In this episode we’re joined by Tyler Gage, co-founder of the organic tea company Runa, and author of the book, Fully Alive: Using the Lessons of the Amazon to Live Your Mission in Business and Life. Tyler shares how his immersion into life in the Amazon guided him in building a socially responsible business able to thrive in the hyper-competitive soft drinks segment.
What Was Covered
- How Tyler’s interest in peak performance led him to indigenous elders in the Amazon and how life there inspired him to build a business
- The parallels to be found from the Amazonian concept of wisdom and modern business and entrepreneurship
- Discovering strength in vulnerability and how admitting what we don’t know creates an environment to learn from others
Key Takeaways and Learnings
- How the sophisticated listening and landscape awareness skills that are required to provide food in the Amazon can deliver success for an executive or entrepreneur
- Seeing obstacles as teachers, and how this tribal practice of the South American rainforests is a winning strategy for business problem solving
- How businesses can use their “taproot”, their reason for existence, to create cultures that inspire employees
Links and Resources Mentioned in this Episode
- Tyler Gage’s website
- RUNA website
- Get the book Fully Alive: Using the Lessons of the Amazon to Live Your Mission in Business and Life by Tyler Gage
- Get in touch with Tyler via LinkedIn or email
- The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answer, a book by Ben Horowitz
- The Republic of Tea: Letters to a Young Entrepreneur, a book by Mel Ziegler, Bill Rosenzweig and Patricia Ziegler