Fully Alive

Using the Lessons of the Amazon to Live Your Mission in Business and Life

By: Tyler Gage

Narrated by: Tyler Gage

Fully Alive tells the story of an astoundingly successful young entrepreneur’s immersion in Amazonian indigenous spirituality, its life-changing impact on him, and how he integrated the lessons he learned to build a successful, socially responsible company, live a purposeful life, and make a difference in the world.

Building a start-up is like being thrust into the middle of the Amazon rainforest: living every day on the edge of your comfort zone, vulnerable to the unexpected challenges constantly being thrown your way, and constantly shifting to meet daily demands and do everything and anything you can to survive, let alone thrive.

Vulnerable, raw, and deeply transparent, Fully Alive reveals powerful tools and lessons that can teach all of us how to grow toward and beyond our personal edges, no matter our circumstances.

Tyler Gage shares his spiritual adventures and the business savvy that helped him create RUNA, a pioneering organization that weaves together the seemingly divergent worlds of Amazonian traditions and modern business, demonstrating how we can dig deeper to bring greater meaning and purpose to our personal and professional pursuits.

From suburban youth to immersion in the Amazon to entrepreneurial success, Tyler's journey clearly shows that passion and opportunity can be found in the most unexpected places. Captivated by a rare Amazonian tea leaf called guayusa that had never been commercially produced, Tyler started RUNA to partner with the indigenous people of Ecuador to share its energy and its message with the world.

Using the spiritual teachings, lessons, and healing traditions of the Amazon as his guide, Tyler built RUNA from a scrappy start-up into a thriving, multimillion-dollar company that has become one of the fastest-growing beverage companies in the United States. With the help of investors such as Channing Tatum, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Olivia Wilde, RUNA has created a sustainable source of income for more than 3,000 farming families in Ecuador who sustainably grow guayusa in the rainforest. Simultaneously, RUNA has built a rapidly scaling nonprofit organization that is working to create a new future for trade in the Amazon based on respectful exchange and healing, not exploitation and greed.

Practical tools and lessons are woven throughout the story of Gage’s successes and failures, offering guidance on how to relate to obstacles as teachers and how to accomplish our personal and professional goals in the often uncertain circumstances we find ourselves in.

©2017 Tyler Gage (P)2017 Simon & Schuster Audio

about much more than just business.

thank you Tyler for your honest, compelling and motivational story. My days will be better and guided by the wisdom that emerges from learning about your experience.

This book should be mandatory for all students and professionals!

Tyler Gage has a story to tell! Each experience of struggle and triumph is written with such raw, vivid, and sometimes hilarious emotion, but it’s in a way that doesn’t detract from the professionalism of the message.

For me, what was most compelling about this book is the level of impact he’s had on indigenous farmers and their communities. What was so refreshing is that he doesn’t come off as the “White Knight”, but instead an ally.

I think anyone, whether a social entrepreneur or social justice activist, student or professional, someone who is curious about what it’s like living in the Amazon and shamanism or someone who has lived in the Amazon as I have, can find their own unique path through this book and pull from it valuable lessons and insights in both business and life.

Personally, my biggest takeaway has been finding clarity in knowing what to hold on to and what to let go of as I finish my MBA and begin my journey as a social entrepreneur.

A remarkable and inspiring read.

Made me think about different ways to approach business development

Tyler’s account of his entrepreneurial “adventure” is entertaining and enlightening. It gives the readers lots of “food for thought” and motivation to find ways to overcome obstacles.

For Ecuadorians, this book should be a reading requirement as guayusa is such a special plant and unknown to most -brought to the spot light by Tyler and Dan via their RUNA enterprise.

Wonderful story telling with engaging messages.

I am thankful to CBS This Morning for their interview with Tyler Gage that let me to this book! Tyler's book is an honest look at the highs and lows of life and starting a business. it is funny, frank, and and yet there are tender and important lessons to be found within. Thanks for sharing it!