.png)
Michael Chernow is a Father, Husband, Story Teller, Entrepreneur, Fitness and wellness obsessed lover of life. Michael has been married to Donna for 15 years and has two amazing sons, Finnley and Dakota. He has founded 3 companies, The Meatball Shop, Seamore's and most recently Kreatures of Habit. He loves creating brands, connecting with humans and developing, environments, atmospheres and products for people to live better lives with. His desire to drive as hard as he does is to make as many awesome memories with his family as possible for as long as possible!
Check out the Kreatures of Habit website and podcast and follow along on instagram @michaelchernow
What is your purpose in life?
I am a hunter…. with a ferocious hunger to discover. I believe my curiosity has propelled me to want to take risks, create businesses and regularly do scary things that most people wouldn't want to do. At the end of the day however, my real purpose is to have fun… I know that sounds silly, but I really believe my purpose is to have as much fun as possible. Strangely for me, I find joy in the hard stuff, I find happiness in the journey and the journey is hard, I love running towards the fear, that’s how I have been successful in my personal life, my recovery life, my business life. Making others happy is in my DNA, I use to think that was my purpose, but it's not. My purpose here is to have fun and drag as many people along with me as possible, when I am having fun I am most effective. Fun doesn't mean easy, fun means engaged and excited.
Where does this come from and how did you discover it?
From an early age I was aware that I had a passion for connecting with other humans, it came incredibly natural to me, I found so much joy in talking to people, sharing stories, getting to know people and developing relationships. No surprise I spent 27 years in the restaurant business. If fun is the purpose, my superpower is connecting, as that brings me the most joy. I only recently discovered this to be honest, i basically said to myself "If I want to stay engaged and pumped for the rest of my days, I need to make fun the prerequisite for everything I do - working with, building with, learning from and teaching to others is my freeway to fun and happiness" - I guess what I am trying to say here, is that I use to think I needed to have a purpose that was completely selfless, but what I've learned over time is that I get the most joy and have the most fun when I am working with others, it is selfless and selfish at the same time.. As long as I am having fun, I am of service
How does this purpose uniquely play out in your everyday life and work?
There is a feeling I get at night around 9pm just before bed… The feeling that I just can't wait to fall asleep so that I can wake up in the morning and get after my life. Now having fun is something I seek out in all areas of my life, some people don't enjoy working out or eating healthy, I LOVE it
How do you remain vibrant, encouraged and energized?
I always have a challenge/goal in front of me, a fitness goal, a family goal, a finance goal and a faith goal. When I have challenges that I'm working towards in all these areas, its impossible to not stay totally energized. Here are some examples of what these could look like:
Family Goal - Vacation every 6 months, Date night every week, Take the boys to karate every Tuesday.
Fitness Goal - Compete in some sort of CrossFit competition in 2023
Faith Goal - Hit all of my morning, 10 minute meditations and add a minute each week till we get to 25 minutes. Start praying again at night to thank the universe for another day sober, happy and healthy.
Finance Goal - Build KOH to $7MM in revenue by the end of 2023.
What is success?
Living without negativity or as little as possible. Humbly understanding that we have very little control over most things in our lives, however if we can learn to control the things we do have control over, success in inevitable. Success to me is being able to find happiness in the moment, success is not something we have, it is something we feel. I feel successful when I am able to find positivity in any situation.
What is one thing that you do everyday that is a necessity for your success?
My morning routine… It is a lot of things all linked together from 5am-7am - It is my foolproof plan for happiness and success no matter what is thrown at me.
Any other thoughts or words of encouragement for those on the path of discovering their purpose?
I would say that the purpose isn't necessarily the action or the thing you do best, but the thing that actually drives you to want to do it. I believe as discussed above that purpose is both selfless and selfish, and you shouldn't feel bad about that.
Thanks for reading!
Subscribe to the Interviews on Purpose Blog HERE