Category: Featured

Make a list of what you are good at, what you are GREAT at. Write it all down, knowing that no one has to ever see your list. Own your greatness.

As a part of our series about how very accomplished leaders were able to succeed despite experiencing Impostor Syndrome, I had the pleasure of interviewing Maureen Borzacchiello.

Since 2001, Maureen Borzacchiello has created multi-million dollar businesses, mentored and coached women and spoken at events around the world. Her newest endeavor is her soul mission: to make a difference in the lives of women entrepreneurs by becoming a part of theirs. Creating a community which acknowledges the trials and celebrates the triumphs, while providing relevant content with actionable strategies and execution tools to facilitate progress in their businesses and most importantly, within themselves. She is an advocate for women entrepreneurs — including roles on Board of Directors for organizations supporting economic independence and entrepreneurship, as well as a consultant to large corporations regarding initiatives for small business. Learn more at maureenborza.com Borzacchiello has been featured in a variety of media including Good Morning American, The Today Show, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Inc Magazine, Entrepreneur and CNBC.

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

Thanks so much! I am a serial entrepreneur that spent over 20 years in the experiential marketing and live events space. Fun fact, I am the oldest of 7, who married the baby of 5, have one cool son, 14 nieces and 9 nephews! I’m a huge lover of wine, especially red wines and a bit of a coffee snob to boot! I’m all about creating amazing experiences that make an impression and leave a remarkable memory behind and… I believe in the immense possibilities of the human spirit and love travel and adventure where I can experience different cultures and people.

Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?

Just one? 😉 I could give you some glamorous celebrity interactions, but I guess the most useful story to tell is when we were growing and scaling and I ran out of money — we had no liquidity, a ton of outstanding accounts payables from our larger corporate clients and a large overhead. We had increased our staff and I didn’t realize (or frankly, even know to realize) the impact on cash flow. It was one of the most humbling experiences of my life. I had to sit my team down, explain what happened and how we were going to get out of the situation, but that it required all hands on deck and some people agreed to go part-time for a month while we corrected. It worked and turned out the be the most impactful situation, but in the meantime, it taught me: 1) transparency and vulnerability with your team is key 2) know your numbers and your cash flow situation at all times (and if you have no idea, have your accountant come in and show you how to run reports and evaluate) and 3) have an emergency back up financing plan in place BEFORE you ever need it. Fast forward, I was asked to tell the story to Donna Fenn (author of Alpha Dogs) and contributor for Inc Magazine and I had to swallow my pride and share, so that I could help other entrepreneurs avoid the landmine that I detonated. Fast forward two years, and McGraw Hill came calling and asked to include in a business textbook! So my problem and lesson learned was etched in history! Talk about a blow to my struggles with Impostor Syndrome!

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

Our signature program RealTalk for Business Growth™ is uniquely designed to support growth-minded businesses who have success, but may be struggling to accelerate it to the next level as they stagnate within the $250K-$5million revenue range. Underscoring this need, the 2019 American Express State of Women-Owned Businesses Report reveals over the last five years the number of women-owned businesses has grown by 21% compared to 9% growth of overall businesses during the same period, yet only 12% exceed $100k in revenue and 1.7% ever achieve $1M in annual revenue.

There is an abundance of information available online, which can be overwhelming, so we’ve made it more efficient for women by pulling together what they need to take their businesses and lives to the next level. Being authentic is key to the RealTalk journey. I personally had to overcome Imposter Syndrome and shake off the stigmas associated with asking for help. Doing so was incredibly empowering; it changed the game for my business and in-fact contributed to achieving our first million in revenue. I started this program so more women can experience this forward motion and lift others up along their way.

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?

Isn’t that the truth? There have been many wonderful people who have contributed to my success. One person in particular that I am so grateful for is Susan Sobbott. During her time as the President of Global Corporate Payments at American Express, she sponsored a program for women entrepreneurs. As an awardee in the pilot year of that program, and the years to follow, I had the opportunity to get to know Susan. In addition to the learnings and takeaways from the program and access to experts, I gained insight into the power of mentorship and my desire and passion to help other women was born. It led to my participation in a variety of efforts, organizations and programs to support women’s economic independence and business success. It also led to having the gift of Susan’s friendship and mentoring, observing her leading by example and now, the gift of her serving as an Advisor to me with my newest venture. I was always amazed at how Susan led her organization. How she innovated and supported programs for small business owners including the creation of Small Business Saturday and ShopSmall which brought illumination and focus to the impact that buying from small businesses has on our economy, on communities and on job creation in the US. Her willingness to push beyond the norm, to create programs and products that had such impact, was inspiring. My success to push for more, to innovate, to create alignment within my own small team as well as to find a passion for what was important to me and invest the time to make a difference, were some of the many gifts that I have gained from knowing Susan Sobbott. I will always be grateful for her support, her encouragement and her belief in the possibilities of making a difference. I feel like she’s the “butterfly whisperer” — helping women go through their own personal metamorphosis to impact change.

Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. We would like to explore and flesh out the experience of Impostor Syndrome. How would you define Impostor Syndrome? What do people with Imposter Syndrome feel?

I would define Impostor Syndrome as self-doubt of someone’s value, accomplishments, skill set, brilliance or gifts. People who suffer from Impostor Syndrome tend to put achievements into the category of “luck” and fear, when they should celebrate deserved success with pride. In fact, many people feel that if people “really knew who they were”, they would be discovered to be a fraud. People with Impostor Syndrome share feelings of fear, anxiety, overwhelm, doubt, even guilt or shame, that they don’t deserve to be (fill in the blank — successful, in a great relationship, a parent…). Funny enough, many overachievers suffer from Impostor Syndrome.

What are the downsides of Impostor Syndrome? How can it limit people?

Impostor Syndrome can have a negative ripple effect throughout your life — both professionally and personally. It can limit your willingness to take risks and truly experience life. People with Impostor Syndrome tend to negate compliments or achievements, which can project a lack of confidence. There’s a big difference in being humble vs. negating or downplaying a compliment; by default, you make the other person wrong. In the context of business, the world expects a business leader to project confidence, so the inability to own your gifts, your greatness or your achievements sends the wrong message to your team, your sphere of influence, your clients and can certainly limit your success path in life. Impostor Syndrome limits your ability to personally recognize and acknowledge the things that you do well, and ultimately the way that you show up in this world.

How can the experience of Impostor Syndrome impact how one treats others?

If fear, guilt, shame, and lack of confidence are drivers for Impostor Syndrome, it’s easy to see that interpersonal relationships can be impacted as well. The experience of how the person suffering from Impostor Syndrome shows up in the moment and treats others can range from disconnection and self-deprecation, to overreaction and paranoia, to dismissive and abrupt. The unintentional projection of one’s feelings around Impostor Syndrome can create consequences that exacerbate the feelings associated with the syndrome.

We would love to hear your story about your experience with Impostor Syndrome. Would you be able to share that with us?

There are several that come to mind but for the sake of time, I’ll share two that are interconnected, but completely different in how the Impostor Syndrome showed up. As a small business owner, 2006 became a significant year — a year that I almost ran out of cash because we were growing quickly (guilt and shame) but then made a huge pivot and ended up not only recovering, but surpassing our first $1Million in sales. I was given a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne from a friend, to celebrate this milestone. It was a big deal. In the US, only 1.7% of women owned businesses ever get to that level of revenue or beyond. The champagne sat in my little wine refrigerator for two years. Each time my friend excitedly asked if I popped the cork to celebrate, I downplayed the victory. II didn’t take a moment to say, “heck yeah, we ended up slaying this year by tripling our revenue from the year prior and surviving a near miss crisis!” Guess what happened? That friend stopped asking. She was so excited for me and what my team and I achieved, but for me, my Impostor Syndrome was making me feel like I needed to repeat the success and prove that it wasn’t a fluke. We continued to grow year over year and became a multi-million dollar company. Related to that, I’m a big vision board fan. I had a photo of a new car on my vision board, taped to my computer screen etc. for almost two years. I had a specific revenue goal attached to it and when I achieved it, I went and got the car. I love cars and always have. It was symbolic to me of what I busted my ass to earn. However, I found that when people would compliment the car, I would find myself downplaying it, instead of just saying thank you. It took me at least a year to get to the point where I could just own my success and if someone made a comment, just say thanks.

Did you ever shake the feeling off? If yes, what have you done to mitigate it or eliminate it?

There is hope! It comes with acute awareness and the ability to catch myself when I have those moments of Impostor Syndrome creeping in. It also came with lots of self-discovery and the realization that many of the drivers — the fear, the guilt, and the ability to recognize that they were not true. They were stories that I was allowing to control the narrative in my mind that had no basis of truth.

In your opinion, what are 5 steps that someone who is experiencing Impostor Syndrome can take to move forward despite feeling like an “Impostor”? Please share a story or an example for each.

I’ve coached and/or mentored women for years and the common denominator for many successful women is Impostor Syndrome. In fact, research shows that professional women and entrepreneurs suffer significantly from Impostor Syndrome. Here are some steps that you can take to cope and move forward:

Step 1: Make a list of what you are good at, what you are GREAT at. Write it all down, knowing that no one has to ever see your list. Own your greatness.

Here’s an example: Joanne works for a Fortune 50 company and got wind that a leadership position was opening up. She mentioned that she wasn’t going to bother applying because that role was historically filled with men. I challenged her and asked her to break down the qualities and skills that the role required, then had her go through and identify how she matched up. She was a perfect fit. That lens and a little confidence boost to go for it and try, helped her move through the paralysis of Impostor Syndrome and yes, you guessed it, she got the promotion!

Step 2: Reach out to a few of your inner circle peeps and ask them what they think your biggest strengths are — be quiet, don’t interrupt them and let them speak. When they are done, say THANK YOU! Don’t negate what they said. Take it in, absorb it and let it validate what you probably had on your list already. I had to learn this the hard way. About 10 years ago, I took a course on leadership development and one of the exercises required me to reach out to 10 people that know me well and get feedback. They were advised that the survey would compile the results and their feedback would be anonymous regarding the specificity of their comments. The experience was validating but the most poignant comment that came out of it was, “I wish she could see how others see her — her strength, her brilliance and strategic mind and her huge, compassionate heart.”. I was beyond humbled, but the point was, that I was overlooking what others saw and this exercise debunked every possible fear or story around my Impostor Syndrome that I was telling myself.

Step 3: Create a coping mechanism: How can you stop yourself or catch yourself and identify when those Impostor Syndrome thoughts kick in? As a New Yorker, the mechanism is a voice in my head that literally says “STOP, are we doing this?” Figure out what works for you — find a way to catch the thoughts before they have time to do damage.

Step 4: In the moment, when you start having feelings and thoughts and you recognize what’s going on (from Step 3) do some quick analysis. Ask yourself, what’s the story? What am I feeling? Is this true? What is the real truth to the situation? Ask yourself: How can you own your power, your skill, your value? My ability to ask myself these questions was so valuable to me in learning how to navigate. I have shared this technique with many women who have experienced immediate relief from debunking the lie, the story that was never true but was at the root of their Impostor Syndrome. It doesn’t go away, but it’s so manageable when you get it all in context, have coping skills and a way to navigate through it.

Step 5: Take Action. Figure out what steps you can take to move through your bout of Impostor Syndrome. I was talking with a client last week — she’s a mom to five-year-old twins, has a successful business and was feeling overwhelmed and like a total failure in both. Why? Because her clients were demanding time on her schedule, her husband’s work schedule was overlapping with Covid-19 home schooling and she felt that she was juggling it all and not doing anything well. At the root of the issue was scheduling and learning to say “no” to things that didn’t align with her priorities in the moment. The solution? Create a schedule of availability that blocked time for the twins and family obligations, time for HERSELF (which is a subject for another day) and time for her clients and business appointments. Then, releasing the availability accordingly and being able to say to her clients for example, that on Tuesday at 4 PM she’s booked. The client doesn’t need to know that she’s booked to sit with her twins doing a Zoom ballet class. You get the point, it’s optics and managing your priorities. She sent me a note a few days later, saying how empowering it has been and how the guilt is gone and she’s feeling like the badass Mama and Entrepreneur that she knows she is.

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

I’ve just founded and created my passion project for women entrepreneurs — RealTalk for Business Growth — a platform combining content, community and connections for established businesses looking to grow and scale to the next level and create the businesses of their dreams. While at the same time, leveraging a community of like-minded women who speak their language, where women can be vulnerable and celebrate the chaos, the mess AND the victories. My dream is to make an impact for women globally, in both their businesses and their lives, and that this movement takes more women-owned businesses beyond the $1Million threshold.

We are blessed that some very prominent leaders 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, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them 🙂

I would LOVE to have a private breakfast or lunch with the Queen of Compassion herself, Ms. Oprah Winfrey! She has been number one on my bucket list for the last 25 years. She’s just such a successful entrepreneur, has overcome obstacles, shared her personal development and growth with the world, remained curious and open to learning and exploration, and has used her success, position of power and influence to make a difference in this world….Philanthropically, emotionally, spiritually and socially — she’s just an amazing human being. If I could make a quarter of the ripple that she has in this world, I would know that I’ve accomplished something remarkable. So, tag away! #lifegoalofmeetingoprah

How can our readers follow you on social media?

FB, IG and Twitter: @maureenborza

I have a free Facebook group for women entrepreneurs: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1466011170262937

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maureenborzacchiello/

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

Thank YOU! It was my pleasure. Grateful for the opportunity.

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Maureen Borzacchiello: How To Thrive Despite Experiencing Impostor Syndrome was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Ashley Ellis of Compwell on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

Prioritize rest. — Sleep is crucial for our body’s ability to reset and to effectively achieve our daily goals. It even impacts our reactions to other people and situations. You should practice good sleep hygiene. If falling asleep is a problem, look up sleep meditations or yoga videos and slowly work toward a more relaxing nighttime routine. In my family, we have always made sleep a top priority. We protect bedtime, even for my husband and myself, so we can keep our energy up for the kids and work during the week.

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

Ashley Ellis is a pharmacist, an educator and a business owner. She co-founded and works full-time as director of clinical operations for Compwell, a Memphis-based chronic care management company. In addition to her day job, Ashley is a mother of three and an advocate on the national level for eczema, an issue affecting 9.6 million of the nation’s children, including Ashley’s daughter.

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

I’ve been a pharmacist for more than a dozen years and have spent my career weaving together innovative practice settings with evidence-based health care to provide every patient with the highest level of care. I’ve worked in primary care, academia, pharmacy ownership and consulting, and I am particularly passionate about diabetes care. In my clinical experience, I began to recognize the impact the lack of preventive care for chronic conditions has on both patients and our health care system, leading me to co-found Compwell in 2019.

In addition to my day-to-day chronic care management role, I also use my expertise to fight for young people with atopic dermatitis (severe eczema), which affects my daughter. I serve as a mentor for the “Support for Eczema Caregivers Program” with Global Parents for Eczema Research, as well as a spokesperson for the organization’s “Understand AD” campaign.

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 once had a patient with uncontrolled diabetes who told me that his five brothers and sisters, none of whom were living, were each buried with the amputation of at least one limb due to diabetes. He went on to say that he knew that would happen to him, too, so he didn’t really see a point in putting too much effort into his own care. I stopped dead in my tracks and told him “That is not happening to you — not on my watch.” I then explained to him that it was simply a myth that his diabetes couldn’ be controlled, and things like amputation can be totally preventable. Through working with him on his medication, a new diet and working to help him implement other lifestyle changes, we were able to get his diabetes-related labs under control within three months, significantly decreasing his risk of amputation. I know these stories are commonplace, especially in the South — where I was born and live today — and this is one of the many reasons why I feel such an imperative to make lasting change for our communities.

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?

I had a mentor-type relationship with an older practitioner before I went to pharmacy school. Over the course of that relationship, we maintained that “little sister” dynamic despite my professional growth and years of experience, awards, residency and network. He made several statements about his perceptions of my strengths and weaknesses, as well as which areas he thought I shouldn’t pursue, and I allowed both my trust and our history to color my view of myself — doubting my abilities for several years. What I learned is that I am capable of achieving any goal I set for myself. Although others might have motivations to doubt those goals, I cannot allow those people, no matter who they are, to set my limits for me.

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

I am grateful to Dr. Randall Huling at Olive Branch Family Medical Center. Dr. Huling is a primary care provider and clinic owner who employed me for three years. I admire his progressive leadership and management style, as well as his openness to ideas. He always let me — at minimum — explore every idea I brought to him without shutting it down. I am also forever grateful in his belief in my abilities — specifically that he was open to having me on staff as a pharmacist and diabetes educator at his clinic. I learned so much in that position, not only about my role and how clinics should run, but also other intangible pieces of knowledge that benefit me to this day, as I now work with numerous clinics, physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants.

Ok perfect. Now 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?

Chronic Care Management (CCM) is a program that Medicare initially designed to help beneficiaries remain in better communication with their providers between scheduled visits. Things may happen during that “between” time, such as falls, rising blood glucose or rising blood pressure readings. In that time, patients may even experience changing housing or transportation needs, hospitalizations, specialist visits, or a new need for refills or immunizations. With CCM, a care coordinator calls a patient once a month to coordinate these needs. That includes making sure they have medication refills sent to the pharmacy, test results sent to the provider so medication dosages can be adjusted, etc. This monthly call can help prevent small problems from going unchecked and progressing into something more complicated and costly. We have also adapted this service for employer groups so they can help employees to prevent diabetes, achieve a healthy weight, stop using tobacco products, or even help them find a primary care provider to access preventive screenings their employer already pays for.

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

1. Identify your “why.” — What makes you want to be healthy? For me, it is that I do not want to miss out on any memory with my children — like riding amusement park rides or hiking or camping — due to my health. I want my children to remember their mother being present.
2. Reframe exercise. — Exercise isn’t a punishment for what you ate, and it’s not just for weight loss or bikini body purposes. Exercise is a way to celebrate what your body is capable of doing, and it can be something you enjoy doing. After my third child, I had a herniated disc that suddenly burst, causing severe pain and a loss of flexibility. After I was told that exercise was the primary treatment for this injury, yoga and walking became lifelines to me. Now, almost three years later, my flexibility is better than it’s ever been and every time I practice, I leave feeling proud of what my body can accomplish. This stands opposed to the views I had earlier in my life, when it was just about figuring out how many calories I burned versus how many I consumed.
3. Routine for activity is important. — While COVID-19 has made this harder, whether we are working at home, virtually schooling or still commuting — find a routine. Maybe it’s walking at lunchtime, after the kids go to bed, on Saturday mornings, or for 10 minutes after each meal — whatever works for you. Decide what that routine is and commit to it. For me, it was committing to virtual yoga twice a week, using my Peloton two times a week and walking outside on days with good weather. Pre-COVID, it was going to the local park for a walk during my lunch hour. Regardless, I have always found that when I can automate it, like a routine, instead of being consumed with decision fatigue, I am more likely to accomplish it.
4. Don’t let distractors get you down. — Everyone is on their own wellness journey. It is much easier when those who live with you are on the same track. However, if others you work or live with don’t share your goals, you shouldn’t feel the need to win them over. Just set expectations with them as to what YOU will do. Tell them you will exercise or bring a healthy side dish to a get-together — and THEY will adjust. My family has now made a joke out of me packing healthy snacks or making a Christmas tree shaped veggie plate for our family gatherings. But it not only provides healthy appetizers, it makes great leftovers for lunches and snacks the week after!
5. Prioritize rest. — Sleep is crucial for our body’s ability to reset and to effectively achieve our daily goals. It even impacts our reactions to other people and situations. You should practice good sleep hygiene. If falling asleep is a problem, look up sleep meditations or yoga videos and slowly work toward a more relaxing nighttime routine. In my family, we have always made sleep a top priority. We protect bedtime, even for my husband and myself, so we can keep our energy up for the kids and work during the week.

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 would prioritize investment in preventive care and early intervention in chronic care identification. Our entire health care system is built on a model of seeking care when we are sick or need something. The problem is, by the time we can detect those problems ourselves, they could often already be catastrophic. In fact, some people live eight to 10 years with undiagnosed diabetes. For example, if a person has a headache from high blood pressure, that means it may already be at stroke level. It would be much more effective if we were to prevent these conditions from the beginning or detect them in their early stages with up-front investments such as making cities more walkable, free gym memberships and ensuring the availability of healthy eating education. If we were to accomplish this, it would not only pay off in dividends on the backend, every American could be on the pathway to creating a future of healthier familial and social cultures.

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

• Be flexible! If you don’t bend, you will break.
• Everyone makes mistakes. Own them quickly and learn from them.
• The only one who can tell me that I can’t do something is me.
• There are so many ways to be successful. Be open to possibilities.
• Never apologize for being 100% authentically yourself.

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 a topic that is near and dear to my heart. I think everybody can benefit from therapy, learning more about themselves and how to better relate to others. My daughter’s eczema has affected her mental health, and I also see it impacting so many of my patients’ physical health. To manage my own mental health, I find yoga and outdoor exercise to be beneficial. They help me to reset and pay attention to how intense situations affect my physical body and overall wellness.

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

You can follow me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-ellis-pharmd-cdecs-98558714/.

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Women In Wellness: Ashley Ellis of Compwell on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women Of The C-Suite: Sydna Kelley of Alert Logic On The Five Things You Need To Succeed As A Senior Executive

Make leadership organic; Allow people to lead in a way that feels genuine to them and they will be much happier and productive in their leadership roles. Everyone has special talents that they bring to the task at hand and allowing each person to demonstrate their own unique value allows them to fulfill their purpose.

As a part of our series about strong women leaders, I had the pleasure of interviewing Alert Logic’s Sydna Kelley, Chief Services Officer.

Sydna Kelley has spent 20+ years streamlining operational efficiencies, eliminating waste and creating scalable business models for disruptive and emerging companies, resulting in exponential valuation increases and acquisition.

As Chief Services Officer, she applies her passion for operational excellence, cultivating a “customer-obsessed” culture and enabling 360-degree visibility into customer deployments to ensure industry-leading cyber attack protection.

Cyber attackers are more relentless than ever and technology alone cannot stop destructive attacks. It’s for this reason that Alert Logic’s Security Operations Center (SOC) is in many ways the heart of its business — spanning continents and employing 24/7 security analysts who analyze network traffic and 60 billion+ log messages daily. Sydna has reimagined the SOC and Alert Logic’s approach to customer success.

Sydna has been responsible for $85M security operations budgets in some of the most heavily regulated industries.

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 started as a business major in college and took a computer engineering class and was instantly hooked! I love puzzles and process challenges, and computer science engineering was fun and logical. After graduation, I worked as a computer engineer in highly-regulated industries such as banking and pharmaceuticals and loved the transformational change these industries were going through at the time. There are special complexities with highly-regulated industries; the supporting processes that are needed for security and structure are both challenging and rewarding to create. I also learned throughout the years that I’m fanatical about customer service, especially when linked with technical operations, security and compliance. My love of the security industry grew out of dealing with dynamic change and complexity, and the desire to help people be successful with security technologies and protection.

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

Although there have been many interesting challenges I’ve faced over the years, the most relevant story is how the cybersecurity industry and my company (and team) responded to the COVID-19 challenges by creating a collaborative and productive virtual workspace that also allows for work/life balance and emotional support during this stressful time.

The experience over the last year has been unprecedented. I’m delighted to see how people can rise above the daily stress and challenges and reach out to each other for support. My entire global team has embraced the challenge to make sure everyone stays happy, healthy and connected during these potential times of isolation. We have utilized creative ways to stay aligned such as daily scrums, weekly round table discussions, virtual town halls and several other strategies creating enhanced levels of communication. There have also been fun events including virtual happy hours and a virtual house party — so the team has not lost its penchant for fun!

The combination of these virtual events and heightened collaboration has brought the cross-functional and multi-national teams closer in many regards including enhanced personal relationships as well as objective and priority alignment. It has been a ray of hope for me to see how we have seamlessly banded together across the globe through this shared challenge.

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?

Early on in my career, I had to orchestrate an end-of-year computer processing run at a bank where I was leading the Consumer Loans computer platform. The amount of time I spent preparing, coding and orchestrating this for the company had topped anything I had ever done to that point in my career. One of the steps involved an operator in the data center. Their job was to load tapes in a certain way throughout the beginning of the processing (yes, that sentence just dated me). As the end-of-year process began, the operator mistakenly began loading tapes incorrectly and everything I had planned started to fail miserably. I didn’t keep my cool and needless to say, the operator began to cry and break down. I took a breath, apologized and we eventually figured it out together and saved the day so that everyone saw correct bank statements on January 1. The two lessons I learned were: 1) respect for people is always the first step to mobilizing a team and creating successful outcomes, and 2) automation always has an element of human intervention that we have to plan for.

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?

I had several wonderful mentors along my journey and each one has provided lessons and examples of leadership across many different scenarios. One influential leader and mentor I worked with for 10+ years faced challenges with an element of laughter and I remember how effective that was. Keeping perspective even in the most critical situations was a huge leadership lesson for me.

My parents also had a huge influence on me and pushed me to never give up and do my best in every situation. Perseverance is one of the core competencies past mentors have teased me about!

I have also seen how strong personal ethics can influence leadership and build strong organizations with aligned purpose. I try to be selfless when I think through problems and make decisions. If you can put aside personal agendas for the good of the collective community, you will always do the right thing for the company and people on your team.

In my work, I often talk about how to release and relieve stress. As a busy leader, what do you do to prepare your mind and body before a stressful or high stakes meeting, talk, or decision? Can you share a story or some examples?

I believe keeping perspective in life is the key to dealing with challenges and stress. If you have the right perspective, even the most challenging day can have a silver lining. I’m happy to see more and more people creating work/life balance in their lives and I believe this creates a higher level of happiness and productivity.

My happy place is sailing and being on the water, so I always go back to that feeling when dealing with a stressful situation. I urge all of my leaders to spend time away from work to gain that perspective and then bring that energy and balance to their jobs and decision making. This has been especially important in the last several months as we’ve been exclusively working remotely due to the pandemic. This has created a strong need for everyone to establish their own work/life balance even in the most trying of times.

As you know, the United States is currently facing a very important self-reckoning about race, diversity, equality and inclusion. This may be obvious to you, but it will be helpful to spell this out. Can you articulate to our readers a few reasons why it is so important for a business or organization to have a diverse executive team?

I have always found that a diverse team with different perspectives and experiences creates the best overall solutions. Every team I have led has had diverse representation and I take great pride in that fact. I want to make sure I do anything I can to give everyone a voice, especially people who struggle to be heard based on old ways of thinking. Voices with new ideas create transformational change for the betterment of the organization and collective culture and hold the key to our future.

As a business leader, can you please share a few steps we must take to truly create an inclusive, representative, and equitable society? Kindly share a story or example for each.

Respect everyone, always. Everyone deserves to be respected and trusted and their input needs to count. Each individual has something unique to contribute and differences can be celebrated.

Make leadership organic. Allow people to lead in a way that feels genuine to them and they will be much happier and productive in their leadership roles. Everyone has special talents that they bring to the task at hand and allowing each person to demonstrate their own unique value allows them to fulfill their purpose.

Make every job a high-profile job. People need to see how their job contributes to the overall objective and each unique piece allows the group to be more successful.

Demonstrate your worth. I work to craft a vision to inspire my team so that they can see a better future, a better process, enhanced services, and overall improvements that will delight our customers. Ultimately, I know I’m doing a good job when they become the creative force and explore their own path to reach their unique potential.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Most of our readers — in fact, most people — think they have a pretty good idea of what a CEO or executive does. But in just a few words can you explain what an executive does that is different from the responsibilities of the other leaders?

In my opinion, decision making and accountability are the two most important and most challenging aspects of being an executive. Experience inherently provides you situations where you will win or lose, so trial-and-error learning is part of developing into an effective executive. When it comes to tough decisions, experience trumps education and relevant decisions come from relevant experience. A huge part of executive leadership is making the tough decisions and owning the outcomes regardless of what unfolds.

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

— One myth about being a C-level executive is that you have ultimate power through the decisions that you make and don’t worry about building support or ramifications for your decisions. Key decision making is a big part of being an executive but making hard decisions is challenging and extremely stressful due to the amount of people impacted by these decisions. When it comes to tough decisions, experience and education are both critical — relevant decisions come from relevant experience.

I believe the best executive leadership comes from people who want to serve first. This servant leadership mindset and leading an organization well, serving it as a good steward, can only benefit you, your company and ultimately the customers. Due to the importance of this, most leaders agonize over each decision that impacts the ability to do business more effectively and ultimately enhance employee and customer satisfaction. If you don’t like to serve and you aren’t ready to take ownership for key decision making, you probably won’t enjoy being an executive.

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

One thing I have noticed recently during that last couple of months of quarantine and while working from home, women tend to be pulled more frequently into the challenges of work/life balance. During this time of less separation between work and family, there is a natural gravitation between women and their children and although they enjoy being home with their families, it is a challenge to switch off. It is certainly a labor of love but also a balancing act.

What is the most striking difference between your actual job and how you thought the job would be?

I’m always surprised at how invested I become in the outcome of my company and teams and it doesn’t feel like a job but more like a passionate pursuit! I’ve always been loyal to the companies I’ve worked for but over the last several months I feel extremely invested in seeing my company and all of our team members reach their potential. I’m happy to feel so invested about security outcomes but it’s something that continues to surprise me.

Certainly, not everyone is cut out to be an executive. In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful executive and what type of person should avoid aspiring to be an executive? Can you explain what you mean?

I think the best executive leadership comes from people who want to serve first. This servant leadership mindset and leading an organization well, serving it as a good steward, can only benefit you, your company and ultimately the customers. Do business more effectively, more ethically, and in ways that create and enhance customers’ satisfaction and you gain success for your company. If you don’t like to serve, you probably won’t enjoy being an executive.

What advice would you give to other women leaders to help their team to thrive?

Keep moving forward. You can’t let others and their opinions impact your ability to succeed. Don’t listen to negative remarks. I remember a situation where remarks were made about a female executive who was a role model for me at the company. Someone made the statement that “she’s was in the twilight of her career”. That seemed odd to me considering she was younger than her male executive counterparts. We can no longer listen to the negative voices of the past and have to be confident and proud of our experience and our unique contributions as women.

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

Day to day, I try to make small positive impacts by lifting up my team and taking the time to interact with customers. Hear what they need and how we can help. I love the quote from Mahatma Gandhi that says: “Be the change that you want to see in the world” and I try to remember that every morning. I think grass-roots efforts make a difference in a company and in a community, and the small positive interactions that make each day worth living and ultimately make the world a better place.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)

1. Mistakes should be expected and tracked to create a dynamic process for learning and improvement.

To achieve top performance, we must first recognize and learn from our mistakes. And for that to happen within the workplace, for employees to willingly acknowledge errors, they need an environment in which it feels safe to have honest dialogue.

Early on in my career as a manager, I managed two operational teams. Consistently one team on average would have 0 or very few reported incidents per month while the other team would consistently show a higher number of specific incidents with a specific root cause identified. After digging into examples on both teams, I realized that the team reporting the higher incidents weren’t less effective or less careful, they were simply more comfortable admitting mistakes when they happened. This was an early lesson for me at allowing people to make mistakes and feel comfortable reporting them so we could track resolution and create a continuous improvement cycle. It also helped me think through creating metrics that supported the right behaviors.

2. Women add a much-needed perspective in technology and in the security industry.

STEM was not something I was encouraged to pursue in high school. I was lucky enough to have a supportive professor in college that observed my aptitude for computer science and process engineering. With the right opportunity, I excelled and that opened up my eyes to the challenges and opportunities in cybersecurity.

Supporting STEM across all genders early on and through creative outreach can provide the necessary talent we need for the future in key areas of technology and cybersecurity. I have always found that a diverse team with different perspectives and experiences create the best overall solutions. Every team I have led has had diverse representation and I take great pride in that fact.

3. Extroverts and introverts can both be highly successful and impactful leaders.

Extroverts are more likely to network and seek out opportunities which lead to the misconception that introverts are less desirable candidates for leadership or C-level positions. Introverts tend to be introspective and observant, naturally making them thoughtful listeners and strong leaders.

Don’t let any preconceived notions dissuade you from identifying your unique talents that create an advantage for you and allow yourself time to develop your leadership presence. There are many traits, including conflict resolution and high emotional intelligence that are equally or more important to being able to capture the limelight.

4. Your failures will define you more than your successes.

My favorite Winston Churchill life lesson quote is “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” It’s a wonderful way to look at life and anything that feels like a defeat.

I’m a competitive person and like most people, I don’t like to fail. It helps me to recharge when I remember that every lesson I have learned has made me a better person and leader. Challenges teach valuable lessons that help you grow and the important thing to remember is don’t give up and keep moving forward.

5. People are always the most important resource.

The most important lesson I’ve learned throughout the years is the importance of having happy, healthy, engaged people as part of your team and company. This is not just a stretch goal but a daily imperative. A few key elements to creating this engaged and inclusive team include the following:

. Respect everyone, always; Everyone deserves to be respected and trusted and their input needs to count. Everyone has something unique to contribute and differences can be celebrated.

. Make leadership organic; Allow people to lead in a way that feels genuine to them and they will be much happier and productive in their leadership roles. Everyone has special talents that they bring to the task at hand and allowing each person to demonstrate their own unique value allows them to fulfill their purpose.

. Make every job a high-profile job; People need to see how their job contributes to the overall objective and each unique piece allows the group to be more successful.

. Inspire people through your vision; I work to craft a vision that inspires my team to image a better future, better processes and improved services that will delight our customers. Ultimately, I know I’m going a good job when my team becomes the creative force behind change that allows them to reach their unique potential.

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’d like to inspire more people to become aware of the fact that human trafficking is an industry of $32 billion in the U.S. and $150 billion worldwide that is causing untold heartache and tragedy. One major misconception is that this crime doesn’t happen in the U.S. and doesn’t pose a risk to U.S. businesses. It also can affect any individual of any age, race, gender and nationality. Everyone should be aware that this is something that is happening right now to someone in our country and unless we all admit that and become involved, it is not going away any time soon. The first step to eradicating this atrocity is to recognize that it exists, and then we can stop it.

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

I love the Winston Churchill life lesson quote that says: “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” I just think that is a wonderful way to look at life and anything that feels like a defeat. I’m a competitive person and I don’t like failing so it helps me to recharge and remember that every lesson I learn makes me a better person and a better leader. Anything that is worth the effort will be hard. When you’re in the middle of something difficult it can look like you’re failing, when, in reality, you’re probably learning a valuable lesson that can help you grow. I think every role I’ve ever had has elements of this as an undercurrent and the important thing is to not give up and keep moving forward.

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

Anne Hidalgo. Hidalgo is the first female Mayor of Paris and ran for re-election on what is considered the “third rail” of urban politics in France — car parking on city streets. She didn’t shy away from this hot button political issue and decisively won a second term. This decision to stick to her guns in the face of “conventional” or “prevailing” wisdom, achieve success against the odds and remain committed to her vision of ecological transformation for the city has applications for business and cybersecurity leaders.

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

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Women Of The C-Suite: Sydna Kelley of Alert Logic On The Five Things You Need To Succeed As A… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Read at least 10 minutes a day something that you are passionate about. This will aid you by simply keeping your mind in check which is super healthy.

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

Jason Rosell is a Television Personality, world-renowned Celebrity Life, wellness, relationship coach. He is also the founder of the wellness company “Caliente Fitness” and the author of “Yummy Healthy Dinners” available on AMAZON.

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?

After many years of being a TV personality on reality television, an actor on soap operas, commercials, films and being a singer recording artist, I noticed that although people were very excited and impressed with me being an artist, they were always more shocked to see how I dramtically transformed my mindset, body and life.

I was obese for 20 plus years, After a few years of hearing eveyones reactions, I changed my path of being not only just an entertainer/artist, I started training celebrities and later creating and becoming the founder of my life and wellness company “Caliente Fitness.”

The company took off and has been transforming the lives of 1000’s of men and women since 2010. I have a program within my company called “Caliente Mind Caliente Body” that has helped people from the inside out and it focuses on mindset coaching calls, along with a customizable food and fitness program that is easy to follow. I think that it is so cool that now I get to be on television and shows just by being myself, and helping people by serving them with knowledge to better their lives in a very fun way.

I help people think outside the box and be able to do things within their entire lifestyle to create a new and better version of their current one. Regardless if it is in their relationship with themselves, partner, food, fitness, branding, etc… I renovate and empower people to the highest potential they did not realize they can accomplish. Many times, most people are held back with their thoughts as we all have a mind “blueprint” of how life should be.

Once we realize that we are not our mind, and that are mind does not control us, we become unleashed from whatever is holding us back and that is where I come in. To open the doors of endless possibilities for people that are not willing to settle and want to achieve the best.

After people work with me regardless if it’s via my online programs, zoom coaching, or my books and in person training, you notice a major shift in them very quickly and that to me gives me so much pleasure, and most importantly a happy purpose in life in which I love waking up and going to bed happy knowing I have helped someone new everyday.

For most of my life, no one believed in me, I didn’t believe in me. I was obese, full of stretch marks, unhappy, sloppy and just an underachiever with no mentors. I changed, and I love changing lives.

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

I would have to say training and coaching TV host Steve Harvey along with a group of mom’s front in front of a live audience on national television while dancing to my sexercise music workout video program was by far the funniest time ever! I could not keep my composure half of the time as Steve would take each of my workout moves and make his own fun version of it!

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

In the beginning of my career, I did a lot of small acting jobs on independent films and soap operas. I remember one of my first gigs having to do a dance scene and while dancing away, my pants split in half as I was heavier then, and needless to say, I was in little speedos in front of 90 people on set haha. That was one of many funniest times I have experienced for sure!

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?

I am grateful for my mother. She was a single mom most of her life working three jobs to help me even went I was forced to quit high school. She has been a true leader by example and my super hero.

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

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

Learn from people you want to become. Place yourself in places where people that you look up to are hanging out. Let them mentor you or hire a coach like myself so they can teach you many years of experience in a short amount of time so you can become the best version of you.

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

• Do guided meditations daily (Not sure how to or what that is)? Find my free guided meditations via my podcast available on all platforms or youtube. Simple search: Jason Rosell Meditations or my show “Get Inspired With Jason Rosell)
• Exercise for at least 30 minutes daily. This helps keep your mind and body happy.
• Journal for 5 minutes every morning and evening. This helps clear all negative thoughts away and gives you a sense of grattitude.
• Read at least 10 minutes a day something that you are passionate about. This will aid you by simply keeping your mind in check which is super healthy.
• Talk to yourself nicely. How you talk to yourself is what sets the tone in how your day will go and how you treat others.

How about teens and pre teens. Are there any specific new ideas you would suggest for teens and pre teens to optimize their mental wellness?

I feel that teens or pre teens should make it a daily habit to incorporate productivity lists to not only feel happy, but also accomplished. They should put in work and get rewarded from a young age in which later will help them later be more successful and happy in the future.

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

The book “The Power Of Now” is by far one of my favorite books as it made me realize that our brain and what we think has nothing to do with who we really are deep inside. Once we realize that we control our thoughts and not the other way around, life changes in the best way ever. This has helped me and many of my clients succeed.

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 would start and have a global (Caliente Mind Caliente Body) morning ritual that everyone does. It would be a daily 10 minute guided meditation by me and 10 minute dance off daily first thing in the morning. This will bring people calmness, and excitement all in one. This is one of my favorite routines to get my day starting off awesome!

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

My quote which is the slogan of my company “Caliente Fitness” is: “Caliente Mind Caliente Body”

I believe and live by this quote as I am a firm believer that if you can train your brain, you can achieve not only great phyiscal results, but amazing results in any part of your life.

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

They can visit my website http://JasonRosell.com to view all of my social or visit the links below:

Instagram: http://instagram.com/jasonroselllive

Youtube: http://youtube.com/jasonrosell

Facebook: http://facebook.com/jasonroselllive

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

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

Women In Wellness: Meghan Rose on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

Rest — not enough of us have arrived here, mentally, physically, or emotionally. Turn off your phone, sleep in from time to time, have multiple days of the week where you’re not working or running errands, or committing to plans. We live in a culture that’s so bent on ‘exhaustion hubris,’ and I hope that we can take away the idea that over-working is something to praise. I want to congratulate the people around me who have healthy, balanced lives where they are their first priority. Rest is just as important as forward movement and work, if not more so. Take the vacation, utilize ‘Airplane Mode,’ sit down with your friends or your partner or your family, and be present. Rest. You deserve it.

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

Meghan’s journey from working in the corporate sector of Private Investments to owning her own Los Angeles based business as a Spiritual Advisor should be a testament to any woman looking to break free and find their wild, creative self again: where you start doesn’t need to be where you end up. The late-twenties author, mentor, and now business owner feels more empowered by her client’s success stories than she does with her six-figure salary- let her help you get back to your truth.

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

Hi my love, absolutely, and thank you so much for having me. My story started in a tiny town in New Hampshire; I was raised in a town with less than 2,000 people and grew up on a dirt road there for the first 20 years of my life. I had very little access to exploring health, wellness, or spirituality, and trying to find people who made a career out of the combination was even more of a rarity.

After putting myself through college, paying my tuition out of pocket for a Marketing degree that I was banking on to give me a “safe” and financially prosperous career, it took just two months for me to decide I wanted to switch paths completely. I remember buying a one-way ticket in the middle of a snowstorm out of Boston-Logan airport and went straight to Los Angeles, California. The journey from then to now was filled with weeks of couch surfing, a couple of cockroach-infested apartments, and corporate gigs for Private Investment firms making more than I would have with my organs listed on the black market. I had “made it” to my family and friends back home from the outside looking in, but I was lost. Each day I had a 90-minute drive into a job that kept me desk-bound, punching numbers for almost ten hours before jumping back into a sea of infamous LA traffic left me feeling more and more detached from myself. A story not so rare to the modern-day working class.

I had always had a deep connection to my intuition, but it wasn’t until I left a job making six-figures to work for minimum wage at a meditation studio that I truly knew this was a gift I needed to trust. That job led me to become a meditation teacher myself, building the confidence to teach classes and work intimately with others struggling to connect to their true selves. After a couple of years, I was blending the skills of meditation, Tarot, and energy healing to build my Spiritual Advisory business, Meghan Rose Wellness — not only my career but my calling.

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?

There have been so many exciting stories since it all began; I would say my Tarot mentor and our whirlwind relationship of teaching and learning. I met him from his famous Youtube channel and felt an immediate connection to how he read cards and connected to Divine messages. The process and modality are so healing and coming from a Christian background myself — I always struggled with the taboo around Tarot. But from my own experiences, it had never been anything but helpful in bringing self-awareness to my life.

After working with him for nine months, he finally nudged me to start reading for others. After getting positive feedback and teaching meditation classes for a while, I approached the owner of the studio I was leading classes with. I said, “I have an idea, it might sound crazy, but I want to lead Tarot meditation classes” — she was never anything but supportive. We had terrific turnouts for these live, collective, pick-a-pile style Tarot classes. But when COVID hit, I had to transition this experience online; alas, Intuitive Tarot Manifestation was born! My Monday evening virtual classes started with a man in Florida teaching me how to read Tarot cards.

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?

To be frank with you, I have made countless mistakes. I’ve tried my best to learn from each and every one of them, but the heartache, financial losses, and embarrassment were no joke. I had to struggle with putting all of my trust and power into the hands of other people. Romantic partners, bosses, friends, colleagues.

I remember initially moving to Los Angeles after my boyfriend at the time told me to cancel my Yoga Teacher Training in Manhattan that I had already pre-paid for (on top of renting a $2500 Airbnb) if he promised to go with me. I was so quick to let other people make decisions for me and where my life was going. Then, I learned to trust myself and my intuition, finally realizing: I know what I’m doing.

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?

The list of people who helped me get here could go on for ages.

I’ll start with my mother for always letting me explore my interest in spirituality, taking me to palm readers and psychics when I was in grade school (despite her mother calling her a Pagan). The way that she defied each and every person’s disapproval of my life & my journey to encourage me is an unconditional love I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to match. I remember moving 3,000 miles away on a whim, and not once have I heard her doubt or guilt me- she always meets me with an “I’m so proud of the amazing person you are” or “This is so good, and it’s just the start” each time I have a win or a loss.

Ok perfect. Now 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?

I grew up around emotional repression and spiritual disconnection. I struggled for years with family members and friends that made me feel alienated and insecure about my desire to talk about my emotions, intuition, or interests. Knowing how isolating that felt, I vowed to let my work focus on giving other people the safe space to embrace their truth. The heavy emotions, the shadow self, the mistakes, the quirks — all of it!

I genuinely believe each action we take is either rooted in fear or love, and my work allows people from all walks of life to say, “I’m tired of being afraid of my vibrance, I’m tired of being afraid of judgment… I am ready to love myself as I am.”

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

Journaling — the power of manifestation is real. I firmly believe writing our intentions, facing our demons, learning about ourselves, and feeling gratitude can alter your perspective in the best possible way. I recently found a journal entry about my financial goals from last year and realized I had paid off $10,000 of debt, more than doubled my monthly income, and took myself on the vacations I had vowed to be able to finance. Even the reflection to me makes journaling worthwhile. It allows us to celebrate our victories rather than getting caught up in the process.

Meditation- this doesn’t have to look the same for everyone. As a trained Reiki Master, I gravitate towards chakra (energy center) meditations. Some enjoy silent meditations. Some meditate while cooking, or mountain biking, or painting. But a mindfulness practice of some sort where you are unplugged, slowing down, and connecting to yourself is a non-negotiable for true contentment.

Tarot — this one seems a bit obvious, but even living in Los Angeles, I still have so many first-timers coming to my classes, booking appointments, or that I meet casually. Tarot is a misunderstood and severely misrepresented art form that allows us to connect to our subconscious mind and allows us to bring consciousness to the way we’re living. After all of these years of studying and reading for others, I still read for myself, and I have my own readers that I go to and trust. I hope it becomes more widely accepted, and my goal with my career is to be on the frontlines, pioneering the global embrace of Tarot.

Rest — not enough of us have arrived here, mentally, physically, or emotionally. Turn off your phone, sleep in from time to time, have multiple days of the week where you’re not working or running errands, or committing to plans. We live in a culture that’s so bent on ‘exhaustion hubris,’ and I hope that we can take away the idea that over-working is something to praise. I want to congratulate the people around me who have healthy, balanced lives where they are their first priority. Rest is just as important as forward movement and work, if not more so. Take the vacation, utilize ‘Airplane Mode,’ sit down with your friends or your partner or your family, and be present. Rest. You deserve it.

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 would start a movement for a global-wide acceptance of vulnerability and emotional expression. I’m not entirely sure ‘how’ that would look, but imagine a world where we all said how we felt? A world where we started to approach ourselves and others with more love and gentleness? A world based on rehabilitation, healing, and acceptance rather than repression. That’s the type of world I’m trying to build, one session at a time.

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

Be here now — if I had started being present and practicing mindfulness PRIOR to these life changes, I would have enjoyed the journey and trusted my process.

Let go of your expectations.

If you don’t respect someone’s opinion, don’t listen to their criticism.

Enjoy each up and down of this journey; it’s not about the money or the end goal. It’s about the process.

Allow yourself to make mistakes & don’t let the fear of making mistakes hold you back.

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

Each of these causes is intersected with one another; I can’t rightfully tell everyone what to buy, eat, and do with their spending power. I can say this: money is simply an energy, and purchasing is simply an energetic exchange. Be conscious of your choices. Those choices are shaping our future.

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

You can find me on Instagram @meghanrosewellness, or on my website www.meghanrosewellness.com — I look forward to connecting with bright, beautiful you.

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

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Women In Wellness: Meghan Rose on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Shannon Conklin of Organic Edge on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

I eat a zero refined sugar diet. There is just so many other delicious sweet options that don’t do the damage to your body. Coconut sugar, honey and monk fruit are all yummy sweet indulgences that just make me feel good without crashing later.

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

Inspired by personal events, Shannon Conklin founded the holistic wellness center, Organic Edge, in the popular Hamptons, NY in June of 2020. From chronic illness as a child to losing her father to colon cancer at 49 years old, Shannon has committed to a mission of helping people heal and purify the body in the most natural ways. Shannon has over 13 years of experience in several holistic health and wellness services and techniques and holds many holistic modality certifications including being a National Board Certified Colon Hydrotherapist, an I-ACT Certified Colon Hydrotherapy Instructor and certified in Thermal Imagery.

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

My passion for health and wellness came out of necessity and survival. I was a competitive dancer and straight-A student when I became ill at the age of 12. I fell ill with Epstein Barr and micoplasmic pneumonia and was unable to fully recover. I was later diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome with Fibromyalgia. That diagnosis at the time meant you are sick, tired and in pain all the time without a known cause or solution. After 3 years and no answers, my mom read a book by a holistic doctor and decided we were traveling 4 hours away to a functional medicine doctor. She did all kinds of tests and found tangible answers. I had leaky gut syndrome where everything I ate became something my body deemed an allergen. I didn’t digest or absorb nutrients from food, so all of my vitamins and minerals were completely depleted. I had an almost sterile microbiome from all of the antibiotics I had been on. This was the first step of many on my road to recovery. This was also the first time I saw the value in looking at the body “holistically,” meaning looking at the whole body as one functioning machine and not breaking it down into separate systems, organs and symptoms. I later found out that I had chronic Lyme disease, probably since the microplasma episode. Over the last 20 years, I have taken many steps toward optimal health. One treatment, one test, one experiment at a time. My passion quickly turned into my profession as I found myself managing holistic practices before training to become a practitioner myself. Being your own health advocate is the most important piece of advice I can give someone. There are lots of different approaches to healing and most of them are valid but not all of them work for everyone. My healing journey was long and filled with a lot of throwing things against the wall to see what stuck. I’m grateful for the journey, what it’s taught me and what I’m now able to provide others on their journeys.

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?

Very early on I had a client come in with his mother for a colonic. He was about 25 years old, didn’t really communicate much, with me not at all. His mom told me that he had neurological Lyme disease. He became suddenly sick in college and went from being a normal young adult to laying in a hospital bed. When I became a part of his healing journey, he had been sick for a few years. Joe had gone for colonics before, but his mom Donna told me that they were painful for him. He was chronically constipated due to the Lyme. Throughout the session, Joe seemed comfortable and released an INSANE amount of waste. The following week when I asked him how he was doing, he responded he was doing well. I looked at Donna and she said it had been an interesting week. Ridding his body of its waste made a huge difference in how he felt and not just in his stomach. He single handedly showed me how important colon hydrotherapy could be. I got to see Joe weekly for years and was witness to his transformation. I’m grateful to have been a part of his healing journey and a part of him and Donna’s life.

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?

In school I was taught “nutrition” in regard to both general health and in relation to colon health. With that knowledge, I had an idea of what the perfect diet was for everyone. Now thankfully, I wasn’t counseling anyone nutritionally, but I soon learned that our bodies are all very different and need different diets. I learned that first by experimenting on myself. I have been vegan, keto, vegetarian, paleo, pescatarian and ovo-tarian over the last 10 years. I’ve also at this point seen thousands of clients with different medical backgrounds on different diets and protocols. What I know for certain is that it is not one size fits all. Not even close. I can say with certainty that the quality of food we intake matters, regardless of what food works best for the individual. In all the nutritional lifestyles I’ve tried, it was always organic, pasture-raised, wild caught, etc. I think the one size fits all approach to anything health and wellness related is a mistake. I truly believe my biggest strength as a wellness practitioner is that at the heart of it, I am a person that has been bio-hacking myself from a chronically ill person to where I am now. I’ve learned to always to listen to my body. Our bodies speak to us and give us so much information that we are used to ignoring or silencing. Explore, research, hear everyone, but listen to your body.

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 people I learned from throughout the years. Every person I worked for and worked with professionally and on my personal health journey, both added value to my practice as well as taught me what I did not want to incorporate into my own business. Life is fantastic in that way if you spend time absorbing all that you can. The biggest impact on my professional life was my late colon hydrotherapy mentor Barbara Chivvis. She truly LOVED colon hydrotherapy and was a pioneer in the field. When she first started, she was one of two colon hydrotherapists in the area. The field was widely undervalued and unknown. Her personality was quite the opposite of mine. She was soft spoken, reserved and timid. That made her passion for colon hydrotherapy so much more apparent because she spoke with conviction about health and wellness. She walked the walk and lived what she believed to be the healthiest lifestyle possible. She trained me throughout all 4 levels of colon hydrotherapy certifications with I-ACT and for the National Board Exam. I was then lucky enough to work beside her both as instructors for I-ACT and as a practitioner. Even with all she gave me, I still find myself wanting to ask her opinion. I love and miss her dearly. I wouldn’t be where I am without her.

Ok perfect. Now 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?

My impact on the world comes one client at a time. My clients have total access to me. I have clients that I haven’t seen in 10 years who text me every now and then to ask if I’ve ever tried a treatment or supplement. I’ve been where they are and sometimes, they just need someone who understands. I give every single client everything I’m able to. Being part of their healing journey, whatever that looks like, is my biggest gift and what fills me up at the end of the day. Everyone deserves to feel well and if I’ve contributed to that in any way, I’ve done my job.

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

These tweaks are effective and easy if you get into the habit of doing them.

1) Our bodies have two neurological settings; fight or flight and rest and digest. Fight or flight is meant for us way back when running from a tiger in the jungle. It’s when your body prioritizes getting out of a crisis by flooding your body with adrenaline to give you “superpowers.” In our current society, we live in that state most of the time. As a business owner and a type A person I am absolutely guilty of this. Our body cannot properly digest food in this state. Taking 5–10 deep, cleansing breaths prior to eating gives your body a chance to switch back to rest and digest. Breathing is so important to our overall health, but it really helps us digest our food better, which in turn leads to better absorption.

2) I think sleep schedules are so important. One major turning point in my health journey was getting on a sleep schedule. I had terrible insomnia and was exhausted all the time. When I got married, I was worried about how I would stay up late because of how I was so used to going to sleep between 10–11 p.m. Our body loves routine, it is very smart and knows how to optimally help us if we give it what it needs.

3)I know you hear about hydration and water all the time. I have many clients who drink a ton of water and still feel dehydrated. One of the best things I ever did was start putting electrolytes in my water. My absolute favorite is Superieur Electrolytes. They have real Vitamin C from fruit, pink Himalayan salt that provides the electrolytes and no sugar. They also taste amazing. Electrolytes were an absolute game changer for me.

4) I eat a zero refined sugar diet. There is just so many other delicious sweet options that don’t do the damage to your body. Coconut sugar, honey and monk fruit are all yummy sweet indulgences that just make me feel good without crashing later.

5) If I want treats or junk food, I make it myself. I use real, quality ingredients and make whatever I want from scratch. At that point I’m having comfort food, not junk food. Sometimes the soul needs a little comfort food!

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 can’t help but take the bait on this one. The wellness movement that I think would bring the most value to everyone is normalizing the BOWEL movement. I am here to meet people where they are at and assist them in getting closer to their health and wellness goals; bringing their body back to balance. It’s amazing to me how many people are still embarrassed to talk about poop! It tells us so much about what is going on inside the body. If everyone had daily bowel movements, they would feel so much better.

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

If you love what you do and you’re providing value to other people, the universe will continue to open doors for you to fulfill that purpose. Letting go of control and being in the flow, while putting in the necessary work will get you to where you want to be.

Aside from that I have to be honest, “the school of life” is a very real thing for me. What I’ve learned through all my experiences is why I am where I am today. I don’t know if anything anyone could have said to me would have changed things and if they had, would I want really want that? I value every lesson and everything I’ve learned over the years and wouldn’t have wanted a spoiler.

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

I debated on how to answer this question. My last three cars were hybrids and speaking about mental health is not in my scope of practice so I can only speak from my experience. When someone is chronically ill, we concentrate a lot on the physical. We focus on the symptoms and the tangible information we receive from testing. After years of experience dealing with my own illness, and my chronically ill clients, I’ve come to realize that one of the most unrecognized aspects of it all is the mental health of the person. Advocating for your own health and searching for answers can become all encompassing. Your identity starts to become that of a sick person. Part of my healing journey was to look at every aspect that contributed to it. For me, recognizing that I had started to identify, first and foremost, as a chronically ill individual helped me break that habit and helped me heal.

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

On Instagram @yourorganicedge

On Facebook https://www.facebook.com/yourorganicedge

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

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Women In Wellness: Shannon Conklin of Organic Edge on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Dr. Swathi Varanasi on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

A Moment For You — Whether it is sitting on the family room floor for five minutes before the kids come home from school, or an hour in a dedicated meditation room, closing your eyes and taking a few deep breaths is a great way to reset and revamp your brain for the rest of the day.

As a part of my series about the women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Swathi Varanasi.

Dr. Swathi Varanasi, or Dr. Swathi for short, is a bilingual pharmacist specializing in integrative health and cannabis. She is a natural medicines educator, a clinical researcher, a TV show host, and a multimedia content contributor. She is dedicated to leading the charge in medical education by creating innovative programs about the range of healing modalities and their impact on the overall health and wellbeing of patients around the world.

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

Even before I started on my path to becoming a pharmacist, I had always been interested in holistic health and healing. I found myself in pharmacy school where there was little to no discussion about nutrition and preventative health, but I knew there was a way they both could work in synergy. When I graduated, there was no formal training for pharmacists interested in pursuing integrative health, so I partnered with one of my brilliant mentors to co-found and was the first-ever resident of the PGY1 Integrative Health Pharmacy Residency program. During this postdoctoral specialized residency program, I trained at an independent natural pharmacy and HIV clinic in Los Angeles, California. Emphasizing an evidence-based approach and working with the patient as a team, I was able to provide natural medicines education and guidance to help each patient achieve their own treatment goals; these conversations involved a number of methodologies and modalities of healing, like eastern & western herbs, homeopathy, cannabis, therapeutic aromatherapy, dietary supplementation and everything in between. Since my training, I have moved on to a variety of educational ventures, including but not limited to creating online courses, guest lecturing, college and postgraduate course curricula consulting, and textbook and reference guide writing.

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?

During my training to specialize in integrative medicine, I was fortunate to be a part of an interprofessional healthcare team including but not limited to a community pharmacy and an HIV/AIDS clinic. I set up the clinic’s first-ever medication therapy management (MTM) program in which I saw patients on a biweekly or monthly basis in appointments that lasted up to one hour. Given my highly specialized niche, it was beyond gratifying to provide answers to practitioner and patient questions regarding drug-drug interactions from my western didactic and practical training, but also questions regarding nutrition, cannabis and overall wellness. There was one patient in particular, let’s call him Joe. Joe had been diagnosed with HIV in the 1980s and has since suffered with depressed mood and anxiety. Through years of trying various varieties of conventional prescription therapy cocktails, he was looking for something that would be work, saying ‘I am willing to try almost anything.’ We had a wonderful discussion about the multitude of options for mood imbalance including but not limited to therapeutic aromatherapy, mindfulness, sleep hygiene, interpersonal relationships and nutrition. Since the start of my career, like Joe, more and more patients are interested in learning more about complementary and alternative therapies. The increased number of patient questions was accompanied by practitioner questions as they wanted to learn more about integrative health modalities to help their patients as much as they could. By having ongoing discussions with healthcare practitioners, I think slowly but surely they are beginning to really appreciate the value of many avenues to optimal wellness.

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?

The biggest mistake I made was assuming that other western practitioners would understand my chosen career path… Many of whom do not take what I do seriously. I receive comments about how I have ‘thrown away my education’ and that I am telling patients to ‘stop taking all of their prescription medications.’ The misconception that being an Integrative Health Pharmacist involves discounting the use and benefits of prescription medication is something I deal with all of the time. Every practitioner has their own definition, but the way I practice evaluates the many modalities of medicine (eg. medications, dietary supplements, eastern & western herbs, therapeutic aromatherapy, homeopathy, physical exercise, sleep practices, meditation, etc.) to determine options for the patient. This very personalized methodology requires that the practitioner and patient work as a team to evaluate which one or combination of these modalities is best for the patient’s lifestyle and treatment goals.

I have learned that regardless of what you do, people will always have an opinion, so you might as well do what lights you up rather than what makes others happy.

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 is no way I would be where I am today without the faith and guidance from one of my mentors, Integrative Health Pharmacist, Dr. Pam Tarlow. As I briefly mentioned in my background, even before I was a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) student, I had always been interested in preventative medicine, but did not know a pharmacist who was able to marry both the western and eastern mentalities of patient care… That was until I met Dr. Tarlow, one of the first Integrative Health Pharmacists who started 20 years ago. I reached out to her inquiring about a clinical rotation spot at her site, an independent natural pharmacy in Los Angeles, California. When I came out to rotation, I knew I had finally found my place in pharmacy, with the opportunity to help educate practitioners, patients and students about natural medicines. Beyond this realization, our relationship has since grown and inspired many of my other professional relationships with other bold, trailblazing women who are unapologetically passionate about what they do regardless of what everyone else says.

Ok perfect. Now 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?

As an Integrative Health and Medical Cannabis Pharmacist, I am committed to educating practitioners, patients and students about the therapeutic potential and the possible pitfalls of botanical medicine as well as other modalities. In my practice, the intersection of many methodologies of health and healing is what is most vital to patient outcomes. I found through my training that I am so passionate about sharing my evidence-based knowledge and expertise about natural medicines with everyone.

I am proud to be the co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at the women- and minority-founded CBD & botanical brand, Element Apothec. I am the incoming Chief Pharmacy Officer at CalEthos, in which I will be responsible for founding the first-ever brick-and-mortar medical cannabis dispensaries managed and run by healthcare professionals in the state of California. I manage educational efforts at an innovative cannabis genomics and integrative wellness company, Jade Health, and an adaptogenic cookie company, Madeby. In addition to my post as adjunct faculty and/or guest lecturer at colleges of pharmacy and colleges of traditional Chinese medicines, I recently launched the first-ever online course on medical cannabis specifically for pharmacists (Cannabis Science & Therapeutics for Pharmacists) in collaboration with the educational platform, Medical Cannabis Mentor.

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

Tweak #1: Good Bye, Alarm Clock

Sleep is so underrated. One of the top ways to feel refreshed in the morning is not setting an alarm. Well-named, the alarm is alarming to your body and forcing it out of its current sleep cycle. By cutting a sleep cycle short, you may not feel fully rested and you may have a temporary hormonal imbalance. Allowing your body to wake up naturally goes hand in hand with the importance of a personalized morning routine that will set you up for success for the rest of the day.

Tweak #2: Herbs, Herbs & Herbs

As an Integrative Health and Medical Cannabis Pharmacist, I would be remiss not discuss the incredible therapeutic potential of botanical medicine. Adding specific herbs to your daily routine, called adaptogens, can improve your body’s resilience to stress and can have life-changing and anti-aging properties with consistent use. Popular examples of adaptogens are ginseng, ashwagandha, matcha, and functional mushrooms. Without delving into too much detail, the endocannabinoid system is a system in the human body that maintains our body’s homeostasis; most famously influenced by Cannabis sativa, the addition of a low-medium CBD dose of daily (eg. 25 mg) could be an amazing addition to your routine as well.

Tweak #3: What Is Kohlrabi?

Nutrition is a mainstay of my discussions with patients. As I view food as nature’s medicine, I urge my patients to challenge themselves to get out of their comfort zone with their food choices. For example, this could be buying a fruit or vegetable that is new to you, or this could be trying a new recipe to mix it up. I always say that if you have not tried it yet, then you do not officially know if you like it, or not. Given the vast array of nutritional benefits in these plant-based foods, studies have shown that eating a variety could impact your body’s homeostasis.

Tweak #4: ‘I Am Amazing’

I can be the first to admit that I never anticipated the impact Tweak #4 could have in my life. Like my western-trained physician, dentist and nursing colleagues, I was not taught about the benefits of mindfulness or meditation practices in my curriculum. A healthy mindset has played the most impactful role in my maturation as a person and professional. I would suggest beginning with seemingly simple ‘I am’ statements to remind yourself how ‘awesome’, ‘strong,’ and ‘successful’ you are. Especially in these times, you may be feeling trapped in a negative mindset about the future; transforming your mindset to a positive one about yourself and your capabilities could work wonders for your trajectory. Your subconscious does not know the difference between what is real and what is not. If you tell it that you are amazing, it will believe it. With repeated affirmations, you will also start to believe it, consciously.

Tweak #5: A Moment For You

Whether it is sitting on the family room floor for five minutes before the kids come home from school, or an hour in a dedicated meditation room, closing your eyes and taking a few deep breaths is a great way to reset and revamp your brain for the rest of the day.

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

If I could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, it would involve the widespread discussion of and accessibility to healthy food and a healthy mindset. There would be many moving parts including a list of authoritative bodies, private corporations and nonprofit involvement, however, I believe this movement is key to improving overall health in the American population. Studies have shown that food desserts not only have high rates of chronic disease, but also have high rates of crime and mental health concerns. Working with grocery stores and food banks to eliminate food deserts in low-income areas would be beneficial for so many communities.

In addition, certain cities have begun setting an example for others by incorporating prescriptions for specific healthy foods that can be found in pharmacies alongside prescription medications. This not only helps patients but also local farmers who can provide seasonal produce for these programs. With pharmacies on nearly every street corner providing these new healthy food services, pharmacists can play an essential role in helping provide guidance and answer patient questions.

New specialties such as nutritional psychiatry are demonstrating the intrinsic link between the food we eat and how we feel. My proposed movement would also extend past nutrition to include the accessibility to low- to no-cost mental health providers. I firmly believe that ample access to nutrient-rich foods and mental health care services is pivotal for the future of the country.

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

There are so many things I wish I was told before embarking on this unconventional professional journey. I have the opportunity to lecture at quite a few undergraduate universities, colleges of pharmacy, and colleges of traditional Chinese medicine regarding this exact topic. As someone who forged her own path and created a niche that did not exist, my first piece of advice is to figure out what you want by asking yourself questions like, ‘What does your ideal day look like?’ and ‘What do you want to known for?.’ Once you figure what you want, the next step is to take inspired action to work towards that goal. I think it is very easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and lose sight of the big picture. I wish someone would have told me about the concept of chunking large tasks into smaller ones; creating attainable, realistic monthly goals has helped me propel projects forward rather than feeling overwhelmed and unsure where to start with long-term deadlines. Overall I wish someone had told me that it is completely okay (and normal) to want to achieve, be, and think differently than others. In pharmacy school, when we were only told about a limited number of career options, I initially felt ashamed that what I wanted did not resonate with any of them. Following your intuition is much more important than satisfying other people’s standards.

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

This is a wonderful question. In my opinion, all of these topics are inherently linked. As someone who is vegan for nutritional and environmental reasons, I am passionate about the impact of a plant-based lifestyle on the human body and the world. If I had to pinpoint one of these big topics, I would select mental health simply because if we are suffering mentally, emotionally and spiritually, then we are unable to think past our current circumstances. By targeting the state of mental health in America and the world, I think that could translate to a much healthier, happier population and planet.

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

Connect with me on LinkedIn! If you have any questions, DM me on Instagram and let’s chat (@doctorswathi). Looking forward to e-meeting you!

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

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Women In Wellness: Dr Swathi Varanasi on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Rachael Szmajda of ‘Elemental Wellness Center’ on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

Live in the moment. Don’t let the past overrun your present. The only constant in life is change, but we have the ability to choose to choose again and again, and that is a beautiful thing.

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

Rachael Szmajda grew up in Maryland before moving to Chicago, ultimately graduating from Columbia College in 2006. She relocated to California to grow cannabis in the legal market, quickly becoming a vendor of cannabis products to cannabis clubs in the Bay Area by 2007. Later that year, Rachael landed her first in-house position at a cannabis retailer as the Purchasing Assistant for Harborside Health Center in Oakland, where she personally saw and reviewed 500+ vendors per month. After 13 years, numerous awards and mainstream media appearances, four cannabis clubs, countless harvests, hundreds of sold pounds, and thousands of purchased pounds later, Rachael is a veteran of the industry. She currently serves as Chief Purchasing Officer at one of the most respected dispensary brands in the United States: Elemental Wellness Center in San Jose, CA.

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

Growing up in Maryland, we had access to a fair amount of cannabis for the times. It always came in pressed bricks that required carding out the seeds on a baking sheet, and we always assumed was shipped up from Mexico. In 1999, I bought my first half pound in the parking lot of my parent’s neighborhood pool, and started my life-long endeavor of bringing quality cannabis to the people. At that time, I didn’t realize how much better it would get, but I quickly learned there was much more out there then brick weed and closet grown hydro. In 2003, I saw my first legitimate indoor grown cannabis. It was Skunk #1, it came to Chicago from Indiana, and my cannabis life and perspective was altered forever. The next year, we started up our own little indoor grow and everything developed pretty quickly from there. One room quickly turned into a floor of a duplex, and that duplex quickly expanded into another two locations.

After graduating from Columbia College with my Bachelor of Fine Arts in the fall of 2006, I moved to California and started up my first legal California home grow in Fairfax, CA quickly upon arriving. I was a vendor to Bay Area cannabis clubs by 2007. Later that year, I started as the Purchasing Assistant at Harborside Health Center in Oakland. Let me tell you, there is no better way to learn cannabis products then personally seeing 500+ vendors a month and reviewing their cannabis goods all day every day. My cannabis knowledge and life developed as quickly as the industry did.

At this point, I’ve done quite a bit. I’ve have worked with Ed Rosenthal and had my cannabis photography published in his Marijuana Growers Handbooks. I’ve been quoted and photographed in various cannabis magazines, smoked a joint with Jack Herer, kicked it with Tommy Chong, I’ve won two High Times Cannabis Cups by picking the right entry from an amazing selection of growers, I’ve been on Weed Wars on the Discovery Channel turning a friend’s cannabis away because of spider mite excrement, I’ve been on the BBC explaining trichome color as a determination of maturity, I’ve been on National Geographic negotiating a pound with a patient provider. Hell, I’ve even been on German TV buying a pound.

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?

There are many, but the one that stands out takes me back to July of 2010. The City of Oakland decided they wanted to license four large cultivation facilities, which would effectively put hundreds of patient providers completely out of business. At that time, no one was licensed, and the city was not giving the growers the opportunity to be licensed or regulated in any way. They were talking about introducing big corporate businesses into a world that existed without them. This caused a massive uproar. People were being forced underground, unable to fight for themselves and their rights due to a fear of being found, robbed, or raided by the government that had no problem capitalizing off of the tax revenue that these people had created.

So, we called a meeting with all of our 500+ patient providers. We made handouts. We promised the ability to maintain anonymity. We promised working together to create the change and justice that we all deserved and needed to see. It was difficult. The most common concern was being followed back to your grow, or for your car to be identified and then followed and robbed when leaving a cannabis club you were doing business with. This was a common occurrence back then, and something people dealt with regularly.

Many of our patient providers did not come because they did not want to be exposed to the risk that potentially outing themselves could cause them, and the ones that did come tended to isolate themselves from each other, in an attempt to not to be identified. They wanted to be legal, and the system was giving them no way to do that. I have always been an activist, protesting and standing up for what I believed was right since I was a teenager, but this experience really lit the fire in me to stand up for what I believed in and speak on behalf of all of these people who weren’t in a position to speak for themselves.

So, when the Oakland City Council held it’s meeting to discuss and potentially approve the plan to open four large scale cannabis production facilities, I stood loud and proud in front of them and fought for the rights of the hundreds of small and medium sized boutique home-growing patient providers to be allowed to continue to provide medicine to the people in the industry that they had created.

We fought to license, tax, and regulate small growers over corporatizing the industry that we built. We fought to keep them from giving it away to big business which would successfully have put thousands of people across California out of the industry they had built with their own time, blood, sweat, tears, and efforts. Many of these people had even grown legally according to the state, and faced raids from the federal government, effectively putting them behind bars and seizing everything they had for something that they were doing legitimately. Where was the righteousness in what was happening? Where was the oversite and accountability? As we engaged with the City Council trying to help them understand and make the right decision, the vendors hid out in the balconies, shouting words of support, but forced into silence due to the fear of identification and retaliation. It all seemed so wrong and so backwards.

In the end, the plan was approved, and Oakland decided to move forward with their plans to license four large-scale cannabis production factories. In December of that year, they actually ended up suspending those plans after receiving a lot of criticism and warnings from federal authorities who said that the city ordinance would not keep the federal government from criminally prosecuting those locally licensed facilities. So, Oakland decided to license four new cannabis clubs instead. One of which I got to be a part of bringing into creation!

Looking back on it now, it’s strange how this was just a sign of everything that was inevitably yet to come, but it was a really great experience to be able to be a part of that process and a part of that fight. I guess it just goes to show that the only constant in life is change, and while it is imperative to fight for what you believe in, actively seek the change you want to see, and stand up for those who need your help; ultimately we all have to continue to adapt to every “right-now’s” reality in every given moment.

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?

Once upon a time, I was considering a 300-gram bag of granulated cold water hash for purchase from a vendor and had it sitting open on the counter in front of me. There were other things on the table as well, so I turned my attention to another item while mulling over the cold water. While my attention was elsewhere, the entire bag tipped over and dumped itself out onto the carpeted floor of my office. We salvaged what we could, and I paid him for the difference lost, but there is likely hash still embedded in that carpet to this day. That experience definitely taught me to be very cautious and considerate of products, especially when they are not yet owned by the company that I work for. In my mind, I had already decided I wasn’t going to purchase the hash, but dropping it on the floor changed that ability to negotiate.

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?

I met Mickey Martin shortly after his edible company Tainted Inc. was raided in September of 2007. Immediately I knew that he was someone I would look up to. Mickey dedicated his life to cannabis activism, and it was amazing. An entire book could be written on Mickey Martin’s accomplishments.

He founded Parents 4 Pot to keeping everyone accountable for their actions, and Mickey would call out anyone who operated on false or impure pretenses. From demanding payment from clubs who refused to pay their patient providers, to leading the charge of the protests when they wouldn’t comply. From calling people out for trying to capitalize of someone else’s efforts, to making sure that the entire community knew when someone was denying accountability that they were the reason a cannabusiness went under. From standing up for women’s roles in our industry, to demanding they get the respect they deserve instead of the objectification many tried to keep serving up on platters. Literally.

Never one to hold his tongue, Mickey Martin really set a precedence for me to do and say what’s right when it comes to the things we want, need and deserve in our lives. If you want it, go get it. If you don’t like it, speak up. If you can do it better, or make it better, do it; and do it with integrity.

Mickey Martin’s death in 2015 was the biggest loss to the cannabis community and industry as a whole. Everyone misses Mickey. As much as I and other people he influenced will always do our best to play our parts, the industry could never be the same without him.

When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

The use of pharmaceuticals is just out of control. Massive drug corporations are being back-end funded and protected by the governmental bodies that are supposed to regulate them and protect us. Doctors who are supposed to care about our health are pushing drugs into our communities to get bonuses from their ties with those same drug corporations. The cost of filling a prescription these days can often break the bank of someone’s reality. It’s outrageous. It doesn’t seem to be about our health and wellbeing anymore, it seems that the ones who are supposed to care about us are only seeking to profit from personal gains.

Due to the limited competition in the pharmaceutical industry, these companies can price their drugs wherever they want to, and people just have to pay it, because they can’t find it any cheaper anywhere else. Those issues, coupled with the current state of health insurance in the US, make me feel really good about helping to secure and provide quality cannabis products to the recreational masses. It all comes from a plant, the processing can be very limited or non-existent depending on your product category of choice, and there are no detrimental side effects or risks of overdose. The level at which cannabis has been able to replace pharmaceuticals for so many people makes my heart swell with happiness.

In my opinion, all cannabis being consumed has medicinal benefits to the user, whether they consciously realize it or not. It may help someone with sleep, anxiety, appetite, pain, or just the simple ability to relax. These are basic everyday things that most people struggle with at some level, and cannabis helps immensely. The benefits are limitless, and they are not restricted to health alone.

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

1. I’m honestly not sure what could I say to help support other people’s journey towards well-being, probably because I feel like I’m not well-equipped enough to even answer that question for myself. Wellbeing is a constant daily struggle that takes a lot of hard work, time, and dedication. Despite being fairly active, I personally have a tendency towards laziness at home. Maybe someone has a “lifestyle tweak” for me?
2. Tell people how you really feel. Dishonestly only breeds confusion and contempt, and people deserve to use the truth when making decisions in their lives. Especially when it comes to cannabis. As a buyer, many would be tempted to tell everyone what a great job they’ve done, so as to not hurt people feelings and egos. Initially, it may be hard to say no, and they may not take it well, but ultimately, it’s what they want/need to hear, and you’ll feel better for doing it. The most important thing to remember is to be impeccable with your words when doing it. If you’re able to give someone constructive feedback that they can take away and use to do better somehow, that will generally overpower any wound to the ego. I have personally seen many growers and brands completely transform themselves and their reach and relation to the members, by taking honest tips from buyers providing honest and straightforward feedback.
3. Live in the moment. Don’t let the past overrun your present. The only constant in life is change, but we have the ability to choose to choose again and again, and that is a beautiful thing.
4. Don’t work all the time. If work and play overlap too much, when you lose or fail at one, you’ll feel like you lost and failed in everything, and that isn’t fair to yourself. Be sure to do things that you love that don’t involve cannabis, or whatever your job may be. Take vacations. Travel. Read books. Relax. Turn off your phone. Turn off your computer. Log off. Over the years I have developed a lot of solid friendships in the industry, and the ones who know me best know not to try to sell me weed on the weekends.
5. Get outside as much as humanly possible. As an ’80s kid, it’s so sad to me how little time I spend outside, and so much sadder to see how little the kids these days get outside at all. I know 2020 sucks, but please keep going outside. Please keep breathing the fresh air. Please get off of your phones and go hug a tree. Who knows how much longer this will all be possible.

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

The number one thing that I feel could universally change human and animal lives, permanently and positively across the world, would be for us to much more greatly utilize the endless possibilities of the hemp plant. As Jack Herer said best, “I don’t know if hemp is going to save the world but it’s the only thing that can.” If utilized to the full extent of its power, biodegradable hemp plastics could completely replace petroleum plastics, and that is just the tip of the iceberg.

I went to college to study fashion design, and using hemp fibers in the US was a big point for me. I designed and created my senior collection with all hemp fabrics, and the fact that I had to order the material from Canada was disheartening. That was 2006, and now that we have the Farm Bill, which passed in 2018 and allows farmers in the US to legally produce industrial hemp. I’m really hoping things start to change on that front. We’re just in the beginning and the road is long.

In 2019, after a huge jump to hemp because of the CBD craze that swept the nation, a July survey from Whitney Economics found that 65% of hemp farmers in the US failed to find a crop buyer. I bet there would be a lot of buyers if the broader uses of hemp were truly entertained.

Hemp can be used to make the obvious paper, rope, clothing, and CBD oil products, but also the lesser obvious. Diapers, biofuel, sunscreen, makeup, nail polish, surfboards, flour, beer, milk, paint, ink, mulch, shoes, soap, hot dogs, protein powder, straws, utensils, plastics, carpet, fiberboard, hempcrete building material, car bodies, insulation, animal bedding, super capacitators, and batteries can all be made utilizing hemp over their lesser environmentally non-favorable counterparts. And guess what — it’s biodegradable.

But we don’t use hemp for these things, because that would put big business plastics, and gas, and all these other industries out of business. The US won’t stand for that with how intertwined our big businesses are. They all protect each other from anything that may affect their bottom lines, or worse yet, put them completely out of business. Hence, no hemp toilet paper this year… as much as we all could have used it!

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

1. Sell as much cannabis as you can before January 1st, 2018, because you will make drastically less money in the cannabis industry from that point forward. I guess I was a bit jaded in my prime and felt there was no pressure to go as hard as I could have. Don’t get me wrong, I went really hard, but now I wish I had worked even harder while the opportunity was there. Now all of the money in the industry goes to licensing, permits, and taxes. No one is building a nest egg around here anymore, except our local and state governments.
2. Everything comes and goes. Everything. As secure as you may feel where you are, don’t count on it being there forever. Because things change, people change, life changes, and there isn’t anything you can do about it but to keep moving forward.
3. Don’t let anyone try to change you, and never compromise on your morals. Ever. Stick up for what you believe in, and hold on to what makes you, you. Unwaveringly, unapologetically you, especially when it’s difficult.
4. Buying cannabis from cannabis providers should never be about relationships and instead it should always be about quality and price. Making a business negotiation over how much you like someone or what someone has done for you in the past will never play in your favor, and that pound will always sit on your shelf for months, haunting you.
5. Don’t let anyone intimidate you. You could imagine some of the things I’ve heard turning down hundreds of pounds of cannabis that patient providers were desperately trying to sell in order to pay their rent, support their families, afford the surgery their pet needed. It’s a hard thing to do, but never negotiate based on emotions.

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

Of these topics, without a doubt, sustainability is the one I hold nearest to my heart. If we can’t sustain the planet we’re living on, that literally gives us life, what are we doing? This isn’t about us, and the concept is simple. It’s about our planet, and our planet’s future, and our planet’s future ability to maintain life. The life of our children, and the life of all living things as we know them. This mass and unconscious destruction of our planet is just uncalled for. We can do better.

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

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elementalwellness408

Twitter: https://twitter.com/elementalwell

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elementalwell

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/elemental-wellness-center

Website: https://elementalwellnesscenter.com

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Women In Wellness: Rachael Szmajda of ‘Elemental Wellness Center’ on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Women In Wellness: Amanda McIntosh of ‘Take My Face Off’ on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

Ignore what works for other people. Health and nutrition are very individual. What works for me might not work for you. What works for you might not work for me. My dear friend is a functional nutritionist, and she helped me understand that your health is a combination of history and genetics. There are no cure-all diets, or supplements, or exercises, or regimens. We all have different bodies and different health journeys. Don’t jump on any bandwagon.

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

Amanda McIntosh is the founder of Take My Face Off, a brand that creates reusable, super soft makeup removing Makeup Mittys and Mitty Minis that are much better for the environment than single-use products like makeup wipes and cotton balls. They are on the forefront of combating the beauty waste issue with gentle and effective beauty tools. Plus, they take off every trace of makeup, are way cuter than a gross old washcloth, and can even be used on eyelash extensions! TMFO recently collaborated with world-famous lip artist, Vlada, to create Vlada’s Mitty Pout, a reusable lip cleansing tool that removes even the most stubborn lip color with ease.

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

I’m from a small town in Texas. I was a little girl with long, brown hair who never talked or smiled until something really mattered to me and then I wouldn’t shut up! I was always told that I was the “creative” type, which was my family’s polite way of saying that I wasn’t a practical person. Now I realize that people were assuming that my enthusiasm was just naïveté. My first big job was playing the clarinet in an orchestra in Spain. I was the only foreigner and female in my section. My harassment stories would be funny if they weren’t real!

Anyway, rather than file a lawsuit against one of my coworkers, I left and took a job as a consultant for a while so we would have health care while my husband pursued music. For the first time, I saw that being creative and practical are not mutually exclusive. I also saw the creative potential in the world of business. That job gave me a chance to understand I can be creative AND practical, which I now see as my greatest strength. Right now, what matters most to me is bringing environmentally sensitive products to the masses, since I see that as the best and fastest way I can help the planet. I also love coaching “creative” types on how they can expand their careers. I’m married to a trumpet player in the Los Angeles Philharmonic and I have two young children.

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?

The most interesting story took years to unfold, and I learned that people can take a long time to “get it” when you’re doing something new. I’ve always known that there was a need for better reusable products. However, people kept telling me that there was no need for a wipe or cotton ball replacement. I could have listened to one of the gazillion naysayers, but I was stubborn.

Fast forward a few years, and I’m seeing multiple copycats. I’ve had a major brand that copied my messaging, several smaller brands that copied my actual product, and just yesterday I saw a brand stealing videos from my Instagram feed to use in their ads. It took a while, but I’m really glad that I didn’t listen to the people who thought that wipes and cotton balls were “good enough.” Most people won’t understand something unless they’ve seen it before. This is especially true of the “experts” — they’re only an expert on what has already been done.

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?

I thought that I needed a whole line of products to show retailers that they should carry me and that I would be more than one “hero” product. I put too much pressure on myself to produce packages, photos and samples of products before I had even a single retail partnership. I did too much work and spent too much money before I had any proof of concept. Now I know to share things with the world so that I get more feedback sooner. It makes the product better and it cuts out a lot of wasted time and money.

You have to wait and see how people receive your product and then be willing to make changes. It’s not “finished” when you release it. That’s just the beginning of a long conversation.

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?

I had a mentor who gave me permission at the very start to be different. He’s a successful inventor and film producer. He’s not like anyone else I know. I check in with him occasionally for a reset. Over lunch, he’ll usually say something like, “You started your own company so YOU could decide what to do. Quit being such a good student and go be creative. Go break the mold. Quit imitating everyone else.”

Ok perfect. Now 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?

I’m working on two things. First, I want environmental products to be available to a wider audience. We launched on QVC this month, which was the fulfillment of a huge goal for me. I don’t want environmental products to just be available on Etsy or Whole Foods or Patagonia. I want them to be everywhere, in every store. Consumers shouldn’t have to work so hard to find products that are truly “green” (as opposed to ones that are “greenwashed”). The next goal is helping people understand that skincare is not just aesthetics — it’s about skin health. Dermatologists tell us that the most important thing for skin health is to wear sunscreen, and the next most important thing is to wash your face at night. I can’t tell you how many people tell me they don’t need to wash their face because they don’t wear makeup! This really worries me, and I’m on a mission to get them to understand that face washing isn’t just for makeup wearers.

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

1) Start paying attention to your body’s reactions. Notice how you feel when you do things. I’m not saying you shouldn’t pay attention to your doctor’s advice, but sometimes your body is trying to send you a message and you shouldn’t ignore it.

Things like gluten, dairy, caffeine, or alcohol are problems for some people, but not for others. You won’t know unless you pay attention.

For example, I always LOVED bread and starch, but I was sick my whole life. I had aches, pains, massive stomach problems, and I was constantly coming down with respiratory diseases. I also felt like a zombie. Doctors told me it was in my head. Out of desperation, I tried several things, including quitting gluten. Five weeks after I cut it out, I was a completely different person. I was more awake, happier, and I was totally pain free for the first time I could ever remember. To complete the trial, I stayed gluten free for a few more weeks, for seven weeks total and then I started adding it back to my diet. Problems that had evaporated over those five weeks slowly came back. It’s hard to overstate what a change this made for me. This was years ago, before “gluten-free” was common. I had an old-fashioned doctor who tried to convince me I was doing myself serious harm, but I felt amazing and I couldn’t bear the thought of going back to feeling awful. So I ignored him and changed doctors. Later, I learned a lot more about the science of what gluten did to me, and I was so glad I had listened to my own body and found new doctors. For years, I tried to quit coffee. Finally, I switched to really noticing how it made me feel instead of letting my thinking be clouded by how I thought I should feel. I finally realized that a small amount of coffee in the morning and afternoon makes me feel amazing.

2) Look at your wellbeing as a “long game” and collect information carefully and over time. I’ve seen so many people make a slight change and then pronounce that it didn’t make any difference. Not to hammer the gluten thing, but you can’t know if it impacts you unless you’re extremely careful about eliminating it for weeks, preferably six. I see people skip a Friday pizza and then decide it didn’t make a difference in their stomach issues. They might be right, but it’s not like that’s a very thorough experiment. Your health matters. Pay attention for longer than a few days.

3) Ignore what works for other people. Health and nutrition are very individual. What works for me might not work for you. What works for you might not work for me. My dear friend is a functional nutritionist, and she helped me understand that your health is a combination of history and genetics. There are no cure-all diets, or supplements, or exercises, or regimens. We all have different bodies and different health journeys. Don’t jump on any bandwagon.

4) Meditate. It’s one of the most powerful “medicines” in the world. More and more science is showing the incredible impact meditation has on so many issues. At the very least, it helps sleep, mood, anxiety, and stomach issues.

It might not solve your problems, but it cannot hurt them. It’s free and it has no negative side effects.

5) When in doubt, eat more kinds of fruits and vegetables.

While there are no panaceas, most people don’t understand how much our bodies benefit from a huge variety of nutrients. They might eat vegetables, but not very many different kinds. If you’re taking in a large variety of fresh food, you’re much more likely to be getting whatever things your body needs. You can’t know your specific needs without testing, but eating a wide variety of plant-based food gives you a great chance of fulfilling your nutritional needs by “accident.”

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

There are so many problems and so many opportunities. I currently focus on the area where I’ve had my best ideas — reducing our use of single-use disposables. Reusable

products only have to be created, packaged, and transported once. Disposables go through that cycle for every single use. Some people say, “but don’t the reusable items have to be washed? Doesn’t that take water and detergent?” That’s true, but it’s a tiny, tiny fraction of the resources and pollution needed to create a new disposable.

Replacing single use items with reusables removes a lot of the pollution, toxins, and waste from our environment. It’s not as visible to those of us living in first-world economies. It’s huge for the workers and residents of third-world economies. Third world cotton production is a good example. Cheap cotton uses the largest dose of pesticides of any crop in the world. The pesticides themselves are the longest-lasting ones known to man. They result is massive health problems for the labor force, much of which is is child labor, as the water supply is used up (cotton is really thirsty) and/or poisoned. I don’t know how to make people quit producing disposables. However, I can play a role by inventing better reusables and by inventing those things, I can maybe reduce the demand for extremely cheap, pesticide-doused cotton that sickens child workers.

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

1. Ignore the overnight success stories. We hear so much about the brands and the people who achieve success in a year or two that it’s easy to think you’re a failure if it doesn’t work that way for you. Even worse, you might imitate them, which rarely goes well.

2. Take a stab at every area of your business at some point. There should not be a single function that you have not tried to do yourself, including working on your website. Unless you know how it works, you can’t choose the right team members.

3. Don’t look at interns as being the answer to your labor problem. Look at interns as an outlet for giving back by helping someone else’s career.

4. Look for employees and contractors that challenge you, but who you can trust. Beware people contractors who make you feel dumb or less cool than they are. Trustworthy people don’t use manipulation to get work.

5. Understand the IP issues. I actually DID get this advice and I followed it, but I see so many people making big mistakes around this. Talk to a trademark attorney about what names, logos, and slogans you might want to protect. Find out if you need a patent. If you’re working with a lab, be clear on whether they own the formula or you do. These issues HAVE to be understood upfront. It cannot wait until later, when you think you’ll have more money.

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

The environment is the issue that seems like the biggest emergency. So that’s where I put most of my effort. Of course, veganism is related — I think the environmental aspect of veganism is really compelling. The angle I focus on is the human affinity for stuff. We like to buy stuff, look at stuff, touch stuff, and use stuff. Of course, all that stuff is part of the problem with the planet — we make too much. It seems unrealistic to expect people to quit wanting new things. Maybe we can consume less, but we’re still going to want to find and consume things. It seems like the only hope we have of healing the planet is inventing new products that cause less harm, that reduce our consumption of other resources, that require less packaging, or that last longer than the old stuff.

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

@takemyfaceoff on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

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Women In Wellness: Amanda McIntosh of ‘Take My Face Off’ on the Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.