“Ordinary to Extraordinary” is something Erik Seversen (SEE-ver-sin) lives by, and he’s
been pretty successful at it. Born into an average, lower-middle-class family in a suburb
of Tacoma, Washington, Erik received no (or even negative) support from school
counselors and others, but Erik didn’t let them crush his desire to accomplish amazing
things. Erik also took life experiences. like rejection from his dream school UCLA, and
turned them into challenges to overcome. He excelled in a community college and got
into UCLA two years later.
Erik studied Anthropology (often voted the least-likely-tosucceed
major), and used anthropology in business, helping
a company grow from $7M to over $100,000,000 in ten years
as VP of International Business Development. He also
taught English as a Second Language for 10 years in Japan,
France, Thailand, and universities within the USA. Erik uses
entrepreneurial success formulas and motivational materials
in business, but he’s also pioneering their use in the field
of education.
Erik has traveled to over 80 countries around the world
and 49 states in the USA. He has ridden a motorcycle on
six continents and crossed the USA on one twice. He also
climbs mountains, having summited the highest peak of
eight countries and five states. Experiences ranging from
discussing philosophy at cafés in Paris to having a machine
gun stuck in his mouth in Nigeria to living with a remote Indian tribe deep in the Amazon
have forged a unique perspective that Erik uses to work through both the big, life
questions and small decisions we make every day.
Erik is a writer, speaker, adventurer, entrepreneur, and educator who refused to
let others tell him what he could and could not do. He continually worked toward his
goals even when others said they were unreasonable. Erik’s travels and intersections
with people from around the world weren’t just a fun romp around the planet, but
they were a deep study of people, love, struggle, and ways of thinking that can be used
to tackle problems in school, business, and life. His most current ambitions are sharing
the lessons he’s learned through his business and climbing mountains which he
says makes everyday challenges seem a lot easier.
