An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Don’t believe everything you feel (e.g. challenge your anxious thoughts and overthinking in the same way you approach dating someone new — you don’t trust them immediately because you want to see if they’re for real. It’s the same with your emotions — feel them and see them but challenge each thought before letting it in).
As a part of my series about “How To Develop Mindfulness And Serenity During Stressful Or Uncertain Times”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Case Kenny.
Case Kenny is an entrepreneur, mindfulness expert, host and founder of the top 25 Apple podcast New Mindset, Who Dis. Beloved by some of today’s biggest celebrities including Hailey Bieber, Sophia Bush and Lucy Hale and featured on Good Morning America, you might recognize him from his viral coffee cup and post-it quotes on Instagram, which have been shared by millions and featured by Complex, Women’s Health, Cosmopolitan and many more.
Created in 2018, Kenny’s podcast New Mindset, Who Dis features his short, no-B.S.take on all things mindfulness in a relatable way, empowering people to be happier and live more fulfilling lives by changing their mindsets in all areas of life spanning from self worth and empowerment to dating and relationships, career advice and more. The podcast has received over 5,000 5-star reviews and accolades such as Spotify Editor’s Choice, iHeart Radio Top 10 Health, Deezer and Stitcher Radio Editor’s Choice and others, and has held a position as a top 25 podcast on both the Apple Podcasts and Spotify charts for the past 3 years.
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?
My career path is a story of pulling on a thread of what interests me and what I’m passionately drawn to. For 10+ years, I worked in advertising and technology sales, but at the same time I was working on passion projects — writing, mindfulness, music production, and podcasting. When I turned 30, I found a way for all those creative outlets to merge together in the form of my podcast, “New Mindset, Who Dis.” On the podcast, I decided to share my thoughts on life, happiness and fulfillment. It started in a super organic way where I was simply seeking creative fulfillment and my own personal growth. Long story short, the podcast got really big quickly, and it led to me creating my own line of mindfulness journals, a candle line, collaborating with musicians/DJs and quitting my day job in 2021. Now I have the privilege of sharing my love of mindfulness with millions of people each month and make a living from it.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
So many stories! From being on Good Morning America sharing my story to collaborating with artists like Martin Garrix to getting messages from people saying my podcast/writing has changed their life. It’s been crazy how supportive people are of me — I bump into people all the time (sometimes as they’re literally listening to my podcast when they say hi to me) and it’s amazing to hear how my perspective has helped them. It means the world to me!
What advice would you give to other leaders about how to create a fantastic work culture?
Empathy. Leaders need to understand what motivates each individual person the best they can and recognize that it’s different at each level, stage of life and role within a company.
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?
Anything by Thich Nhat Hanh. I love his message of being present amidst the frustration/suffering of life. His work has been an important catalyst for my understanding and practice of mindfulness as a means to transform discomfort instead of running from it.
Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s move to the main focus of our interview. From your experience or research, how would you define and describe the state of being mindful?
Mindfulness is self awareness. Self awareness is honesty with yourself. Honesty with yourself is the daily practice of asking yourself “WHY” (and answering it).
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? Mindfulness (asking and answering “WHY?”) gives you TWO very important and life-changing things: Closure and Clarity. That’s closure from your past (not hanging onto experiences, memories or conditioning that doesn’t serve you) and clarity in the present (“is it a yes or a no?”).
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.
1. Instead of wondering “what’s the worst that could happen?,” flip it and ask yourself “what’s the best that could happen?” Turn Murphy’s Law on its head and think of the most extreme, positive outcome possible (e.g. instead of “this is going to be an awkward first date” say “this is going to be the last first date of my life because it’s going to be amazing.”)
2. Realize that starting over is less about what you’re leaving behind, and more about what you’re bringing with you. (e.g. you’re NEVER starting from scratch — you’re ALWAYS bringing lessons and standards with you).
3. Approach the mundane as if you’re doing it for the first time. (e.g. ask yourself: what would you want to do/experience for the first time again?)
4. Remind yourself of what you have rather than what you don’t have. (e.g. instead of fixating on all the things you haven’t figured out yet and the ways you feel lost, remind yourself of what you do know for certain — even if it’s only a couple of things)
5. Don’t believe everything you feel (e.g. challenge your anxious thoughts and overthinking in the same way you approach dating someone new — you don’t trust them immediately because you want to see if they’re for real. It’s the same with your emotions — feel them and see them but challenge each thought before letting it in).
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. Listen with empathy — don’t just listen to respond.
2. Remind them of what they bring to the table.
3. Ask questions — encourage them to ask themselves WHY and answer it as many times as they can.
4. Be present and available — this is the value of therapy! Having someone who can just listen and be there for them can be incredibly transformative)
5. Provide resources — read a good book, had a breakthrough therapy session? Share it!
What are the best resources you would suggest for someone to learn how to be more mindful and serene in their everyday life?
A few resources include my New Mindset Journals; simple no pressure journaling designed to help give you clarity and “catch feelings for yourself.” Additionally, I’d also recommend my Unbothered candles; scent and meditation candles, my podcast New Mindset, Who Dis Podcast; simple, no BS mindfulness in a digestible, relatable way and Zen Disco; which mixes together dance music and mindfulness.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Do you have a story about how that was relevant in your life?
“You deserve to feel the same love you so eagerly give to others.” This is my own quote and I think it’s powerful because it reminds us all of what we deserve. We deserve what we do ourselves. We deserve reciprocity. If we’re willing to act, we deserve someone who gives us that in return.
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’m doing it! Through the podcast, my writing, and my music, I’m encouraging people to practice radical self honesty. It’s an amazing feeling to watch the community and support grow.
What is the best way our readers can follow you online?
Follow me on Instagram @case.kenny.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
Case Kenny 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.