Felicity Pryke of Finding Felicity: 5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Dramatically Improve Your Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Learn to say no. Paulo Coelho said, “When you say yes to others, make sure you are not saying no to yourself.” Generosity is a valuable way to improve our happiness, but when we over-give we not only harm ourselves, but we also reduce the quality of what we have to give. Being willing and able to say no creates an important boundary around our precious time and energy. People will respect you more for it and your self-respect will improve too.

As a part of my series about “5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Dramatically Improve One’s Wellbeing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Felicity Pryke.

Felicity Pryke, 43, is the Yoga & Happiness teacher, on a mission to empower people to take ownership of their happiness, having learnt from her own experience of falling off the hedonic treadmill that happiness is far deeper than just pleasure. Her personal journey of deconstructing and reconstructing her life through yoga and the study of the science of happiness opened her eyes to the complexity of human emotions and where happiness fits in. Based in Lancashire, UK and teaching online, Felicity loves working with others who have become disillusioned with life, and she is passionate about leading the way to create more healthy, happy, well-beings. Felicity can be found at http://www.findingfelicity.co.uk

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the story about how you first got involved in fitness and wellness?

I was first drawn to yoga in the late 90’s as part of the celebrity fad led by Madonna and Geri Halliwell. We all start from somewhere, don’t we? Whether it was videos at home, gyms, community halls or untutored self-practice, I was always drawn back to yoga. Life brought me to Lancashire, UK, and an introduction in 2008 to Debbie Farrar who has guided me through a profound journey of the deeper, philosophical side of yoga and eventually onto my teacher training.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

Dare I mention the pandemic? I only qualified in January 2020 and I’ll be honest, I was struggling to find a decent place to hire for a yoga class. Adding on advertising, leafleting, then turning up to no students and trudging home knowing I’d have to pay the hall hire regardless — it was quite demoralising. For me Covid-19 was liberating. I was one of the first of my peers to attempt teaching online and it has now become a really obvious way to teach yoga.

Can you share a story with us about the most humorous mistake you made when you were first starting? What lesson or take-away did you learn from that?

Well, if there’s one thing I still have to learn it’s to laugh at my mistakes! My biggest mistake has probably been to worry about repeating myself when connecting with potential clients. I forget that not everyone sees everything, and even if they do the average person needs to hear or see information 3–5 times before they start to absorb it. It is the same in my yoga classes — students actually appreciate the repetition and I forgot what it was like to be a student when I became a teacher.

Can you share with our readers a bit about why you are an authority in the fitness and wellness field? In your opinion, what is your unique contribution to the world of wellness?

I have had a fascination with my own name since a French waiter proclaimed “Ah, Felicity! Happiness!” when I was a child. I discovered a Science of Wellbeing course, run online by Professor Laurie Santos from Yale University. and leapt at the chance to learn about what makes us happy and how we can change our own state of happiness. As I deepened my yoga practice of 20 years and finally completed a comprehensive yoga teacher training, the pieces started to fall into place. A workshop with yoga teacher and osteopath Peter Blackaby was a lightbulb moment when he spoke about neuroplasticity in both our bodies and our brains. Hold on? Didn’t Professor Santos talk about that in the Science of Wellbeing course?

The links between the science of yoga and the science of happiness then seemed to multiply. Self enquiry. Meditation. Neuroplasticity. How both are a constant process. How neither are easily definable, even by experts! I could see how the ancient teachings of yoga can inform our quest for modern day happiness, and so Yoga & Happiness was born. A combination of sensible, mindful yoga movement, breathing practices, meditation, and conversation about all aspects of happiness and wellbeing. Yoga & Happiness brings everything together to bring students into their present moment, where self-care comes first to help us contribute to creating a better world around us. I created something that — to my knowledge — is unique and became the Yoga & Happiness teacher.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Meeting my yoga teacher Debbie Farrar changed my life without a doubt. Her depth of knowledge in anatomy, psychology and philosophy is remarkable. She has taught me that yoga asana is not about making extravagant shapes but about our internal dialogue with our body. Funnily enough we bonded when we first met as we were both planning our weddings. We became firm friends — indeed the friendship has outlasted both marriages!

Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. We all know that it’s important to eat more vegetables, eat less sugar, exercise more, and get better sleep etc. But while we know it intellectually, it’s often difficult to put it into practice and make it a part of our daily habits. In your opinion what are the 3 main blockages that prevent us from taking the information that we all know, and integrating it into our lives?

Ah, the resistance is strong! We do like to get in our own way, don’t we? Firstly, we often focus on the losses rather than the gains. When we diet, we talk about what we’re giving up rather than focusing on the delicious, nutritious food we are rewarding our bodies with. Secondly, we set ourselves high standards and when we’re not achieving them quickly, we lose heart. It’s so easy to let a bad day turn into a bad week — don’t let yourself think on a Wednesday that you might as well start again on Monday! Alongside that we don’t appreciate the benefits of starting small. Finally, I think ultimately if you really want it, you will do it. I know so many people who have been overweight all their lives and it’s taken a diabetes scare to inspire them to make the changes they need. Some people give up smoking 20 times before they finally do give up. Our motivation has to be right — it can’t just be about looking good for holiday or making lots of money as those motivations have no longevity.

Can you please share your “5 Non-Intuitive Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Dramatically Improve One’s Wellbeing”? (Please share a story or an example for each, and feel free to share ideas for mental, emotional and physical health.)

  1. Value your time. Research shows that people who value their time are happier, have better social connections and have higher job satisfaction. Be aware of how you use your time, where you waste time (rest is not a waste of time!) and what tasks take you longer than they should, especially the tasks you hate. Is there anything you can delegate or pay for someone else to do? When I realised I could pay a cleaner for 2 hours instead of toiling myself for 4 hours, it became a no-brainer!
  2. Learn to say no. Paulo Coelho said, “When you say yes to others, make sure you are not saying no to yourself.” Generosity is a valuable way to improve our happiness, but when we over-give we not only harm ourselves, but we also reduce the quality of what we have to give. Being willing and able to say no creates an important boundary around our precious time and energy. People will respect you more for it and your self-respect will improve too.
  3. Have values and a purpose. It honestly changes everything when you feel there is a reason behind the things you do. Apply it to everything; cooking dinner becomes helping create a healthy, happy family. Even the most boring job is transformed when you do it with purpose.
  4. Savour whenever you can. Anything that can bring you into your present moment really helps if you have an anxious mind that likes to jump into the future or the past. There are always things that can be savoured, from the first cup or tea or coffee in the morning to the feeling of a freshly made bed just before you go to sleep.
  5. Gratitude. An oldie but a goodie. The gratitude diary is a good place to start but also look at expressing your gratitude to others. Say thank you and really mean it. Write a thank you letter. Leave a review for your favourite restaurant or hotel. It creates a happiness boost for both you and the recipient!

Some of these might seem big changes but actually they are just mindset tweaks. That doesn’t mean they won’t take time to embed but so does every new habit!

As an expert, this might be obvious to you, but I think it would be instructive to articulate this for the public. Aside from weight loss, what are 3 benefits of daily exercise? Can you explain?

As a yoga teacher I am really focused on my students connecting with their bodies. Being aware of how your body feels as you move it is essential to building new, more nourishing ways of moving. I am also a strong believer that if we don’t use the movement of our bodies then we lose it. Finally, exercise is also a great mood-booster for lots of reasons, from making us feel less anxious about our health to increasing our confidence and sense of accomplishment.

For someone who is looking to add exercise to their daily routine, which 3 exercises would you recommend that are absolutely critical?

  1. If you are currently quite sedentary, especially if you spend a lot of time sat at a desk I would start with your neck. Really slow, gentle movements side to side, ear to shoulder and bring the chin up and down. Go careful with the last one, don’t allow the head to drop back but think more about lifting the chin towards the sky. Don’t push into anything that feels painful, work within a comfortable range of movement.
  2. Squats. As my yoga teacher says, if you have knees you need to squat. It doesn’t need to be a low squat and I wouldn’t be going as far as taking my heels off the floor. Keep the spine aligned with your pelvis — as you bend your knees your pelvis will pivot so allow the chest to come forward so you don’t put pressure on your lower back. Imagine your spine is a tree, your pelvis is a pot and you’re tilting the pot!
  3. Twists. Again, these are great for mobility, especially if you spend a lot of time stuck in one place. Lie on your side on the floor with your knees bent, then allow the top shoulder to twist towards the floor. As with all my yoga, be gentle and work within a range that feels good for you.

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story?

The Book of Joy by Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu. It was a gift from a colleague, and I think it sat on the shelf unread for a couple of years. When I did finally read it, I loved every single page. These are two deeply spiritual men but they also speak quite matter-of-factly about various aspects of happiness, drawing on the difficult situations they have both faced along with some interesting science.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

That human beings need human beings. We are so much more than the sum of our parts. Really valuing other people and the way they contribute to our world. And knowing how much we contribute to other peoples’ worlds too, knowing that we can ALL contribute to changing the world for the better. I have always held the concepts equanimity and fairness very close to my heart — they are the values that I live by.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?

I finish all my Yoga & Happiness classes with a quote so I’m full of them! I love psychologist Dan Gilbert, his TED talks on how the things we want aren’t the things that make us happy are brilliant. Dan Gilbert says, “Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they are finished.” And I think that very much sums up my philosophy on both yoga and happiness. You never stop and say, “that’s a box ticked, I don’t need to work on it anymore”. It’s always a work in progress.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂

Argh, so many! I’m not a particular film buff but there are some really inspirational female role models in cinema right now. Reese Witherspoon and Emma Watson are two that spring to mind. And Meghan Markle is so inspiring. Brunch with Reese, Emma and Meghan would be incredible.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

My website is http://www.findingfelicity.co.uk/. With regard to the socials I am most active on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/FindingFelicityReflexologyYogaHappiness and I’m working on posting more on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/findingfelicity7/. You can also find me on Linked In (https://www.linkedin.com/in/felicity-pryke/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/F1ndingFelicity)

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!

Felicity Pryke of Finding Felicity: 5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Dramatically Improve Your Wellbeing was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Ray Jolicoeur of renoo: How To Develop Mindfulness During Stressful Or Uncertain Times

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Treat your consumption of media like food. Take time to sort out what is nutritious and healthy, and what is junk. Stick to a healthy regimen. Just like food, the worst thing you can do is overconsume. Generally, this can even be true with healthy food if we eat way more than we need. It may make us feel good for a few minutes, but it makes us total addicts and destroys us in the long-term. So tread lightly when you open that app or log in to scroll mindlessly. Pay attention to how you are feeling when you reach for that like button and most importantly, why you are actually doing this. Here, less is better.

As a part of my series about “How To Develop Mindfulness And Serenity During Stressful Or Uncertain Times”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ray Jolicoeur.

Ray Jolicoeur is an entrepreneur and meditation instructor living in Brooklyn, NY. Ray’s journey into mindfulness began almost twenty years ago and he has since completed over 500 hours of advanced teacher training. He is the founder of renoo, a line of mindfully made meditation goods for the modern home.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?

Strangely enough, stress and worry led me to launch renoo.

I started my business career working for large Fortune 500 companies — one of the largest banks in Canada, then America’s largest food company, and then the world’s second-largest spirits company. While I enjoyed some level of success in the corporate world, the excitement of entrepreneurship seemed more appealing, so I set out on my own. Through this first private venture, I created an energy drink. The drink was very successful, and the company ultimately went public.

Looking back, I see that I created that drink in part for myself — I thought more energy was the solution to a successful life. I valued activity over stillness. I spent hours, days, nights, years doing and hardly ever being. Fifteen years later, I found that I had nothing to show for my relentless toiling. Instead, I felt like years of my life had gone missing. I had worked so hard, exhausted so much energy, achieved success, and still true prosperity seemed just one step out of reach. The constant quest for success ultimately took its toll. When there was no money and no fame, I felt like a loser. When there was more money, I wanted fame. When there was fame, I wanted more money. Nothing was ever good enough to satisfy. I later found that this mentality was reinforced by the people and media I surrounded myself with at the time.

Finally, thankfully, I realized that I was living values that weren’t my own. I had gleaned them from others out of greed, insecurity, complacency and ignorance. Society’s definition of success is a phantom you can never quite catch. The moment I came to that realization, I knew I needed to let go of my company, of this venture that had sent me spiraling in the wrong direction, but letting go wasn’t easy, and the stress overwhelmed me. Ultimately, during this time of pivoting and anxiety, I found meditation and it reinforced the truth I’d found — that consuming energy was not the solution to a more successful life. It was the exact opposite. Being mindful — stopping and being still — was actually success in itself. There was no need for more or less.

I soon started training as a meditation instructor, went on numerous retreats, joined faculty at a fledgling New York studio, and launched renoo as a way to help others discover the power of mindfulness for themselves. As I leaned into the practice of sitting still, I inadvertently deepened long-time personal relationships that opened new horizons for me into the world of technology, proof that success doesn’t require energetically running like a hamster on a wheel.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

A few years ago, at the height of my quest for success and fame, I would have probably answered that signing a partnership deal with Kanye West or my company being featured in a two-page article in the New York Times were highlights of my career.

Today, I can honestly say that this very moment, as I am answering this question, is the one that matters most. In fact, it’s the only moment I have influence over. How can it not be the most interesting? No need to compare it to anything before or after. If you look deeply into the present moment, not only will you see all other bits of time, but it will suddenly become the most fascinating.

What advice would you give to other leaders about how to create a fantastic work culture?

Kindness and deep listening are probably the most important skills to integrate into a work culture. Deep listening is won when you come to the conversation with no ulterior motives — without judgment. This is not an easy skill to cultivate — especially in a culture of fierce competition where we are taught from a young age to be hard on ourselves. It requires a lot of practice. However, once mastered, kindness and deep listening allow a leader to be present, employees to be at ease, and everyone to perform at their best for the benefit of the entire organization, the community, and the planet. Kindness allows people to be there for each other, instead of being pitted against each other, and encourages collaboration towards a common goal that benefits all stakeholders, not just a few.

It is also important to understand that bosses are not necessarily the leaders in an organization. Bosses can sometimes be leaders, but employees, colleagues, and customers can also be leaders. When you listen deeply, you will understand that leadership is simply a dual view of the world. It’s a comparative view that forces one to see the world through a distorted sense of reality. In essence, we all lead each other in various ways. Just like a flowing river. One ripple does not initiate the others that follow it. The ripples are all just one. It’s important to pay attention to this non-dual dynamic and truly be there — not just for others but also for yourself. When you are kind to yourself, when you listen to yourself with compassion, you are being kind to others as well. We are all here too briefly, so listen deeply and speak and act with kindness, no matter what you do.

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

For the longest time, Confessions of an Advertising Man, by David Ogilvy, the advertising legend, and Losing my Virginity, by the entrepreneur Richard Branson, were books that would sit on my bedside table. They formed in many ways how I saw the world, through the lenses of marketing and entrepreneurship. And they still resonate with me today.

However, the classic You Are Here, by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh is probably the book that has influenced me the most. Its simplicity is astonishing, its life lessons innumerable. It starts by stating, “Every twenty-four hours is a tremendous gift to us.” And it ends with the sentence, “We should never forget that dying is as important as living.” At first, this may seem contradictory, or like a weird mind game, but what you realize in between these two sentences, is that there are no differences between life and death. They are in essence just one of the same, two sides to the same coin, if you will. They cannot exist without the other and in this sense, they are made-up concepts. There is no birth and there is no death, yet they both exist. That’s why I love studying Zen.

When I was a young teenager, I remember sitting on the floor in my bedroom drawing a line with my finger in the groove of the blue carpeting, as one would do in the sand. This line to me was how one lived, like a timeline of one’s life. Then I drew a line at a ninety-degree angle to the first line, and that to me was how one lived through space, a space line of sorts, where one physically travels through space during a life. The intersection was the here/now. Where life actually is.

This was a memorable moment in my life. It was the moment I realized on my own that only here/now really exists. The point on that axis only exists moment to moment because of all the conditions that are present at that infinitely small intersection. Yet, it is so small that it’s also the only thing in the room for each of us. Nothing else is actually there.

Reading the book, You Are Here, instantly brought me back to that childhood moment and to the realization that my pivot into meditation was a similar point in time. At the time of my journey into mindfulness as an adult, I initially thought I was forging a completely new path, yet reminded of that childhood moment, I knew that I’d begun clearing a trail years ago on that carpet, without even realizing it.

Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. From your experience or research, how would you define and describe the state of being mindful?

I am often asked what mindfulness is. Perhaps it’s easiest to begin by telling you what it’s not. It’s not some magical place that we try to reach. It’s not some trance or ecstatic state of blissful peace used to escape reality — like being on drugs or going for a day at the spa. It’s not about looking for tranquility or seeking success or even trying to be a better person — though you may find these things through the practice of mindfulness.

In many ways, mindfulness is the opposite of expending energy searching and seeking. It requires letting go of reaching for illusionary happiness on the outside. Mindfulness is almost like a superpower we all have, even though many of us don’t even know it. It’s being so connected energetically to the reality you are living in the moment that you lose the narratives you usually tell yourself and become that greater awareness. It is flooding yourself with love and kindness until you let go of all the storylines you’ve picked up over a lifetime — even from generations before you — and allow yourself to fully arrive in the present moment. Mindfulness is the ability we all have — anytime, anywhere — to recognize exactly what is happening second to second, without judgment. It’s being totally present to the experience that you are.

When you look deeply into any moment, it’s hard to be bored. If you are bored, you’re really not paying attention. When you look at a situation with fresh eyes and without judgment, with curiosity and awe, with vigor, you allow yourself to see life in a fascinating new way. Every moment of it becomes a fresh start. You find yourself fully there for your life and that of others. To me, that is the essence of mindfulness.

This might be intuitive to you, but it will be instructive to spell this out. Can you share with our readers a few of the physical, mental, and emotional benefits of becoming mindful?

Honestly, it’s difficult to address this question and not come across as a snake oil salesperson. Many studies show that regular mindfulness meditation practice leads to many benefits — lower blood pressure, better sleep, increased gray matter in the brain, increased general levels of happiness, dealing more skillfully with depression or addiction, fruitful and fulfilling social interactions, and perhaps even a desire to stop sabotaging your body with unwholesome consumption.

Contrary to what many believe, stress does not disappear from your life when you start practicing mindfulness, but your relationship to it certainly changes. Instead of being yanked around by stress, you harness its power. You feel its energy and have the ability to be more skillful when it arises. Your concentration increases, you experience prolonged periods of focus and clarity, you see through situations more clearly. I’m saying this from personal experience.

I see the most benefits of meditation in the emotional sphere. My students have echoed the same, saying they experience the greatest change emotionally. During long sits, I have discovered much about my emotions. Growing up, and even as an adult, I trained myself to ignore my feelings almost entirely. In fact, I was very clumsy with them. I was ashamed of certain emotions unless they matched what others thought I should be feeling. Now, I am so much more in tune with my emotions that I find them totally fascinating. I see a lot of subtlety and nuance where I saw none before.

Understanding our emotions better leads to a clearer understanding of the hidden landscape of any life situation. It also leads to a deeper understanding of others’ emotional landscapes and to recognizing how your own humanity is in fact so connected to that of other beings everywhere. This in turn makes us more skillful at relationships, and more valuable to our family and community.

Ok. Here is the main question of our discussion. The past 5 years have been filled with upheaval and political uncertainty. Many people have become anxious from the dramatic jolts of the news cycle. The fears related to the pandemic have only heightened a sense of uncertainty, anxiety, fear, and loneliness. From your experience or research what are five steps that each of us can take to develop mindfulness during such uncertain times? Can you please share a story or example for each.

The past five years have indeed been a roller-coaster, emotionally, physically, politically, and socially. I also like to think that trying times, like any difficulty in our life, bring a lot of good if only for the lessons we learn. Trying times are like forest fires — they can burn you dearly, but they also make room for new growth, so in this way they are essential and a very important part of life. I like the saying “you are where you need to be,” because your whole life is right there, right in front of you. There is no use in trying to escape it. Do not waste a single moment in the past or in some imaginary future or thinking how different it should be. So, be present. That is the first step.

Second, treat your consumption of media like food. Take time to sort out what is nutritious and healthy, and what is junk. Stick to a healthy regimen. Just like food, the worst thing you can do is overconsume. Generally, this can even be true with healthy food if we eat way more than we need. It may make us feel good for a few minutes, but it makes us total addicts and destroys us in the long-term. So tread lightly when you open that app or log in to scroll mindlessly. Pay attention to how you are feeling when you reach for that like button and most importantly, why you are actually doing this. Here, less is better.

Third, treat your mindfulness like your teeth. Practice at least every day — even twice a day, just like brushing your teeth. Go on retreats once in a while — just like you would go to a dentist appointment. And, just like taking care of your teeth, do it not only for yourself, but also for everyone in your life. It literally benefits everyone.

Fourth, walk mindfully every day for a few minutes. Walking mindfully means bringing your full awareness into the sensations of each step. Notice how the ground feels beneath the soles of your feet, how your weight shifts as you step forward, the grooves in the stairs you are slowly climbing, and the quality of the air that glides gently against your skin. Notice the colors you see with your eyes, the scent in the room or in the park, and how wonderful it is to be in the very place you are standing, appreciating every step with full awareness.

And finally, gratitude. Inviting gratitude into your life is like tapping into a superpower. The practice of gratitude can start the moment you wake up and set your feet next to the bed. As your feet touch the ground and make a connection to the Earth, ask yourself, “What am I grateful for this morning?” No need to force it, but see if you can come up with two or three things every morning. Even if they repeat themselves, that’s totally fine. You can also do the same in reverse at night before going to bed. “What am I grateful for that happened today?” This will generate a huge amount of resilience in your life and with practice, you will start connecting to positive aspects of your life you had never noticed or appreciated before. It’s a very powerful practice and is really transforming.

From your experience or research what are five steps that each of us can take to effectively offer support to those around us who are feeling anxious? Can you explain?

The first step may seem counter-intuitive: it’s to take good care of yourself. If you are calm and happy, others will feel it, and your calmness will be contagious. There is no need to say anything or do anything. Just be present. Your presence in itself is enough and can bring peace to your loved one. You are enough.

Have you ever noticed that whenever you are upset and someone next to you says something, it can make you even more upset? Especially if they tell you to calm down. There’s nothing worse to say to an anxious person than “calm down” or “don’t worry.” It will only add to their suffering. So, the second step you can take when someone around you is sad or angry or fearful is to just listen. I learned that from my mom. She is absolutely the world’s best listener and I’m so blessed for it. Being listened to can bring a lot of relief to someone going through a hard time. Sometimes we just want to be heard. Or better yet, we like to know that the other person truly understands what we are going through. This sharing of our suffering with loved ones, or even strangers, can be compared to having a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean during a storm as it helps us spread the weight of our pain throughout the boat so that we can stay afloat with our loved ones or larger community.

The third step in offering support to others is to let them know it’s ok to feel what they’re feeling. When I was young, I would hear grown-ups say that being emotional was not a good thing. I never really understood how anyone could not be emotional. How is that even remotely possible? It’s not like you want to be afraid or feel sad. You just do. It’s not under anyone’s control. And when you do feel unpleasant emotions, it’s important to be reminded that it’s ok. These emotions are not bad or anything to be ashamed of. There is really nothing wrong with you, quite the opposite.

I remember having a deep conversation with my dad at a restaurant when I was young. My parents were going through difficult divorce issues and I was crying and pleading with him to help make the situation better. Instead of telling me to stop crying, as he had done unsuccessfully many times in the past, he simply told me how wonderful it was that we could be having this difficult conversation and that he was proud to see how emotional I was about this matter and that this was indeed a wonderful moment that we were living. At the moment, I was perplexed by his comment. But it soon brought me great relief as I started feeling listened to and could indeed see the beauty of the energy we were both investing in this conversation. I stopped crying. And even had a few laughs after I realized that everyone in the restaurant was listening in. So, it’s not only okay to feel emotions, it’s actually a wonderful opportunity to bring the energy of mindfulness to these emotions and be curious about them, to try to understand where they originate and how we can use this energy of great power for good.

The fourth step is to let others know that you are here for them. Sometimes you don’t even have to say this, as per step one, but sometimes it’s helpful for you to say it, so it’s clear for you both. These words are very powerful and bring both comfort and support for both parties involved.

Finally, bring your attention to something joyful, simple, or beautiful, and share this with others. Laugh about it. That’s when pets come in handy. They can bring us a lot of joy because they don’t get caught up in our storylines and are always there for us as furry friends. Humor is part of this and helps in many tight situations. Humor helps us gain perspective, as there is nothing like a good laugh to bring you to your senses and back to the present moment.

What are the best resources you would suggest for someone to learn how to be more mindful and serene in their everyday life?

There are so many apps these days that promote mindfulness. I could name about a dozen off the top of my head, but I’ll mention only two: Ten Percent Happier and the Plum Village app. They are both rich in useful content and I use the Plum Village app to set an hourly mindfulness bell as a reminder to come back to the present moment.

Setting up a cozy meditation room or corner at home is also a wonderful way to keep mindfulness “top of mind.” That’s what we offer at renoo — the ability to incorporate time-tested mindfulness tools into the home in a style that is soothing and modern. Plus, with every cushion we sell, we donate to organizations that bring mindfulness to schools across the US.

In terms of books other than the ones I mentioned, I would highly recommend Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki. It’s full of wisdom and practical pointers.

The ultimate resource is simply you. Just SIT and enjoy your sitting. You will never learn from apps, books, courses, or teachers what you learn during a 20-minute sit. It’s free and it’s priceless.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?

There is a saying in Zen: “A fool sees himself as another, but a wise man sees others as himself.”

I find that 90% of the time, we are so tied up with our own story that we fail to see reality as it truly is. For many years, I was pursuing material success outside myself, looking for validation everywhere and chasing it at great cost to myself and others. While I have nothing against playful competition, pursuing happiness outside usually turns into greed, sadness, and even anger — and that’s exactly what happened to me. When it does, it’s time to pull back. No good can come out of that.

When we see someone acting in anger or being extremely unskillful, instead of blaming them and finding all the things that are wrong with them — thereby getting upset ourselves — we can simply look at them with compassion seeing that they are suffering the same as we do when we get angry or inefficient. This brings a fresh look at the situation and will likely change our view of that person. As we discussed earlier, the last few years have indeed been difficult to navigate politically in this country. Many people were, and still are, upset. But instead of blaming them or attacking those with different views, we can look at them with compassion and try to build a bridge between their life experience and ours. This is how seeing others as ourselves comes in handy.

At the other end of the spectrum, a lawyer once told me “Don’t make other people’s problems your problems.” That’s also good advice. And I’ve been trying to reconcile these two practical sayings ever since.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

We all have more influence than we think. If there’s one thing that I would hope the pandemic has taught us while we were stuck at home, it is that stillness can be of great value.

As humans, we have built a pretty complicated world for ourselves. We have so many stories and conventions we tell ourselves socially, financially, physically, mentally, that we forget to just be still, enjoy being, and enjoy being together. We clearly undervalue this non-activity. When you look at gorillas in the rainforest, it’s interesting to see how they just sit there. Totally content. Rain or shine. Nowhere to go. Nothing to do. Just taking care of themselves and each other. As humans, I’m guessing we were likely like this at some point, but it’s a state of being we forgot about and instead, got ourselves very busy.

So my dream is for everyone to have a cozy meditation space at home they can enjoy. Call it the quiet room if you will. A space where we can all stop, breathe for a few minutes, and together begin again, consciously. Nowhere to go. Nothing to do. I hope someday you join us.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

website: rayjolicoeur.com

IG: @renoolife

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!

Ray Jolicoeur of renoo: How To Develop Mindfulness During Stressful Or Uncertain Times was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Disruptors: Deepshikha Sairam of Socialique Group On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up…

Female Disruptors: Deepshikha Sairam of Socialique Group On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Ask the question “what makes you come alive?” This question was posed to me by my Spiritual Mentor and it stumped me for days. We are so used to going through the motions of the day, following the herd and never questioning if the things we are doing in our life are making us come alive or leaving us dead and unfulfilled from the inside.

I coach a lot of women who chose an industry or a business niche because it was the “cool one” or they thought it’ll make them the most money. After years of long hours and sucky clients, they are still unable to thrive because it doesn’t make them come alive.

As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Deepshikha Sairam.

Deepshikha Sairam, is a Spiritual Business Mentor who helps thriving CEO’s leverage their energetic gifts for supersized results.

In addition to mentoring her clients to generate $30K+ a month with custom curated marketing strategies and energetic practices, Deepshikha is the creator and host of the wildly popular podcast, How to Womxn: Buck the System. Live your Truth.

She has been featured in Entrepreneur, Tiny Buddha, Elephant Journal, Self Magazine and the award winning Marie TV.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

Before I started my business, I was a stay at home mom to two boys under the age of 5. I loved being a mom, but I was beginning to feel a lack of self identity. Moreover, I wanted to financially contribute towards my family.

I knew that I had more to give to the world, I just didn’t know what it was. While I was very satisfied with my choice to leave my job and take care of my family, I did want to do something for myself too.

This was a tough choice for me. Born and raised in India, I had seen first hand how the women in my family had sacrificed their dreams in order to raise a family, even though they were multi-talented. It seemed to me that I only had two choices, to be a stay-at-home mom or to leave my kids to a nanny and go back to a corporate role. Both these choices were not acceptable to me.

I also had this strong urge to carve my own identity. I used to joke with my friends that I wanted the world to know me by my name and not just “mom.”

I casually reached out to a friend of mine who had an Online Business and asked her if I could help her with social media marketing. I loved writing and I really thought I could help market her business and boost sales by creating engaging content & building a community for her. She said yes, and that’s how I got started!

I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I was good at it!

A few years in, and after continuous self exploration and experimentation, I saw that when spiritual and energetic practices are combined with right marketing strategies, women thrive as business owners. They start to create a momentum of impact and legacy that makes them money but most importantly gives them an opportunity to create joyful lives.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

I am disrupting the way Online Businesses are run with scarcity based marketing and a culture where hustle, grind and “crushing it” is normalized.

We live in a 3000 years old Patriarchal Culture that rewards hustle, hard work & grind and discourages rest, slowing down and decision making from our intuition.

We are a culture of talking heads who are only driven by milestones and are taught from a very early age to ignore our emotions and move on to the next level or milestone.

In short, we have been trained to live and work only from our Masculine Energy.

Masculine Energy is Doing, Thinking, Analyzing, Giving

Feminine Energy is Feeling, Expressing, Intuiting, Receiving

To be clear, I am referring to the energy of these words and not in terms of gender and sexuality. We all have these energies inside of us.

For many centuries now, Masculine has led, front and center. Feminine on the other hand has been suppressed. We’ve been cut off from our intuition, from feeling, from expressing. The result is a growing number of people who are burnt out, overwhelmed, depressed and carrying trauma.

This affects everyone but more so women, since their rights to talk, express, work, own a business were suppressed for a long time. In spite of doing what the society asks them to do i.e, work hard, push, grind ; women inherently feel unworthy, not good enough and are always asking themselves “what’s wrong with me?”

One of my favorite quotes from the book Patriarchy Stress Disorder: The Invisible Inner Barrier to Women’s Happiness and Fulfillment by Dr. Valerie Rein is “you’re a woman and therefore something’s wrong with you, but not to worry — we have a pill, a corset and foot binding to fix that.”

My work disrupts this status quo in a one-two punch.

First, there’s nothing wrong with you as a woman. You don’t need to be fixed because you’re not broken and you don’t have to become a version of the latest Instagram Influencer. Instead we unbecome. We shed the layers of patriarchal conditioning so that we can truly become who we always were. When women reclaim their power and find their strengths, they become unstoppable in business or otherwise.

Second, we don’t have to burn ourselves out in pursuit of our goals. We can marry the feminine energy of being and intuition with the masculine energy of analyzing and doing for a business that feels aligned and grows your spiritual bank account as well as your business bank account. We do that by combining energetic practices such as EFT, Chakra balancing, meditation etc. with custom curated tactical marketing strategies.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

It’s funny now but at that time it certainly wasn’t. 3 years ago, I launched my first online course. Instead of giving access to the course to the people who had bought it, I sent an email to my entire list & gave them access for FREE!! It was a logistical nightmare to reverse it. Thankfully I had 1000 people on my list and not 10,000.

The first lesson I learned is to always check and recheck who the email is going to. But, of course I learned that lesson by making the same mistake multiple times.

The second time, it didn’t hurt that much. By the third time, it was actually funny.

The most important lesson though is that we can’t do it all by ourselves. Creating, marketing, launching and delivering a course is a lot of work. As much as we’ve been conditioned to DIY and not ask for support, it’s like digging your own grave. No one should do it on their own, and asking for support is not weakness, in fact it’s the best thing we can do for ourselves and our business. So, since then I hired someone who was much more capable than me in all things technology.

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

Marie Forleo had a huge impact on me and how I run my business. She has shown me that even if you are multi-passionate, you can still find a way to combine all your passions. And as long as you stay truly aligned to your purpose and work towards it, you will create success for yourself.

Another mentor, Laura Belgray has taught me how to write email and copy that gets opened and read! She also inspires me to be unapologetically myself.

Both these women, just by being themselves, have shown me that I too can have a successful business on my terms.

In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?

When an industry, a culture or a system is not serving everyone or ignoring the needs or existence of a section of a society, it needs to be taken down.

Taking the example of the Online Business Industry where “crushing it” and sleeping 3 hrs a day has been the norm, it’s important to disrupt it because more and more people are buying into the lie of a million dollar utopian business that you run from a beach in Bali.

People believe that if they just had the secret or worked a little bit more harder and slept a little bit less, they too can achieve the “passive income” lifestyle.

The truth is, business is hard but working harder doesn’t necessarily get you to the Bali Beach. You have to be willing to take a lot of blows, face a lot of failures and still come back at it with consistent effort. You also need to question a lot of your beliefs about working hard, money and self worth to sustain success.

What’s not positive is being disruptive just for the heck of it. By all means refine and change the systems but if something has stood the test of time in a positive way, let’s not throw the baby with the bath water.

For example; Persuasion Principles. While I 100% agree that marketers have misused persuasion principles unethically to lure more customers and advance sales, we don’t have to reject everything about persuasion.

Educate yourself on how you may be causing harm or using these principles unethically and then do better.

For example; a very common way to misuse the Scarcity persuasion principle is to say “We have only 3 spots left” in an Online Course or a Coaching Program, when it’s actually not true.

The right thing to ask yourself here is “is this true?” If not, don’t use it just to increase sales.

Totally ignoring all that we know about Consumer Behavior and disrupting is probably not going to do anyone good.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

First, ten. This advice from Seth Godin is GOLD in marketing. It’s so counterintuitive to the current culture where the emphasis is on more audience, more followers. Seth instead says that the secret to marketing is to find ten people. Ten people who respect you, trust you, need you, listen to you. If these ten people love what you have to sell, they’ll each find you ten more people or hundreds or thousands. Your idea grows and your business grows.

For me this has been like a commandment to live by. I am always in search of my ten people. I don’t care about likes, comments and followers. I find those ten people and if they love what I have to sell, great! If they don’t, I start over.

Joining the Conversation. This one came from my book coach, Emily Maher. In my moment of self doubt, I said to her “who am I to write a book that talks about self worth, courage and vulnerability?” That’s Brené Brown’s world. She has already done it.

She said to me something very interesting which I always try to remember everytime Impostor Syndrome creeps us “It may all have been done before. It’s not about being the first one to write about an idea. Your book is joining the conversation that’s already been going on. By writing this book, you’ll become part of the conversation.”

That was music to my ears because what an honor it is to join a conversation with legends such as Brené Brown with Courage or David Oglivy with Advertising or Anthony Bourdain with food.

Ask the question “what makes you come alive?” This question was posed to me by my Spiritual Mentor and it stumped me for days. We are so used to going through the motions of the day, following the herd and never questioning if the things we are doing in our life are making us come alive or leaving us dead and unfulfilled from the inside.

I coach a lot of women who chose an industry or a business niche because it was the “cool one” or they thought it’ll make them the most money. After years of long hours and sucky clients, they are still unable to thrive because it doesn’t make them come alive.

When you ask this question and then follow the answers, your life changes for the better. The level of joy and fulfillment is unparalleled.

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

I am not even close to being done. I am changing Culture here. I am asking women to think differently and do business differently. I am creating a new paradigm of business where you don’t try to fit yourself in with the latest marketing strategy. Instead, we are coming back home to ourselves to become a whole woman and then we create our business from there.

It’s a whole different way. We’ve never combined spirituality with marketing this way before. We are leading with intuition, rejecting the masculine “hustle and grind” way of working and building businesses that are rooted in self worth.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

People usually don’t like change and when it’s coming from a woman, it’s even harder for people to accept. Women are deemed as “difficult” or their opinion can be totally disregarded. This is another form of Patriarchal Conditioning.

Mansplaining, being called out or cancelled are all challenges that women have faced for a long time when changing or questioning cultures or norms. It’s frustrating but we have to remember what we are up against.

The Women’s Business Ownership Act came into law in 1988. That wasn’t very long ago! We are changing cultures and it takes time. There have been thousands of women who’ve gone before us that have made it possible for us to vote, get a business loan or even write an article like this without getting lynched.

We are doing this for ourselves, but we are also doing it for the generations to come.

Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?

I’d never forget the day I read You are a Badass by Jen Sincero. It was very early on in my business and I had started to realise that it’s going to take more than just business and marketing strategy to have the kind of business that I was dreaming of. After reading her book, I felt a boulder lift from my shoulders and the self doubt dissipate. I did believe that I am indeed a badass and fully supported spiritually to bring my ideas to life

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Break out of the box you are trying so hard to fit in. People (especially women) inherently feel that they aren’t good enough — both in their personal and business lives. So they either overcompensate by trying to please everyone or they shrink and play small. Neither is good. If life was an ice cream shop, you’d be Vanilla.

Plain, made for the masses. But we aren’t Vanilla. Someone is full of rainbow sprinkles, another is nutty and I am chocolate with a dash of chili. When we embrace being quirky, imperfect and multi-passionate, there’s no need to fit in a box or be Vanilla.

Imagine how great it would feel to add every element of our personality to our lives and business.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you” by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

This quote inspires me and reminds me of the fact that the only thing I really have control over is my attitude and what I do with myself. I can’t change the past and I cannot control the future so at any given moment, I have a choice to make — how do I make the most of it?

How can our readers follow you online?

INSTAGRAM @deepshikhasairam

FACEBOOK @deepshikhasairam

LINKEDIN @deepshikhasairam

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Female Disruptors: Deepshikha Sairam of Socialique Group On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Graham Williamson of CVM Medical: The Future of Travel in The Post Covid World

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Consumers will be more discerning and will prioritize ease of access, so it will be important for companies to offer those kinds of experiences. As more destinations open to vaccinated travelers without a quarantine, we will see more travel customers choose trips to those destinations. Customers will gravitate toward host countries, resorts, and regions that can demonstrate low case counts and that are doing the most to prevent local transmission. Once companies can communicate to the consumer that the right safety measures and protocols are in place, travelers’ confidence will increase.

As part of my series about “developments in the travel industry over the next five years”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Graham Williamson, CEO of CVM Medical Ltd.

Graham Williamson is CEO of CVM Medical Ltd. and its parent organization LIFESUPPORT Group of Companies. He is responsible for overseeing all of the organization’s global air ambulance and medevac operations, on site medical support portfolio, and COVID-19 testing division. Graham has led the LIFESUPPORT team since its inception in 2005 and is a licensed paramedic with 21 years of experience in out-of-hospital care. Under Graham’s leadership, LIFESUPPORT was able to pivot once COVID-19 brought on new regulations for international travel, leveraging its knowledge and resources to offer quick and reliable private testing as a solution for those still needing to go abroad.

Thank you so much for joining us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

My background is in international medicine. Before my current role, I was a paramedic for the BC Ambulance Service, and an emergency health technician in the city of Calgary. During those eight years, I gained hands-on experience in patient transportation, airline medical escorts, remote site healthcare, and EMS logistics. I was able to turn this experience into an executive position with LIFESUPPORT Group, where I now focus on areas like business development and planning, corporate governance and leadership, and complex aeromedical case management.

As the pandemic continued, we realized governments were focused on symptomatic testing on the domestic front, but there was a gap in international travel. Despite leisure travel being down sharply, there was still an essential travel market, with certain workers heading back to their jobs in other parts of the globe. CVM Medical was therefore designed to combine our parent company’s medical expertise with the customer service infrastructure to provide COVID testing for essential travellers.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

The most interesting thing has been watching how a global pandemic has flipped the international travel industry on its head. In some regions, work that used to take 15 minutes can now take 15 days, and vice-versa. Working with consulates, embassies and airlines used to be nameless and faceless, but is now a cooperative, collaborative task. Some areas that used to have visa-free travel now take a month of work in order to get clearance. From my niche of international travel, this has been the biggest change to come out of COVID.

Can you share a story about a mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I think we could have moved into the rapid testing space six months sooner. In hindsight, we watched the pandemic’s progression a little bit longer than we needed to before making that decision. We weren’t the last company through the door for asymptomatic rapid testing, but we also weren’t the first. We only recently hit the one year milestone for COVID, so those six months become a lot more significant in that timeline. It definitely taught us a lesson about proactivity in business.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

As someone who works seven days a week, the tip I would suggest is to surround yourself with motivated, exceptional people, like I have done at CVM Medical. The team here is excited to work with airlines, airports, and other authorities to get people travelling again and resume our industry. Working with a team of like-minded individuals can make even the most stressful situations enjoyable — team alignment is also critical when you need help and support or even a bit of space to reset.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are?

I’m very grateful for the support of my wife. She is my sounding board when things do not go according to plan. When you share the same schedule, live at the same pace, and breathe the same air while working from home, a supportive partner is a terrific thing to have.

Thank you for that. Let’s jump to the core of our discussion. Can you share with our readers about the innovations that you are bringing to the travel and hospitality industries?

Our innovation is increased access to rapid testing for travellers. CVM Medical’s rapid test is faster, less invasive, and more cost effective than the lab-based PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test. When it comes to PCR testing, it can take 24 to 36 hours to receive your results back. That is a long time to wait when you have an international flight booked. We recognize, along with governments, airlines and health authorities, that passenger testing is here for the foreseeable future. The sooner we can get passengers their results, at the best price, and at the most convenient location, the sooner the travel industry can recover.

Which “pain point” are you trying to address by introducing this innovation?

Right now, our goal is to get people travelling again safely, and rapid testing is a key component of the safe resumption of travel. We are creating an environment where passengers can undergo a virus test, receive their negative results, and board their flight within 15 minutes. We are moving away from having to visit a lab, a pharmacy, or another offsite location to take a PCR test 48 hours or more before travelling. By removing this pain point, travellers can simply arrive at the airport, drop their luggage and get tested at the CVM clinic. After they receive their negative results, they can continue through to security and have a great flight.

How do you envision that this might disrupt the status quo?

The status quo is PCR testing. If we compare the big labs that process PCR tests to brick and mortar retail, then CVM Medical is like the Amazon of COVID testing. We can set up at any airport with our rapid tests and perform them on a full plane of passengers. We are a disruptor because we have lowered the consumer’s cost and increased their access to rapid test results.

As you know, COVID-19 changed the world as we know it. Can you share how travel and hospitality companies will be adjusting over the next five years to the new ways that consumers will prefer to travel?

Consumers will be more discerning and will prioritize ease of access, so it will be important for companies to offer those kinds of experiences. As more destinations open to vaccinated travelers without a quarantine, we will see more travel customers choose trips to those destinations. Customers will gravitate toward host countries, resorts, and regions that can demonstrate low case counts and that are doing the most to prevent local transmission. Once companies can communicate to the consumer that the right safety measures and protocols are in place, travelers’ confidence will increase.

You are a “travel insider”. How would you describe your “perfect vacation experience”?

My perfect post-COVID vacation experience would be showing my vaccination certificate, boarding a plane, and enjoying a lovely two-week South Pacific cruise.

Can you share with our readers how you have used your success to bring goodness to the world?

I am here to provide and promote mechanisms for the safe return of leisure travel. I want to see airports full again. I want to see airline tickets oversold and people once again having a great and safe time on their holidays abroad. CVM Medical’s contribution has been to introduce rapid testing directly at the airport, so everyone involved can have full confidence that each flight leaving the gate is COVID-free.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

That movement would be to normalize a safe and quick return to our pre-COVID-19 way of life. With a vaccinated population and access to low-cost, effective rapid testing, I’m optimistic for this possibility.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

Twitter: @CvmMedical

Instagram: @covidmedical

Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/cvm-medical/

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Graham Williamson of CVM Medical: The Future of Travel in The Post Covid World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Dr. Cristie Ritz-King of Wonder Wellness: How To Develop Mindfulness And Serenity During Stressful…

Dr. Cristie Ritz-King of Wonder Wellness: How To Develop Mindfulness And Serenity During Stressful Or Uncertain Times

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Don’t overthink it: You don’t hours of meditation and you don’t have to do it “right” to benefit. When I first started meditating, it was in yoga teacher training and we were expected to sit for an hour every class. The first time I did it I thought I would have to quit the entire program because it felt like absolute torture. Over the weeks that passed, I learned that meditation is called practice for a reason. There is no such thing as doing it right, just doing it is what matters. Practicing, even for a short time every day, leads to transformational results. I never sat for an hour outside of class, but I incorporated small moments of mindfulness into my everyday life and my whole world changed. I know that sounds dramatic, but it is also true. Mindfulness and meditation gave me the room to grow into someone who can handle stress-both the day to day kind and overwhelming crisis level kinds, in ways that allow for living a full and happy life. So, cut yourself some slack and do what you can when you can. I think you’ll be amazed at the results.

As a part of my series about “How To Develop Mindfulness And Serenity During Stressful Or Uncertain Times”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Cristie Ritz-King, LPC

Cristie Ritz-King is a psychologist and licensed professional counselor in New Jersey specializing in trauma and maternal mental health. Her hallmark therapeutic approach combines a down-to-earth and realistic style that empower others to live their best lives. In addition to a thriving psychotherapy practice, Ritz-King offers Mindful Parenting Courses and Wonder Weekend Retreats for women.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?

I started my professional life in an elementary school classroom and thought that is what I would do forever. Then I had kids and my whole life was turned upside down. I took a bit of a meandering path through different degrees and certifications, including doula, meditation and yoga teacher, holistic health coach and trauma-informed therapist. No matter which disciplines I chose to study or areas I chose to work, I always seemed to return to parents and children.

As a psychotherapist, I have spent time in hospital outpatient settings with children and adults, as well as in family court where I served as an advocate and trauma counselor for survivors of sexual and domestic violence.

In my private practice and my work as a consultant and coach, my passion is for parents. I love being able to help people heal themselves from trauma so that they can be the best mom or dad possible while still being true to their whole selves as independent humans, not just mom or dad. I consider it the ultimate gift that I get to bear witness to people’s incredible strength and resilience as they share their stories with me all the while seeing them restore hope to and embrace joy in their lives.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

When I was first working as a holistic health coach, I was motivated and excited to try to help people eat more for their overall wellness. However, as I got deeper into it, the needs of my clients gravitated more toward wanting to eat less, and weight loss. I really loved working with people part, but I really didn’t feel aligned at all with the mission of weight loss as a goal. I learned really quickly that there was often a history of trauma behind many of the clients who were trying to “get thin.” At the same time, I lived at the Jersey Shore and spent some of time helping clean out and rebuild one of the towns most devastated by Super Storm Sandy. As I listened to survivors’ stories, I wondered who was going to help these people move on fully. Sure, I could help them clean and move debris but who would be around for the mental aftermath of losing everything or even witnessing the destruction after? It was then I decided to go back to school for Mental Health Counseling and focus on trauma. I knew from my health coaching work that it couldn’t be just the mind I addressed. I saw firsthand how trauma lived in the body and so I knew I had to learn how to address both in therapy.

What advice would you give to other leaders about how to create a fantastic work culture?

Listen to people and try to provide what they need. We can work in a field for years and still not know everything there is to learn simply by listening to other people. If a leader comes from a place of service, not only will they love what they do, but they will be surrounded by people who want to work hard with them because they’ll feel supported enough to be inspired.

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

There are two. One may be obvious, because it is Bessel van der Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score, which many know as the book about trauma in the body. This book helped solidify what I thought I was seeing in my work coaching: trauma lives in the body and memory is physical, not just mental. This book felt like a gift in that it showed me I was on the right track with my studies to integrate trauma therapy with things like yoga and mindfulness. Another book that was transformative for me is The Boy Who was Raised as a Dog by Dr. Bruce Perry. It is a compelling picture of the effects of childhood trauma. It contains the stories of some of the worst cases of abuse and neglect and yet it is also laced with hope. The stories in this book help make the argument that if we are loved, we can repair most anything. It was my first concrete proof of what I have observed for many years: the resilience of the human spirit is perhaps the most powerful thing in the world.

Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. From your experience or research, how would you define and describe the state of being mindful?

Mindfulness is simply being aware, of thoughts, feelings, emotions, and sensations without judgement. Mindfulness is paying attention without the analysis that so often comes when we “get into our head.”

This might be intuitive to you, but it will be instructive to spell this out. Can you share with our readers a few of the physical, mental, and emotional benefits of becoming mindful?

I am not sure we can say which element of mindfulness is most beneficial, the awareness or the lack of judgement. What I do know is that living mindfully means you benefit in many ways. Physically, research has shown lower cortisol (the stress hormone) levels and blood pressure in those that practice mindfulness. It can improve sleep and even reduce physical pain. All of these physical changes can also mean less anxious and more relaxed emotions which of course can mean greater overall mental wellness.

Ok. Here is the main question of our discussion. From your experience or research what are five steps that each of us can take to effectively offer support to those around us who are feeling anxious? Can you explain?

  1. Don’t overthink it: You don’t hours of meditation and you don’t have to do it “right” to benefit. When I first started meditating, it was in yoga teacher training and we were expected to sit for an hour every class. The first time I did it I thought I would have to quit the entire program because it felt like absolute torture. Over the weeks that passed, I learned that meditation is called practice for a reason. There is no such thing as doing it right, just doing it is what matters. Practicing, even for a short time every day, leads to transformational results. I never sat for an hour outside of class, but I incorporated small moments of mindfulness into my everyday life and my whole world changed. I know that sounds dramatic, but it is also true. Mindfulness and meditation gave me the room to grow into someone who can handle stress-both the day to day kind and overwhelming crisis level kinds, in ways that allow for living a full and happy life. So, cut yourself some slack and do what you can when you can. I think you’ll be amazed at the results.
  2. Link it to existing habits: One way I incorporated meditation into my day to day was to add purpose to routines that already existed. For instance, I use what I call toothbrush mindfulness. As a working mom of three, there are very few things that are 100% predictable in my life. However, every morning upon waking, and every night before bed (even when I’m over-tired and cranky) I brush my teeth. In those three-five minutes, twice a day, I tune into the sensations of my body and (morning) set an intention for the day or (night) recall a spot of joy. Just those two touch points help to balance me and ground me to keep anxiety and sadness largely at bay.
  3. Start Small: You don’t need to spend an hour a day in meditation (unless Lily at Coba Yoga is your yoga teacher trainer!). You also may never get to sit atop the proverbial Zen mountain, but that doesn’t mean you can’t live a more mindful life. Count breaths while waiting in the car-line at your kid’s school. Close your eyes and tune in to the sounds around you on your train commute. Step outside and smell the fresh air for one minute. Notice how food feels on your tongue, as you chew and when you swallow. A mindful meal, a tuned-in commute and a car-line breath are all ways to ground yourself in awareness and live a more mindful (and peaceful) life.
  4. Practice Every Day: This may sound overwhelming but if you if you keep it small and simple, you can do it every day.
  5. Check In and Adjust: I would be lying if I said I was consistent with my practice 365 days a year, especially after this year! What I am consistent about is noticing when I feel off and checking in to see what small changes I can make to help move back onto a smoother path. So, check in on your own wellness consistently to see if/what is working. Are you less anxious, sleeping better, feeling better, or none of these? What has changed that has you feeling off? What needs to be changed in order to get back to what was working before?

What are the best resources you would suggest for someone to learn how to be more mindful and serene in their everyday life?

Apps like Calm or Insight Timer are great for guided meditations of all levels, and I will always recommend finding a yoga studio that stays true to the roots of yoga and incorporates meditation and breathwork regularly. Finding a yoga/meditation center where you feel connected and welcome no matter where you are in your practice can be a life-changing resource.

But really, finding what works for you to help take even a few minutes a day to tune in to yourself and your intentions is the easiest way to be consistent. So, find the cozy spot in your house or the great trail for a walk in the woods. Buy yourself a cute new journal if writing makes it feel better for you. Whatever you can do to make yourself want to spend time in quiet awareness is the best resource of all.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?

There are two quotes on my office wall. The first is a Viktor Frankl quote, “Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” The second from Albert Einstein, “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”

These ideals largely drive my professional work as well as support the reasons I practice and preach about mindfulness. Experiencing the growth and freedom in the pause and finding solutions in a different place than the problems were created, quite frankly, summarize my goals as a psychologist, mom and human being.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

If anything good came out of this year, it was perhaps that we were all forced to slow down and tune in to our connection to others. We saw the power of caring about one another. Love actually can move mountains. My hope is that in learning how interconnected our lives are with those around us, we will change the way we treat ourselves so that we can be more present and available to our neighbors. So, the movement would be the one that is bubbling up already, spreading love starting within and reaching far and wide.

What is the best way our readers can follow you online?

My website is WonderIncWellness.com. The tab on the menu that says “want more” is there so you can sign up for my newsletter to keep abreast of new courses, retreats and groups all through the year.

The Explicit Conversations About Parenting Podcast is where we say out loud the stuff we’ve been keeping quiet for too long. It is a safe place for uncomfortable conversations that help us all grow.

And I’m often on Instagram as @drcritzking, sharing love (and stories of my own foibles and lessons learned) with anyone who needs it.

Dr. Cristie Ritz-King of Wonder Wellness: How To Develop Mindfulness And Serenity During Stressful… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Arpi Khachatryan of Luli Bebé: Five Ways To Leverage Instagram To Dramatically Improve Your…

Arpi Khachatryan of Luli Bebé: Five Ways To Leverage Instagram To Dramatically Improve Your Business

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

When you first start a business try to do the social media part yourself initially. Of course, you will need to hire people in time to be able to continue growing, but early on, it’s a good way for you to authentically connect with your earliest customers, build relationships and learn what kind of information they need from your brand. Additionally, you know your own business the best and no one will be as committed or as passionate as you are.

As a part of our series about How To Leverage Instagram To Grow Your Business, I had the pleasure of interviewing Arpi Khachatryan.

Arpi Khachatryan is the founder of Luli Bebé chic and sophisticated Monaco diaper, travel and snack bags made of vegan leather designed for function and fashion. The brand has become an insta darling and currently has an instagram following of 375K. Visit the site at https://lulibebeus.com/ or on instagram at @luli.bebe.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Luli Bebé was founded in 2017 after I had my first baby. The name Luli Bebé is the combination of my daughter’s name Lucy and my niece Lily. As a new mom, I found myself searching for the perfect diaper bag and began importing bags from Spain. I was able to market them in the US and had successful sales but I realized that although the bags were beautiful, consumers seemed to be in search of a bag that functioned more as a fashionable backpack.

After just three months of selling the imported bags, I decided to design my own unique diaper bag where I would be able to fine tune the necessities that I knew I wanted in a backpack style diaper bag as well as be able to choose the materials and colors. After a lot of research and time spent finding manufacturers, the Monaco Diaper Bag was born. The name Monaco was chosen because I lived in Spain for over 10 years and visited Monaco frequently and it was a place that was near and dear to my heart. Since then we have expanded the product line to include a smaller version of the backpack (Petit Monaco), a snack bag and most recently a classic travel bag.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?

It was the day that I received an email from a Nordstrom buyer telling me they found the Luli Bebé brand on Instagram! The buyer said the Nordstrom team loved the designs and were interested in selling the Monaco bags at Nordstrom. Yes, NORDSTROM!!!! At first I was nervous that it might be a scam but after double checking the email, we could see that it was indeed from @nordstrom.com, I still get goosebumps telling the story. The best feeling ever!

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

One of my earliest mistakes was displaying my cellphone number on our Instagram account and business website. I would get calls 24/7. My lesson is to never share a personal cellphone on a business page. Even if you are just starting a business it’s better to get a google number or share a company customer service email because you won’t stop answering your phone and, by the way, it won’t be potential customers or clients calling, but rather a lot of marketers.

Ok. Let’s now move to the main focus of our discussion. For the benefit of our readers, can you explain why you are an authority about Social Media Marketing?

The primary reason that I am an authority on marketing a business through Instagram is because we have built our business on this platform. Within the first year of business, we had already grown to 100K and our current following is 375K. It’s one of the things I am most proud of is that our customer base was grown organically, by word of mouth. Our diaper and travel bags are a very visual product which displays well on Instagram so I knew right away that that was going to be a primary vehicle for us. I was diligent in selecting the right influencers for our brand and pursued them relentlessly. It took about 10–15 times of outreach in order to get a response, but it was well worth it. Instagram growth is like a big snow ball once you are on track, but you have to consistently work at it and continue to do the things that brought you success so the momentum continues to build as well. In the early days, you might see 1–5 people following, then slowly you get to a point where your business gains 100–300 new followers a day due to increased content sharing.

Which social media platform have you found to be most effective to use to increase business revenues? Can you share a story from your experience?

Definitely Instagram! 90% of our customers are from Instagram. Honestly we are so fortunate to be in the era where Instagram is #1 platform for businesses. Many people, before buying, check a company’s Instagram account before buying the product because they can see first hand reviews and how the products are used and look in real life. In addition, top Instagram influencers have a very dedicated, loyal following who trust their brand endorsements, especially when they are organic. So when you collaborate with an influencer in the primary interest category of your brand/business, baby/parenting, in our case, it’s a great way to tap into a network of ready to go potential buyers.

Let’s talk about Instagram specifically, now. Can you share five ways to leverage Instagram to dramatically improve your business? Please share a story or example for each.

Number one, when you first start a business try to do the social media part yourself initially. Of course, you will need to hire people in time to be able to continue growing, but early on, it’s a good way for you to authentically connect with your earliest customers, build relationships and learn what kind of information they need from your brand. Additionally, you know your own business the best and no one will be as committed or as passionate as you are.

Two, do your research and locate key contact influencers in your space and try to collaborate with them. The influencers don’t need to have a massive following, there are many micro influencers that have a lower but mighty, highly engaged following. We have had 50 sales from an influencer that has only 5000 followers. Also, content is very important on your own feed and working with influencers will drive beautiful photos you can use on your social media.

Three, contact complementary brands that are in the same industry and try to collaborate with them.

Four, participate in giveaways, they are great for growth!. Always make sure the giveaways are in your niche. If you are selling a baby product don’t participate in a beauty giveaway. You will grow your following with people that want to win the product you are selling.

And lastly five, If you contact influencers, brands, giveaway hosts and they don’t respond, follow up as many times until they answer! Yes, sometimes this will mean emailing or messaging them 10 or more times. But persistence pays off!

Because of the position that you are in, you are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I would love to be part of a movement that inspires a wave of mama entrepreneurs that crush it in the business world while also reveling in their role as a mother. Women in business add tremendous value to the market and are also an example for their kids at the same time.

Some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂

Thank you so much for these great insights. This was very enlightening!

Arpi Khachatryan of Luli Bebé: Five Ways To Leverage Instagram To Dramatically Improve Your… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Mehran Moghadda of Kurvana: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis or…

Mehran Moghadda of Kurvana: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis or CBD Business

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

The speed to full global legalization is a concern since the individual cannabis markets are still very young and growing. In some ways, it would be great to slow down legalization to create a level playing field in all markets, although we would still appreciate more certainty as it pertains to legalization in new states and countries.

As part of my series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business” I had the pleasure of interviewing Mehran Moghaddam.

Founder & CEO of Kurvana, Mehran Moghaddam, has more than twenty years of combined experience in biotech, life sciences and nutraceuticals, focusing on health and wellness. Mehran holds a B.S. in Biochemistry and Exercise Science as well as an MBA from the University of California, Davis.

In 2014, he founded Kurvana, the nation’s leading premium vape pen and cannabis lifestyle brand. Mehran founded Kurvana to address the urgent need for professional biotech operators to bring higher quality and safety standards to the research, development, and manufacturing of medical cannabis.

Under Mehran’s leadership, Kurvana has established its reputation as a pioneer in the vape space. Mehran is the rare executive in the marijuana space who has a background in business as well as biochemistry, making him an expert on the science behind the cannabis plant and a thought leader in the industry.

Furthermore, Mehran is an advocate in the broader cannabis community. He is an active member on the Advisory Board for the University of California, Irvine’s Center for the Study of Cannabis, which is one of the first multi-disciplinary centers for Cannabis studies. He also maintains active memberships with the National Cannabis Industry Association, the California Cannabis Industry Association, the American Chemical Society, and the American Society for Testing and Materials.

Mehran is a distance runner and soccer enthusiast with a longstanding passion for health and wellness.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you share with us the story about what brought you to this specific career path?

During my undergraduate years, I studied biochemistry, launched a nutraceutical company and worked as a physical trainer. I’ve always been very passionate about health and wellness, and human physiology as a whole. The many therapeutic benefits of cannabis is what immediately drew me into the industry. I decided to start Kurvana back in 2014 after spending thousands of hours in a lab with a mission of creating the perfect cannabis oil.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

My company grew very fast, and I tried to hire high-level executives from industries outside of cannabis. I quickly learned that the cannabis industry is very special. One lesson learned was that I needed people who not only have a great resume and experience, but also a passion for cannabis. You may be great in other industries, but not necessarily a great fit for cannabis. We need people who will go into a dispensary (retail store) and actually enjoy our products.

Can you share a story about when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Initially, I did not tell my dad that I was starting a cannabis company. He is a professor that valued education and academics. My family saw “drugs’ as a bad thing, and I never even saw my parents have a drink of alcohol growing up. So, when he came to visit, I invited him to a conference we hosted at The University of California with a range of high-level speakers, PhD scientists, and Congressmen. I introduced him to my new line of business by showing him the academic and scientific side of cannabis. Fortunately, he has been very supportive of my business after this interesting introduction.

Are you working on any exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?

I love to spend as much time in the lab and with product development as I can. I believe strong scientific leadership is critical to innovation in an emerging industry such as cannabis. Right now, we are working on expanding our new pinnacle vape line, Carbon21, which features the best of the best concentrates in a vape pen. We are working with live resin, diamonds, badder, sauce, HTFSE, rosin, and newer unnamed extracts all in cartridge form.

At Kurvana, we are all product visionaries. We always say that we are our own biggest competition. In that spirit, we never stop creating and are continuously improving. As soon as we release a new product, we get to work on the development of the next big release. We want to continue to innovate best-in-class products that push the entire cannabis industry forward, as well as explore other expansion efforts such as new markets and new categories.

The cannabis landscape is ever changing. Cannabis consumers have more choices than ever before with a growing market. But as always, we will stay true to our mission of uncompromising quality while exploring innovative ways to bring that quality to new markets and verticals.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

Kurvana was built from the ground up with a team of dedicated experts and young cannabis enthusiasts. We all came from humble beginnings and were united by an entrepreneurial spirit, passion, and commitment to bringing the highest quality products to the industry. Today, I continue to lead our research and development with a remarkable team and a culture that builds on our roots of innovation and striving for perfection. I believe Kurvana will continue to lead the way for premium cannabis products worldwide.

In addition, I have always found great inspiration from my father. He has always set an example of being the very best that you can be and dedicating yourself to hard work and passion. It helped me develop a lens which highlights how to do things right. I have definitely taken that work ethic into my business and many other aspects of my life. I recall even in the third grade, he spent the entire summer teaching me 4th through 7th grade math! I think I cried a few times, but he showed me what I am actually capable of.

This industry is young, dynamic and creative. Do you use any clever and innovative marketing strategies that you think large legacy companies should consider adopting?

Ultimately, it always comes down to the consumer experience. We are hyper-focused on delivering what the consumer wants, how they want it now, and how we believe they will want things in the future.

At Kurvana, we strategically partner with essential marketing platforms that cater to our consumers’ needs to ensure an effortless, yet trusted purchasing experience. We also try to look at other industries to see how marketing is developing to bring that into the cannabis industry.

Marketing cannabis has certain restrictions so we always try to be as innovative as possible, be authentic, and stand out. Money is not always the answer, but being creative is.

I myself often get on the floor of retailers to get feedback from budtenders and consumers and understand the user perspective better.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the Cannabis industry? Can you share 3 things that most concern you?

These are the 3 things that most excite me:

  1. The cannabis industry is still an emerging market, so there is a lot of room for growth and change.
  2. There is so much opportunity to innovate in this industry.
  3. Global legalization of cannabis will bring so many new opportunities for merging cannabis with other markets.

3 things that most concern me:

  1. The speed to full global legalization is a concern since the individual cannabis markets are still very young and growing. In some ways, it would be great to slow down legalization to create a level playing field in all markets, although we would still appreciate more certainty as it pertains to legalization in new states and countries.
  2. Unfortunately, there is still a stigma attached to the industry that will take time to truly get rid of.
  3. The lack of regulation and changing regulation is concerning since it makes it hard to operate consistently when the rules or law are still changing.

Can you share your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis Business”? Please share a story or example for each.

I entered the cannabis industry early on, so it was very different than it is now but there are things that I wish I had known, such as:

  1. The lack of professionalism early on in the industry was surprising to me. So many other operators did not seem to care about regulations, ethics, properly paying taxes, and basically just operating illegally despite their claim to want to operate a legal and professional business.
  2. The need to hire the right people and people with cannabis experience. You need people who are passionate about the industry and not just passionate about business.
  3. Understanding the importance of quality and testing since so many companies did not test early on. We tested our products before we even had to by regulation which gave us a strong competitive advantage.
  4. Cash flow is king and even more critical for a fast growing company. The need to have a lot of capital to start a business, so you do not have to worry about running out of cash before you are actually making money.
  5. In some ways, legalization has made it harder to operate with a lot of red tape, taxes, etc. Competing legally with an existing illegal market makes it very difficult.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

The biggest contributing factor, or rather, motivator for Kurvana’s growth has been our commitment to innovation and pushing the boundaries in a fast-paced and challenging industry. Leadership is key. Anyone at Kurvana in a leadership role plays an important role in leading and coaching team members on a daily basis. Invest the valuable time into your team no matter how hectic or busy it may get..

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

One of my biggest passions in life is health. As a scientist I am focused on creating products that can help people live a healthy lifestyle. I would love to inspire a health movement.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

Readers can follow Kurvana on Instagram @kurvana_official and on my personal account @mehraninc

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!

Mehran Moghadda of Kurvana: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started Leading a Cannabis or… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Steve Lee of Aura Health: 5 Things Anyone Can Do To Optimize Their Mental Wellness

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Find purpose in your work — We spend the majority of our waking hours working, and this can be beautiful or disastrous based on your perspective. Not finding purpose in your work, or seeing work only as means to make money, will eventually lead you to destruction. Once you start to find meaning, you will spend your working hours experiencing the joy of serving others, contributing to society, and challenging yourself to become better.
 — Shortly after becoming an entrepreneur, but before founding Aura, I realized the line of work I had chosen was far more challenging and mentally taxing than I could have guessed. My love for work turned into a never-ending grind that led to burnout. I had to take a step back, revisit my purpose, and rethink the way I view work. Then I was able to fall in love with work (and life) all over again.

As a part of my series about the “5 Things Anyone Can Do To Optimize Their Mental Wellness”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Steve Lee.

Steve is the Co-founder & CEO of Aura Health. Aura is an Apple award-winning, all-in-one app for emotional health & sleep that is serving over 5 million people. As a technical CEO, Steve oversees growth, product, and engineering at Aura.

Prior to Aura, he helped startups such as LaunchPad Central (Steve Blank’s Lean Startup software for enterprises) and Gauss Surgical (computer vision for surgical blood loss measurement, a Stanford StartX startup) grow. He also built three healthcare non-profit organizations starting at age 19. Steve holds a Master of Translational Medicine degree from UCSF and UC Berkeley, where he studied healthcare entrepreneurship & engineering.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?

I became an entrepreneur simply by following my passion and calling. The most important step was finding a mission I wanted to devote my life to.

I’ve always been passionate about health due to my own childhood struggles and spent most of my life studying to be a physician to help others who were sick like me. Over time, I realized that mental health is one of the most pressing, under-served problems that we all face. When I was in middle school, I witnessed my own mother struggle with her mental health after a destructive divorce with my father. Many of my closest friends have also struggled with their mental health since they were very young. But there are so many barriers to building and maintaining mental health today — stigma, cost, access, and more.

One day during a family vacation, my brother Daniel and I were discussing how software could change the way we approach and improve mental health, and transform our culture. Software creates powerful communities and intelligent content recommendations change the way we think and behave. What if this power is used to heal people instead of getting us addicted to our phones? At the time, mindfulness was gaining traction and support from the scientific community, and we witnessed firsthand how powerful it could be — even just practicing through pre-recorded audio files. There were also a few mindfulness apps gaining popularity, but the numerous people we talked to felt like these apps were too one-size-fits all and limiting. We saw an opportunity to create a new digital ecosystem focused on mental wellness and leverage machine learning to make self-care more personalized and effective.

When we launched Aura, I was in the final months of the Master of Translational Medicine program at UCSF & Berkeley studying healthcare entrepreneurship and spending time with various startups. Daniel was still in college. He ended up deciding to drop out so we could become entrepreneurs together.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

When Daniel, my younger brother and co-founder, and I first started Aura with no funding, we lived together and worked together — we actually shared a tiny room in an apartment in SOMA (San Francisco) and worked in our living room. He designed and I coded, and as we started to grow, we listened to our users, iterated on Aura, and moved at an unbelievable speed — getting to $1M in ARR with just the two of us at home.

To this day, we continue to keep the team small so we can be nimble, and user focused.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

My brother and I owe everything to growing up with our incredible single mother, who taught us the importance of helping others and staying positive in the face of adversity. Professionally, we’re grateful for other founders and investors who believed in our mission early on, and communities such as Reforge and Praxis. Reforge taught us how to grow a company via their cohort-based program and by pairing us with incredible growth executives through their Reforge Partners program. Praxis taught us how to create a truly mission-driven organization.

What advice would you suggest to your colleagues in your industry to thrive and avoid burnout?

Most founders or those who work at startups have a growth mindset and a never-ending drive. It’s critical to balance that drive with getting comfortable doing nothing and simply savoring life every now and again. Form a weekly ritual to “play,” experience life, and most importantly rest.

What advice would you give to other leaders about how to create a fantastic work culture?

This is a big question — align the team on a common mission, create a culture that gets them truly excited about their impact, provide a safe environment for them to take risks, and help them grow.

Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. Mental health is often looked at in binary terms; those who are healthy and those who have mental illness. The truth, however, is that mental wellness is a huge spectrum. Even those who are “mentally healthy” can still improve their mental wellness. From your experience or research, what are five steps that each of us can take to improve or optimize our mental wellness. Can you please share a story or example for each.

  1. Find purpose in your work — We spend the majority of our waking hours working, and this can be beautiful or disastrous based on your perspective. Not finding purpose in your work, or seeing work only as means to make money, will eventually lead you to destruction. Once you start to find meaning, you will spend your working hours experiencing the joy of serving others, contributing to society, and challenging yourself to become better.
     — Shortly after becoming an entrepreneur, but before founding Aura, I realized the line of work I had chosen was far more challenging and mentally taxing than I could have guessed. My love for work turned into a never-ending grind that led to burnout. I had to take a step back, revisit my purpose, and rethink the way I view work. Then I was able to fall in love with work (and life) all over again.
  2. Spend time in silence, meditation, and prayer — We live in a noisy world that pulls you in thousands of directions every day. Spending time in silence helps you listen and understand yourself and your purpose in the world. It helps remove distractions and desires, and focuses you on what is important and right. It also helps you learn to find peace in the midst of whatever challenges you may be facing.
     — Silence, meditation and prayer are my go-to tools for both making critical decisions and maintaining wellbeing on a daily basis. And at Aura, we make it easy for anyone to find peace in silence through audio guidance created by coaches and therapists from around the world, making this ritual even more personalized and meaningful.
  3. Create a daily and weekly rhythm for rest and recovery — Every day should be spent on a rhythm that you control, instead of ‘pushing through’ at all times. This rhythm should include concerted efforts for rest and recovery. This is really hard to do right in today’s world.
     — Find what rejuvenates you and replenishes your soul, schedule it into your routine (even in the middle of workday), and protect them. These activities don’t have to be time-consuming or extensive; it can be as simple as stepping outside to feel the sun on your face.
  4. Play — I learned about the concept of “play” from the book Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans. Play is something that you do purely for enjoyment and not related to work — something that gives you joy, empowers you, and enables creativity.
    – After much experimentation, I found my favorite play activity to be soccer. Soccer is challenging, team-oriented, and also artful. It creates communities — you can connect with anyone playing soccer. Soccer, as opposed to some other forms of play, also pushes you to be better through external validation — you actually get better against other people and others see it. There is no limit to how good you can get. I recently picked up soccer again after an 8-year break, and rekindling my love for the sport has been a major source of joy. Play helps you remember that life is beautiful!
  5. Take it easy — It’s so simple, yet so elusive. Sometimes we put too much pressure on ourselves. We want to do it all, but we just get rushed and stressed, and end up missing the mark on what we set out to do in the first place.
     — We have to remember to take it easy. Many times, this opens up our creativity and things start falling into place.

Is there a particular book that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story?

Although many books have had a transformative impact on me, one that is less well known is The Power of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr.

In the field of competitive athletics, the cycle of muscle strain followed by rest and recovery fuels growth in physical performance. The same is true for mental performance, yet most of us do not rest and recover enough — we push, push and push until we flame out. This book introduces the concept of “energy management” — meaning energy, not time, is the “fundamental currency of high performance.”

There are four pillars to maintaining and strengthening your energy and wellbeing: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual wellbeing. Understanding this concept and framework allowed me to continuously test and optimize my weekly habits and become stronger (both physically and mentally) and more productive over time.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I’d love to see our hyper-modern world value and embody spirituality again. For some, it might be spending time in silence and meditation or deepening their faith in religion and finding the truth. For others, it might be through spending time in nature and realizing how small we are. Through spirituality, we can connect at a deeper level, break the stigma, and heal.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

Please follow me on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/skleest/) where I post frequently and on Twitter (@steveleesf). And please check out Aura (www.aurahealth.io) if you or someone you know could benefit from a personalized self-care app that they love.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!

Steve Lee of Aura Health: 5 Things Anyone Can Do To Optimize Their Mental Wellness was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women Leading The Cannabis Industry: “Let girls and women know that cannabis is a viable career…

Women Leading The Cannabis Industry: “Let girls and women know that cannabis is a viable career option” With Dede Perkins of ProCanna

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

…Let girls and women know that cannabis is a viable career option.

…Establish female mentorship programs that prepare women for accepting challenges and positions of authority.

…Hire women for the C-suite and give them a visible role.

As a part of my series about strong women leaders in the cannabis industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dede Perkins

Dede Perkins, co-founder of Onside Compliance, Inc. and ProCanna, has a true entrepreneurial spirit. She joined the cannabis industry in 2013 as a member of the application team that won one of the first competitive vertically integrated applications in Massachusetts. After that, she helped win cannabis licenses in New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, California, Arkansas, North Dakota, and Nevada. A regulatory specialist, Dede is passionate about combining compliance with operational excellence; safe, standardized products; empowered employees; strong company culture and brands. When she’s not working, Dede is enjoying great meals and amazing sunsets at Sebago Lake; training and teaching new tricks to her crazy dog, Bodie; reading a good book; or, walking and hiking with family and friends.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to the cannabis industry?

Thanks for talking with me, I’m happy to be here! Backstory…It was 2013, I was a freelance writer. One of my clients referred me to a guy who needed help with an “application”. When I met the guy, he asked me if I knew anything about medical marijuana (answer — not a thing), reassured me he wasn’t a stoner (made me laugh, he clearly wasn’t), and told me he was putting together a team to apply for one of the first competitive cannabis licenses in Massachusetts. Long story short, we won that license, I found the medical cannabis world compelling, started getting other referrals, and within 18 months was working almost exclusively with the industry. I had a ringside seat as companies large and small struggled to win licensure and once they did, to keep up with changing regulations, their own maturing policies and procedures, and endless training due to high turnover. I thought there must be a better way to keep everyone together and on track, to lower stress while improving operations; to make regulations, SOPs, training, and documentation centralized, current and easily accessible. That’s ProCanna.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

We almost contracted with a very well-regarded, established software development company near us. We had vetted a number of others, but they came up on top. We met with them a few times, and while everything seemed great on the surface, something didn’t feel right. We did not sign the contract, and had to start a new search. Within a month we had heard that the company was closing in our area and the team was permanently moving overseas. In the end, following our gut brought us to an amazing tech team that not only does great work, they now feel like family.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I’ve made plenty of mistakes, and from those mistakes I’ve learned that each mistake comes with a lesson that will make us better individuals as we move forward and grow.

Do you have a funny story about how someone you knew reacted when they first heard you were getting into the cannabis industry?

Oh yes. My husband’s college friends in particular thought it was ironic that I was the one getting into the industry. “Wait, Dede’s working in cannabis??” Also, my brother, my kids and their friends…

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

Too many to name, but here are a few. The client who referred me to the MA app project, the guy running the MA app team, cannabis industry veterans who welcomed me into their ranks and referred me business. My largest client who offered me a place on his team and gave me a ringside seat to watch their incredible growth into a publicly traded company. Of course, my husband and ProCanna cofounder. Wouldn’t be here without these people.

Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? How do you think that will help people?

We always have a project or a new feature that we’re building into the platform, but one exciting project is our social equity program, which will help social equity applicants and licensees have easy access to regulations and ProCanna-supplied foundational policies and SOPs as they build their applications and businesses. The platform is offered to social equity applicants and licensees at no cost through final licensure and at a significant discount after that.

Ok. Thank you for all that. Let’s now jump to the main core of our interview. Despite great progress that has been made we still have a lot more work to do to achieve gender parity in this industry. According to this report in Entrepreneur, less than 25 percent of cannabis businesses are run by women. In your opinion or experience, what 3 things can be done by a)individuals b)companies and/or c) society to support greater gender parity moving forward?

  1. Let girls and women know that cannabis is a viable career option.
  2. Establish female mentorship programs that prepare women for accepting challenges and positions of authority.
  3. Hire women for the C-suite and give them a visible role.

You are a “Cannabis Insider”. If you had to advise someone about 5 non intuitive things one should know to succeed in the cannabis industry, what would you say? Can you please give a story or an example for each.

For one through four: Work hard. So many people think the cannabis industry must be FUN. Let me tell you, the only way to succeed in this industry is to work hard, be resilient and determined. Like work until your eyes bleed hard. A story? There are so many. Investors getting cold feet days before an application is due and still managing to submit and win it. The delivery service delivering an application two hours after the deadline, bad hires, exorbitant fees, constantly having to raise money…. For the fifth, you have to remember that the effort is worth every second.

Can you share 3 things that most excite you about the cannabis industry?

  1. Research. I’m excited to learn all the ways the cannabis plant can help people.
  2. People. The most interesting and some of the best people I’ve met work in and are dedicated to this new industry.
  3. Justice. The cannabis industry is in a position to help right the wrongs of prohibition and the failed War on Drugs.

Can you share 3 things that most concern you about the industry? If you had the ability to implement 3 ways to reform or improve the industry, what would you suggest?

  1. The financial cost of entry is too high. Improve access to capital. Set up state-administered grant and loan funds for qualified applicants in marginalized groups — certified women-, minority-, veteran-owned businesses.
  2. Some regulations are over-the-top and create unnecessary stress and expense. Create reasonable regulations rather than those written from places of fear or greed.
  3. Many cannabis operations are unsustainable and unduly stress the environment. Increase flow of information to operators on energy options, grants, and sustainability initiatives.

What are your thoughts about federal legalization of cannabis? If you could speak to your Senator, what would be your most persuasive argument regarding why they should or should not pursue federal legalization?

Cannabis is a natural substance with the ability to improve quality of life. It’s time for legalization, funded research, and education.

Today, cigarettes are legal, but they are heavily regulated, highly taxed, and they are somewhat socially marginalized. Would you like cannabis to have a similar status to cigarettes or different? Can you explain?

Absolutely not. Cannabis is life-enhancing, not a killer. Yes to regulation and education, but let’s move toward reasonable regulation and taxation rather than treating it as a product that threatens health, wellness, and societal foundations.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Besides “Do unto others…” and “Take care of your corner of the world”, I live by my father’s advice to always give 110% effort in whatever I’m doing. Oh, and there’s this one: “Fear is the disease. Hustle is the antidote.”

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Let’s bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people.

Thank you so much for the time you spent with this. We wish you only continued success!

Women Leading The Cannabis Industry: “Let girls and women know that cannabis is a viable career… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Lessons From a Thriving Power Couple, With David Tutera and Joey Toth

Joey — You need a shared passion and joy in the journey. If you both don’t love what you are doing it won’t last and you won’t thrive.

David — COMMUNICATION is KEY — being able to share your happiness and your pain and your worry is very important! If your communication falls apart, your relationship will crumble. It is up to both of us to make sure we are sharing and asking questions and making sure we check in on one another to see where we are: emotionally, spiritually and mentally.

As a part of our series about lessons from Thriving Power Couples, I had the pleasure of interviewing David Tutera and Joey Toth.

David Tutera is a globally recognized entertaining expert, event planner, motivational speaker, television personality, entrepreneur, and fashion designer known for his truly one-of-a-kind celebrations and creative vision. Best known for his hosting role on the popular TV show, My Fair Wedding, David has over 30 years of industry experience creating spectacular events for A-list celebrities, including Elton John, Prince Charles, Vanessa Williams, Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya, and more. He and his husband, COO Joey Toth, both run the David Tutera Brand. From growing the company’s event planning and design business to cultivating David’s mentorship program for event/wedding planners, this dynamic power couple does it all; along raising two daughters, Cielo and Gracie.

Can you tell us a story about what brought you two to your respective career paths?

David: My journey started at a young age….19 to be exact. I was at Fordham University for a year and a half, and I just felt I was not in the right place at the right time. Following my gut, I made the decision to leave and figure out what was best for me at the moment. I was asked to decorate a party (a Bar Mitzvah) and my entrée into the world of celebrations began. At 19, stepping into a business I knew nothing about was scary, but also bold and intriguing. 100 percent self-taught and dedicated to working hard, I managed transform a small business into a brand. I went from 19 knowing very little to having 7 published books and hosting and executive producing over 500 episodes of television. Over my three decades, I’ve learned if you love what you do and have a passion, you can succeed at anything!

Joey: It has definitely been an interesting journey for me to this point. I started in corporate banking and then ventured into corporate Real estate, taking with me skills from one industry and applying and growing them in a new. I liked both industries and enjoyed the successes, but biggest shift in my career path came when I truly connected with my passion for well-being, service, and entrepreneurship. In following these passions wholeheartedly, I was brought to this wonderful place of joining David as part of his company, where I’m able to help grow the next evolutions in all that we do.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you two got married?

David: Interesting may be the wrong word… more like surprised others still do not understand there are many family dynamics. Children can be raised by one parent versus the traditional nuclear family. Two moms, two dads, and a grandparent can raise children. Our family dynamic is based on LOVE is LOVE. Our two daughters see only love and life and happiness. The challenges have always been that others don’t know what to say to us and often seem to ask questions that are not necessary. So, our interesting moments are watching others try to put together the pieces in their minds, when the reality is there are no pieces to put together because all we see is LOVE.

Joey: Being same-sex parents for our two girls has certainly created many interesting moments for us. Both the fun and interesting moments all parents experience and then the unique ones of dealing with how people sometimes just don’t know how to approach two dads. We are often fielding questions and educating others about our journey. I can think of several “interesting” and also very awkward encounters where strangers ask, “So, how did you get your kids?” or even “Which one of you is the actual dad?” It’s definitely given us some amusing stories to tell.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

David: I was the owner of my small business, the driver of my truck, the designer of my creations. I was a one-man band for several years. You never make this mistake twice…I was driving a rented cube truck and accidently entered onto the West Side Highway traveling into NYC and drove onto the exit ramp rather than the entrance ramp. TRUST ME it was not good. Another time, I was planning one of my first society weddings in NYC at the Pierre Hotel. It was the first week of January and the truck was filled with all white flowers — Casablanca Lilies were in abundance! I had babied the lilies so they were opened perfect. But, when I arrived to the loading dock of the Pierre Hotel, I opened my back of the truck door and the lilies were black. They had been frozen due to the extreme cold that day. I jumped into a cab and went to every corner store to purchase as many white lilies as I could find.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Please share an anecdotal story or example.

Joey: What makes us stand out is our passion and care for making a difference — for encouraging people to dream big and then taking the action to make those dreams come true. We create unforgettable event experiences, provide inspirational and motivational teachings and mentorship opportunities, and also develop product lines that bring beauty, solutions, and joy to our retail consumers.

David: Passion, dedication, excellence and making sure we make DREAMS come true. The David Tutera business and brand has and will always be about making others feel special. We have worked hard as a couple to elevate others, support one another and bring to our industry leadership and education. This makes us stand out. The David Tutera Mentorship Program, The David Tutera Experience, and the various philanthropic work we do to brings joy, hope, smiles and positivity others.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Joey: We are so excited about the latest project we are working on to bring David Tutera events to the masses. Our event planning business gets thousands of inquiries each year of people dreaming of a David Tutera event. Unfortunately, there are only so many events that David and our team can produce each year. That is, until now…we are creating a concept that we will be launching in Fall 2021 that will allow consumers to have David Tutera-curated events delivered right to their doors. Think farm-to-consumer David Tutera designed floral centerpieces, personal flowers, and more. Additionally, we’ve created a great line of all the various paper/print materials needed for an event.

What advice would you give to other CEOs or founders to help their employees to thrive?

DAVID: Take time to care. Take more time to listen. Employees thrive when they are given positive feedback and also when they are given insight on how to do better. No one can succeed without insight and without guidance. CEOs need to remind themselves that employees want to thrive and need to aspire to be the best version of themselves. CEOs are not just owners; they need to remember they are and should be leaders!

Joey: I’d add that it is also important to lead from a place of inclusion, joy and clarity. All people and ideas are welcome. There has to be joy found in the work to be done and in the environment. There has to be a connection between the work and someone’s passion or desire to grow. There has to be clarity on the overall vision and goals of the company, but flexibility/openness in how to get there.

How do you define leadership?

Joey: Leadership is taking responsibility for the team, setting clear objectives for the team, and holding team members accountable. Leadership is inspiring someone to believe in themselves and helping them to see all their potential and then supporting that growth. Leadership is an act of service to guide someone to become their best version of themselves and in doing so creates the best possible results for their position.

DAVID: BEING present, BEING bold, BEING strong and BEING Brilliant.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful for, who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

David: The women in my life have paved the way. My grandmother, my mother and now my two daughters. Women are bold and powerful and I am grateful for all the life lessons they have shared with me. Without each of them, I would not be who I am today and who I strive to be tomorrow. We all evolve, and if we listen to the people that helped pave our journey, we can live in the moment and appreciate knowing the JOY is in the JOURNEY.

Joey: I love this question. As it’s true, there are many people I honor and am grateful to for their guidance, leadership and inspiration. One person, of course, is my mom for her work ethic and her teaching: “just figure it out.” Meaning, we are capable of anything and there are many ways to approach a situation or problem, which means there are many ways to fix it. Another person would be an old boss of mine that taught me how to review and negotiate contacts.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

Joey: Right now, David and I share our success through mentorship of other event professionals and business owners. Helping them to grow professionally, teaching important lessons, processes and other ways to grow their business. And then connecting those lessons to personal growth and connection to individual purpose. It has been wonderful to see our mentorship program taken so seriously, to witness the confidence grow in our mentees, and then seeing them use that confidence in powerful ways to grow their businesses and incomes.

David: It’s important to use my gifts and talent help others less fortunate than myself. I have worked for the Prevent Cancer Foundation now for 20 years, helping to not just raise money but also to educate how to live a life to prevent cancer. We also work with a foundation called Special Love where I have been able to shine a light on children recovering from cancer by creating craft projects that allow their creativity to blossom and remind them there is light and love ahead. Bringing goodness in the world should really be about simply being kind to others. A simple gesture, a simple smile can bring goodness into our world.

What are the “5 Things You Need To Thrive As A Couple”? Please share a story or example for each.

David:

  1. COMMUNICATION is KEY — being able to share your happiness and your pain and your worry is very important! If your communication falls apart, your relationship will crumble. It is up to both of us to make sure we are sharing and asking questions and making sure we check in on one another to see where we are: emotionally, spiritually and mentally.
  2. SUPPORT — your partner in life has to have your back and must be by your side. As a couple we can’t always expect perfection but have to always lead with love. We have to know when to step back and when to step in. As a couples we thrive when we understand one another.
  3. PARTNERSHIP- as parents to two young, amazing girls, we have to dance the parent dance together with grace. We may not always see things the same way, but we have to be as close as possible on the same page. Parenting as partners is simply being present as human beings.
  4. RESPECT — We may not always agree but we have to respect our partners outlook on topics, life, and love and family. We can’t try and teach our partner what we want them to do or be or act like. We have to accept them for who they are and love them for all of them, not part of them.
  5. KINDNESS — an easy word yet not always the easiest of actions. We must mutually agree to be kind to one another even when it may seem the hardest action to take. We have to love ourselves therefore we can love our partner. Life is hard as hell as it is…we have to find the kindness in moments — the smiles in our day and the JOY of our journey together to thrive.

Joey:

  1. You need a shared passion and joy in the journey. If you both don’t love what you are doing it won’t last and you won’t thrive.
  2. You need to be able to have open and honest communication. There will be disagreements and you need to be able to disconnect from ego to make the best choices.
  3. You need to understand that there will be failures and rather than place blame on one another, find the lesson from the failure and grow.
  4. You must have trust in each other to show up, do the work and have each other’s back. You have to trust each other to take chances me so the unexpected.
  5. You have to be able to disconnect from the work. It can’t be 24/7.

If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

Joey: I would inspire a movement to connect all people to the concept that we are all part of one large global community and to be better to each other. Realizing how far small simple changes in how we interact with each other and support one of another could change the world.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

David: “Surround yourself with others who believe you are great…because YOU are!”

Joey: “Just Do It” — get over your fears, doubts, self-judgments and push past those barriers to go after and live the life you desire. Just do it; if you want something, figure it out and do it. Don’t make excuses or give reasons why you can’t. Just do it!

Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why?

Joey: If I could have lunch with anyone, I would love an inspirational lunch with Oprah. I loved her book “What I know For Sure.” I think she has a wonderful way to see blessings in the lessons of life. I like the message of hope and good that she shares. I would be honored to support her mission for doing good.

David: My grandmother…There was something spectacular about her. She was bold, brassy, loving, and kind. A simple woman that worked hard and taught me so much about how to be positive and loving. I loved her humor, her love for love and religion, her passion for her family, and her deep love for her friends. She knew hate was wrong, that bullying was unacceptable, and always led with love and believed in equality. I would want to simply say “thank you” for helping mold me into the person I am today. I would want to simply say…thank you, I love you for all you are, and all you were to me.

How can our readers follow your work online?

David Tutera: www.davidtutera.com; @davidtutera on

Instagram and YouTube

Joey Toth: @yourcoachjoey on Instagram

This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!

Lessons From a Thriving Power Couple, With David Tutera and Joey Toth was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.