Mimi writes:

Much has been thought, written and said about the ideal Gen Y lifestyle… Most of us dream it but Alex Cattoni is among the lucky few that lives it. Two years ago, she packed her bags to exotic Malaysia on a barely paid internship. Now, she lives the ideal GenY life: traveling extensively around the world, meeting with thought leaders and inspiring people from all walks of life, and managing her own marketing team for million dollar clients.

The Interview: Alex Cattoni “Personal development junkie. Marketing diva. Thrill-seeker.” >>

M: Firstly, I’m totally jealous of how many places you’ve visited in the past few years (more than 23 different countries and counting)! When you graduated from college, did you ever dream of this life in Kuala Lumpur?

A: Absolutely not. When I graduated from the University of Alberta in 2007, I was actually planning to go to Law School. For years I thought Law was in the cards for me. So much so, that I majored in Business Law…and worked my butt off to get a killer GPA that would ensure I got into Law School. Then, one day in January 2008, everything changed. I realized that my “dream” of becoming the tough, powerful, ultra-successful lawyer lady was nothing more than a false ideal I had constructed in my mind to smother my fear of the unknown (better known as post-graduation “what the hell am I doing with my life?” syndrome)… like a cold hard slap in the face, I woke up one morning completely and utterly terrified. I had finally listened to that voice in my head telling me law school was not for me. I then had to ask myself probably the scariest question of all “What do I REALLY want in life?” 
I took out a piece of paper and I started writing down all the things I loved and wanted in my life at that moment… Fun, adventure, growth, learning, travel…

Then I wrote down everything I thought I was good at. Marketing, writing, creating, connecting with others… This was when I decided (no matter how much it scared me) that I wanted to work abroad.

M: How did you get to where you are now?

A: …In a nutshell: I became a member of AIESEC, a student-run multi-national organization that facilities students and graduates to work overseas. Through AIESEC, I got access to a large database of employers from all over the world who were looking to hire.

This is where I found out about MindValley, an ultra-hip, cutting edge online marketing company based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I applied, interviewed, and got the job!

In less then 1 month I went from studying for my LSAT, to making plans to move (for an indefinite amount of time) to a country I had hardly heard of! I was scared beyond belief but that aching feeling I had in my stomach was gone. I was truly excited and happy about the journey ahead of me. It just felt right.

M: What exactly do you do at MindValley?

A: I have been at MindValley for nearly 2 years and am now one of their senior marketers and business managers. I manage 4 of MindValley’s businesses and will be launching a 5th business this Spring.

M: How can you travel so much and maintain a full time job?

A: One of my biggest passions is traveling. I knew I wanted a job that gave me the freedom and flexibility to travel as much as possible. I have that at MindValley. I have an amazing team of people who help me with my businesses and, more than anything, their support and sheer awesomeness allows me to travel as much as I do and work from outside the office.

This is also the beauty of doing all business online. As long as there is an internet connection, I can work from anywhere. So yes, although I travel A LOT, it isn’t always purely a vacation. I do spend a lot of time working while visiting countries all over the world!

M: What is the best thing about working at MindValley?

A: The freedom and flexibility. I also LOVE the people I work with. We have a team of 35 people that represent 20 different countries! How cool is that?

M: What is the most inspiring thing you have experienced in the past two years?

A: I would have to say it’s been witnessing my team achieve some incredibly outrageous and scary goals. We like to think BIG. In fact, this is the top value on our “Code of Awesomeness.” In the past 1 year alone, we have grown an outrageous amount – all because we dare to dream big. I love being part of a team that believes we can achieve anything and pulls together to make it so.

M: What is the coolest thing you have done while working with MindValley?

A: Aside from visiting some of the most amazing places on the planet, I have also learned so much business-wise while working at MindValley. I think the coolest thing about my job is being given the responsibility to launch, manage and grow multiple multi-million dollar a year businesses. I love to learn, create, and strategize and my job is 100% that and I have an amazing team who support me.

M: How can you afford to travel so much as a young Internet Marketer? How much of an impact do finances have on your career decisions?

A: For me, life is all about experiences so I’m not afraid to admit that I spend the majority of my income on traveling. However, I’m lucky that the cost of living in Malaysia is quite low so I am able to afford a great apartment and have a very comfortable lifestyle in KL.

Although money is important to me, it’s not what motivates me. If it were, I wouldn’t have accepted the job at MindValley. I could have easily applied at some marketing firm close to home and worked in a cubicle from 9-5, 40 hours a week to make way more moola than what MindValley was offering when I started. But that’s not what I want and my guess is, that’s not what you want either. If you follow your heart and do what motivates and energizes you, you will be successful and the money will follow – just as it has for me.

M: Do you think the MindValley work culture would work for a full fledged corporation?

A: I think there are certain aspects of the MindValley culture that work better because it’s a smaller company, however, I definitely think that even the biggest corporations could implement and greatly benefit from our rituals. For example, expressing daily gratitude is something MindValley prides itself on. We have actually built an online application called GratitudeLog.com that we all use religiously as a way to log our grateful thoughts!

G-logging, as I like to call it, doesn’t stop at MindValley. We now have over 17,000 users logging their gratitude every single day! Every company should make gratitude one of their highest values… Other rituals we follow that corporations could implements are: weekly meetings to celebrate team successes, flexi-time, a “Fun Fund” to cover the cost of a team event at least once a month, open communication and/or a fun, dynamic work environment.
If you think it’s impossible for large companies to do this, just take a look at Zappos…They have a work culture very similar to ours, yet they are 100 times our size.

M: What do you think future corporations need to keep in mind when managing Gen Y?

A: Gen Y’ers are a different breed. We value fun, learning and freedom above all else. Yes, money is important, but almost everyone I know would choose a fun, dynamic, challenging and flexible job that caters to their desired lifestyle over a few extra bucks. If you’re looking to recruit or retain Gen Y’ers, you need to keep this in mind.

M: What advice would you give college seniors/ recent graduates who would love to have the lifestyle you have (and can’t really move to Kuala Lumpur)?

A: First of all, I want to say that anyone can move anywhere they want to and do anything they want to. I didn’t get to where I am because of money or “connections.” I got to where I am today because I consciously made the decision to make a change in my life.

One thing I want everyone to notice is how often I used the word “scared” (or something of the sort) in my responses. In fact, I only just noticed it now as I was reviewing my answers. I did a lot of things in the past 2 years that scared me to death. It’s not easy deciding to leave the comfort of your home town, your friends, your family, and everything else you know and trust. I had to seriously step outside my comfort zone to be where I am today. If you never do anything that scares you, you will never grow and that is a cold, hard fact.

To Living The Dream,

~ A

So as some of you may already know I just got back from an amazing trip to India.

Amazing is actually an understatement. The word I am looking for is, magical. India truly is a magical place. The trip was special to me for a number of reasons. Firstly, I got the chance to travel with my step-Dad. He was in India on business so I decided to hop on a flight to Delhi to meet up. It was a great father-daughter trip and we really got to know each other better. Now that I am living in Malaysia, I don’t get to see my family that often.

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Secondly, India has always been somewhere I’ve wanted to go. In fact, early last year, I set the intention to go while I was adding items to my bucket list (I will share that with you some day) and later added a picture of the Taj Mahal to my MindMovie. At the time, I had no idea how or when I would be able to go to India, but wasn’t all that surprised when my Dad told me he was planning to do business there and wanted me to meet him The Universe has a funny way of giving you what you want – just make sure you tell it what you DO want!

I created this fun little video for you guys highlighting my India trip. Enjoy.

Click here to view the embedded video.

While in India, I also came to some interesting realizations about life, happiness and the importance of living in the now. I will share them with you in my next post.

To Living The Dream,

~ A

P.S. Oh and Happy Valentines Day! If you’re spending it alone (like me), remember to direct all your love inside! It feels great

You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.

- Buddha

I hope you all had an amazing holiday season! I know I sure did. I’ve spent the last couple weeks visiting my family in Canada and for the past few days I’ve been in Whitefish, Montana at Big Mountain Resort getting my snowboarding fix before I head back to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in just over a week.

So… for the first post of 2010, I wanted to share with you a short video message of my top 3 most achievable New Years resolutions that I have already started on this year. Remember: goals don’t always have to be massive. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great and absolutely necessary to have outrageous long-term goals (trust me, I have plenty and I am sure I will share them with you in a future post) but don’t underestimate the power of setting smaller, simpler goals. Get in the habit of achieving those and the easier it will be to reach those big goals!

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Watch my video post below (sorry I am talking so fast – it was freezing outside!):

Click here to view the embedded video.

Happy New Year from the Rocky Mountains!

To Living The Dream,

~ A

P.S. You can expect more blog posts from me from now on!

How could I refuse?

Within minutes of reading it I realized that book was a bit outdated (it was, after-all, written in the 30’s) but I kept reading in hopes that if I thought hard enough money would start growing out of my ears. Needless to say that didn’t happen, but I did start feeling a bit green somewhere around chapter two.

The chapter is simply called “Desire“ which is what Mr. Hill says is the starting point of all achievement and the first step to riches. I have to say I wholeheartedly agree with is. There is no way you can achieve success without truly wanting it. Not just wishing or hoping for it… but craving it as if you’ll never feel fully satisfied until this desire is quenched.

It was when Hill started outlining the “Six Steps to Turn Desires into Gold“ that something struck a nerve in me.  The majority of the steps seemed reasonable and made good sense to me, except for step 2. Something made me read it over and over again:

“Determine exactly what you intend to give in return for the money you desire. There is no such reality as something for nothing.”

What!?! I have to give something up in order to become successful? That is the biggest load of bullshit I have ever heard. Outdated or not – that statement is absolutely FALSE.

Of course we have all heard the phrase “there is no such thing as a free lunch” but I am telling you there is – and it tastes damn good. Any modern-day marketer, including myself, knows that it’s the free lunches that keep our customers coming back for more.

Hill then goes on to say that…

“all who succeed in life get off to a bad start, and pass through many heartbreaking struggles before they “arrive” and that the turning point in the lives of those who succeed usually comes at the moment of some crisis.”

This is one of the most mentally debilitating statements I have ever heard. It plants in the mind of anyone who reads it the limiting belief that one must suffer many monumental failures and hit rock-bottom before they can ever become truly successful.

What a crock of shit.

If every success must come from an equal or greater failure, than how do those of us who have never failed monumentally, suffered from a serious addiction, lived on the streets or lost millions of dollars ever become successful?

Let me tell you.

We have the constant desire to become better.

I am living the life of my dreams right now and I don’t have a single war wound or battle scar to show for it. I am where I am because I never settle (and will never settle) for mediocrity.

Yes, we all hear about the amazing rich and successful people in the world who came from nothing, were beaten as children, homeless, abused, poor, sick, lonely… the list of hardships goes on and on.

The good ol’ rags to riches stories. God we love those don’t we? Oprah, Jim Carrey, Chris Gardner and, of course, Andrew Carnegie. All classic stories of people who came from woeful beginnings and are now living (or once lived) the American Dream (queue “Amazing Grace“).

Don’t get me wrong. These people’s stories are truly inspirational and I applaud them for getting to where they are now. But I bet if you asked them what got them there they wouldn’t say “all my miserable failures and life crises.” They would tell you they got to the top because of their passion to achieve greatness and never settling for anything less.

You may argue that for one to want to make a change in their life they need to feel pain. To this I will agree with you, but pain does not necessarily have to be a life-shattering experience. The fear of forever being stuck in mediocrity can be enough to spark a change for the better.

To believe that in order to become successful you must first give a part of yourself up hinders your self-growth. You may never become successful because instead of focusing on ways you can improve your life, you keep waiting for the big failure or hardship that you’ve been told has to happen first. Well let me tell you… if you are expecting it to happen, it will because (I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again) what you focus on expands!

Think about this for a moment.

Only economists will tell you that nothing can be completely free, that something for nothing is impossible… yet even they will admit that for economic theory to hold true, all external factors must remain constant. Well, we all know that we do not live in a perfect world (thank god) and at some point behavioral economic theory comes into play.

We know that:

• supply does not always equal demand
• give does not always equal get
• success does not always equal failure

My advice to you – Don’t be afraid to desire better, to achieve greatness, to want more in life. Chances are, you’ll get it easier than you think.

To Living The Dream,

~ A

photo courtesy of arbeer.de

After my travels a lot of random shit popped up and I had to put my blogging on hold for awhile. The good news is I am back and I promise to be updating my blog much more often. Thanks to everyone for the great messages I have received on my blog, Facebook and Twitter wondering when my next post will be! I am already half way through a great post that will be ready for you by tomorrow.

In the meantime, I wanted to share something exciting with you…

Take a look at my MindMovie:

My Mind Movie was recently featured on FinerMinds, the #1 Transformational and Personal Development Blog. They explain the concept of a Mind Movie quite well…

They’re like vision boards but in movie form. So instead of having a static image that can easily be ignored, this can actually become a part of your daily ritual.

Alright, this whole concept is best described with an example. So check out this awesome mind movie from personal development junkie, Alex Cattoni. Want proof that this works? She’s only 23 and she’s already managing a multimillion dollar company, lives a lifestyle only CEOs dream of retiring into, and is a world class photographer.

Mind movies are great way to remind yourself of your potential and of the fact that you can do anything you set your mind to.

Watching my Mind Movie has become a daily ritual for me. It’s how I start and end every single day.

I encourage all of you to make your very own Mind Movie and do the same.

Here’s how:

1. Create a slide show in KeyNote (Mac Users) or PowerPoint (PC Users) with the images and messages you want to include in your Mind Movie.
2. After you’ve completed your slide show, go to “File” in the tool bar and select “Export.”
3. Export the slides as images (jpeg) and save to your desktop so they are easy to find.
4. Once you have all the images on your desktop, simply drag them into a movie making software. I use iMovie on my Mac.
5. iMovie will then automatically import your images as a movie sequence.
6. Add an mp3 to your iMovie (make sure to pick a song that pumps you up and you don’t mind hearing everyday!)
7. Export your movie to your desktop and voila! You are done.
8. You can also do all 7 steps above using the Mind Movie software which you can read more about here.

Creating a Mind Movie is one of the most effective visualization techniques and has helped me achieve so many amazing things in my life already! I would love to see your Mind Movie after you have created it. So let me know how it goes.

You’ll be hearing from me soon.

To Living The Dream,

~ A

That’s why, from time to time, you will see some of what I like to call “Lifestyle” posts where I share with you some of the things that I do to live the dream. I am not doing this to rub it in (actually… yes I am) but to show you that I am not bull-shitting when I say you can design the perfect lifestyle for yourself and be truly happy and fulfilled at any age. I am living proof you can. So all you bull-shitters out there… quit with the lame excuses. If I can do it, so can you.

To me, a huge part of living the dream is having the time, freedom and mobility to live life the way YOU want to do it. As many of you may already know… I am deeply passionate about traveling and spend almost any chance I get doing it. In fact, I

recently needed to get a new passport because my old one was filled to the brim with stamps from all the counties I have visited in the past 2 years (I have traveled to a total of 23 different countries in the past 23 months)! Don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to say that the number of stamps in your passport is the only indicator of living the dream – but it sure as hell feels good to know you have the time, freedom and mobility to max-out a passport 3 years before it’s expiry date.

I have had my new passport for only 1 week and already have plans to put it to good use. In a few days I will be heading to Australia for a few weeks to dive the Great Barrier Reef and take in an Opera at the Sydney Opera House (among other things), then to Bali, Indonesia for a week to sun and surf it up! I will try my best to share with you some of my adventures during my travels. I also plan to spend some of my beach time working on something really special for all of you . Hope your next few weeks are as great as mine!

To Living The Dream,

~ A

While laying next to the pool yesterday with my good friend Leanne, we started talking about the different types of people we know in our lives and why some of them have amazing success at almost everything they do in life, while others remain stagnant and miserable no matter how hard they seem to try.

We came to the conclusion that there are two types of people in the world.

The Hard-Hitters and The Bull-Shitters.

Here are the not-so-official definitions of each:

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Hard-Hitter: Someone who knows what they want and goes out and gets it; a balls to the wall, pedal to the metal, no excuses, life-loving mover and shaker.

I am a hard-hitter (and because of it, I live the life of my dreams).

Bull-Shitter: Someone who only knows what they don’t want, yet complains every day about having it, and makes up excuses as to why they have it; a whiney, I would if I could but I can’t so I won’t, resenting, self-pitying, slacker.

Although I don’t know exact numbers, it is safe to say that bull-shitters make up a HUGE percentage of the world’s population. We all know who they are… they’re the walking dead around us who go about their pathetic lives slowly sucking the life out of anyone who comes within ear shot of their infectious misery.

One of the things I find the most amusing about bull-shitters is their constant need to convince other bull-shiiters that their life is worse. It’s like “man that sucks that you lost your job today… well guess what? I lost my job and ran over my cat this morning… my life sucks way more.”

It’s this incredibly sad and pathetic need for sympathy that has made me realize that all bull-shitters have ONE distinctive characteristic. They suffer from the worst kind of PMS imaginable… “Poor Me Syndrome.”

“Poor Me Syndrome” is highly contagious and can be quite damaging if you are exposed to it for too long. If you find yourself in the presence of someone suffering from PMS, you need to distance yourself immediately and seek some serious hard-hitting treatment.

There are 7 hard-telling symptoms of “Poor Me Syndrome” that you need to look out for:

1. Jealousy – If there’s on thing I hate the most about bull-shitters it’s their uncontrollable jealousy. I get so sick of hearing the words “you’re so lucky” from countless bull-shitters I have ran across over time. As if I got to where I am today because of the horse shoe shoved up my ass. Bull-shitters are easy to spot because they turn bright green with envy when in the presence of a hard-hitter.

2. Resent – Yup. Bull-shitters are full of it. They are pissed off at the world for their “situation” and loathe others who are happy and successful. Yet instead of trying to learn from those who found a way to be completely fulfilled in life, they wallow in their self-pity and remain feeling completely sorry for themselves.

3. Excuses – This one has to be the most classic symptoms of PMS. Bull-shitters are constantly making up excuses as to why their life sucks and why they have yet to do anything about it. The truth is… they never will. They spend every ounce of energy they can muster up on justifying their reasons for inaction to anyone who will listen.

4. Complaining – When talking to a bull-shitters this is ALL you will hear. Bull-shitters have absolutely nothing positive to say about their current situation. They bitch and complain in hopes that SOMEONE (oh please anyone) has it worse off than they do. What they don’t know is the more they focus on the negative in their life, the more negative they will get. This is probably the most pronounced and contagious symptom of PMS. If around a bull-shitter for too long, you will feel the uncontrollable urge to complain yourself. You MUST resist.

5. Apathy- Bull-shitters NEVER take action. They sit on the sidelines and spend everyday watching life pass them by. Ask them why? Symptom 3 will suddenly become more pronounced.

6. Mediocrity – Bull-shitters have completely settled for mediocrity in their lives, yet they will never admit this to a hard-hitter. Bull-shitters have a horrible habit of surrounding themselves with other bull-shitters in hopes their “averageness” will appear less pronounced in comparison. The truth is, the only thing worse (and more noticeable) than mediocrity is a room full of it.

7. Ungratefulness – Last but not least. Bull-shitters are incapable of expressing gratitude. If you read my previous post you know the detrimental effects of this symptom so there’s no need to elaborate on this one.

Lucky for you (and me), these 7 symptoms of “Poor Me Syndrome” make it easy to smell a bull-shitter from a mile away.

If you are completely serious about being a hard-hitter and living the life of your dreams, the first thing you need to do is cut the bullshit and distance yourself from anyone in your life who suffers from the above symptoms. Cutting the bullshit isn’t always easy – especially when the culprits accused of spreading the “Poor Me Syndrome” are some of your very close friends or family. The best way to build immunity to PMS is to know a bull-shitter when you see one and take every possible precaution to protect yourself from their debilitating poison. Choose to surround yourself as much as possible with other hard-hitters. People who inspire and push you to be an absolute rock-star at everything you do.

Remember one thing: you are the sum of the 5 people you spend the most time with in your life… so why not surround yourself with people you aspire to become? Not people who will only bring you down.

Think carefully about who deserves your energy and attention. Choose your 5 wisely.

To Living The Dream,

~ A

Photo courtesy of viscousplatypus.

If Oprah doesn’t convince you than maybe science does. Studies have proven that people who express their gratitude daily are 25% happier and significantly healthier than those who don’t.

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For some reason completely unknown to me, no matter how easy it is, the majority of people in this world are incapable of expressing gratitude. Why? They have a poisoned mindset that teaches them to focus on what they DON’T have, not on what they do. Well news flash people! What you focus on expands! So the more you focus on the lack in your life, the more of it you will have.. and on and on it goes in a vicious downward spiral.

When I first introduced the idea of expressing daily gratitude to some of my “not-so-enlightened” friends they looked at me as if I was a conceited and arrogant bitch. They said things like “isn’t it kind of rude to just start talking about all the things you have in your life? You know, not everyone can afford to have the life you do.”  To this I say BULLSHIT! That is exactly the fucked up mindset that I am talking about. Yes, be compassionate for those who have not but bloody hell, get it together people! Being grateful for what you have doesn’t mean gloating in your greatness (ok, maybe it does a little)… but appreciating the positive and wonderful things (big or small, tangible or intangible) you already have in your life.

Maybe you are grateful for your health, your friends, your new job, your hardcore work out this morning, the letter you received from a distant friend, the sun shining!

What are you grateful for this very moment?

Even as I sit here I can think of a million and a half things I am grateful for RIGHT NOW. I am not going to lie. Expressing gratitude is not always easy at first. When I first stumbled over the idea of daily gratitude I used to struggle to think of one thing I was grateful for in my life. I realize now that it was because I had the same poisoned mindset of focusing on the lack in my life that many of you have. So what did I do?

I changed it. Plain and simple.

Since I started expressing gratitude, amazing things have started happening in my life.

Now it’s your turn.

So what’s the best way to express gratitude? Write down everything it is you are grateful for – EVERYDAY.

I use an awesome online application called GratitudeLog to keep my very own gratitude journal online. It’s completely free to use and it makes expressing gratitude even easier so you have absolutely NO excuse to not start RIGHT NOW.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Go to www.GratitudeLog.com.
2. Sign up for your very own FREE account.
3. Invite your friends and family to join so you can start following each others gratitude updates.
4. Get grateful! Post your very first gratitude log.
5. Add me as a friend and follow my gratitude updates.

To living the dream,

~ A

Image courtesy of mainemomma2007