JULES SCHROEDER CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD WITH A MISSION TO LIVE AN UNCONVENTIONAL LIFE. TODAY SHE CREATES EXPERIENCES AROUND THE WORLD TO TEACH ENTREPRENEURS & THOUGHT LEADERS HOW TO DO THE SAME.
JULES, what does an unconventional life mean to you?
Living an Unconventional Life means committing to bringing your soul’s greatest gifts into form. It means believing you deserve a 10/10 “HELL YES” life, and are capable of achieving wealth in all areas: money, career, spirituality, relationships, health. I believe your life force is your most precious commodity, and you have the power to be the architect of your own world.
When you embody the Unconventional Life, you dive headfirst into a path in alignment with your deepest desires. It’s all about growth, expanding the realm of what is predictable to possible to releasing and re-releasing old patterns, and taking big leaps for the potential of what you don’t know that you don’t know, living in the field of miracles to make it all happen.
You accept that you are capable of creating enormous impact. You are the source of transformation for others. You deserve a life that surpasses your wildest dreams. You are courageous enough to bet on yourself and allow your wisdom to ripple through the world.
When did you first realize that there was a life outside of the box? Did you have a eureka moment?
After suffering a near-death experience in 2015, everything changed for me. I remember that morning like it was yesterday. It was a beautiful summer morning at Stanley Lake Reservoir in Colorado. I was out wakeboarding with the boys. We were all playing a game to see who could launch off the wake to get the most air. As the oldest of five and a former competitive gymnast and snowboarder, I became fixated on winning. Finally, after an hour of mis attempts, I succeeded. I hit the wake, launched higher than I ever had, and immediately came down, caught an edge, and face-planted.
About an hour later I began to lose feeling in my arms and legs and immediately knew something wasn’t right. A few friends rushed me to the hospital and my next memory was coming out of the MRI and being approached by a white figure and six black shadow council members. I remember having a conversation in this out-of-body experience where they said, “Jules you have more work to do in the world, do you want to do it?”
At the time the doctors thought my neck might have been broken or I might have been paralyzed, and I remember saying, “Yes, as long as I don’t come back as a vegetable”. In that next moment, I was zapped back into my body. I felt this energy forge my neck back together and shoot down my spine, and the moment I woke up everything shifted. It was the start of my life being created through me rather than being created by me.
Weeks later I got a call from a friend who was partnering with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals at the United Nations who asked me if I wanted to be a global ambassador for the People & Planet Foundation for education. I remember being on the phone, laughing silently to myself, still in a neck brace, being like, “this isn’t really the best time, having just had this accident,” and yet I heard this voice tell me to tell her about “Create U”, an initiative to reimagine higher education.
On the way to the UN, I got invited to Forbes 30U30 (30 Under 30) in Boston, and then months later they asked me if I wanted to start writing for them. I heard this ‘voice’ yet again guide me to share that I wanted to launch a podcast and call it ‘Unconventional Life’, to tell the stories of people following non-traditional paths. They offered to partner with me to have it be on Forbes 30U30 and embed the episodes in my Forbes articles.
I still remember the day in early 2016 when I was sitting outside of the Iceland hot springs on a portable wifi device with my then-boyfriend, and (thank God) copywriter, who was with me when I hit send on my first ever blog post and podcast just three weeks later.
Since then I’ve built a global community of high-performing entrepreneurs, creatives, and thought leaders. People who say yes to living a life outside of what is conventional or predictable. People who realize, “so I can make money in the world, but now what?” How do you also have great relationships, lifestyle, health, travel, impact, and so much more? People who crave the ‘and’ reality – a holistic perspective of success.
People, like myself, who have felt like they have been lone wolves in the world. Like they have never really fit in. Where from the outside everything “looks” pretty good. Yet on the inside, there is this nagging feeling telling you there is more. It may even be nagging at you right now. You may feel it when you wake up in the morning or in the shower or on the way to work.
For most of us, we have been conditioned to ignore that feeling or knowing. To pretend it’s not there or to stuff it down. That you “should” be happy for your job, or a stable income, or kids, or family, or what you have, and to not rock the boat. That is what I did for many years before I had my near-death experience. I fixated on setting more goals, creating more companies, more clients, and more money to avoid the inconvenience of feeling there may be another truth of why I am here. It took me almost dying and coming back for me to realize there is another way.
Photo Credited to: Jules Schroeder
How many lives have you affected, unconventionally, to date?
Unconventional Life has reached millions of people in over 75 different countries with 150+ Forbes articles and 300+ podcast episodes and has been ranked the #1 event for entrepreneurs to attend by Inc Magazine. I have created sold-out retreats on six different continents, from castle towns in Italy to private islands in Madagascar, to a super yacht in Croatia, to tree houses in Nicaragua, Nile Cruises in Italy, private islands in Fiji, and now our Nepal event in December 2023. I have had the pleasure of coaching thousands of people through my various events, online coaching programs and masterminds, and really believe in the business of transformation at scale.
How important is the philosophy of freedom to what you do at UL?
Freedom is the core of living an Unconventional Life. I believe true freedom comes when you can master deep listening; the ability to release attachment to a specific outcome and discover the opportunities that show up in realtime. It’s so easy to get fixated on achieving a result that you don’t hear the signs that you need to pivot. Yet when you give yourself permission to course correct you can access greater alignment with your true desires and uncover possibilities far beyond what you could have imagined. I love having the freedom to allow life to unfold in miraculous ways and work in tandem with the opportunities that show up all around me.
The more you practice this relationship to deep listening, the more consistent and reliable your intuition becomes. Then the more free you are to grow into the truth of who you are and uncover the gifts your soul wants to express in this lifetime. I believe this can only happen in community and in the reflection of others. It is why I see such success in people having big transformational moments at our events and that being the catalyst for big shifts, especially when they continue the work through our various coaching programs and masterminds we offer as support in between the events. When we are in an environment where we are with people doing the impossible we get to believe in ourselves and be the match for our most resonant and wild expression for why we are here.
How important is travel to you in your mission to offer people freedom?
It’s everything! It is the ultimate pattern-interrupt. Travel connects people to life’s most extraordinary experiences. Seeing the world sparks a desire to create a life you love, and breaks you out of habitual ways of being.
Why does freedom always start with finances?
Growing up my Dad used to say, “freedom is not freedom without economic freedom.” It’s so true. Money is optional. And when you can master money as an energetic currency, you learn to own the value you provide to the world. The world becomes an expansive place of opportunity. I truly believe that making money is about mindset because abundance is an experience. It’s not just about material wealth; it’s about being able to wake up every day and say I get to choose a life where I thrive. My mission is to create abundance in all areas of my life: relationships, health, spirituality, career, and of course my bank account.
What do you consider to be a successful UL trip?
I measure success by the f*uck yea feeling that gets created when you are truly in aligned and resonant energy. The feeling where you look back and you’re like, that trip, that moment, it changed my life. It is all about the deep connections that are forged, the breakthroughs that are created, and the way people’s futures are altered in an instant. I like to say these events create the field of miracles. When you have resonant heart and brain coherence you can shortcut the time of creation by creating from the field and bringing it into form. There aren’t really words to describe watching someone release anything in their way of the life they truly desire, and at the same time meet key collaborators that will help them fulfill that vision. It’s breathtaking to collectively shed the weight of the past while being in a bucket list location.
Where do you source the trainers you use in UL retreats?
The selection process is driven by my profound appreciation for the art of event facilitation, as I carefully choose leaders who exemplify mastery in their respective domains, whether it be in life or business. These exceptional individuals embody the true principles of living an unconventional life and inspire and energize our event participants. I always have a personal connection to the facilitators either through relationships I’ve formed throughout my career, my podcast, or referrals from close friends of mine.
What’s been the most satisfying aspect personally to what you do?
I believe that your personal story is a mirror for the transformation you create for others. Without a doubt, the values of the Unconventional Life brand have transformed my life. Through this work, I’ve learned to channel the core essence of my soul’s gifts. The best example of this in action is my music career. I always knew I wanted to sing, but had to conquer a lot of imposter syndrome to believe that I could reach the same heights of success in music as in business. I did a lot of work to release the limiting beliefs about what I was capable of as a vocal artist. In the same way I would coach my clients, I got present to the fact that this area of my expression was non-negotiable.
I took the leap and invested thousands of dollars in high-level vocal mentorship, devoting myself to the craft.
Life surprised me in spectacular ways. A friend put me in touch with a music producer who turned out to be the manager of an artist I deeply admire, Lauren Daigle. I had to catch my breath when this guy said “YES” to managing and mentoring me! For the past year, I’ve been working in Nashville creating a non-denominational worship album under the name Jules King, my mom’s maiden name. I remember a moment in a songwriting session a few months ago, glancing over a piano to see a wall with 27 Grammys, surrounded by pros of the caliber I only ever dreamed to work with. It was a moment of self-reckoning, where I embodied the current of transformation I teach at my events. We have written 18 songs this year with some of the best names in the industry working with a strategic partnership with a major Christian label out of Nashville. We are launching early next year with an album and a series of singles. The most beautiful thing is that as I stretch and grow, I bring new facets of that evolution into my leadership. It’s like a crescendo of possibility that extends far beyond what I can see. I love bringing my soul’s gifts into form, and helping others do the same.
What makes UL different from other similar companies out there teaching financial and lifestyle freedom?
The community. Every single person at our events is playing a big game in the world: entrepreneurs, creatives, thought leaders, influencers, and visionaries. When you sit down for a meal, you’ll be blown away by the people around you. And the events are designed to blaze past the superficial and create instant, authentic connections. We believe collaboration is everything, and strategically introduce people that can co-support each other. Each applicant is carefully reviewed to maintain a highly curated environment.
Also, everything we do revolves around “pattern interrupt methodology”— the process of creating strategic pattern interrupts that break people out of habitual ways of thinking and being so they can experience a new version of themselves. We focus on “timeline hopping”— i.e., experiencing rapid breakthroughs and life-changing downloads that hop you into new domains of success, faster than you ever thought possible. We help people return to the core of who they are, so they can take radical ownership of the life they are creating. Every event is a catalyst for rapid clarity, soul renewal, and vision activation.
Furthermore, it’s unique to host retreats in bucket list locations around the world. It’s like one “pinch me” moment after another when you can network at an Egyptian temple, or a yacht in Croatia, or a private island in Fiji, or in the Himalayas. Lastly, I’m a total geek about designing experiences. I consider “event planning” to be “the art of experience design.” I have even created a program called “The Art of Experience”, where I teach others how I do what I do to create their own events and additional revenue streams into their business. I also produce events for some of the biggest names in the world. I have done events on all 7+ continents including most recently taking Jimmy Buffet, right before he passed away, to Antarctica. Every detail is a sensory opportunity for participants. Every variable contributes to the global current of transformation. In this way, obsessive intentionality creates magic.
