Paul Huljich – The 9 Step Lifestyle Approach For Beating Stress From A Former CEO Of A $100 Million Dollar Company

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Speaker: This is David Avocado Wolf of www.DavidWolf.com, and you are listening to Justin and Kate on Extreme Health Radio.

Justin: Well, Kate, I couldn’t think of a more timely show about stress than this time of year, right?

Kate: Gosh. A lot of people—we’re all feeling the same way. We’re all feeling it, aren’t we?

Justin: The holiday season, right?

Kate: It starts.

Justin: Yes.

Kate: You’re right. This is perfect.

Justin: Stay tuned, everybody. We’re going to be introducing Paul Huljich in just a moment. We’re going to talk about his book called Stress Pandemic, and we think it’s going to be a great show and personally, I think that stress is at the heart of all health conditions.

Kate: I know. We’ve been talking about that for a while. I tend to believe with you.

Justin: It all comes down to stress and energy. So this is going to be a good show. We’re going to talk about some lifestyle solutions to help you overcome your stress and the stress of buying gifts during the holiday season and living your life in today’s modern world. So it should be a great show. We’re really excited to have Paul Huljich on. We’ll be introducing him, like I said, in just a moment. My name is Justin and this is my wife…

Kate: Kate, as always. Hello, everyone.

Justin: As always. And she’ll be taking notes today, and this is Episode 182, so if you’re interested in checking out the show notes, any websites, or anything that Paul mentions during the show, she’ll take notes for you and be the gracious note taker.

Kate: Oh, thank you. And I will also be… I also have the chat room up right in front of me, so if anybody wants to send a question in for our guest, for Paul today, I will be reading those and checking those as well.

Justin: That’s right. We are live now, broadcasting worldwide live in over 150 countries, and you can listen to our live show on ExtremeHealthRadio.com/Live, and you can enter the chat room and ask your questions that way and listen as the show is happening, so it’s a great feature we’ve just added and if you’d like to join the show, lots of different ways to do that. You can email me at [email protected].

Kate: Or [email protected].

Justin: And you can also click on the voicemail tab that’s on the right side of our website and record a prerecorded message straight from your computer. And if you guys would like to support us and keep our shows free, all of our shows are free. We don’t charge anything for any of the things we do. We just sell great products. And one of the great ways that we support ourselves is through Amazon, so if you would like to go through our link and support us on Amazon this holiday season or any time, you can just click on the link on our website or go to www.ExtremeHealthRadio.com/Amazon, and that will redirect you. You can bookmark that and use that every time you make a purchase and that will insure the show will stay free for everybody else who can’t afford to pay. So that’s what we do and that’s one of the ways we support ourselves, so we thank you, everyone who has been doing that. And it looks like we have Vani Hari from www.FoodBabe.com coming up pretty soon.

Kate: Right. That’s tomorrow.

Justin: Yeah, lots of good guests coming up.

Kate: Yeah.

Justin: Lots of great people coming on. We’re really excited about having her on. She’s doing a lot of great work at www.FoodBabe.com. And then we have, after that, Dr. Patrick Vickers, who is going to explain to Kate what the heck’s coming out of her body when she does coffee enemas.

Kate: Oh, you know how excited I get about that subject.

Justin: Right.

Kate: Yeah, that’s going to be an amazing show.

Justin: He’s with the www.GersonTreatment.com and he works with people with cancer, using the Gerson Therapy coffee enemas and lots of good stuff like that. And then we have Sidney Ross Singer for Part 2 of our sleep series with him, and that’s going to be a great show. If you haven’t heard that episode—Part 1—you definitely want to check that out. And today, we are honored and privileged to have Paul Huljich on, who is a lifestyle and wellness expert, and he’s written a book called Stress Pandemic: The Lifestyle Solution. And if anyone has ever been stressed, I would say it would be him because he co-founded the best corporation, which is pioneering Organic Food Company and he was the joint CEO and chairman of that, which was a $100,000,000 company. So I’m sure if anyone can deal with stress and has learned how to deal with stress in their lives, it’s Mr. Paul Huljich. So thank you, Paul, for being on the show today.

Paul: Well, thank you for the opportunity.

Justin: Yeah, excellent. So whereabouts are you located?

Paul: Well, at the moment I’m in Marina Del Rey in Los Angeles here. For the last four years I was living on the granite rock in New York City.

Justin: The granite rock. I love that. That’s a good way to put it. I like it.

Kate: I’ve never heard that.

Justin: So what made you move out to LA?

Paul: Well, I went to New York to put myself in a very intense environment. It is constant stimulation and intensity of people living in a close… Well, it’s one of the most intense cities in the world. So I thought, “I’ll go and live there for four years, put myself in a one bedroom apartment, and live like all New Yorkers and see how the lifestyle solution deals with it,” and it was a very good experience. But I’ve always been a fan of California. I used to live here in Santa Monica a number of years ago and always liked crunching my feet on the sand on Santa Monica beach and see the dolphins and seals.

Justin: Oh, I love it. And you are originally from New Zealand. Is that right?

Paul: Yes, I was born and raised there and I’ve always had a fascination with the United States so I came here actually on my honeymoon many years ago and I was 24 at the time, and I’ve always enjoyed coming here frequently and at the moment, I’m living here in Marina Del Rey.

Kate: Oh, can’t get much better than that.

Justin: Yeah, we are half kiwi ourselves, or I am actually.

Paul: Oh, is that right?

Justin: Yeah, I have family over off Auckland on Waiheke Island.

Paul: Oh, yeah, Waiheke Island is an amazing spot. I’m from Auckland too. I used to waterski around and do a lot of boating around Waiheke Island and it’s just a magical spot. The climate is amazing there on Waiheke and it’s got a lot of amazing wines to taste and enjoy.

Justin: Oh, does it? I didn’t try any of the wines there. I did some hiking there.

Kate: That’s why we’re going to need to go back.

Justin: Yeah.

Kate: You need to take me, rather.

Justin: I know. It’s a beautiful spot. And so that’s interesting you had a fascination with the United States because when I find I go over there, even to Australia, most people aren’t interested in the United States. They’re more interested in Canada.

Paul: Well, that’s part of the old system of the colony, but I think… Well, I’ve always enjoyed America and that’s where my dream started as a teenager. I sort of adopted the American dream when I was a teenager through watching many movies and television shows because we were quite isolated in those days down there, and that’s where I decided, “Yeah, I would like to be a success, work hard, live in a lovely environment, be able to travel, have a nice car, and be my own boss.”

Justin: Interesting. So did you co-found the best corporation down in New Zealand at the time?

Paul: Yes, I did. I had a number of businesses and over the years I worked very, very hard and had many businesses and I like turning lemons into lemonade, giving businesses a new lease of life, new direction and vision and help motivate a team around me. But it was around about the age of 40 that I thought I had the perfect dream. As you said, I was a chairman CEO of the multimillion dollar pioneering Organic Food Company that was listed on the stock exchange, and I had just built for the people I loved most a really wonderful mansion, and of course I had the Ferrari and Porsche parked in the driveway and I thought to myself “I’ve made it.” But due to stress and making poor lifestyle choices, I lost everything—most of all, my freedom. But I fought back. I survived. And I’ve never felt better or stronger. And that was 15 years ago.

Justin: That was 15 years ago and at the time, you were pretty switched on because you were into organic foods, right? And so did food play a factor in your initial research into how to overcome your stress?

Paul: Yes. I had actually always been a bit of a health person. I felt many years ago, when I pioneered Organic Foods in the early eighties that a lot of what we eat and drink is actually toxic and is actually affecting us. I used to talk many times about making organic things, making them more natural and we did pick on the number of industries that we improved. Like we were one of the first globally to come out with 98% fat-free ham. I was always very conscious of keeping nitrites and additives to a minimum. But some of these products really affect the neurochemistry, especially when your stress response is being activated. And I became a big victim of it because even though I was health conscious and I was quite athletic but over the years I had put on a bit of a pot belly, and I didn’t know that I was into crap—excuse the language—but that stands for Caffeine, Refined sugar, Alcohol, and Processed foods and drinks. And even though I had an amazing team around me—the top doctors, the top trainers—and I had everything at my home… It was a 30,000 square foot home. I had squash courts, tennis courts, 25-yard indoor pool, large outdoor… I had everything. So you can’t say I wasn’t trying to maintain my health. I was trying very hard and I couldn’t understand why I was losing the battle.

Justin: What were some of the things that you were experiencing that let you know that this was all caused by stress? I guess you would know that you were stressed, wouldn’t you?

Paul: Yes, and when we all get stressed, I think anyone who is sensible—you should reach out for help, all right? Because if those symptoms don’t go away, you’re being very foolish because stress can cause very serious issues for you long-term and it’s very dangerous. So my symptoms were initially grinding on the teeth, and when that happened, of course I reached out to the help. I had a sore jaw. And I had insomnia. The circadian rhythm was a bit shot. I used to do a lot of shift work over the years. I used to travel to different time zones. And I think that that affected my neurochemistry a lot. And I also over time started to have a bit of a dull feeling in my tummy. And of course I went to the psychiatrist as well. I reached out to the doctor initially—my general practitioner—and I took sleeping tablets. Why not? Everybody takes them. So here I was wearing a mouth guard at night, which is not very romantic when you go to bed. And then I had to take sleeping tablets whether I was taking flights, whether I was having meetings or late nights because of business or whatever. But I thought, “Hey, everybody else does it. It must be okay.” But over time I not only had a dull feeling, I started to develop anxiety and I started to develop depression. And of course I went to a top psychiatrist, one of the three top-rated in the country, and of course I went on medication. I was prepared to take any medication if it would help me win this battle with stress. But no matter what the psychiatrist gave me and no matter what the advice was to train more, give up business, which I did… I actually gave up being the joint CEO. I went on holidays. I took up… What was it? I took up yoga, meditation. And I kept wondering, “Why am I still losing this battle? Why am I having to take more medication, stronger medication?” until one day it got so serious I was lying in bed in the fetal position in total darkness, afraid of the whole world, afraid to talk to anyone or see anyone and felt so cold that even if I got up and had a bath, I still felt cold. And when my former wife asked me “What do you want to eat?” or “What do you want to wear?” I couldn’t even make that decision.

Justin: Wow. Gosh, that’s stress.

Paul: Yeah.

Justin: That’s stress that… Most people don’t experience that kind of stress.

Paul: Yeah. Well, you don’t want to go that far. For me, I became a runaway train very quickly, whereby I had mood swings, I had paranoia, I can’t remember that rang people in the middle of the night in other country time zones. I did all sorts of strange things until one day I was with my son, who was very concerned about my health—my former wife was and all three sons were very concerned—I went to a restaurant with him and when they asked me “What do you want?” I couldn’t even talk. The body was actually now speeding up the closing down system. Whereby the mind was closing down, now the body was because I couldn’t speak. That’s how bad it got. And from there, I had a complete mental breakdown where I had bizarre behavior like stripping off to my underpants in a boardroom, giving out hundred dollar bills at the local gas station, which I never went back to afterwards. It was so embarrassing. And then on the day I actually thought I could walk on water and I felt I was blessing everyone because if you believe in faith to any degree, that’s a last bastion, you know? A lot of us, when we lose complete control and can’t remember a lot of what I did that day, to this day I can’t remember a lot of what I did. Isn’t that embarrassing?

Justin: And how old were you at the time?

Paul: Pardon?

Justin: And how old were you at the time?

Paul: 46, 47?

Kate: Oh my gosh.

Paul: 46, I think, yeah.

Justin: And you know what’s scary about all of that is that even though your symptoms probably were much greater than most people, the type of lifestyle you were leading is just an average lifestyle for a lot of people, right?

Paul: Well, it is. And when they called up the crisis team because my mother, my former wife, my brothers, my children—everybody—they had to call up the crisis team. I lost all my rights. They took away… They froze all my bank accounts. All contracts were null and void. My credit cards were taken off me, and my passport. And I was made a ward of the state. I had no rights. None. That’s what happens. That’s what happens in most countries throughout the world. It’s kept very quiet when it happens because it’s such a dramatic experience, but all countries have certain laws when you… As soon as they can say that you’re a danger to yourself or others, you can lose all your rights.

Kate: Wow.

Justin: Wow, so that’s what happened to you.

Paul: Yes.

Justin: And so is that about the time you came over to the US?