John Garrett [00:00:00]:
Hey, this is John Garrett. I’m passionate about making work more human, especially in this age of AI. I don’t just host this podcast, I also help organizations put people first through my keynote speaking, coaching and What’s Your “And”? implementation programs. To learn more or to connect with me on LinkedIn or Instagram, I invite you to join the movement at WhatsYourAnd.com. Now let’s jump into this week’s conversation.

Erik Solbakken [00:00:27]:
I’m Erik “The Viking” Solbakken and when I’m not beating the drums like they owe me money, I’m listening to John Garrett on the What’s Your “And”? podcast.

John Garrett [00:00:39]:
Welcome to episode 733 of What’s Your “And”?. This is John Garrett, and each Wednesday I interview a professional who, just like me, is known for a hobby or a passion or an interest outside of work. And to put it another way, it’s encouraging people to find their “And”; those things above and beyond your technical skills, the things that actually differentiate you when you’re at work. It’s the answer to the question of “who else are you beyond the job title?”. And if you like what the show’s about, be sure to check out the award winning book on Amazon, Indigo, Barnes and Noble Bookshop, a few other websites. All the links are at WhatsYourAand.com. The book goes more in depth with the research behind why these outside of work passions are so crucial to your corporate culture. I can’t say how much it means that everyone’s reading it and writing such great reviews on Amazon and, more importantly, changing the cultures where they work because of it. And if you want me to read it to you, that’s right, this voice reading the book, look for What’s Your “And”? on Audible or wherever you get your audiobooks. And please don’t forget to hit subscribe on the podcast so you don’t miss any of the future episodes.

John Garrett [00:01:35]:
I love sharing such interesting stories each and every week and this week is no different with my guest, Erik “The Viking” Solbakken. He’s the founder of the Accountant Success Formula. He’s a business coach and also the founder of the Viking Academy coming out of British Columbia, Canada. And now he’s with me here today. Erik, thanks so much for taking time to be with me on What’s Your “And”?.

Erik Solbakken [00:01:56]:
Hey John, I’m looking forward to this. We’re going to have some fun.

John Garrett [00:01:59]:
This is going to be super awesome. After chatting with you a couple of times, this is going to be great. But I have some rapid fire questions. Get to know Erik out of the gate here.

Erik Solbakken [00:02:06]:
Giddy up, let’s go.

John Garrett [00:02:08]:
Here we go. I’ll start you easy. How about a favorite color?

Erik Solbakken [00:02:12]:
Ooh, red.

John Garrett [00:02:13]:
Red. Okay. And a least favorite color?

Erik Solbakken [00:02:16]:
Pink.

John Garrett [00:02:17]:
Oh, interesting. Okay. All right.

Erik Solbakken [00:02:19]:
Well, the red and black is. I said it’s a combination of red and black. That’s kind of my signature colors. So if you go to the Viking Academy, you’ll see red and black. So I like the combo of red and black.

John Garrett [00:02:28]:
Yeah, no, that’s a good combo, that’s for sure. How about a least favorite vegetable?

Erik Solbakken [00:02:33]:
This is a PG program, right?

John Garrett [00:02:35]:
We’re gonna say all of them.

Erik Solbakken [00:02:36]:
I don’t know. Gee, I. Dude, I have no idea. I have no idea. I’m gonna go blank on that one.

John Garrett [00:02:42]:
Okay. All right. You like all of them? Cool. How about puzzles? Sudoku, Crossword? Jigsaw puzzle?

Erik Solbakken [00:02:46]:
Wordle? None of the above?

John Garrett [00:02:48]:
I don’t have time for that.

Erik Solbakken [00:02:49]:
No, no, no.

John Garrett [00:02:51]:
Okay. All right, how about talk or text?

Erik Solbakken [00:02:54]:
Oh, talk guy.

John Garrett [00:02:55]:
How about a favorite actor or an actress?

Erik Solbakken [00:02:58]:
Oh, gotta be Jack Nicholson, I think.

John Garrett [00:03:02]:
Oh, yeah, classic. This is a good one. Toilet paper roll. You going over or under?

Erik Solbakken [00:03:06]:
Oh, come on. It’s over. It’s always over. Under touches the wall. That’s just wrong. Well, I mean, against the wall, you don’t go under.

John Garrett [00:03:16]:
It happens. It happens. How about Star Wars or Star Trek?

Erik Solbakken [00:03:20]:
It’s almost like a marriage of Protestant and Catholic. You know that when you’re asking that question. I actually love them both. But I have. I had to pick one. It would be Star Wars.

John Garrett [00:03:30]:
Okay, all right.

Erik Solbakken [00:03:31]:
Fair.

John Garrett [00:03:31]:
On occasion. There are some people that. That are both.

Erik Solbakken [00:03:34]:
I love them both. I. I can’t lie. I actually just finished watching a bunch of new series that I never like. The Star Trek, Discovery and all the rest of those that I. I was like, wow, this is actually really cool. Ultimate. I had to pick one.

Erik Solbakken [00:03:47]:
Star Wars.

John Garrett [00:03:48]:
Star Wars. Yeah. Yeah. How about your computer? PC or a Mac?

Erik Solbakken [00:03:51]:
Oh, Mac all day long. Once you go Mac, you never go back. I got the hell out of corporate culture because I can’t stand the Microsoft.

John Garrett [00:03:59]:
I’m not cool enough to even go to a Mac store, man. So good.

Erik Solbakken [00:04:03]:
Once you go Mac, you never go back.

John Garrett [00:04:05]:
There you go. How about ice cream? You go in a cup or in a cone?

Erik Solbakken [00:04:09]:
Oh, I use the whole bucket.

John Garrett [00:04:10]:
Oh,

Erik Solbakken [00:04:13]:
Bucket. I’ll eat it.

John Garrett [00:04:14]:
There you go. That’s awesome. I love it. How about your first concert?

Erik Solbakken [00:04:19]:
Oh, that would have been Def Leppard, when the drummer had two arms. I’m going way back, dude.

John Garrett [00:04:27]:
Yeah. That is way back.

Erik Solbakken [00:04:28]:
Yeah.

John Garrett [00:04:29]:
That’s incredible. How about a favorite day of the week?

Erik Solbakken [00:04:32]:
Today?

John Garrett [00:04:33]:
Oh, that’s deep.

Erik Solbakken [00:04:35]:
I’m the Power of Now.

John Garrett [00:04:40]:
There it is. So everyone listening? It’s the day that you’re listening to this.

Erik Solbakken [00:04:44]:
Exactly. Because they’re only ever here right now.

John Garrett [00:04:48]:
That’s exactly true.

Erik Solbakken [00:04:49]:
You’re only ever here right now. You’re never in yesterday or tomorrow.

John Garrett [00:04:52]:
That’s right. But we’re always worried about yesterday and tomorrow, and we always ignore today. How about a favorite movie of all time?

Erik Solbakken [00:05:01]:
Probably Spinal Tap. I have to do that. Yeah. This one goes to 11.

John Garrett [00:05:07]:
Yes. That’s awesome. Great movie. Great movie. How about. So do you have the accounting background? We go balance sheet or income statement?

Erik Solbakken [00:05:15]:
Oh, my God. Really? Seriously? I like making money, so I’ll go income statement.

John Garrett [00:05:23]:
Income statement. There it is. All right. How about. Do you have a favorite number one? Oh, is there a reason it starts there? Oh, there you go. Okay.

Erik Solbakken [00:05:33]:
And then when you have multiple ones in a row, it’s a very spiritual number, too. Like 11 and 11 and. Yeah. So, yeah.

John Garrett [00:05:40]:
Okay, we got two more. Favorite season? Summer, winter, spring or fall.

Erik Solbakken [00:05:45]:
Oh, favorite one. You know what?

John Garrett [00:05:48]:
I probably go.

Erik Solbakken [00:05:49]:
I’ll go summer because I love spending it on the boat. I’m the Pacific Northwest, so boating and being on the water in the summertime is just nothing like it.

John Garrett [00:05:58]:
Yeah, that’s really great. Okay, and the last one, the favorite thing you have or the favorite thing you own?

Erik Solbakken [00:06:03]:
Favorite thing I have or favorite thing? My drum set.

John Garrett [00:06:05]:
There you go. What kind of drum set is it?

Erik Solbakken [00:06:07]:
It’s a big beast. It’s a double kick with roto toms. I think I’ve got 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 cymbals. I’ve got two cowbells. Hi Hat. Oh, yeah, it’s just.

John Garrett [00:06:19]:
Holy cow, man.

Erik Solbakken [00:06:21]:
Yeah, dude. And it’s like it’s all happening all at once. But if I was to step back from that, I would say it’s my jam space. So I have a jam space where the drums are there and I’ve got guitars on the walls, and I’ve got guitar, bass, and PA system. I love the whole space, but the drums, that’s my baby.

John Garrett [00:06:36]:
Yeah. That’s the heart of it all. Yeah. Well, that. That leads right into your “And” and drumming. And Is this something you did as a kid or was it later in life that you got into it?

Erik Solbakken [00:06:45]:
No. So when I was. I remember when we were in. I think it was grade five, and they all of a sudden the teachers come in, they go, okay, now everybody’s going to choose an instrument. And everybody had to choose. So there’s the saxophone, the clarinet, which sounds like a goose being strangled.

John Garrett [00:07:00]:
I don’t understand that. Especially in fifth grade.

Erik Solbakken [00:07:02]:
I know. Oh. Oh, it’s so painful. So we had older kids come in and play, and this one guy was playing the drums, and I went, oh, my God, I want to play the drums. The interesting thing was the teachers, they actually fought me and they said, no, no, no, no, no. You played, like. Because I played the piano as a kid as well, so I already knew how to read sheet music. So, like, no, no, no, don’t do the drums.

Erik Solbakken [00:07:22]:
Play something else, because you already know how to sheet read, and you can do the notes and stuff. And I’m going, I want to play drums. They’re like, no, you should really do something else. And that first sign there that I was a Viking is that you don’t tell me what to do, because if they do, I won’t do it. So I said, screw it. I started snare drum. Like, for two years or

Erik Solbakken [00:07:41]:
two and a half years in grade school, just doing the snare drum, which was painful. And then grade 8 finally got onto the kit in the big band and jazz bands. But literally, from grade seven, grade eight, I created my own, my first rock band. And me and my three buddies, we started playing right away.

John Garrett [00:07:57]:
That’s awesome. I mean, obviously, cover music. Or were you writing your own?

Erik Solbakken [00:08:01]:
Oh, we wrote a bunch of our own stuff. We actually have something that we wrote and recorded in the studio from way back when. Oh, it’s so cheesy, John. Oh, my God. It’s like the music was cool. Like, I actually wrote the guitar part for it. And then I gave it to my guitarist, and he kind of metalized it. He put a wicked solo, but the words were from his girlfriend.

Erik Solbakken [00:08:20]:
And. Oh, my gosh. It’s like this. You love me, me, but you left me or something. They said, of course I metalized it and I got the high pitch and scream.

John Garrett [00:08:33]:
And now Good Charlotte plays it.

Erik Solbakken [00:08:34]:
Yeah, yeah.

John Garrett [00:08:35]:
No, I’m just. Sounds like a Good Charlotte. Kind of.

Erik Solbakken [00:08:38]:
This song was called Change A Thing Or Two. And it was. Yeah, it was so cute.

John Garrett [00:08:42]:
That’s awesome, though. And then did this keep going? Obviously now. Or was there ever a dip? Or was it.

Erik Solbakken [00:08:48]:
Yeah, there was a dip. There was a dip. So what happened was, as I was playing the music and everything was fine, and then we kicked our singer out of the band. That was the other thing, that key thing that happened, we kicked our singer out of the band, and I became the lead singer and drummer. So I’m the drummer and lead singer.

John Garrett [00:09:02]:
Pretty unique, though.

Erik Solbakken [00:09:03]:
There’s me and a guitarist and a bassist. And when I got to the end of university or high school, I got offered to do gigs from Victoria all the way down to California and back. The entire west coast, right?

John Garrett [00:09:14]:
Oh, yeah.

Erik Solbakken [00:09:15]:
And they had it set up. But at that time, I went, I think if I do that, I’m probably going to end up overdosing. I’m going to pull a full Kurt Cobain or Jimmy Hendrix. I could sense it, right? So I decided, you know, here was the choice. Become a CPA or go heavy metal. And I picked CPA. And everybody like, what in the world? How did you choose those two? But I went CPA route, and so I started studying right after high school.

Erik Solbakken [00:09:41]:
So there was this big block of time where all of a sudden, music disappeared for me, and I became a chartered accountant in Canada, which is a CPA now. And I did it for years and years and years. So there was a big lag of time where all of a sudden I thought doing my career was more important than doing my passion. And, man, oh, man, did I ever miss it. And it didn’t come back until later in life once I become a partner in an accounting firm. Then a group of guys reached out to me and said, hey, man, let’s start a Motley Crue tribute band. And they heard me sing at a party one night because I was drinking and doing all sorts of narcotics in the time, even though I was a partner in a firm.

Erik Solbakken [00:10:19]:
This is an old story. And they heard me sing. And he goes, oh, my God, dude, you should. We should start a Motley Crue tribute band.

John Garrett [00:10:26]:
I’m like, okay.

Erik Solbakken [00:10:26]:
And so we started Motley Two, and it’s called Motley Two. A tribute band. Motley Crue tribute band. And so that happened, and I started doing it then. And, oh, my gosh, things went completely off the rails there. People treated us like we were the actual band, and business partners were not happy about it. But I’m like, you know what? I found my passion again.

Erik Solbakken [00:10:48]:
And so there. Yeah, so there was a big lag where I wasn’t doing it, and I had quelled it down because I thought to be successful as a professional, I had to not have that. And when I started. And here’s the interesting thing, John. I remember my business partners saying, well, no, no, we don’t talk about that. I told my clients when I had one on one and the clients thought it was the coolest thing ever. My connection with the clients increased like you wouldn’t believe. And they were just like, that’s amazing.

Erik Solbakken [00:11:16]:
My business partners were like, don’t talk about it, don’t. And they were almost in denial. It’s not just a river in Egypt.

John Garrett [00:11:21]:
Right.

Erik Solbakken [00:11:23]:
They were just like, no, no, no, no. But the clients loved it. Right. And so that was kind of my first taste of being me, like just being myself in business.

John Garrett [00:11:32]:
Yeah. And that’s a long time, man of. I mean, to become a partner. I mean, that’s not a year or two. This is a long time of no music. And I love how earlier you were like, people are like, how are those the choices? It’s like, no, no, they actually chose me. Like I’m the one who’s having to split them up. Even though, you know, 10, 15 years later, you realize, no, no, no, no, no.

John Garrett [00:11:53]:
I need to bring them together in order to truly be me. And now am I playing the drums at the office? No, but I can talk about it, you know, I can sing at the, you know, at a karaoke night or whatever, you know, like there’s a time and a place for it all. But even just sharing like, hey, so last weekend I played this, you know, this club or I did this thing and clients are like, “What? That’s awesome”. You know, And I’m sure you accidentally came across other musicians as well that, you know, have an and of doing music that happen to be a client type of thing as well, or people come across you that are similar.

Erik Solbakken [00:12:29]:
Yeah. The interesting thing was like I was still a little bit of a black horse in the area because I would be the black horse when I was in the accounting world because I was a heavy metal guy and then would go to the heavy metal world and they’re all like, dude, you’re an accountant.

John Garrett [00:12:44]:
Right, Right.

Erik Solbakken [00:12:45]:
Yeah, I’m hanging around with people that are still stuck in the 80s era, right?

John Garrett [00:12:50]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. In both groups actually.

Erik Solbakken [00:12:54]:
There’s still a bit of a. There’s still a bit of an anomaly. They’re like, yeah, to what? The thing that I found interesting though, John, is that there’s been a progression and there’s been a pealing of layers for my journey. So when I originally became a chartered accountant, I thought I had to keep it completely separate and hide my personality and just be a corporate professional person. So there was this ivory tower syndrome that happens when you become a professional and you think that you got all this and you can’t show who you are. I’ve swung all the way, and I’ve progressively removed the layers to the point where I sold my accounting firm, and then I started up a new coaching company called the Accountant Successful. So I actually coach accounting firms.

Erik Solbakken [00:13:36]:
I show them how to change their business model. But even then, I was still not fully expressing the Viking. Okay, Erik. And so then I went into a coaching program because I was now an entrepreneur and I was starting a new business. I went to Strategic Coach. And in there, they talked about something called this unique ability. And I did this unique ability deep dive.

Erik Solbakken [00:13:56]:
And I reconnected with my childhood Viking, because my friends used to call me the Viking in grade school all the time because I’m originally from Norway. And so they called me the Viking. I had a little Norwegian flag on the back of my car, and they were always calling me the Viking, but it disappeared all of a sudden. Now off through this layers of peeling away, peeling away, peeling away. I went, yeah, hell, yeah, I’m the Viking. So I’ve been putting on every moniker, everything, all my businesses. So I’ve got. I own a couple of accounting firms.

Erik Solbakken [00:14:25]:
I have the Accountant Success Formula coaching program. I coach at Strategic Coach now, which was my coaching company. Now I’m coaching there. So I do entrepreneurial coaching. And then I said, I’m going to launch the Viking Academy. I’m going to be 100% Erik. And so it’s professional, personal. It’s.

Erik Solbakken [00:14:43]:
You get all of me. So it’s a. It’s almost a convergence, shall we say, for me, of going, I’m going to express all of who I am. And I found this has been happening across the board, especially with people in the harder, shall we call it the 3D spaces of lawyers, accountants, doctors. They’re starting to break free and starting to go, no, no, I’m going to start expressing my whole self. And that’s when you get that authentic connection with people. So the Viking Academy for me is me finally going, this is Erik. I’m the Viking, and I’m an explorer of.

Erik Solbakken [00:15:15]:
And the Viking Academy is a completely different bird altogether. It’s a resource platform for exploring the mind, body and spirit. And so inside there, it’s like, there’s no guardrails. So we’re here exploring, which has been the most freeing thing possible for me possible.

John Garrett [00:15:32]:
That’s so cool. And just to back up a minute, because I know you have some great stories. Do you have some favorite shows that you’ve done from the drumming days. And maybe it’s from before or maybe it’s been after it came back.

Erik Solbakken [00:15:45]:
Yeah, well, so we had a couple shows where. Yeah, couple shows that I did with Motley Two, which was insane. And there was about 500 people in the bar. And it was 500 people. And then we had all. We do a song called Girls, Girls, Girls and All the girls. My. My fiance at the time, they all jump up on the stage and the place is just rocking.

Erik Solbakken [00:16:05]:
It’s crazy fun, right?

John Garrett [00:16:07]:
Yeah.

Erik Solbakken [00:16:07]:
But, you know, then I had too much fun and I passed out and I fell into the crowd.

John Garrett [00:16:12]:
Oh, no.

Erik Solbakken [00:16:13]:
So literally, like, I’m a recovered alcoholic now. Like I was 18 years ago. Like, I fell into the crowd. So if I call it a memorable moment, it was memorable, but they basically had to, like, carry me out because I passed out on this, on the crowd. That was like, so rock and roll, right?

John Garrett [00:16:29]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Erik Solbakken [00:16:30]:
That’s so cool. Back then it was not so cool, but.

John Garrett [00:16:33]:
Right.

Erik Solbakken [00:16:34]:
And then just recently. So I’ve respun up a band now. I play in a band called Reign Down, which is R E I G N. So reigndown.rocks is our website and we play 80s heavy metal and it’s all covers, but we just got to play a show called Rifflandia in Victoria. 8,000 people. We opened for Public Enemy.

John Garrett [00:16:57]:
Nice. What?

Erik Solbakken [00:17:00]:
And we were on this big, like, stage off to the side. It was like Mad Max and there was cryo explosions and we were like the prize guest in between. The major stage would drop and the next band would come on. All of a sudden we popped up on the left and the big spotlights went to us. And I jumped up and I, you know, screaming out, all aboard. You know, Crazy Train.

John Garrett [00:17:19]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Erik Solbakken [00:17:20]:
Right. And so that was the highlight, pinnacle of my musical career. I played for 8,000 people before Public Enemy came on.

John Garrett [00:17:29]:
That’s pretty incredible. And I guess, what’s the difference between the Erik that was playing the part to become a partner and the Erik now that realizes that there’s drumming and, you know, a business side and other sides to. To who you are. Is there a difference or. Or what’s that feel like for you?

Erik Solbakken [00:17:48]:
I think for me now it’s more of a. It’s being just aware of who my audience is, like who I’m talking to and what that person needs. And so instead of me coming and there’s a thing about authenticity, like, you be your authentic self, but be aware of who you’re talking to. Right. So I’m always focused on who am I talking to and how am I serving them. So for me, there’s this ethos in the Viking Academy. I believe every person was put on the planet for a reason. But we’re the only species that doesn’t know why we’re here.

Erik Solbakken [00:18:21]:
I think that adventure for each one of us is to figure out who we are and what we’re here to do. So we’re here to learn, experience, and contribute. That’s that last part that contributes. So when I’m in front of people now, they get Erik, but I. I get situational awareness, right? So if I’m hanging out with my daughter, when my daughter was like 2 or 3 years old or grade 2 or 3, and I’m hanging around with little kids, I’m not dropping F bombs and talking heavy metal and all the crazy stuff of me, drugs and falling off the stage, that I’m not being my authentic self. That just means I have situational awareness.

John Garrett [00:18:55]:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s bringing your best self, not bringing your full self. It’s your best self.

Erik Solbakken [00:19:01]:
Yeah. I’m trying to reframe it. Always in a lens of service. What am I here to serve? What am I here to do? So when I’m on stage, you get full Erik Viking. I’m dropping F bombs. I’m getting the crowd singing and cheering and wrapping it up and have a great time. Get off stage and someone talks to me about a business, and I’ll be like, I can shift right into this is business mode.

Erik Solbakken [00:19:22]:
I’m a coach. I’m also. I have a psychology degree, so I’m deep into the psychology and business and the rest of it. I can shift into that mode. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not being me. It’s just I now I’ve just embraced all of me now. And so it’s just the parts of you that needs to come out at the time to contribute, and that’s that.

Erik Solbakken [00:19:41]:
You know, we’re here to learn, experience, contribute. What am I here to contribute? Is it the right thing to contribute at this moment? But I don’t shy away from who I am anymore.

John Garrett [00:19:50]:
I love that. Yeah. And I mean, you know, kudos if you started every conference call with “all aboard”. I mean, just to try it out. I love that. And, you know, and. And it’s just feeling more confident and more in your power and more of. Yeah.

John Garrett [00:20:08]:
More aware of, well, why am I here and what am I. What’s my contribution here?

Erik Solbakken [00:20:12]:
And.

John Garrett [00:20:12]:
And working through those constraints to be able to get to that point is huge. That’s a lot of work.

Erik Solbakken [00:20:17]:
And you just said something there that I kind of want to highlight on, too. For anybody, for the listener out there is that all of the things that I went through in my past, I’m actually incredibly grateful for now. Like, I’m grateful for the fact that I actually became an accountant. I look back, what would my life look like if I had actually gone the music route? Could have, should have, would have, right? Don’t want to go there. But I look at it and I go, everything I learned and experienced makes me who I am today. And I actually really like the guy I am today, which is a big thing to say. Like, it’s not conceited or arrogant. It’s just like, I’m actually very comfortable in my own skin.

Erik Solbakken [00:20:52]:
But I had to experience all of those things to accumulate who this guy is today. And I’m like, well, yeah, it’s all of it. And the one thing I found is that the more authentic I am with people about giving them Erik, so they know who Erik is, the more they trust me. They know, like, and trust me, it’s. You know, people were talking about, like, you go and you have a conversation with them, and you can tell that they got a facade and they’re just giving you the piece that they think you need to sell or buy their product, and you just want to punch them, right?

John Garrett [00:21:24]:
Totally. I mean, it’s as if you’re talking to an AI bot. It’s that shallow of a thing. And you’re like, dude, what’s up? Like, what? And that’s where what’s your end comes in of just, who else are you? Yeah, I get the job, I get the work, I get your job title. But who else are you? You know, and there’s the work self, there’s a home self, for sure, but there’s a you that’s just you and that you existed before work, before your home, identity, before whatever. Like, who’s that? Because you’ve probably abandoned that or put it in the back corner anyway and thought, well, I’ll come back for you later. And it’s like, no, no, no, no. Now you know? And it’s not abandoning the other two parts, your job or your home.

John Garrett [00:22:05]:
It’s just level up the you that’s you. Which sounds like what you were saying earlier if you. Of what you did as well, if, you know, the work was humming, obviously, home life was going well. And then it’s like, okay, let’s bring me back into the equation, sort of a thing which oddly enough as a human, we self sabotage and abandon ourselves first and foremost. And then you know when somebody’s like, hey, go back and well, that’s being selfish or that’s being arrogant or no, no, no, no, no, it’s not at all. It’s. It’s bringing, you know, your full self to all of what you do.

Erik Solbakken [00:22:40]:
You touched upon something that I think is really important, that I’ve learned so far, that’s really important is that there’s a difference between going, well, I need to be me and it’s an egoic me, as opposed to the universe gave me me. And this expression of this one particular expression of the universe known as Erik the Viking is here to do something and contribute to the world. And so it becomes you’re not egoic when you’re actually expressing your authentic self. You are actually channeling the universe’s creativity through you instead of it being you and your attachments. But it’s taken me a while to disseminate those two because being an alcoholic, recovered alcoholic, self centeredness is one of the, that is the telltale sign of an alcoholic is that we’re self centered. So I have always been really careful about am I being selfish, self centered or I’m actually expressing the divine through me. And I can feel the resonance and the difference in that if I’m expressing the divine through me, because I know this is what you know, Allah, Buddha, Brahma, baby Jesus, whatever you want to call it.

John Garrett [00:23:50]:
I love how that was alphabetical. The OCD brain was like, oh, that’s good. All right. That was all in. Yeah.

Erik Solbakken [00:23:58]:
You know, if I’m expressing that and it feels congruent with who I am, then I’m doing it and it feels joyful. But if I’m doing it egoically going, well, I’m going to be me and blah, blah, blah. Now, it’s not an expression of the self, the big ass. It’s a expression of the small self, which is the ego.

John Garrett [00:24:16]:
I love that. That’s exactly it. And what great words of advice for people listening to just go and implement any of this. Just take baby steps. Do you have any words of encouragement to somebody listening that, you know, maybe they’re a drummer in a band or maybe they have an and of some sort and has nothing to do with their job. So like, I don’t think anyone cares, why should I share it?

Erik Solbakken [00:24:38]:
Well, here’s an interesting thing because I was just thinking about this. I went to see a sleep specialist Because I had. I just got diagnosed with sleep apnea. So he was talking. It was this technician with the CPAP machine. And this kid’s talking to me and he’s kind of very particular and nerdy and just right. And he’s just talking and didn’t really open up and wasn’t warm and fuzzy. And then I told him, I said, well, dude, I got to make sure I’m okay with my lungs because I play in a heavy metal band.

Erik Solbakken [00:25:06]:
He turned and looked at me. His eyes lit up. He goes, oh my God, I love heavy metal, especially Norwegian goth death metal. And I look at wtf. But you should have seen, he changed. His whole Persona changed. All of a sudden he talked about. He was talking about heavy metal and we were talking about these different bands like Five Finger Death Punch and Full Beat these.

Erik Solbakken [00:25:27]:
And he was like, yeah, I know, that bad. And all of a sudden he came to life and he animated. And I went, dude, this is the guy I want to talk to who’s animated and joyful. Before that, he was mechanical and just. Yeah, that would be the word for his mechanical. Going technical. And yeah, there was no connection. Soon as we had that human connection, I just talked to him last week on a follow up and he.

Erik Solbakken [00:25:51]:
The first thing he asked me, he didn’t ask me if the CPAP worked. He didn’t ask if there was any problems with that. He said, dude, how was your show?

John Garrett [00:25:58]:
Yes.

Erik Solbakken [00:25:58]:
Like now all of a sudden, the ice was broken and now we have a connection. Right. So don’t be afraid to share who you are with the people you work with and the clients that you work with. The more you share who you are with them, you will be shocked at the connections that you will make. And all of a sudden you’ll be talking to a grandma and going, yeah, well, you know, I play heavy metal. She’s like, oh my God, I love the drums. I’m a drummer too. And you’re like, what? I beat the drums.

Erik Solbakken [00:26:25]:
Like they owe me money. Right. Wow. Like, where did that come from? Right?

John Garrett [00:26:33]:
That’s awesome. I love that so much. Yeah, I mean, you know, I love the person that’s like, well, what if? And it’s like, no, no, what if. I mean, if your hand is illegal or super taboo, then don’t lead with that one. But playing the drums is fine. And for 99.9% of us, that’s the thing. So don’t get caught up in and whatever. And you know, it’s not like you’re going to share like Hey, I play the drums in a band.

John Garrett [00:26:55]:
Oh, well, you’re fired. Or clients are like, well, we don’t want you doing our work. It’s like you said earlier, you’ve lived it. It’s the opposite. I love that you’re my service provider of whatever sort. And we created a connection, and there’s a magnetism to fully activated humans that you want to be around.

Erik Solbakken [00:27:13]:
We’re looking at it. My wife Erin just talked to me. She’s trying to get us to play our band, to play Rock the Shores in Kelowna. So it’s another big outdoor rock festival.

John Garrett [00:27:21]:
Yeah.

Erik Solbakken [00:27:22]:
But they reached out to us via our. The firm. The accounting firm that we own. And so Aaron contacted the promoter and said, well, yeah, we’d love to sponsor it as the accountants, but we would like you to make sure that we play them where our band gets to play the music we’ve been trying to get in. You guys haven’t said anything. They went, oh, well, tell us what you think. And Aaron’s idea is he goes, think about this. Sponsored by MBA Chartered Professional Accountants, and the lead singer and drummer is a partner in this firm.

Erik Solbakken [00:27:51]:
And everybody goes, what the what? And then we get out there and start ripping off Metallica, Iron Guns and Roses, White Snake. They see me screaming like a banshee and beating the drums like, me money. And, like, I’m really curious to see how much new business we get from that.

John Garrett [00:28:09]:
I promise that will happen. Because everyone’s accountant is not sharing that side, probably. If they haven’t, you know, come across the podcast and the movement, then it’s, you know, the ones that aren’t sharing that are sitting ducks. Because all of a sudden, you know, and that’s the thing about this. What’s your end is you don’t have to be something crazy off the wall, whatever. You just have to be you. Because the world is so boring and gray that any amount of color is so vibrant that it’s, like, unforgettable. And so if my accountant is just an accountant versus.

Erik Solbakken [00:28:43]:
Whoa.

John Garrett [00:28:43]:
The one that also plays the drums at a festival that I went to. Yeah, that one. That’s who I want to be, you know, doing this work with. Because we’re all good at our jobs, plus or minus, you know, like, we’re all good, so why not get the one that’s actually a human being and has similar interests? So I love this Erik so much. But before I wrap this up, it’s only fair that I turn the tables. We make this the Erik the Viking Soul Back in podcast, which I know you already have your own, but whatever questions you want to ask me, since I fired away at you at the beginning, I’ll be in the hot seat. So what do you got for me?

Erik Solbakken [00:29:19]:
What’s your favorite music?

John Garrett [00:29:21]:
Yeah, so definitely going to be anything in, like, the alternative space, you know, like a Blink 182 or killers or anything in that realm. I mean, Metallica as well. Those were my first two concerts was Metallica when the Black Album came out. That was my first one. And then Danzig opened for Metallica.

Erik Solbakken [00:29:42]:
Oh, really?

John Garrett [00:29:43]:
Yeah, yeah, that was back in the day. It was pretty wild.

Erik Solbakken [00:29:47]:
What lit you up as a kid?

John Garrett [00:29:49]:
I enjoyed playing sports. I enjoyed that. I liked being outside. I liked Legos, always. Awesome. Still a little bitter that I never got the Lego at. At from Star wars, but I’m a little bitter I never got that at Christmas.

Erik Solbakken [00:30:06]:
Okay, dude, I hate to tell you this, but I have it actually built in my.

John Garrett [00:30:10]:
Ah, you. Santa brought it to you and not me? Are you kidding?

Erik Solbakken [00:30:14]:
I just got it in. I have tons of Star Wars Lego, man. Tons of it.

John Garrett [00:30:17]:
Ah, there you go. Yeah, yeah. So, I mean, growing up, we had two giant. I don’t even know how big a drums these things were of Legos and just all kinds of who knows what. And. Yeah, so that was always a blast doing that, for sure. Just creating, I think.

Erik Solbakken [00:30:34]:
Yes. Being a creator. Okay, last question. What is the color of Genie’s light brown hair?

John Garrett [00:30:38]:
Genie’s light brown hair, I would say, is light brown.

Erik Solbakken [00:30:44]:
Yes.

John Garrett [00:30:44]:
You win.

Erik Solbakken [00:30:45]:
That’s right. A new car.

John Garrett [00:30:48]:
Wow. I was like, wait a minute, dude, you’re tricking me. What kind of show is this? Like, you Canadians, you got to watch them. No, but thank you so much, Erik, for being a part of What’s Your “And?” and just being a part of this movement and a living example of what this is all about. So thank you.

Erik Solbakken [00:31:03]:
My pleasure. Thanks for having me on the podcast.

John Garrett [00:31:08]:
Absolutely. Everybody listening. If you want to see some pictures of Erik on stage or connect with him on social media, be sure to go to WhatsYourAnd.com, everything’s there. And while you’re on the page, please click that big button. Do the anonymous research survey about corporate culture, and don’t forget to read the book. So thanks again for subscribing on Apple Podcasts or whatever app you use, and for sharing this with your friends so they get the message that we’re all trying to spread that who you are is so much more than what you do.