Dr. Richard Shuster is a clinical psychologist, keynote speaker, CEO of a psychological assessment company, and the host of The Daily Helping with Dr. Richard Shuster: Food for the Brain, Knowledge from the experts, Tools to Win at Life which is regularly downloaded in over 100 countries. His mission is to help people become the best versions of themselves and as a result, make the world a better place. A sought-after media expert, Dr. Shuster’s clinical expertise and podcast have been featured in such publications as The Huffington Post, NBCNews.com, Glassdoor.com, Men’s Health, Cosmopolitan, and others.
Listen and join in on the conversation as I speak to Dr. Richard about tracking fear on the Find Your Passion Career Podcast!
At some point, we’ve all pretended to like a certain sports team, seem interested in a weird hobby or listen to a specific genre for that crush of ours. But what if I told you that my most recent guest majored in psychology because of a girl? Yup, that’s right, Dr. Richard Shuster truly went above and beyond.
During his junior year, Dr. Richard celebrated his 21st birthday by staying in and studying for his finals. Unfortunately, he bombed his exam. “There was this moment where I had no idea whatsoever what I was going to be doing,” said Dr. Richard. But, through a series of events, his life really “started happening.”
He stuck with psychology studies and meanwhile discovered his passion for technology by creating a website with his friends. This led him to his first job in the IT world. Although he was still living with his parents, he was earning an awesome salary at the time and felt like the “king of the world.”
“I knew I was going to be the next Tony Stark…My focus was so much on the material,” said Dr. Richard.
Turning a tragedy into a learning lesson
Dr. Richard experienced a horrific car accident where he broke his spine and tore ligaments in his neck. “I really should have died,” said Dr. Richard. His life flashed before his eyes and he knew he had to make a change in his life.
Two questions popped into his head – ‘what are people going to think?’ and ‘what am I going to do with my life?’ Dr. Richard channeled this fear and uncertainty to change directions. “It’s when the pain becomes so significant that we are able to make changes,” said Dr. Richard. “I eventually made the change and stepped into the unknown.”
A Grocery Store Moment
By now I think you’ve figure out that Dr. Richard’s passion career journey is anything but ordinary. So it’s fitting that Richard’s next big life moment took place in a grocery store. Dr. Richard overheard two mothers chatting about their safety concerns for their daughters on Myspace. Dr. Richard offered his help and was invited to speak with their PTA on Internet safety.
By speaking his passion, multiple doors opened for Dr. Richard. He ended up turning this into a career, speaking about Internet safety to families. It took some reframing for Dr. Richard to realize his passion for helping people. “This time when I reshaped, it was around helping people,” said Dr. Richard.
Tracking our Fear
Dr. Richard found that fear often holds people back. But, by tracking fear, the brain is forced to rationalize fear. “Our brains are trying to reserve fear,” said Richard. You can track your fear by writing down the things that stress you out. “You have to understand your hardware so you can make changes to your software,” he said.
Today, Dr. Richard focuses on lifting others up through his podcast and assessment company.
“I wanted to empower people to become the best versions of who they are supposed to be,” said Dr. Richard.
He created the #mydailyhelpingmission to help people pay it forward and create a ripple effect. “When we’re doing what we’re passionate about, we’re all gonna be happier and together we kind of raise ourselves up and make the world a better place,” he said.
He focuses on his 4 C’s— creating (building businesses and writing books), collaborating (connecting and adding value), communicating (public speaking and podcasting) and contribution.
After listening to the podcast, join Richard’s #mydailyhelpingmission with one random act of kindness.
Then take The Powers assessment at www.seekyourpowers.com. Use the code “passioncareer” to get the dream job guide for free.
Download our podcast interview with Dr. Richard here on iTunes!
Once you’re inspired by Dr. Richard’s story, we’d love to read your review.
FYPC Podcast Ep 37: Nadene Reynolds, University of Florida Career Connections Center