Meet Thomas Edwards Jr. | Creator + Author, The 1up Effect, Coach + Consultant

We had the good fortune of connecting with Thomas Edwards Jr. and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Thomas, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
If I think about how my life just a few years ago and where it is today, it’s unrecognizable. Back then, my life was so consumed by work and my identity around that it nearly killed me. The stress, the burning out from the weight of the daily responsibilities of maintaining a successful profitable business really did do a number on me. I struggled a lot with personal issues and I knew eventually that I needed to stop or else I would die.

Fortunately, I did stop and decided to go in a different direction. I created a new coaching business focusing on fulfillment, playfulness, and what I call “work-life synergy.” I believe who we are is so much bigger than the sum of what we do yet we often hear the phrase “work-life balance” and and I feel that phrase assumes our work is separate from our lives and that’s just not true.

What we do for work is a part of our lives and I believe we need to learn how to bring it together and create that work-life synergy. My work is just a small part of my life and not my entire life. I am a dad, husband, friend, son, uncle, cousin, among many other roles I play in my life. With all that I have in life, I always make sure to take time out of every single day to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

I make sure I’m engaging in some type of playful activity every day. I make sure to connect my friends, and spend quality time with my daughter and wife. I’m creating space to take care of my body by taking myself out on dates. I also take my family, daughter, and my wife on dates as well.

I’m doing these things in addition to the work I do I do because my life is meant to be enjoyed and when I’m able to enjoy life I’m able to put it back into my work so much more than I would otherwise. To me, this idea that balance is this thing we need to achieve actually doesn’t exist. It’s really more about fully integrating all the parts of your life and mapping it not based on what you do, but who you are.

What should our readers know about your business?
I am the creator and author of The 1up Effect, where I show people how to have fun becoming their best self through purpose, play, passion, and performance. I do this by making their life a game they can win and have fun playing, using playfulness as an elite form of mindfulness. This allows them to truly tap into their true potential to create the life they want in their health, wealth, and relationships. I’ve taken my 13+ years of professional coaching experience and my academic knowledge and passion for video games and game design and created a one-of-a-kind experience that allows you to actually treat your life like a game and track your own personal transformation.

What sets me apart from from other people is I really take the idea of playfulness, making life a game, and make it really approachable, fun, and effective for anyone no matter if they are a gamer or not. As long as they have the capacity to have fun and play, which I believe we all do, they will enjoy this process. You can reach a point where you actually enjoy the process of your personal growth and transformation.

How I got here wasn’t all fun and games though. After reaching high-levels and success in my first business The Professional Wingman, I thought I had everything I wanted in life–money, status, a wife, among other things. I soon noticed a lack of fulfillment that caught me off-guard and let me down a very treacherous road filled with depression, drugs and alcohol abuse, and other personal struggles. It nearly killed me.

When I finally allowed myself to receive support and recover from my struggles, I realized I needed to have more fun in my life and not be consumed by the identity of what I did for work. This allowed me to reconnect with my first true passion, which was video games. After a short stint pursuing a career as an esports athlete, I realized if I just made life like a video game, not only would I have fun but I would also enjoy the process of success. I wouldn’t feel stressed or burned out because I’d be having fun–no one burns out when they’re having fun. What resulted was creating a one-of-a-kind methodology that allows people to tap into their playfulness and find ways to harness their personal power to level up all areas of their lives.

I wouldn’t be able to do this if I wasn’t the embodiment of of the practice you know it took me a very long time to overcome a lot of my personal struggles to get to a place where I could see that playfulness is a vital component of living and enjoying life. I have clients who are in their 20s and well into their 60s. The one thing they have in common is that they all want to enjoy their lives more. It’s never too late for you to make a choice of happiness being the gateway to success and not the other way around.

That is actually one of the most important lessons I’ve learned. If I am successful, think I’m “winning at life,” and I’m not happy, chances are I’m playing someone else’s game. The game I play that I enjoy and get the most out of is a game where happiness is the gateway to my greatest successes. Ultimately I wanna inspire people to make their lives a game that they can win and have fun playing.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Personally, I love surrounding my plans around food so I’d start off trying to get a table for chicken and waffles at Bru’s Wiffle in Santa Monica. Once we’re done, we’ll make our way down Wilshire and try sneaking into the Bungalows at the Fairmont. I’d have us spend some time people watching on Ocean Avenue while stuffing our faces at Blue Plate Taco. Then, we’d grab bikes and head down the beach path down to Venice and play some pool at Hinano’s.

I’ could have us stay in LA longer and catch a Rams game because SoFi Stadium is incredible, but in case it’s the offseason, I’d prefer moving along so we’ll make our way down the coastline, and check out whatever e-sports tournaments are happening in Irvine at the Esports Arena. Because it’s easier, we’ll stop in Anaheim and catch an Astros game, especially if they’re playing the Red Sox.

I love sports so if there’s any beach volleyball or surfing tournament going down in Manhattan or Huntington Beach, I’m there!

As we start to make our way closer to San Diego, we’ll hit up Oceanside Harbor and hang out at Sea Lion Island. The sea lions are pretty chill and will let you get reasonably close to them as long as you’re relaxed. If we’re up for it, we can go paddle boarding or even go whale or dolphin watching which is amazing to see.

We’ll either grab some food at Stratford at the Harbor or we’ll risk it and head to Carlsbad Village for their weekly farmer’s market which has some amazing food available. And while we’re there, it’s a great excuse to grab a maple bacon donut from The Goods or if we really want to be gluttonous, wait in line to get some ice cream from Handel’s.

If we feel a little playful, we’re definitely hitting up Legoland because, why not?!

Because it’s worth it, we’ll go slightly inland to grab coal fired pizza at URBN in Vista.

I like checking out Encinitas and hitting up Moonlight beach for sunset watching and fire pit action.

The next day, we’d head down to Cardiff, grab a coffee, and window shop all the expensive stuff in the design district. Then we’d go down to La Jolla to check out the seals post up along the shore. That area is always fun and you can even make your way down there to see the seals pretty upclose.

And since we’re not tired of animals, we’d go the San Diego Zoo and the hot air balloon ride that allows you to see the entire zoo from above!

After all that, I feel we might be pooped so I’d just take us to the closest beach to just remind us why the west coast is the best coast.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There is a plethora of people I’d love to give a shout out to but the one person who gets the spotlight is my daughter, Ellie. At 5 years old, she has taught me more about myself and life than I learned in the previous 32 years I lived before she came into this world. She has inspired me to live, love, and play every day and it has changed my life for the better. The number one lesson she has taught me above all else is that not only am I always growing but I can have fun every step of the way. I love her to the sun and back.

Website: https://thomasedwardsjr.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/thomashedwardsjr

Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/thomashedwardsjr

Twitter: https://twitter.com/thomashedwards

Facebook: https://facebook.com/thomashedwardsjr

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ThomasEdwardsJr

Other: http://1upeffect.com