Day: November 16, 2022

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Never stop positive manifestation- As humans, we are the makers of our own destinies. You want to shoot for the stars, and understand even if you fall, you will still land amongst the stars. You speak out what you want OUTLOUD multiple times- and you get your headspace into the realm of focusing on saying “I am going to achieve” “I am going to get” etc and you watch it happen- I promise this works — I have done this as a jobseeker, as a person in court — and as someone who has always been told I couldn’t do it- I believe in ALL of you!

As a part of our series about “dreamers who ignored the naysayers and did what others said was impossible”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Arwyn Swanger.

Arwyn Swanger is a Neurodiverse and Autistic mental health warrior, a fighter who has overcome adversity hurdles and who has found her purpose in life by helping empower others, advocating for #Disabilityinclusion and for survivors of Domestic violence. Arwyn is a Senior Tech Recruiter with Ultranauts Inc, a company that is founded on the principles of Inclusive hiring from the start, and Universal hiring practices. Arwyn provides public speaking for Neurodiversity, Autism, Disability Inclusion and for survivors of Domestic Violence, sexual assault and Mental health.

Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us your backstory?

My story is unlike anyone else’s that you will meet. I was born to a mother who was a teenage parent with significant mental health issues and a dad who was a veteran in the military and had unresolved trauma from his childhood. My parents never should have married- they were like Oil, and water. My birth mother is someone who is unable to be alone- her value equates to who she is with, and what he will do for her. She turned a blind eye for years to the abuse that was happening within multiple households including sexual assault and molestation. I always knew I was different, but I was born to a person who didn’t want a label on me, which resulted in getting less help. School was a struggle, friendships and relationships were toxic.I went through 28 years of Domestic violence, sexual assault and rape starting at 6 years old. The last person to rape me was my ex husband- March 20th, 2021 is a night I will never be able to forget. I have had to overcome homelessness, discrimination, abuse, alcohol abuse all while being Neurodiverse, Autistic and a mental health warrior.

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

I am currently working on helping Jobseekers optimize their resumes by offering resume refreshes on special pricing written by me, a professional resume writer of 15 years. I also offer career strategy and portoflio planning. I have been able to help over 700 people of the years find empowering employment and have a high retention rate. I am also currently looking for Senior Data Quality Analysts for an exciting opporutnity we have at Ultranauts Inc. 🙂

In your opinion, what do you thik makes your company or organization stand out from the crowd?

We are steps ahead of the rest- we are leaders in Universal Hiring practices, and Inclusion from the start. You can read about it here — — https://ultranauts.co/company/

We don’t use ATS systems to just scan, we read EACH and EVERY resume and look at the candidate as a whole. We are a company founded by 2 MIT graduates, and 75% of the company identifies as being Neurodiverse, the majority of us are Autistic.

Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us? What was your idea? What was the reaction of the naysayers? And how did you overcome that?

There have been many times over the years I have been told I couldn’t do something, and then proved naysayers wrong- but here are two short examples.

1. Getting pregnant with Oliver- I was told that I would NEVER be able to carry a baby due to underlying health concerns with Endometreosis and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. I not only lost 130 pounds, I got pregnant, and over the last two years (Since contracting COVID19 in Feb 2020) have shed over 175 pounds, all while being sober from alochol (over a year) and overcoming a divorce, multiple moves and job changes.

2. I was told that no one would care about me or what I have been through by someone who had a large following on LinkedIn. I proved her wrong by putting myself out there with orignial content where I talked about things that most people do not on LinkedIn i.e. overcoming abuse, trauma, rape, assault etc. I started showing up as myself, and being authentic with a message to help others. In the last year, I have grown a following of over 4700 and talk regularly with people about overcoming obstacles in their lives. I overcame this by putting her voice in the back of my mind- I told myself not to listen to her hate, and to prove her wrong by doing exactly what I wanted to do- starting a discussion about harder to talk about topics.

Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resilenicency? Can you share the story with us?

When I was 6 years old, I was raped by an older teenager who was 16 and I was friends with his brother. I bottled up what had happened as I was still learning about myself and my body, when I was introduced to Jimmy- an abusive, child molestor and horrible human being. For 7 years I was forced to call him dad, sexually abused (molested, touched, told I was “fuckable” when I was 13) and he would constantly grope me. He used physical violence to cause harm and would make an excuse that it was the “Armys” fault. Shortly after my birth mother left him, she got with another child molestor and abuser Mark, who was just as bad as Jimmy. When I met my ex husband, I was blinded by his mistreatement and the way he allowed others to treat me that I lost myself for a long time. It wasn’t until the last 2 years that I have been able to find my voice. By the time I found my voice, it was 28 years of torture and abuse- and it’s something that has caused horrible night terrors.

Based on your experience, can you share 5 strategies that people can use to harness the sense of tenacity and what naysayers think is impossible. (Please share a story or an example for each)

1. Just because someone says you aren’t “strong, smart enough, or good enough”- doesn’t mean this is true. This is the time you hold us your middle finger like a flag, and say “not today Satan- I WILL do this against all odds”- Example above (when I got pregnant with Oliver)

2. Turn off all the unneccesary noise- this means ignore when people use words like “can’t”, “unable” to “I can” and “I will”.- When I went through the divorce, I was told that I couldn’t be a parent to my child. I told the courts to watch me- and I have done just that, while continuing to fight for my son, and my rights as a mom.

3. Just because you get a “rejection” doesn’t mean it’s over for you- instead, create an action plan and surround yourself with people who are aligned with the same values, believes, mission etc that you are, and plot ways to turn that rejection into an acception- this means upskilling, asking questions and asking for feedback.

4. Don’t stop dreaming for what you want- No one else defines your worth, your value or your acheievements- show all the people who have silenced you, doubted you or told you that it was impossible that it is possible and how strong you are.

5. Never stop positive manifestation- As humans, we are the makers of our own destinies. You want to shoot for the stars, and understand even if you fall, you will still land amongst the stars. You speak out what you want OUTLOUD multiple times- and you get your headspace into the realm of focusing on saying “I am going to achieve” “I am going to get” etc and you watch it happen- I promise this works — I have done this as a jobseeker, as a person in court — and as someone who has always been told I couldn’t do it- I believe in ALL of you!

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?

When I think of who has helped me get to where I am, there are three people that I will say have had the greatest impact on me. These people include my partner and best friend Shayne, my son who just turned 4 and is named Oliver, and my friend, and a bonus big brother, Dan Roth.

My boyfriend Shayne and I got together in April of 2021, after my tumultuous marriage with my ex-husband who I will name “Satan” in this context had decided to divorce, following being raped under the influence of alcohol in front of my son who was co-sleeping with me at the time. My partner has overcame a lot in his life, including a rare seizure disorder caused by a buildup of scar tissue and his own trauma with abuse. When I met him, he saved me from myself- I was truly my own worst enemy, at the height of my drinking to cover up the pain that I had felt. We battled homelessness together, and then through hard work, overcame a miscarriage last November, multiple moves all over the state of WA, Montana and now North Dakota. If you have ever heard of the “Underground Railroad” that helps victims of Domestic violence- that is what we experienced. At the same time I had a miscarriage, I was in the height of the divorce, and was ripped apart in court for being LGBTQIA+, Neurodiverse, Autistic, and had mental health as a reason I was unable to parent, and my son was given to my rapist who never was charged with his crime. We are finally in a spot where I am able to fight back harder, and get the justice that is much overdue.

My son helped me as he is also Neurodiverse like I am- he is truly my mini, my miracle baby and the biggest blessing that I have ever asked for.

Lastly, my friend and mentor Dan Roth. Dan and I met a year ago on Linkedin after I was fired due to my disabilities from a previous employer. Dan shared about being Neurodiverse and that it was okay to talk about. He gave me strength, and after a year, I have been able to build up a great friendship with Dan, and typically catch up with him over messaging once a week. Dan has never given up on me- and has encouraged me to show up as I am over the last year. He is not only a bonus big brother, he is a friend for life, and someone I know who will always have my back.

What is your favorite quote or personal philogosyphy that relates to the concept of resilience?

“Success is not final. Failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts”- Winston Churchill

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

I want to help other single moms and dads who have faced open discrimination in the court systems fight back for their rights to parent their children. A disability does not define your ability to parent. My story is not just the only one out there- but it is one you will hear of often as I use my voice as a positive platform to help others. I also want to be able to fight for Spousal rape to be recognized, and that crimes against a person with a disability should be a priority instead of sweeping it under the rug.

Can our readers follow you on social media?

Yes they can! Find me on LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamarwyn/

Thank you for these great stories. We wish you only continued success!

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“They Told Me It Was Impossible And I Did It Anyway”, With Arwyn Swanger of Ultranauts was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

It’s insanely lonely — When talking about starting my own business to friends and family before making the leap, I was met with nothing but encouragement. A couple of months in I realized quickly that very few could relate. They did not understand what it was like to craft a vision, set up a sales funnel, or write copy that would convert. Sure, they may have done some of these tasks for others, but they never had their entire heart and soul exposed for the world to see. It’s like standing in a crowded room and you’re the only one naked.

As part of our series called “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Began Leading My Company” I had the pleasure of interviewing Brittney Canter-Barbe of PowHER.

Brittney was the woman who climbed to the top of her field, despite overwhelming imposter syndrome and self-doubt. She constantly battled against feelings that she was not good enough, smart enough, or deserving enough for the role she had achieved. Sitting in boardrooms and being asked to take notes, she was told time and again that she should be hidden in back of house operations because she looked the part and of course, was told she was too aggressive. But none of this stopped her from reaching the mountaintop. Brittney left her cushy, half million+ career to launch PowHER and discovered that so many women are looking for guidance on how to claim their power in the workplace, at home and throughout every aspect of their lives. She realized that she could help these women by sharing her own story and teachings. In this episode, she shares:What led her out of Corporate America and into an entrepreneurial calling to do more, be more, have more and change more.How she works to teach women and corporations to “build a better table”.Her take on why women are leaving the corporate world and betting on themselves.Tactical steps for those who are uncomfortable negotiating on their own behalf in order to get the best possible offer.Her experience with Imposter Syndrome earlier in her career.The powerful lessons she has learned through failure.Why pouring into others is something that reaps benefits for the giver and the receiverThe advice she would give her younger self.This was such a great episode as Brittney went deep on her story and how she has navigated all that has come at her in her life. Make sure to check out her website for executive consulting and coaching needs as well as her social media for great content and tips-links below.WebsiteTikTokLinkedInYouTubeInstagram

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?

After spending 16 years in Corporate America across multiple industries, I knew the call to do more, be more, have more, and change more wasn’t going away.

In my early 30s, I had managed to climb the corporate ladder becoming the only woman in the executive c-suite. I had increased my compensation package by 13x in five short years and was in a position of PowHER where I could influence policy, drive cultural change throughout a global organization and build a team where employees felt like they belonged. Life was fast-paced, fulfilling, and full of possibilities. I did this without an ivy league education, white-collar family backing, and no security net to catch me when I fell.

The climb was beyond any challenge I could have imagined. I constantly battled imposter syndrome. I woke up daily thinking, “I’m not smart enough! I’m not good enough! I do not deserve this role!” I sat in boardrooms and was asked to take notes, was told I should not be hidden in back-of-the-house operations because I had the premium-brand look and of course, was told I was too aggressive, too bold, and too driven. I was excluded from the boy’s club and was even gaslighted by a trusted mentor.

I learned first-hand exactly what it takes to land positions of PowHER, negotiate executive compensation packages, build a personal brand at work that ensures success, and overall, how women can thrive in positions of PowHER. I coached hundreds of women on how to implement my hard-learned lessons to ensure their careers could also catapult.

I never realized my career journey was about PowHER. After all, I was always told as a woman that wants more PowHER was a bad thing. What I realized is that without more women in PowHER, we will never have workplaces that are inclusive, policies that enable women to thrive at work, or the ability to take control of our own lives.

Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?

Honestly, I underestimated the pressure it would take going from work in Corporate to becoming the CEO of my own company. No matter what is going on: if we lose a top-paying client, if a vendor refuses to produce the services we paid for or if someone knocks off one of our programs — it’s all on me. There is no advisory Board, VC funding, or team of experts on staff to guide us. In Corporate, I always felt immense pressure but in a much different way than when starting the business. In Corporate, there was always a security net when life happened. There is not only any security net now, and the parachute can be a little wonky.

So, how are things going today? How did grit and resilience lead to your eventual success?

Even with all the immense pressure, there is also immense freedom! For the first time in my career, I no longer have anyone telling me what I should and should not do. If I wake up and want to try a new marketing campaign, I do it! If I want to completely scrap the business altogether and build something totally different, I could do it. Without someone telling us who we should or should not be, it is like a waterfall of creativity. Your brain will take you to many places you never even knew existed.

Thriving as a woman in general is hard enough. Tack on the fact that I worked solely in male-dominated fields before starting my own business, was childless, could drink scotch with the best of them, and felt cursing in an art form, I met my fair share of adversity. I was always told I was too bold, too driven, and just way TOO damn much. Having the courage to constantly reject what society wanted me to be and embrace who I was authentically and then empower what made me different took an incredible amount of resilience. Did I wake up daily battling the demons in my head? Absolutely, but I knew there was no one in this world that would have my back the way I would so I kept pushing.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

At PowHER, we are unmasking all the dirty little secrets that society has taught Corporate women for decades and exploiting them for what they are — just another way to keep women small. There are countless coaching organizations to choose from but what sets us apart is we’re not out here selling something we haven’t actually lived, survived, and thrived in ourselves. We’re also not watering any of it down because women have been longing for a place that can bring the raw, the messy, and the authentic. We give them just that and teach them how they can empower everything that makes them different in the man’s Corporate world.

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

If you are not deeply convicted about the mission of your organization — sell it off, outsource it, or do whatever you need to get away from it because it will not sustain the energy needed to be a CEO. I have an unpopular belief that “burnout” isn’t always walking out Jerry McQuire style. For many of us, burnout can be something as simplistic as being stressed out about a new launch, new service line, or new product. Burnout is something that will always be present for any CEO working in America because as a country, we are addicted to work and success. Knowing how to keep burnout at bay is the secret. Trying to eliminate it altogether will only make you miserable, unhappy, and unhealthy.

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?

How many characters do I get for this response because it could easily be a novel! I believe there is no such thing as self-made. Somewhere along the way, someone or something about how you are helped you achieve success. For me, this was so many people and my privilege.

I was fortunate enough to grow up in a traditional, heterosexual, white home where we were never treated differently because of how we looked. While we were in poverty, I never remember going terribly hungry. I was also raised by two people that had GRIT and resilience for days. Both had survived incredibly difficult childhoods and had their fair share of trauma they carried with them daily. I was also the oldest of three siblings and took on a parenting role very early in life. Which, for better or worse, did give me an incredible desire to accomplish the impossible and ensure others could do the same. And my two younger sisters are all masters or doctorate educated, financially independent, and run our own businesses.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me before I started leading my company” and why? Please share a story or example for each.

1. It’s insanely lonely — When talking about starting my own business to friends and family before making the leap, I was met with nothing but encouragement. A couple of months in I realized quickly that very few could relate. They did not understand what it was like to craft a vision, set up a sales funnel, or write copy that would convert. Sure, they may have done some of these tasks for others, but they never had their entire heart and soul exposed for the world to see. It’s like standing in a crowded room and you’re the only one naked.

2. The energy it takes is immense — in my coaching programs, clients are paying us thousands of dollars to be present for them. The energy they are expecting and paid for, is through the roof and requires you as a service provider to ensure your mind, body, and soul are in the game. I spend more time now than I ever did on self-care. I expected the opposite once I finally got to do something for a living that I loved. It turns out, it takes less energy to stay in a job you hate.

3. Patience — of course, I knew it would take time to build brand authority but I underestimated how much time it would take. Building a business takes more patience than a type-A, overachieving, get-shit-done person like me was comfortable with. I still struggle with this daily.

4. The transformation of self — I started this business in my late 30s so I felt fairly confident I knew exactly who I was. Uh….I DID NOT! Building business forces you to do so many things that scare the shit out of you. With that, comes growth and transformation, unlike anything I expected. I feel this transformation continue every day and now that I’m aware of it, I embrace it and look forward to meeting myself over and over in the years to come.

5. Be prepared for what you don’t know — I remember running my first launch and I had spent thousands on advertising. I kept watching the analytics daily and zero movements. I knew the copy and message were on point but was beyond frustrated that those dollars were not turning into clients. I realized a couple of weeks into it that there was one tiny setting in the social media platform that wasn’t clicked “on.” This simple button caused me to question everything about my business and left me stressed out for weeks! Those tiny little details that you don’t know simply because you’ve never done it before always seem to creep in.

Thank you so much for this. This was very inspirational, and we wish you only continued success!

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Brittney Canter-Barbe of PowHER: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Began Leading My Company was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Marizza Contreras of K’Alma Spa Concepts & Management On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

“Interact with the world with compassion, love and no judgment because in the end everyone is simply a reflection of ourselves.”

As a part of my series about women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Marizza Contreras.

Marizza Contreras is a luxury hotel spa consultant and entrepreneur with specialities in spa branding, spa implementation and operational management of on-site spas (including outdoors) for upscale hotel properties. In 2004, she founded Miami’s first mobile spa, Miami City Massage. K’Alma Spa Concepts and Management was developed in 2018 after participating in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Businesses Program, inspired by her passion to deeply impact the lives of those she serves. She has become a luxury hotel spa and hospitality industry leader and the authority in Miami for creating profitable hotel spas and unique guest experiences.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity to share my story. I began my wellness journey in the healing arts as a young child in Peru at the knee of my Japanese-Peruvian ojisan (grandfather). I was exposed to different modalities of alternative natural medicine through my Peruvian roots. In Peru, health care looks at the whole body and our deep connection with the natural world. It really shaped my approach to my own life and work.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

I’d have to say it goes back to connecting lessons from my past. When I began my formal education in the U.S., I enrolled in a master’s program to become a healing practitioner. As a student, I was required to not only perform the treatments but also experience them. At the time, we had been learning about practices such as Watsu, Bach flower remedies and herbal sweat lodges. During one of the treatments, I had a breakdown and a breakthrough. It really helped me understand that massage therapy is so much more than just muscle manipulation. If an area of the body is showing muscular issues, it is always tied to an emotional and systemic balance. My grandfather’s lessons all came together for me in that moment, and it has influenced everything we do in the spaces we create.

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

Mistakes are lessons in disguise. My biggest mistake was believing that the core of any business was simply the guests and ensuring that the services being provided were satisfactory. However, so much more comes into play when owning a business. Your team is the foundation. You know the old adage that says, “The customer is always right,” well, there was a time when I would put every customer’s interests above my own or my team’s. Essentially, this did more harm than good because there was no balance. In order to amplify my vision and mission, I had to put my team first. Building a great team takes time, compassion, education and community. While it takes work, having a reliable team is the best investment I have made in my company. Today, I consider them my family. What we’re able to create together is incredible.

Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

Our company’s mantra is to “elevate the energy of the world, one service and one spa at a time.” It truly goes back to our team as well. We are all aligned with the mission and our impact on every guest, partner and each other. We are all 100% focused on creating spas and treatments that have a strong intention and focused outcome.

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better well-being? Please give an example or story for each.

1. Don’t underestimate the power of food and nutrition. It will make or break you.
2. Move your body to move your mind, and move your mind to move your body. This will impact your spiritual and mental state.
3. The power of a good night’s sleep. Our body uses rest as a way to repair itself. If our physical being is drained, our mind will shortly follow, and vice versa.
4. Cut out all sugar to avoid inflammation and physical illness.
5. Put down electronics whenever possible to disconnect from all the noise. Being present in the moment without electromagnetic stimulation is so powerful.

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

I love this question. It is very simple and cost-effective: Bring meditation and breathwork into schools from a very young age. These two foundational elements will set up children for success for the rest of their lives and give them the understanding that they can influence their state. This should be coupled with nutritional improvements across the board; the lack of nutritional knowledge in health care and schools is truly alarming.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

#1. Do all things with love. Without love, there is no fulfillment.

#2. Compassion and kindness go a long way.

#3. Create a healthy work culture, not just a successful company.

#4. Focus on your talents and be open to trying things you don’t necessarily think you’ll enjoy.

#5. Invest in yourself and your happiness — success will follow.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health, and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

Mental health is something that I have taken very seriously, especially within the wellness industry. So many people are suffering now more than ever with the events of the last several years. We believe it is our responsibility as creators of healing spaces and services to reach as many people as possible in the deepest way possible. If your mind is chaotic, your physical being will become chaotic, making it impossible to address all the other items referenced in your question.

What is the best way for our readers to further follow your work online?

Instagram. @marizzaspah, @leafspas, @kalmaspas

Thank you for these fantastic insights! We wish you continued success and good health.

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Women In Wellness: Marizza Contreras of K’Alma Spa Concepts & Management On The Five Lifestyle… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Modern Fashion: Mel Huber and De Anne Combs of La Peony On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today

An Interview With Candice Georgiadice

In the world of fashion, the sum of the work is greater than the individual parts. Create environments that foster collaboration, creativity, trust, and an entrepreneurial innovative mindset.

Many in the fashion industry have been making huge pivots in their business models. Many have turned away from the fast fashion trend. Many have been focusing on fashion that also makes a social impact. Many have turned to sustainable and ethical sourcing. Many have turned to hi tech manufacturing. Many have turned to subscription models. What are the other trends that we will see in the fashion industry? What does it take to lead a successful fashion brand today?

In our series called, “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand Today” we are talking to successful leaders of fashion brands who can talk about the Future of Fashion and the 5 things it takes to lead a successful fashion brand in our “new normal.”

As a part of this series I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Melony Huber and De Anne Combs with La Peony.

Co-Founders Melony Huber and DeAnne Combs introduce a sustainably-sourced collection of timeless fashion pieces for women designed to “move with you through every stage of life.” Proudly working with Oaxaca-based artisans, La Peony is a brand that uplifts the modern wardrobe and supports the lives of the skilled men and women who create the fabrics. Each piece nurtures the unique beauty in every woman while supporting a lifestyle of love for the planet. Ethically sourced in Oaxaca, Mexico and made with sustainable dyes in Los Angeles, browse the complete limited-edition line at LaPeony.com.

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 childhood “backstory”?

Mel: I grew up the oldest of three born to a young, single mom, who remarried soon enough to enjoy the life lessons of a blended family dynamic. We did not have much, but she taught me at an early age that an education, hard work, and resilience are the formula for building a better life. I was always creative with a lot of empathy and compassion for others, and now I am tapping into those much-appreciated attributes, applying them in the world of fashion.

De Anne: I grew up in Northern California raised by parents who were serial entrepreneurs. My parents grew up in the midwest where my dad spent his youth working for his family business, so creating a business of his own just came naturally; I had a front row seat to the long hours, dedication, perseverance, and risk-taking it required. I loved working for them growing up (and was paid in ice cream cones!) I also witnessed the heartache and the victories that occurred along the way, My parents taught me that anything is possible through hard work, dedication, and a focus on doing right by people.

Can you tell us the story about what led you to this particular career path?

Mel: I’ve always been interested in interior design, painting, philanthropy, and travel. I discovered and nurtured this brand launch opportunity through conversations with De Anne. As an empty-nester in search of my new purpose, I’m choosing to take this leap into a fiercely competitive fashion industry that’s ripe for innovation. I am choosing to create and celebrate beauty in a world that can often seem dark; the task of designing this La Peony line speaks to my soul, serving as a means of self expression and satisfaction.

De Anne: The COVID shutdown gave me and Mel the time to dream and create. We were trying to answer the question, “What do we want to wear?” We knew we didn’t want to dress like our kids or like grandmothers and wanted clothes that flattered our female curves. We can all relate to that special feeling you get when you’re so confident in your outfit that you feel unstoppable. This is what we set out to create! Melony’s many years of design experience, working as an artist and interior designer, coupled with my background in entrepreneurship seemed to establish the perfect partnership.

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

Mel: At 52 years old, I have many stories — but since my career in fashion began in January of this year, my most interesting story is rooted in my recent return from Peru. I, like many other women, have come to a time in my life where I want more clarity and less self doubt. I decided that I could achieve this through a trip to Peru for a 12-day Ayahuasca retreat where I could explore and deeply reflect on old patterns and new possibilities. I achieved all that I set out to achieve, and I look forward to integrating everything that I discovered — figuring out what these new realizations mean for me and my career going forward.

De Anne: Melony and I fundamentally share the same life ethos of honesty, transparency, and kindness. This journey into the fashion world came in starts and stops until we found the right partners who shared our values of honoring people and the planet in all we do. We weathered some sticky moments early on that challenged our ethics; although uncomfortable at the time, it only strengthened our resolve to be a different kind of business — one that is transparent in its efforts to put people and the planet over profits.

You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

1. Risk-taking: a willingness to take a leap of faith financially and creatively, opening myself up to criticism with regard to my fashion designs.
2. Integrity: choosing quality over profit while committing to honesty and transparency in everything.
3. Generosity: looking for ways to share the prosperity, supporting all that contribute to our success with an ability to make a living.

De Anne:

1. Perseverance: “If it were easy, it would have already been done” is a statement I bring to mind often; this reminder makes it easier to keep going when obstacles arise or the days seem long.
2. Maintaining a “lifelong learner” mindset: There is always something new to learn. I try to focus on learning as much as I can from as many diverse perspectives as possible to help guide my path forward.
3. Commitment to a team approach: You can’t build a business alone. Mel and I are truly better together, and I love working with new partners and mentors who share our vision.

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

Mel: The softness of our fabrics makes you feel like you’re in pajamas, yet the flattering, sophisticated designs enhance a woman’s sense of feminine confidence. This — along with old-world traditions incorporated into a contemporary, comfortable design — makes us stand out.

De Anne: La Peony stands out because every piece is a pleasure to wear. We took the time to dive deep into the design research about which fits and fabrics truly flatter a woman’s curves, integrating this knowledge into our finished collection. Our brand also stands out because of our commitment to using only the finest, long-lasting fabrics, incorporating unique, artisan-crafted trims during a manufacturing process that takes place right here in Los Angeles according to the highest quality standards.

Do you have a favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share a story of how that was relevant to you in your life?

Mel: Oscar Wilde’s quote, “Be yourself, everyone else is taken” is among my favorites. This has never been more relevant in my life than right now. “Being myself” as an entrepreneur makes me feel vulnerable. Still, when I express myself creatively in front of a broad audience of friends, family, and strangers, I am certain to be “me” at my best.

De Anne: “Find a place inside yourself where anything is possible’’ is a quote I live by. Most of the amazing things that I have loved on my journey through life did not come easily. Obstacles will always be there in anything you do, but I choose to see these obstacles as guiding steps toward learning, rather than as roadblocks.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Do you see any fascinating developments emerging over the next few years in the fashion industry that you are excited about? Can you tell us about that?

Mel: I see fashion designers taking bigger risks and re-imagining old designs in new ways. I also see innovation taking place, resulting in more sustainable and eco-friendly fabrics.

De Anne: The technological changes emerging in fashion right now hold so much promise for improving the overall sustainability of the industry. For example, new software enables an electronic design process in which pieces can be fitted to a specific body avatar before fabric is ever cut and sewn. This technology will also empower consumers to create their exact dimensional avatar and “try on” clothing virtually, reducing the need for product returns and lowering shipping/clothing waste.

Can you share how your brand is helping to bring goodness to the world?

Mel: LPC focuses on doing good from the start of the design process through fabric selection and into manufacturing, caring deeply about how women feel when they wear our brand.

De Anne: Doing good is a central tenet of La Peony Clothing. Mel and I have dug deep into the research regarding which designs best flatter a woman’s body — it’s not what most people think. This is part of La Peony’s secret sauce for creating clothing that makes women look and feel their absolute best, no matter their specific body insecurity! Our very first conversations centered around how women perceive themselves as unstoppable when they feel beautiful in their clothing. La Peony brings this unstoppable energy to all women in a way that honors people and the planet — by supporting the artisans behind our beautiful pieces; by choosing to manufacture in a small Los Angeles-based, family-owned factory; and by sourcing sustainable, luxurious fabrics.

Can you share with our readers about the ethical standards you use when you choose where to source materials?

Mel: We are committed to securing materials made by only vendors who share our values of integrity, quality, and sustainability. We do our very best to research and verify that our materials support the planet and people in the best possible ways.

De Anne: We partner with a Mexico-based social cooperative called the Unión de Artesanos de Santo Tomás Jalieza — a fair-trade network of skilled Mexican textile artisans — to source the one-of-a-kind accents on certain designs. The entire collection features beautiful, luxuriously soft and sustainable hemp fleece or hemp stretch denim, which we chose as an eco-friendly alternative to less renewable resources.

Fast fashion has an advantage, that it is affordable for most people, but it also has the drawback that it does not last very long and is therefore not very sustainable. What are your thoughts about this? How does your company address this question?

Mel: We have found that caring for the planet and people costs more but is socially responsible. At LPC, we believe we are doing good when we look out for people and the planet alike. We focus on fabrics and work practices that meet higher expectations.

De Anne: Slow fashion is not “cheap clothing” but a specifically curated wardrobe that answers the question: which pieces will last, both quality-wise and trend-wise? This type of fashion is intentionally designed to last longer, with a timeless design aesthetic that endures season after season. La Peony Clothing is a slow fashion company seeking to create a movement through a community of women who adorn themselves with confident intention every day. Our small batch capsule collections are purposefully limited, resulting in less waste. Even after customers are ready to part ways with an item, they can pass it on for resale knowing it still has many more years of life left in it.

Thank you for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things You Need To Lead a Successful Fashion Brand”. Please share a story or example for each.

1. Vision: Look out for emerging trends/colors while listening to consumers and responding to behaviors/preferences; stay alert so your brand can evolve as fashion evolves.
2. Perseverance: Be able to pivot when obstacles present themselves and be willing to listen/adjust to criticism while working steadfastly toward your goals and values.
3. Integrity: Do the right thing even when it may hurt profit or timelines.
4. Attention to Detail: A garment or process can be improved by changing the tiniest details — even when it may not seem to increase profits (or people may not notice).
5. Passion: Love what you do and don’t lose sight of why you started a fashion brand — for me, the reason is to make women feel beautiful!

De Anne:

1. Vision: Find where there is a hole in the marketplace and figure out how you can uniquely meet that unmet need.
2. Innovation: Resist being like everyone else. Finding new ways to solve old problems can be revolutionary.
3. Know your customer: Really seek to understand everything about them — their behaviors, what motivates them, what drives their demand.
4. Inspiration/Passion: You must love what you are creating and stay connected to “why” you are creating it.
5. Collaboration: In the world of fashion, the sum of the work is greater than the individual parts. Create environments that foster collaboration, creativity, trust, and an entrepreneurial innovative mindset.

Every industry constantly evolves and seeks improvement. How do you think the fashion industry can improve itself? Can you give an example?

Mel: I think the fashion industry could benefit from slowing down while increasing its focus on consumers’ needs for self expression, confidence, and comfort — with the planet in mind. We can look for more creative ways to support the beauty that comes from within, transcending outward appearance, rather than sexualizing women. I believe that sophistication and confidence are the sexiest aspects of a woman!

De Anne: The fashion industry has consistently put profits over people and the planet — and consumers are growing more aware of this. Injustices like child and forced labor, unsafe working conditions, and the use of harmful environmental chemicals are on people’s radars; they recognize the hidden cost of making inexpensive garments. At La Peony Clothing, we work with a small, family-owned manufacturer in Los Angeles where employees have safe, clean working conditions and are paid a livable wage. When sourcing fabrics, we strive to use only the most environmentally conscious fibers.

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. 🙂

Mel: I am working toward this movement right now, trying to dress women so that they feel fearless, confident, and comfortable — in fact, De Anne and I are striving for a “perfect trifecta” of achieving this goal while simultaneously supporting the hard-working people behind our manufacturing process and staying mindful of the planet. I’m incredibly hopeful that we can establish a movement like this that sticks and continues to grow.

De Anne: Ditto to Mel — we are both so passionate about this!

How can our readers further follow your work online?

• WEBSITE: https://lapeony.com/
• INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/la_peony_clothing
• FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/LaPeonyClothing
• PINTEREST: https://www.pinterest.com/lapeonyclothing1

Thank you for these fantastic insights! We wish you continued success and good health.

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Modern Fashion: Mel Huber and De Anne Combs of La Peony On The 5 Things You Need To Lead a… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Don’t think too far ahead; focus on the next step. When we over-think about the many steps we need to take, we inevitably become stressed and overwhelmed. This is always more than we can handle at this very moment. Instead, we simply need to focus on the present step fully: What I am meant to do right now is the only reality. The next step will follow naturally.

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

Shai Tubali is a leading authority in the field of self-development and self-empowerment. In his writings and teachings, he skillfully combines psychology, philosophy, Yogic traditions, and Eastern thought and practices into powerful processes of inner transformation. A PhD researcher at the University of Leeds, UK, Tubali explores 35 meditation techniques from all over the world in his newest book, “Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Meditation,” coming in January 2023.

Tubali’s numerous books have appeared internationally for the past two decades in 11 languages and have been published by major publishers. His most prominent writings have won awards in the United States and in Israel. Several have become bestsellers, inspiring many thousands on their inner journeys of mental, emotional, and spiritual transformation. Discover modalities and research on finding calm and clarity at shaitubali.com.

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 off as a journalist and a novelist. This seemed to be a promising career and also a source of great passion. However, soon after I embarked on the spiritual journey in 1997, a series of inner revelations led me to realize the stunning reality and power of higher states of consciousness. These revelations inspired me to devote my life to both subjective and objective research into consciousness and to help others experience the effects of meditation and mind expansion on freedom from the past, mental and emotional clarity, and the sense of meaning in life.

At first, I was primarily interested in the ecstatic and liberating experience of these transcendent states. But as the years passed and as my work with people became significantly more established, I identified a need to make this broader mind applicable to the challenges of our human reality in the 21st century. As a result, I began to develop methods that empower people to embrace their life wholeheartedly and fearlessly. Among other things, these methods aid in releasing and transforming traumas and other deep-seated difficult memories, cultivating inner strength and the ability to cope with pressures, making better decisions in life, and leading a truly holistic way of life — all based on recognizing the power of one’s own consciousness.

Later, in 2018, I felt the need to add academic studies to the more subjective and experiential dimension of my journey. This led me to complete PhD research in the field of philosophy and self-transformation.

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

When I was 21 years old, I enrolled at the university in the naive hope of finding great and wise minds who knew something about the meaning of life. I was deeply frustrated when, instead, I met professors who were knowledgeable but not authentically wise. This made me abandon my academic studies within a few months and seek out wisdom elsewhere. Nevertheless, this passion for academic studies lingered at the back of my mind.

Five years ago, in 2017, I came to realize that it was time to pursue this passion. This was also a part of my habit of making sudden and unexpected changes in life in order to keep the mind fresh and young. But entering the usual process of a bachelor’s degree at the age of 42 seemed unreasonable. Fortunately, I came across a supervisor at the University of Leeds, UK, who was willing to accept me into his research program on the basis of my previous, non-academic publications. As a result, I entered a purely research-based master’s degree, without even the slightest academic preparation or study. I needed to somehow learn to employ academic methods and style without ever sitting in class. Fortunately, this odd experiment turned out well: Thanks to my supervisor’s trust, I completed not only a master’s degree but also a full-time PhD research without having the experience of being an actual student.

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

I have two pieces of advice.

First, as a believer in the transformative power of meditation, I would recommend starting every workday with 10 or 15 minutes of meditation. Even just sitting silently and letting the mind relax in an unfocused state could do wonders. While meditating, free yourself from your leader identity, the images of your future success, and the sense of being the doer of your life. Additionally, I would recommend pausing your work every exact hour for even just one minute of meditation (even if the temptation to work nonstop or to find relief in distractions is great!). Letting time stop and just being, either with your colleagues or alone, may lead to a dramatic shift in your work culture.

Second, leaders can greatly benefit from my system of the chakra types, which is presented in my book “The Seven Chakra Personality Types.” This is a typology of personalities which derives from the ancient chakra system. It can help you to recognize the true gifts and limitations of both yourself and others. This way, you really know what to expect from yourself and your colleagues, how you can genuinely serve one another, and what is the natural role of each within the greater framework.

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?

My greatest spiritual and philosophical inspiration has been the 20th-century thinker and mystic Jiddu Krishnamurti. One of the most substantial biographies which have been written about his life and thought was “J. Krishnamurti: A Biography” by Pupul Jayakar. I have read this book numerous times, especially because I was drawn to meditate on Krishnamurti’s dialogues with students and other thinkers.

What I have found so impressive has been Krishnamurti’s insistence on keeping the mind forever fresh and young, completely untainted by past experience and knowledge, including the great traditional knowledge of all religions and philosophies. To achieve this purpose, he would start by posing a fundamental question. Naturally, when your mind faces a question such as “What is the meaning of life?” or “What is love?” it is driven to supply ready-made answers. Your thoughts would rush to resolve the question just like ants would rush toward a grain of sugar. But Krishnamurti would then persistently negate all automatic, self-satisfied answers that his discussants suggested. Through this relentless process of questioning and negation, he led his companions, somewhat like Socrates, to a state of inner stillness and not knowing, from which genuine insights could arise. I believe that this form of inquiry could also benefit leaders who seek to tap into outside-the-box forms of thinking.

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?

In my understanding, mindfulness is a state of full consciousness or awareness, being completely awake in the deeper sense of the word. Ordinarily, we are unawake and even semi-conscious since our habit is to concentrate the entire energy of our consciousness on the extremely limited activity of our thinking. To allow this state of full consciousness, you need to learn to separate the two: Disengage your awareness from the stream of thoughts and realize that your awareness can stand free, wide, and unfocused. This can be simply described as realizing that you are not your thoughts. This is a major discovery in anyone’s life and it brings about a tremendous sense of psychological and spiritual liberation.

Traditionally, meditation has been divided into two types of practice: concentration and its very opposite, unfocusing for a resulting inner broadening. The latter is what mindfulness meditation is all about: moving your consciousness away from this fist-like concentrated state to a wide-open awareness. This is when you begin to be able to explore higher faculties of your mind, including great sensitivity, clarity, and attentiveness.

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?

There is an incredible amount of research, especially in the field of positive psychology, that demonstrates physical, mental, and emotional benefits of becoming mindful. This makes a lot of sense: Without getting in touch with the potential of your consciousness, you can only be aware of one half of your being. The one half of your being you are persistently aware of is the active, time-bound, future-oriented, and will-guided self. The reason deep sleep is so rejuvenating is that we get a chance to be relieved of the experience of our active self and to rest instead in a pure state of being. But mindfulness makes this complementary half of your being a conscious experience that can keep you profoundly sane and balanced. You finally get in touch with your silent, timeless, and broad presence. However, before getting in touch with this presence, you won’t realize that this experience is like any other vital need, not really different from the need for air and water.

In terms of benefits, a repeated experience of your hidden, complementary half releases you from problem-consciousness (the sense that there is always a problem that you need to resolve) and existential tension. It provides your body with breathing space and a resulting muscular relaxation. It enkindles your life force and reveals dormant reservoirs of energy. Emotionally, mindfulness fills us with unconditional joy, spontaneous heart opening, and enhanced sensitivity. It also radically alters your action: It helps you to better withstand pressures, remain immovable in uncertain situations, avoid mechanical reactions, and even prevent traumatic impressions from taking root in your body and mind.

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. 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.

Indeed, observing and going through the past five years, I am wondering how anyone can retain basic sanity without relying on the awesome powers of mindfulness!

Here are five possible steps:

1. Cultivate a non-reactive state. We often have automatic reactions to situations, particularly extreme situations. These reactions divide our experiences into good and bad, pleasurable and unpleasant. Instead, you can learn to observe situations without immediate and hasty reactions and conclusions. For instance, you can become aware of a certain political crisis or the eruption of a pandemic and still remain inwardly immovable. Since reactions are mechanical, they will arise anyway, but you don’t have to identify with them. Instead, you can become silently aware of whatever reactions arise in you and notice how these limit your ability to respond (rather than react) to the situation.
2. Listen to the situation. This implies not being tempted to adopt extreme opinions. Instead, you can study the circumstances with great attention, acquire serious information from all sides of the debate, while maintaining listening rather than thinking as your solid foundation. The mind tends to embrace extreme opinions, like being only scientifically-oriented or an anti-vaxxer, since they seem confident and certain. But the truth of the situation doesn’t lie in any of the extremes.
3. Find the unchanging center inside you, the eye of the storm. In meditation, you can keep bringing yourself back to a center where nothing happens. This may be less exciting and dramatic than our drama-producing thoughts, but being able to tap into this unchanging space equips you with the ability to return to the world of constant change and upheaval while remaining less troubled by life’s ups and downs.
4. Keep a sense of proportion. Many people develop anxiety when confronted with the future of humanity, possible disasters, and political and social changes. We do need to remind ourselves, however, that the world has known many periods of dramatic shifts and disasters. Regimes and political structures keep rising and falling. As humanity, we have known many pandemic- and war-stricken times. There are certain historical cycles that are pretty noticeable. Being overly time- and future-dependent helps no one.
5. Don’t think too far ahead; focus on the next step. When we over-think about the many steps we need to take, we inevitably become stressed and overwhelmed. This is always more than we can handle at this very moment. Instead, we simply need to focus on the present step fully: What I am meant to do right now is the only reality. The next step will follow naturally.

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 reject the anxiety. Often, our automatic reaction to anxiety is to do our best to make it go away. But one of the fundamental laws of mindfulness states that we should neither identify with a negative state nor reject it; both are forms of judgment. Instead, when someone around you is feeling anxious, you can practice a compassionate approach by expressing the willingness to contain their anxiety and to listen to their feelings. Anxiety thrives in an atmosphere of rejection because it is fundamentally the wish to escape and avoid certain situations. Thus, an atmosphere of understanding would already reduce, quite effortlessly, some of the anxiety.
2. Set an example. If you can display a silent, non-reactive mind and mindful presence, others will be naturally affected. When your presence is your teaching, you require less mental persuasion since your actions speak louder than your words. During the outbreak of COVID-19, many people were confused and disoriented. My response to the situation was to offer even more teachings and practices of meditation and positive psychology. I wanted to emphasize the fact that these are exactly the times when our mindfulness is tested. It is easy to be mindful under ideal conditions, but ultimately the practice is intended to equip you with the ability to face even the hardest moments of your life.
3. Offer practices that release the mind from identification with thoughts. There are cognitive practices, such as Byron Katie’s “The Work” and my own “Expansion Method” and “Power Psychology.” These can enable a person to detach from their suffering-inducing thoughts and to feel that they can choose whether to give these thoughts power and meaning or to disidentify with them.
4. Cultivate positive emotions. The renowned positive psychologist Barbara Fredrickson speaks of the “broadening effect” of positive emotions: their ability to enlarge the scope of our thought, action, and behavior. This implies that healing anxiety consists in not only fighting your anxiety but also bringing the light of positive emotions to the fore. By helping others to become aware of positive moments and feelings and even to invoke potential positive moments and feelings, you release them from the obsessive focus on the negative and thus broaden their perspective.
5. Replace emotions with actions. In my understanding, many of our negative emotions come into being when we withdraw from action and replace action with emotion. Negative emotions may be our refusal to participate in life; it is as if we choose to take a break from life by resorting to complaint, depression, bitterness, and fear. You can support others by helping them to transform the emotional energy into creative action and constructive response to the situation.
6. Practice the Buddhist Tonglen meditation. Tonglen is a wonderful meditation that shows you how you can help to alleviate the suffering of others around you by transforming it deep within your heart. This will purify not only their inner and outer environment but also stretch the limits of your heart.

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

A good starting point could be my upcoming book (January release) “Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Meditation.” This book is like a practical encyclopedia of meditations from traditions around the globe. Each of the 35 meditation techniques is presented with its historical background, cultural context, potential benefits, and clear instructions for practicing it at home. Usually, meditation books focus on one tradition or technique, but in this case, the reader receives an overview of the world of meditation, a clear map that divides the range of meditation techniques into seven different categories, according to purposes and benefits. This enables readers to navigate the sometimes overwhelming world of meditation. In addition, the book contains general chapters that explain the principles of meditation, how to face difficulties while meditating, and how to make the best of the meditative experience.

One important source is the writings and recordings of Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist monk who died in 2022. He is the ultimate authority in the field that translates ancient mindfulness principles to modern living. I can also recommend Jon Kabat-Zinn’s meditations “Body Scan” and “Mountain Meditation” (available online) for beginners. And if you want to be challenged, look for Jiddu Krishnamurti’s writings and recordings that take mindfulness to the next level.

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

This Einstein quote is definitely one of my mantras: “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” This statement can be read in many different ways, but I tend to read it in the context of our need for higher or broader states of consciousness. All our problems have been created at the level of ordinary thinking, which is problem-producing by nature. If we want to radically resolve these problems, we must leap to a state that transcends ordinary thinking. When we abide in higher states of consciousness, some of these problems seem perfectly resolvable and some effortlessly dissolve.

This statement means a lot to me personally since in 2009, after giving numerous teachings on the power of higher consciousness, I succeeded in developing a method called the “Expansion Method” that could systematically and rapidly lead people to blissful states of expanded consciousness. This finally opened the gate to direct experience of self-transcendence, even for fresh beginners who had never meditated before. Soon after, I discovered something even more thrilling: This technique could serve as the foundation of deep-going psychological transformation. For example, traumatized people could enter a session, settle in broad states of consciousness, and from these states, unravel their traumatic memories. Prior to the session, as long as they were caught in their familiar narrative of the past, being released from the memory was not even a possibility.

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 have devoted a great deal of attention to what I term mindful living according to the seven chakras. Originally, the seven chakras were considered energy centers within our subtle body, which are vital for psychological and spiritual transformation. But the more I have studied the chakras, the more I’ve come to realize that they also represent seven dimensions of our being, all of which must be awakened if we hope to fulfill our human potential. For this reason, I also refer to these dimensions as the seven types of happiness.

Since there are seven days a week and seven major chakras in our subtle body, the movement I envision is a collective and individual way of life that dedicates some attention each day to its corresponding chakra: Monday is the day of grounding; Tuesday is the day of joy; Wednesday is the day of power; Thursday is the day of love; Friday is the day of expression; Saturday is the day of wisdom; and Sunday is the day of spirit. This way, every week is a celebration of all aspects of life — overlooking nothing, embracing everything.

This is not just a vague vision. I am actually quite committed to realizing it in different forms. Soon I’ll be starting an online community life that is empowered to lead mindful life according to the chakras through daily practices and teachings. And my biggest dream is to apply this principle to our educational system, mainly by establishing a model of an elementary school in which children learn to master their experience of life by going through this seven-facets cycle every week.

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

My personal website is a good source of introductory materials, upcoming events, and blog articles: shaitubali.com.

My YouTube channel is filled with teachings and guided meditations: youtube.com/c/ShaiTubali.

You can also find guided meditation on InsightTimer: insighttimer.com/shaitubali.

Courses are available on Udemy: udemy.com/user/shai-tubali2.

If you’re interested in experiencing mind expansion, you are welcome to try this scientifically-proven 21-Day Challenge: activespirits.net/en/sp/expansion-positive-emotions-21.

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

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Shai Tubali on 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.

Thriving As A Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry: Sheela Benjamin of Serviceaide On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

In this fast-paced space, it is essential to continually learn and keep yourself updated in the field you are working. Be prepared to share and receive knowledge from peers, co-workers (reverse mentoring), and from mediums like articles, blogs, and podcasts.

In the United States in 2022, fields such as Aircraft piloting, Agriculture, Architecture, Construction, Finance, and Information technology, are still male-dominated industries. For a woman who is working in a male-dominated environment, what exactly does it take to thrive and succeed? In this interview series, we are talking to successful women who work in a Male-Dominated Industry who can share their stories and experiences about navigating work and life as strong women in a male-dominated industry. As a part of this series, we had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Sheela Benjamin, Director of Engineering at Serviceaide.

Sheela is one of the original co-founders of SunView Software and original architect of the ChangeGear product suite. Sheela has over 17 years’ experience managing product development teams from ideation to inception. Sheela manages the entire product lifecycle of ChangeGear and new AI-based features in Luma. Before SunView, She worked at Quark. Inc, Denver. She has a Masters in Computer Science from the University of Colorado. Sheela enjoys skiing and pushing herself by hitting new speeds downhill or reaching new heights climbing mountains.

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 childhood “backstory”?

Growing up in a rural seaside town on the southeast coast of India, far away from the buzzing metropolis’ where computers were a relatively novel concept for me, I did not think my career path would be in the field of computer science and engineering.

I am naturally curious and always dabbled in new things as I grew up, aided by the encouragement and support from my parents. I was fortunate to go to the best school in town with dedicated and vibrant teachers from all walks of life, striving to not only impart their students with knowledge but also imbue in them the necessary skills to explore, adapt, and be comfortable in their own shoes. Although my favorite subjects in school were physics and geography, I was captivated when a new course was made available, named computer science. I really did not think about my career or my future at that point, but I was excited to try new things, opted into it, and never looked back. I love the field, the excitement, and the challenges that come with building software that benefits others.

Can you advise what is needed to engage more women in the engineering field?

First and most importantly, getting more women involved in the engineering field starts at a very young age. It is incredibly important that people are encouraging girls and women to take chances and to provide them with opportunities to get involved and learn. This includes parents, family, educators, community leaders, etc.

My advice for women would be to not shy away from this field because it seems daunting or because it traditionally has not been a field women prefer. If there is even a glimmer of interest , explore it and try to narrow down a passion — be it designing a building or programming in the field of computer science. It is most important to know what you want, to have confidence in yourself, and to believe that your work will have a positive impact on others.

Although there remains quite the disparity and shortage of women in the field, it is heartening to see more women pursuing this field in the last decade or so with some of them reaching new heights and being a constant reminder to the rest of the us that with passion, competence, confidence and work, women can exceed expectations and stereotypes.

Women are effective workers and leaders who can set strategy and vision, direction and make tough calls. The industry and the field today are for sure lacking more women at the C-level and as more women enter this field, this must pave for more women role models in this field.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your team?

One of the aspects of leading a team that I have learned is to ensure there is adequate communication to keep everyone informed. This was evident during the acquisition of SunView Software by Serviceaide and the changes that usually accompanies an acquisition. By keeping an open communication channel, as a team we were able to accomplish a smooth transition and keep the team morale high.

It is equally important to manage product expectations for the different organizations in the company and not overwhelm the team by over promising and not being able to deliver. There is always so much to do and as a leader I feel it is important to not shy away from taking calculated risks.

An approach in providing leadership to the team for me has been to put myself in my team’s shoes and think through the expectations I would want and trying to the best of my ability to provide that.

Building a product is very much a team sport where it is crucial to bring team members together and play to their individual strengths. This requires the team to understand each other and more importantly for me to have good relationship with each one of them and understand their strengths and weaknesses. This has been a goal which I have had good success on but also a work in progress to ensure the team is well and are able to meet our goals. This also makes the most important task which is trust and delegation easier.

To me, every decision may not lead to a successful outcome, failure is never a stopping point or a period but a pause to choose a different path.

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?

There is not just one person but am grateful to have had a few people influence and provide guidance in my personal and professional growth.

I am grateful to my parents, who shaped me in my early years and gave me the independence and courage to take risks early on. They never discouraged me from trying out anything whether it be art, writing, yoga, karate, and others. This broad exposure and knowledge gained from many different avenues has contributed profoundly to not just my personal growth but later in my professional life.

In my career, I have crossed paths with couple of great technical managers and mentors who have taught me valuable lessons of staying true to myself and being open to ideas and criticisms. This has been serving me quite well over the years.

I am extremely appreciative of the support from my family when I must work long hours to meet deadlines or assist with challenging and time critical problems.

I am also grateful for the support from my team and the leadership at Serviceaide.

Can you tell our readers about the most interesting projects you are working on now?

Digital transformation in workplaces has been accelerated by COVID-19 and the continuing shift to a hybrid work environment has made the managing of IT Assets in a corporate network critical for effective IT management. With this in mind, Serviceaide just released Asset Discovery Expert (ADE), a powerful, lightweight, and agentless software solution that provides instant visibility and control of all technology assets in a corporate environment. This solution is available as a standalone product and can be easily integrated to any application. It is also available as an add-on with our ITSM (ChangeGear) and ESM (Point of Business) solutions).

The recent acquisition of SunView Software by Serviceaide has led to the merger of product portfolios, including the award-winning Luma Virtual Assistant (Luma VA) — powered by AI to provide a conversational experience in understanding and solving customer issues. We are excited to make available the integration of ChangeGear with Luma Virtual Assistant for the upcoming ChangeGear release in June 2022.

What are the 5 things that most excite you about the service management industry? Why?

• Service management is widely powered by AI and ML, which is highly beneficial in a digital workplace, resulting in efficient and faster resolution times
• Digital transformation in workplaces has forced the industry to continuously look for innovative ways to ensure 24/7 business continuity and availability
• IT Service management now plays a key role in Employee Experience (EX), accelerated by the hybrid work environment brought on by the pandemic
• With customers wanting their service management solution to be an all-in-one solution, there is an increasing desire for solutions to be built by citizen developers who know their business needs
• IT Automation and Orchestration have become a necessity for an efficient digital workplace

What are your “5 Things You Need to Create A Highly Successful Career In Engineering Industry?

• In this fast-paced space, it is essential to continually learn and keep yourself updated in the field you are working. Be prepared to share and receive knowledge from peers, co-workers (reverse mentoring), and from mediums like articles, blogs, and podcasts.
• Business goals and vision are critical along with the understanding that success is the sum of many individual parts, and you do your part to the best of your ability.
• Be pragmatic. Setting an expectation and delivering on it is more important than over-promising.
• As the saying goes, “If you find yourself constantly trying to prove your worth to someone, you have already forgotten your value — Unknown”. Instead challenge your own work and do not hesitate to change your approach based on the new facts you may have learned.
• Most importantly, make sure you enjoy and love the work you do, strive for a good work-life balance, laugh, and take care of yourself.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

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Thriving As A Woman In a Male-Dominated Industry: Sheela Benjamin of Serviceaide On The Five Things… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Melissa Joy Parcels of Jeremiah Fire Ministries On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Have a good spouse or support person — you will not be drawing a large income at first and you need to have your finances covered. Make sure you do not need to get a new car or move, buy a home as you will need two years of good company financials. Timing is everything.

As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Melissa Joy Parcels.

Melissa Joy Parcels is the founder of Jeremiah Fire Ministries and has written several books and Bible curriculums teaching believers the foundational truths of God’s word. Parcels trains and equips believers throughout the world and has a heart to see people live out their God-given destinies. She lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with her husband, Ryan, and young son. To learn more, please visit MelissaJoyParcels.com.

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?

I am a dental hygienist and educator by trade. In my career, I fell into the role of writing and creating technical policies, manuals and later, school curriculums. Since childhood, I have written short stories, poems, plays, et cetera, so it came naturally to write. Over a span of the last few years, I felt led by God to start preparing the Bible studies, books and stories I had written to be published. The door was opened in 2021 to launch my new company, Jeremiah Fire Ministries.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company?

I have been an entrepreneur for over 10 years starting with owning my own dental hygiene clinic and founding a dental vocational college in Calgary, Alberta, and now a new teaching ministry through Jeremiah Fire Ministries. There have been a lot of interesting things that have happened along the way of business ownership. At times, leading a company can be difficult because not everything is in our control or on our timing. The most interesting thing so far is how many connections have been made and new future alliances of businesses and people that will be forged through a single step in obedience in 2021.

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?

With respect to Jeremiah Fire, I am fortunate to not have a funny mistake story as of yet. I have learned a lot through my journey with other adventures (clinic and school) that has helped me side-step any potential “whoops” moments! I am a natural optimist and hopeful person by nature so when I do make mistakes it is easy for me to apologize, learn from it and move forward.

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?

There are many, however my husband, Ryan, has been my soundboard for every idea and business goal I have. We recently decided to sell one business and he was supportive in hearing my exit strategy, getting a timeline organized and coaching me through all the details and legal aspects. When milestone decisions need to be made, it is important to have someone who knows your strengths and weaknesses, and is able to help you navigate new waters with your best interest in mind. You will always need a #1 fan in your corner.

I also have a small, trusted inner circle of mentors from whom I can seek advice and get honest answers, including David, Ashely and Chantelle. Last year, I decided to go through a name change and rebranding of the school; risky, but necessary for growth and where I want to take the school. They helped me launch the campaign and run ideas like a new logo, new website — everything down to the colors. It was refreshing to have a team to get feedback from and not have to singlehandedly choose. Every founder needs trusted advisors to help especially in transition times and big growth moves.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. According to this EY report, only about 20 percent of funded companies have women founders. This reflects great historical progress, but it also shows that more work still has to be done to empower women to create companies. In your opinion and experience what is currently holding back women from founding companies?

In my opinion, many women have great ideas, loads of talent, multi-task well and would make great bosses and leaders. They fail to step out into business I believe because of risk. There are companies and banks that offer great funding, but there is still opportunity for growth in these areas where they can still offer more programs and equal funding options. A lot of talented women have creative business ideas that would be successful, but they cannot access initial funding.

There are a few setbacks like gender equality and peer support, but a major roadblock for women is they simply cannot risk the jump into business ownership without a safety net because of childcare, benefits or maternity leave. During the years when women decide to start a family, it would be necessary to have those securities in place, if there are not in place, they will not take the risk. It can be very expensive to pay out-of-pocket for childcare and the time, money and energy that is involved in raising a family. I believe this is the biggest barrier.

Can you help articulate a few things that can be done as individuals, as a society, or by the government, to help overcome those obstacles?

Individuals — we can help young female entrepreneurs by connecting them to mentors and financial advisors that can help them set up these contingencies for their families. We can offer peer groups that support and engage other female founders.

Society — support more local, small business enterprises instead of big-box stores. We can also take a stand against unequal pay and gender bias toward women founders. Male counterparts will make more money, have more funding options and be more supported than women making it more challenging to succeed.

Government — create programs that help the entrepreneur save for things like benefits and maternity leave. Have better childcare initiatives and programs removing financial pressure from women founders. Create a resource for investment dollars for the female founders.

This might be intuitive to you as a woman founder but I think it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you share a few reasons why more women should become founders?

Women have gifts, talents and abilities that are different than men and will help create diversity in the business world. Female founders are also more likely to support other female founders generating a boost in the local economy as well as joining and supporting other peers.

What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a founder? Can you explain what you mean?

The biggest myth is that you cannot have a family and business. Work-life balance is something every adult has to manage; being a founder is no different, except you are responsible for a longer to-do list. It is possible if you build a great team at work that you can train and delegate to. Leaders raise other leaders. Female founders must make sure they have clear boundaries and schedules, and resolve the fact that not all things can be accomplished in one day. Scheduling down-time or time away from the office regularly will allow more peace and joy into your work week.

Is everyone cut out to be a founder? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful founder and what type of person should perhaps seek a “regular job” as an employee? Can you explain what you mean?

The simple answer is no, not everyone is created to be a founder or wants to be one. It takes a specific personality and drives to achieve the founder mentality. Vision, drive, passion and execution are essential and without all the ingredients any person might fail, and many have. Successful founders should have a clear vision of what they want to create, a drive to get there, and a will to forge a way if necessary. They must have passion and love their business and the people they lead. Lastly, you must be a planner who can execute your vision successfully. This can be achieved through your personality, connections, mindset, and experience. You can better achieve your planning skills by utilizing your past experience. You can want or be passionate about something but if you cannot put action to your vision it will not move forward. You must be a doer — that is the most important trait!

Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. Have a good spouse or support person — you will not be drawing a large income at first and you need to have your finances covered. Make sure you do not need to get a new car or move, buy a home as you will need two years of good company financials. Timing is everything.
2. Have cash capital or access to cash — apply for programs and funding to have some set-aside but borrow as little as possible.
3. Create the right team — having qualified staff that you can raise up and it will include some mentors (including a “NO” mentor) that can help assist you in making your early business moves and meeting your business goals as you grow.
4. Be seen — making sure you are seen whether that is physically by the location that is generating new revenues, clients or online through social media. Put yourself out there.
5. Read — learn about your weakest area. For example, if marketing is a weak point, take classes or follow marketing people on Instagram to learn how to grow in this area. Read books on managing a business, cash flow, time management and more. A leader is a reader.

How have you used your success to make the world a better place?

I spend a lot of time invested in others. I work with Futurpreneur ™ mentoring young local entrepreneurs and I spend time on boards as an advisor. I mentor female founders that I personally know or meet through business connections. I help other dental professionals with their early start-up questions. On a weekly basis, I spend time helping others grow, sharing my own personal experience, mistakes, learned lessons, and wisdom in a meeting or over a cup of coffee. I am an open book.

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

Simply one word: love. You need to love what you do and love the people you lead and serve. Being a leader isn’t about being right, perfect or fair; it’s about serving others’ needs before your own. It is the opposite of what is the social norm, but it has been my secret weapon that is catching on like a wildfire. People will take notice about how you act over what you say, and your character matters. If we support and take care of one another without our own agendas and alternative motives it could lead to an amazing community that supports each other, but the language must start with love.

We are very blessed that some very prominent 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.

I admire the ambition and passion of Reese Witherspoon. She branched off from acting into producing and directing, expanding her skillset as well as founding a production company, Hello Sunshine, in 2016 after leading roles for women were declining in Hollywood. She decided to create her own company instead of relying on the men of Hollywood (the decision makers) to open more female roles that provide a challenge to the performer. She took the initiative to create a company where women actors and writers can be showcased for their work. Bravo.

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.

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Female Founders: Melissa Joy Parcels of Jeremiah Fire Ministries On The Five Things You Need To… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.