Category: Featured

Women In Wellness: Jewelia Orlick On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

You don’t need to be hustling 24/7 — It’s not about forcing things to happen; it’s about letting them unfold naturally. Some of my highest impact days, whether that be sales or connecting with new meditators, have been when I’m on vacation, out surfing, or chilling on my days off.

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

Jewelia Orlick is a certified meditation teacher and integrative nutrition health coach. She has guided thousands of people through simple, healing, and relatable practices to bring more calm into their lives. An advocate for brain health with a natural ability to make others feel at ease, she is a highly sought-after instructor having contributed meditation expertise across a variety of media outlets.

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

I was 16 when I sat in my first meditation class. Drawn to it as a way to enhance focus in my competitive sport background, it was a practice that I instantly fell in love with. I knew from the first moment I tried it that it was something I wanted to share with others. I had this feeling that it was somehow going to play a big part in my life. At the time, I didn’t know how or why. I was simply met with a strong gut feeling.

Flash forward a few years later, 19 years old at the time, my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. From that point on everything shifted. An alarm went off in my mind and it became imperative to me then, the importance of taking care of your brain. It’s your biggest organ, it governs everything…and yet we don’t place attention on it the same way we do our physical bodies.

Meditation became my lifeline. It was a catalyst for wellness in my own life, whilst I navigated loss and change. It kept me going, helping me confront reality in a gentle way.

Since then, I’ve studied meditation under world renowned teachers and have been leading guided meditations to help others bring more calm into their lives. The rest is history!

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?

Before I became a certified meditation teacher, there was this one studio in California that I really wanted to study at. At the time, they had no teacher training program. It didn’t exist. Despite this, I kept my hopes up that they would eventually start one. Little did I know, the owner was doing the same thing. As fate would have it, I was the first person they accepted into the program when it eventually came to life! I feel like it was collectively willed into existence.

We all have this intrinsic ability to see things before they happen, using our imagination as a kind of manifestation. It makes you realize how strong your thoughts are. I always try to be careful about the things I say and think. You never know when the Universe is listening.

From a teaching perspective, any story of long lasting change from my clients really impacts me as well. I’ve had people come to me saying they were able to cure their insomnia and majorly improve their mental health after consistently doing my meditations. It’s cool to see the impact meditation has on a physiological and neurological level.

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?

Oh gosh! So many. Truth be told, I still feel like I’m just starting out. I don’t know if I’ll ever not feel that way. With every level, comes new tasks you’ve never done before. I’d say the biggest mistake I’ve made (and continue to make at times) is thinking that everything has to be perfect. There’s always, always something that could have been done better in any project. I think the key is to do it anyway, knowing that it will never be 100% perfect.

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 in the game of getting people’s nervous systems back into a place of rest. Meditation, from my perspective, is all about creating space. Space between where you currently are and where you’d like to be. Space between stimulus and response. Space between your habitual thoughts and what the kinder version of yourself knows to be true. I’m guiding people towards this sense of steadiness that always lives within them. From that steady place, you are better able to make decisions that not only nurture you, but the people around you and the planet.

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. Meditate — The practice in itself is so simple. That is what makes it attainable. Here’s an easy way to incorporate meditation into your daily routine: set a timer on your phone for 1 minute, sit or lie down (your positioning doesn’t have to be fancy) and focus on your breath. Anytime your mind starts to drift to thoughts, refocus. Find your breath again. Do this over & over. Once you get the hang of meditating for 1 minute, start to build your way up to 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and so on. Guided meditations are also a great way to get you in the habit of meditating frequently! A little support goes a long way.
2. Cold Water Exposure — While this sounds like a physical experience, it is totally a mental game. It trains you to become calm when your first instinct is to freak out. Not only that, but it encourages you to relax in the face of mental challenges. You can implement daily cold water exposure by turning your shower head as cold as it goes for the first 30 seconds of your shower or by jumping in the lake/ocean nearest you. Be sure to follow advice from experts in the field such as Wim Hof or your own trusted physician.
3. Try Doing a ‘Judgment Detox’ — A term coined by Gabby Bernstein. Try to not speak badly about anyone for a day, then a week, then a month. We tend to gossip out of habit or boredom. It doesn’t matter what they did to you or your opinion about their latest mishap. Choose silence instead. Take a deep breath to interrupt the pattern of judgment. Keep your conversations focused on you and the person you’re talking to. Nothing else. This is the quickest way to release the drama in your life and get back to a baseline of positivity.
4. Mantra — Regular use of mantra and affirmation can shift your internal dialogue to hum a more confident and supportive tune. My personal favorites are mantras for trust. Simple ones like ‘Everything is going to be okay’ or ‘I let go of worry’. With regular repetition, you learn how to self soothe and bring reassurance in the times you need it most.
5. Nature — Not only does this help us recharge, but it’s a great way to disconnect from all the to-dos on your list. Swim in natural bodies of water, go for walks, or take your workout outdoors to breathe the fresh air. It will help you feel refreshed and energized!

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

Guided group meditations! I spoke a bit about energy earlier in this interview, but collective intention is powerful. This is especially true with meditation when you have a big group of people coming together to release stress. I’m currently working on this within my modern meditation membership — SPACE. A carefully curated collection of modern day meditations — designed to support you on the good days, and the bad. Because life brings both.

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

• You don’t need to be hustling 24/7 — It’s not about forcing things to happen; it’s about letting them unfold naturally. Some of my highest impact days, whether that be sales or connecting with new meditators, have been when I’m on vacation, out surfing, or chilling on my days off.
• Behind every ‘Overnight Success’ is years in the making — It takes more time than you think. Where there is love for the craft, there can be longevity.
• Imperfect action is better than no action at all — Something that I try to remind myself of often. It will likely always feel scary and big putting yourself out there. Taking action despite imperfection is key.
• No one is as far off as you think — You have every connection you need. While influential people may feel far away, they are never out of reach.
• No doesn’t mean never, it just means no for right now — Taught to me by my mentor, Selena Soo. No doesn’t mean never, so (even though it’s challenging) try to hold out hope when you’re met with a disappointing answer. It may not be the right timing now, but it may be that way so that something even more impactful can happen down the line.

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

Definitely mental health. There is a lot of uncertainty in our world. Uncertainty breeds anxiousness and, if not properly supported, can lead to health issues. In addition to this, there is a lot of pressure to constantly be moving & operating at 100% all the time. Gentleness, I believe, is the way through. What if we operated from a calm place rather than rushing through life all the time? If we accepted where we were, as opposed to always wanting to be somewhere else? Vision and planning are important. Of course they are, but life is happening now. Practice presence.

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

My newsletter on my website is where I send out free guided meditations, mantras, & other supportive resources. I also hang out on Instagram @jeweliaorlickmeditation

Thank you for these fantastic insights!

Thank you so much for having me. This was great!

Women In Wellness: Jewelia Orlick 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.

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Listen to your body. At first it whispers, then it yells, then it screams! Bodily feelings and sensations often alert us to problems such as stress, even if we don’t realize it. It’s important to stay connected to your body and pay attention to what it may be telling you in the form of tension, pain, or fatigue.

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

Jana Wu, LCSW, LADC is a program manager and leads Mountainside Treatment Center’s outpatient center in Chappaqua, New York. She is a licensed clinical social worker and a licensed alcohol and drug abuse counselor. Jana brings passion to her clinical work with holistic approaches, evidence-informed best practices, and a commitment to social justice. Over the past two decades, she has focused on veterans’ mental health, substance abuse treatment, end-of-life transitions, generational trauma, and resilience. She has foundations in somatic awareness, meditation, and breathwork, which informs her practice.

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

I started my career in health care in New York City 2001, and I also completed my first yoga teacher training around the same time. This was an intense time — I was living in New York during 9/11, working at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and teaching yoga at a community center in Queens that served firefighters and police officers. The collective trauma was palpable and overwhelming at times. I knew I wanted to be of service to others but was not quite sure of my path. I took some years away from hospital work and worked as a personal assistant in Manhattan and found the best part of my job was just listening to my clients and being present to their lives in a deeply intimate way.

I decided to study social work at Smith College because they had a psychodynamic lens and an antiracism mission since the ’90s. I chose social work over psychology as I was driven to the social justice component of the field and the idea of studying how people relate and engage with the systems around them. I have always found people remarkably interesting to study and I love the process of change and bearing witness to change.

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

That is hard — I often say there is never a dull day working in substance use disorders treatment! People have the most colorful lives and stories that you can imagine, and the potential for change is endless.

What continually inspires me is seeing humans’ capacity for change and their ability to reinvent themselves and move towards their values. During my career, I have worked in residential programs, detox, VA hospitals serving veterans, and outpatient private care. I have had clients reach out to me after 12 years to tell me how they are doing — and many are still sober! It is amazing to me that through many career moves and location changes, people have found me. I have run into clients while walking down the street in Boulder, Colorado, in a coffee shop in Del Mar, California, and on the beach in south Florida. On the beach, a mother of a former client came up to me and hugged me and told me how she remembered how safe she felt leaving her son with me, because, she said, “You seemed happy and warm… It made me feel like this could be a good place for him.” These moments strike me the most: when I get to reconnect with clients I have worked so intimately with outside of treatment in the fullness of their lives.

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?

I don’t know if it’s funny, but one “mistake” I made early on was becoming perhaps too invested in my first clients. At that point, everything is so new, and there’s a tendency to treat these early clients like a precious Fabergé egg. But at a certain point you realize you have to pull back a bit not only so you can see the case more objectively, but also have the time and bandwidth to serve all of your clients and maintain your own emotional well-being.

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’m particularly grateful to a supervisor I had at the VA in San Antonio. She was a clinical social worker and had an incredible rapport with clients and staff and had been at the VA for over 40 years, serving veterans through several different conflicts and generations. She taught me that clinical supervision is sacred, and that social work is a craft you cultivate like an apprenticeship. She created a place and space for me to stay curious yet grounded in best clinical practices of social work.

It struck me as remarkable that she was a mixed-race woman of Asian descent from Indonesia that served a predominantly male population from the 1970s to the 2010s and was able to execute therapeutic interventions with confidence and skill. She taught me how to command a room as a therapist bringing all of myself in, including being a biracial woman too who had not served in the military but was able to provide clinical services to veterans. The embodied confidence I saw in her I have carried with me in my own career as a female working with mostly male clients and how to navigate differences with ease.

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

It feels cliché but take care of yourself and your colleagues. This work can be draining at times, and I have found I thrive when bolstered by a loving team that cares about the work that I do as much as I do. It can be emotionally demanding working with clients and families that are going through some of the hardest times of their lives. Allow yourself to be supported by your team. If you are in private practice, find your supports and seek out other clinicians that you can process with and get supervision from.

For many colleagues, working towards their goals in conjunction with others builds a sense of connection and accountability. When we do things together, we can celebrate our successes as collective achievements. We have a greater sense of ownership, and we can receive feedback as well as support from those who cheer us on when our intrinsic motivation is lower.

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

New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Jon Acuff writes in Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done that “the sneakiest obstacle to meeting your goals is not laziness, but perfectionism…” and his research has found that “people who have fun are 43 percent more successful” in achieving goals. His research found that when people are engaged in their pursuits, enjoy what they are doing, and find meaning in the process, their efforts are more successful and sustainable.

Despite the heaviness of the work, there should be elements of levity and fun at times for staff. This could take the form of team-building activities such as going to an exercise class or a sports game together. It’s very important to create an environment where people can be open to feedback, honest, and vulnerable with each other. In working in a therapeutic milieu, you need to support your coworkers, and they should be there to support you as well. Every year I try to do a few team-building activities with my staff. Some have included cacti terrarium building, a group yoga class, and playing UNO as a team for an hour. It is important to note that many of us spend more time at work than at home so we want to make our work environment a place that people want to come and connect to.

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?

Limit caffeine. Caffeine is in so much of what we consume daily, including coffee, tea, chocolate, and energy drinks, that it can be difficult to appreciate how much it’s overused. Limiting caffeine has been found to reduce anxiety, improve deep rest and sleep, balance our hormones, and improve healthy digestion.

I love coffee, and often say it is my first love. Working in the substance abuse field, where coffee and recovery seem to go hand in hand, I at one point found myself drinking up to four to six cups of coffee or tea a day. This created a steady feeling of a rush but led to disturbed sleep, increased rumination, moodiness, and exhaustion. I initially scaled down to black and green tea and then let go of caffeine all together. After the initial discomfort I have found resumed energy and more of an ability to pause before reacting, a greater sense of ease, and most importantly actually resting when I am tired.

Choose travel in whatever capacity you can. Get out and see the diversity of the world, including in your own country and community. Even local “staycations” can refresh our perspective. No matter how busy I have felt at work or how much financial fear I feel, I have never once regretted traveling. I have been fortunate to live all over the country, from New York, California, and Texas to Washington and Colorado, and have been continually amazed by the diversity of our culture in the United States. During the height of the pandemic, I like many found little adventures daily in slowing down to walk around more purposefully in my own neighborhood.

Accept you may never have “balance.” Finding balance means constantly striving for equilibrium. We need to learn to continually adjust. We can’t stay static. As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us, we must be able to change our expectations and plans when disruptions arise.

Many people are concerned with trying to balance “having it all,” and I think we can have “most of it all”, though maybe not all at the same time. When it comes to juggling careers, family, education, parenting, passions, and other facets of our lives, inevitably some things will be prioritized or deprioritized at any one time. It’s OK to recognize that we can’t do everything all at once.

When you feel overwhelmed or bogged down with too much to do and not enough time, connect to what is most important to get done for that day.

Practice gratitude. I think that gratitude can be a choice, not just a feeling. I believe the old adage that sometimes I have to “act myself” into the right way of thinking, and one way of doing that is maintaining a gratitude practice, such as journaling centered on what I could be grateful for even if I do not feel grateful at that moment. You can also take time to meditate or list the things you’re thankful for. This helps us to show up as the person we want to be and reaffirms what matters to us and what we have already.

Another avenue is to connect with friends and family members and let them know how much they mean to you. This is something we might not think to do in everyday life, but it can help put into perspective how valuable these relationships are, while brightening someone else’s day.

Listen to your body. At first it whispers, then it yells, then it screams! Bodily feelings and sensations often alert us to problems such as stress, even if we don’t realize it. It’s important to stay connected to your body and pay attention to what it may be telling you in the form of tension, pain, or fatigue.

One way we can stay attuned to our body is to slow down and pause. Scan your body to figure out where you’re holding tension. Is your brow furrowed? Is your jaw clenched? Do you feel tightness in your shoulders? Once you’ve identified this body part, place your awareness there and see if you can let go and ease the tension in those areas.

This enhanced inner awareness, also known as “somatic awareness,” helps us stay attentive not only to our bodies but to emotions and feelings we may not even recognize we have.

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?

Take a break from social media! Remember that posts are usually highly edited and scripted. Get into your life outside of the screen.

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

So many. I love books about substance use disorders such as “Beautiful Boy” by David Sheff and “Drinking, A Love Story” by Caroline Knapp, as well as works not specifically centered on substance use, like “When Things Fall Apart” by Pema Chodron.

“Beautiful Body” expresses the impact of substance abuse on families and illustrates how far parents are willing to go for their children. “Drinking, A Love Story,” is the story of a brilliant writer who cannot get “unstuck” from alcohol, and I think it’s very honest and well-written. “When Things Fall Apart” beautifully describes the feeling that life does not go the way you planned it, and that you sometimes need to change direction and recalibrate.

I also appreciate the “The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous”. I find the Big Book’s descriptions of feeling and emotional states continue to be timely despite the books datedness at times.

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 a movement to destigmatize substance use disorders. We all have known or loved people who have struggled in some way with substances. It is one of the most common human experiences we have but it is not openly talked about. People have been using substances to change the way they feel since the beginning of time and some certainly maladaptively, and I find that despite not knowing anyone that has not been touched by substance use disorders, we still do not discuss it without shrouding it in secrecy and often shame.

Removing the stigma also has a direct, real-world impact on people who are struggling with addiction. I do believe that everyone should be aware of Narcan (Naloxone), how to obtain it, and how to use this life-saving medication that can stop a fatal overdose from opiates. Discussing Narcan should be just as routine as any other topic in health care in the United States.

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

This is an often repeated saying in treatment that the Chinese character for crisis is comprised of two pictorial charters; one meaning danger, the other meaning opportunity. The message is that difficult times give you an opportunity to choose a new direction and, with that opportunity, to pivot in the direction of your values.

I see this lived out when a client finds the opportunity for change in a very difficult situation and is able to reorient and start the process of leading a new life towards the direction of a life that will give them purpose and meaning.

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

My LinkedIn and Mountainside profile pages.

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

Jana Wu Of Mountainside Treatment Center: 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.

Dr Eric Laarakker of Ańalemma Water: 5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Dramatically Improve Your Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Eat organic vegetables grown in the soil with a healthy microbiome. Personally I only like to eat vegetables which have been grown bio-dynamically as we call it here in Europe. Biodynamic farming is a special way of farming developed by Rudolph Steiner almost 100 years ago, whereby taking care of the soil is one of the most important parts of the farming process. A healthy gut contains over 1000 bacteria’s etc. who actually take care of a big part of your health on almost every level. You have to maintain your microbiome. This is very important. Also fermented food like kimchi is very healthy and feeding your gut in a positive way.

As a part of our series about “5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Dramatically Improve One’s Wellbeing”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr Eric Laarakker.

Dr Eric Laarakker, DVM is the founder of Den Hoek , a holistic clinic for people and animals in the Netherlands. He is an entrepreneur, pioneer, scientist, author, teacher, developer of new forms of medication, healing techniques and devices, and most of all an idealist. Eric is one of the developers and owners of Analemma water , Information medicine and Phytonics.

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

Thank you so much for having me. At the age of 17 (41 years ago) me and my brother heard that for the first time that a fitness school opened in a place called Venlo, about 25 km from the village we were born in the south of the Netherlands and we immediately became members. In that time there was almost no coaching available so we had to invent ourselves, by making a lot of mistakes, how to train your body.

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

I remember very well a story about a very sick horse which opened my eyes that there is a lot more possible than we think. More than 25 years ago a very sick Frisian horse came to my clinic who had severe liver cirrhosis. It had just come from the University clinic where they wanted to euthanize him because he was uncurable sick. To be honest I completely agreed with the university clinic and didn’t want to treat this horse. The owner begged me to at least try something. Finally I agreed to give that horse a chance and gave him some treatments (sound, herbs and acupuncture etc.). In a week the horse became better and completely recovered within a couple of weeks. The University clinic could not believe it (and me either) and did some new blood tests. According to the blood tests the situation of the liver deterioration, the horse should have been dead with such a blood result. But in front of me there was a horse standing that seemed perfectly normal. We decided to look at the horse and not at the blood tests. This horse lived for another 10 years and did many marathons. Unfortunately the horse died in a accident. All these years the values of the blood samples were extremely bad but he seems to cope with it. It was a big lesson to me that first of all, we don’t know a lot and that we have to look more at the patients instead of only looking at blood tests, X-rays etc.

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?

There was a funny thing that happened to me when I was probably at the age of 18, when I started my study to become a veterinarian at the university in Gent, Belgium. Because I could not find a fitness center over there, I wasn’t able to train for over a half year. When I finally found one, I was surprised how easy it was to work with the same weights as I ended a half year before. So I started training in the same way as I ended. The next day my whole body but especially my pectoral muscles were so swollen and painful that I looked like a woman with breasts and it took me almost 3 month before I could put on my normal jacket. It was a big lessen for me to learn that after a longer break you have to build up slowly and not be fooled by what you think your body can handle after a long break.

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

During my study to become a vet, I wanted to learn everything about how the body functions, not only animals, but the human body as well. I decided not only to study regular medicine, but all the forms there are. So I became an acupuncturist, chiropractor, osteopath, homeopath, specialist in supplements, all kind of different energy and healing techniques etc. I swallowed almost everything what I could find to read and to learn about the body, both on humans and animals. I started a clinic with a staff of 21 people where veterinarians and Medical Doctors work together which is pretty unique on this planet. I personally do both, cure people and horses. Because horses have a shorter life cycle, I learned a lot in 30 years of my career as a doctor about the influence of sports in a whole lifecycle. It gave me a good insight in the do’s and especially the don’ts, if you want to keep your body healthy for the long run. Because I coached many sport horses from foal until death I got a pretty good insight in how to keep them going healthy and strong for a long term, instead of a short term. Lovely thing with animals is that they don’t have a placebo effect, so if an approach works, you know that it actually does. It’s not dependent on the mind’s opinion or influence. It was a remarkable testing ground that many doctors don’t get to experience.

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 in my life who were great teachers for me and helped me to get where I am now. The biggest teacher actually is not a person but is Mother nature. I was fortunate to grow up in nature and spend most of my time in nature. It taught me to observe, to use my gut feeling, to stay more in tune and be aligned. There is nothing happening in nature without a reason. The biggest mistake we humans make these days, is that we are not in tune anymore with nature and think we are better than nature. We are part of nature and nature can heal us on many aspects.

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

For me, those three blockages are:

1. Mostly we are not disciplined. Discipline is a very hard thing to achieve and it’s extraordinarily important. We need to make our health a priority. Without discipline you can’t create anything lasting in life. So being disciplined is one of the most important keys for a healthy life.

The second thing is that there is so much misinformation out there, or better yet mistaken interpretations of existent information. For example, look at the information about sugar and you will find very few yes’s on sugar and a lot of no’s. The truth is that craving for sugar is actually very normal because sugar is not abundantly available in nature but it is extraordinarily abundant in the grocery stores, restaurants and bakeries. We are fitted for nature and not the grocery store. If we understand this then we adapt and behave accordingly.

The third thing is that science can seemingly contradict itself. You can find very opposite studies on the same topic. Usually the lazy mind tends to accept the answer that is most convenient in the moment. We should be very diligent in our research and use our discrimination to deduct what is truth and what is not. I would suggest finding the experts you know are trustworthy and follow their advice. In that way you don’t have to spend hours on research.

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

1. Eat organic vegetables grown in the soil with a healthy microbiome. Personally I only like to eat vegetables which have been grown bio-dynamically as we call it here in Europe. Biodynamic farming is a special way of farming developed by Rudolph Steiner almost 100 years ago, whereby taking care of the soil is one of the most important parts of the farming process. A healthy gut contains over 1000 bacteria’s etc. who actually take care of a big part of your health on almost every level. You have to maintain your microbiome. This is very important. Also fermented food like kimchi is very healthy and feeding your gut in a positive way.

2. Get away as much as you can from your mobile phones and computers. Besides the negative influences of EMF radiation, there is the huge issue of information overload. I read somewhere that these days we have to process the same amount of information in one day as we had to process throughout an entire life in the middle-ages.

A couple of weeks ago I was running and I saw a couple of deer standing next to the road. It was an amazingly beautiful sight. I decided to stop and see if other runners, hikers and bikers would notice it and how would they react. Around thirty people passed by, all of them had their headphones on and nobody noticed these amazing, beautiful creatures in play. We need to plug in to Nature as often as possible. Our health and wellness depends on it.

3. Exercise in nature if possible. Nature grounds you and feeds you. If I run in the Forrest I’m capable of running about 25% further then when I run indoors or in urban areas. Nature, especially trees, can feed you with that energy you need to do that extra mile.

4. Breathing, the way you breath is very important. Try to exercise without breathing through your mouth. Your mouth is for eating and your nose is for breathing. There is a lot of discussion on what is the best way to breathe. I personally like the breathing exercises as thought in the book of “the oxygen advantage” by Patrick McKoewn and the breathing techniques from Wim Hof (the Iceman). I also find the cold techniques of Wim Hof very beneficial for your health.

5. Water is for me the most important part. Especially the quality and the structure of water.

Not a lot of people are aware that 99% of our molecules are water! Our body is 70% water in MASS, but 99% in molecules. That makes water the most important element of your body. There is almost no process in your body where water doesn’t play a key role. I was fortunate to be a part of the scientific team that studied water and discovered extraordinary worlds hidden in it. We found that there are two structures of water, coherent and chaotic. If water molecules are in line with each other and are working together we call it coherent water. Coherent water has powerful health and wellness benefits and it carries much more power than regular water. Unfortunately, most waters on this planet are chaotic. What means that the water molecules do not work in harmony and therefore have no real power. You can compare it with light. A normal 5-Watt light bulb is rather week and doesn’t t give a lot of light, but a 5-Watt laser which is coherent, focused light is much stronger and much more powerful. Our team at Water & Light managed to create Analemma water, a very stable, full spectrum coherent water which has tremendous effects on all living things. It regenerates the body from within, it has huge positive impact on the gut microbiome, it harmonizes the brainwaves, it makes the body and mind more aligned. In our research we found an increase in the mitochondrial activity and Biophotons in cells. We found that water is actually the bio-quantum computer, it’s the broadband absorber, receiver and transmitter of information. More and more proof has been found that our bodies are quantum biological systems. Drinking Analemma water is one of the easiest ways to radically enhance the health and wellness of your body and mind.

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

There are a lot of reasons to do your daily exercise. Most people do their daily exercise for weight loss or to gain muscle, but there are much more important reasons. Our body is made for moving. The biggest part of our body is water, and water needs to move to do its job. By exercising your body, the water in your connective tissue, the matrix of your body, will move more freely and this creates numerous benefits for your health and wellness.

Research shows that keeping your muscles in shape, especially when you become older, works magic in preserving your brain function and mental health in general.

Furthermore when you combine exercise with the right breathing techniques and proper food and water you positively influence your microbiome. Microbiome is one of the most decisive parts of the body for physical and mental health. There is a very strong connection between your gut and your brain through one of the most important nerves, the Nervus Vagus.

My view on the body is that it is a body is a colony of microbes in a pool of water, run by the cosmos. Of course proteins, minerals, vitamins etc. play a role but we are too focused on these ingredients and forget the other 3 most important parts.

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

Exercising, like everything in life, has to be in balance. Too much exercise is not beneficial for your body and it has been proven to have a negative effect on your immune system.

Absolutely critical addition to exercising, in my eye, are breathing techniques combined with cold showers. Walk as much as you can and meditate. I’m even walking when I’m on the phone or when I’m in a meeting. Your body is made to move!

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

A book that comes to my mind is “The Universal One” by Walter Russel. Reading this book very much resonated with the way I perceived the world. Since I was a little kid I always thought in terms of energy, not form and I realized that what I see with my eyes is not always the truth.

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

I believe we need to start educating people on the extraordinary importance of water. People perceive water as a simple, ordinary element, yet it is a building block of everything we see. Since 99% of our molecules are water, we are basically very clever H2O! That’s why the quality of the water we drink, the quality of the water in our environment, has a profound influence on every aspect of our lives and the state of our planet. The mission of Analemma water is to make all bodies of water on this planet coherent. In that way all people, all animals and all plants would thrive. This water revolution could change our entire planet in only a decade.

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

I Have a couple of them.

Not Matter but quantum information is the building block of everything.

The greater the challenge, the greater the wisdom. This is what light yields.

And the third one from Nikola Tesla: If you want the secret of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration (not in matter).

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

Bruce Lipton and I would have a very inspiring conversation I think. Unfortunately my biggest heroes don’t live anymore like Walter Russel, Nikola Tesla and Victor Schauberger.

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

https://www.facebook.com/analemmawater

https://www.instagram.com/analemmawater_/

https://analemma-water.com/

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

Dr Eric Laarakker of Ańalemma Water: 5 Lifestyle Tweaks That Can Dramatically Improve Your… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Disruptors: Page Schult of Topanga.io On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Be resourceful. I learned this in n my first job, where I supported large consulting and private equity firms with due diligence. The pace of work was fast, and the subject matters were niche. There was not a playbook or the luxury of waiting for someone to tell you the answer — you had to use resources at your disposal and figure it out yourself.

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

Page Schult is co-founder and CEO of Topanga.io. The common thread throughout her career has been a passion for understanding how people interact with the changing world around them. Page started her career in consulting and market research role before shifting gears digital media strategy and eComm operations in the CPG space. Today, she is a member of the founding team of a VC-backed, ClimateTech start-up that’s creating the future of consumption.

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’ve always been drawn to understanding what makes people — and the world around us — tick. I love people-watching in the airport and on city streets. This passion has been a common thread throughout my career.

At the start, I was leading media buying and audience strategy on digital channels like Facebook, Youtube, and Snapchat. I worked with 21st Century Fox and the New York Times doing brand name projects. While I loved the consumer insights piece and working to understand what motivated someone to click on an ad or watch a video, my heart wasn’t in the day-to-day execution or subject matter.

I am always most at ease in the natural environment — hiking, backpacking, strolling through a park. I started thinking — how can I combine a love of the outdoors with an endless curiosity to understand human behavior?

Through this, I started down the path of focusing on sustainability and climate. My first stint in climate was working for a compostable tableware branding, running digital marketing strategy and eCommerce operations. This experience taught me how to have a challenger brand mentality and what it means to run a sustainable business, both environmentally and economically speaking.

Environmental sustainability is like a loose thread on a t-shirt; once you start pulling on it, you realize how interconnected everything is. From the wildfires that rage here in SoCal to the single-use plastic piece that plague favorite hiking trails and surf breaks, it became clear that daily human behavior and the state of the natural world are intimately interconnected.

While there are many large-scale industries focused on human and climate — solar energy and electric vehicles — I realized that no one was focused on the day-to-day systems that create massive amounts of waste in our world. Ultimately I realized I wanted to create a system that allowed consumers to participate in their daily rituals but in a way that is less destructive to our natural environments.

That’s when Topanga was born, alongside my two awesome co-founder, Adam Bailey and Max Olshansky.

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

At Topanga, we’re building the future of consumption. Our goal is to challenge the trash can and create a platform that serves as the digital infrastructure to create a new economic model. We are trying to move businesses and consumers from linear to circular economies. Ones that add and create new value through reusing assets — like coffee mugs and to-go containers — vs. throwing them away.

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

I’m sure there’s been so many — we’ve learned and laughed at ourselves a lot throughout this journey. For example, before we were a software company, we were a milkman-style closed-loop market. We procured products from local farmers, packaged them for consumers in reusable glass containers, and dropped them off at your doorstep.

One of our products was a cacio e pepe, an Italian pasta sauce made from butter and parmesan. It’s rich, delicious, and… impossibly hard to scoop and package when frozen. But we didn’t know that! So we purchased 30lbs and thought it would be our best selling product.

The result? Customers loved it, but it was impossible to package. It not only literally broke our kitchenwares trying to scoop it frozen but also broke our operations!

The takeaway lesson? It’s essential to have systems thinking approach to solving problems. Think through every detail — just because something makes sense on paper, is it really going to translate to the real world?

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

To me, the best leaders are those who are able to lead by example and give their team members space and confidence to execute themselves while always being a resource should questions arise. At my previous job, Jessica, our Director of Operations, exemplified this perfectly.

While I was not directly on her team, she was always available to help me problem solve how to build an excel model or think through warehouse SOPs. Rather than tell her direct reports how to do something, she made sure the tools and resources were accessible for them to solve the problem independently.

When the team won, she made sure everyone felt they were part of the success. When there were challenges, she was right there in the trenches helping to problem solve.

I believe a strong leader never has to be the loudest person in the room but rather always knows how to cast the spotlight on those around them. This is an inspiration I’ll take with me throughout the rest of my career!

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

Yeah, it is a complicated word.

Being disruptive is good when you’re challenging people to think differently about an established mindset or behavior. For example, Topanga is disrupting single-use consumption. Our goal is to get people to think twice each time they trash a coffee cup or food container they used for a mere matter of minutes. We want to disrupt this behavior and encourage questioning — why are we okay with continually sending things to landfills when we know we could do better?

That said, anything that aims to disrupt requires a systems thinking approach. For example, if I challenge or change Thing A, how does that impact Thing B, C, D, etc.? Its the role of the disruptor to take responsibility for how their challenger mindset might have ripple effects.

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

1. Be resourceful. I learned this in n my first job, where I supported large consulting and private equity firms with due diligence. The pace of work was fast, and the subject matters were niche. There was not a playbook or the luxury of waiting for someone to tell you the answer — you had to use resources at your disposal and figure it out yourself.
2. Ask for help but have a solution in mind. The first part of this is pretty standard advice — if you cannot figure something out, and you’ve taken a stab it (see above on being resourceful), then absolutely speak up and ask for help. However, what I’ve learned as a junior employee and senior-level manager is that asking for help will be much more effective when you come to the strategy with a solution or idea in mind. This shows team members that you’re a strategic thinker and helps you learn muscle memory of problem-solving so that next time you face a similar problem, you will be better equipped to solve it.
3. Make sure where you’re going is where you want to be. This applies to business strategy and daily life. A senior leader in my first job advised me to take a moment each year on my birthday and answer the following question: is where you’re going where you want to be? This helps ensure that the work that you’re doing on a day-to-day basis is a step toward a long-term goal. And if you’re not on track, then you can make a plan to redirect yourself.

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

Oh yeah, we’re just getting started! Topanga is interesting in that we’re introducing digital tools that change how people behave in the physical world. While some of our initial clients are in the food delivery and grocery delivery space, there is so much opportunity to challenge all consumer categories.

Each time something is thrown away, we want people to think, “what if this piece of trash didn’t exist?” “What if we designed a system that retained value and didn’t create waste?”

Our goal is to raise awareness and intentionality in consumption. Next up is starting to build a community of curious people interested in joining this mission. Beyond that, we’re rolling out some partnerships with bigger brands in the coming months and couldn’t be more excited.

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

While I’ve had some wonderful male mentors in my career, I’ve also been in many rooms where men listen to men. I’ve seen this behavior firsthand as a female founder and CEO alongside two (amazing and respectful) male co-founders. Unfortunately, this behavior feels exacerbated in the venture capital ecosystem, which is frustrating because if those with the capital to support the businesses of tomorrow are not listening to new voices, how can we progress towards fair and equitable access to funding?

I believe there is a genuine intention to give underrepresented groups a voice, but cultural assumptions, actions, and behaviors still need to catch up.

If anyone reading this wants to join me in brainstorming how to ensure actions match words and intentions, please reach out to me!

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

Two books have fundamentally changed my perspective.

One is Thinking In Systems: A Primer by Donatella Meadows and Diana Wright. While this is technically a textbook, don’t be scared! It’s an essential and worthwhile framework on how to make sense of the interconnectedness of everything from supply chains to natural ecosystems. It will teach you tools for how to strategically approach problem-solving.

The second is Let My People Go Surfing by Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia. To me, this is another book that helped adjust my perspective on business and life. It inspired me to embrace intentionality, be kind, and work hard for myself, those around me, and the future of our world.

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

Per the above, I think people are at their best when acting intentionally and leading with curiosity. More specifically, I would love to be part of a collective movement surrounding changing our daily consumption habits, encouraging all of us to ask, how is what I do today going to impact the world around me tomorrow?

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

My all-time favorite quote is from Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest. — “…You have to laugh at the things that hurt you just to keep yourself in balance, just to keep the world from running you plumb crazy.”

I’m happiest when I’m challenged, doing stuff I love, and remembering not to take everything too seriously. We have one life to lead, and it truly is a journey. If we fail to embrace the experience of navigating to the destination, then we will be hardpressed to appreciate it once we arrive.

How can our readers follow you online?

Follow myself and Topanga.io on linkedin or sign-up for Topanga’s quarterly digest, Trash Talk.

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

Female Disruptors: Page Schult of Topanga On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Gina Bremer of LiftedViz On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

You can delegate but you can’t escape. I read quite a few books on starting your own business before I took the leap. A common theme was building your team by understanding your strengths and your weaknesses and partnering with people that compliment you. I did the self-discovery exercises and they reinforced things that I already knew about myself: I’m not great at sales and taxes/paperwork stress me out. So I took their advice and partnered with people who are really great at those things. In my fantasy world, this meant that I wasn’t going to have to be involved. It was delegated. But as a leader of an organization, delegated does not mean it’s outside of your purview. At some level and cadence, you will be involved in all areas of the organization.

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

Gina Bremer, CEO and founder of LiftedViz, a data visualization and consulting firm that helps organizations create intuitive business reporting as an alternative to overwhelming spreadsheets. Gina has produced data visualizations for Fortune 500 and non-profits working in Tableau, Microsoft Power BI and Google Data Studio.

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?

Yes, of course. Growing up, I didn’t know a career like this existed. Math came easy to me as a child and I loved it. I loved it to the extent that I would ask my parents to quiz me on my multiplication tables and beg my older brothers to teach me what they were learning in their math classes. The challenge as I entered college and prepared to enter the workforce was the lack of creativity, design, and social aspects of the field. Having a creative-analytical brain, I felt like all the paths in front of me pushed me towards one side or the other. In a fortunate turn of events I chose analytics, completed my mathematics degree, and in my first role as an entry-level data analyst I was introduced to the budding world of modern data visualization.

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

We couldn’t find anybody to paint or put together furniture that wasn’t 6 months out, so our executive team spent a month outfitting the new office! I am now a master at removing drywall screws and spackling (in addition to data viz)! Also, our intern hiring weekend data viz workshop was amazing! We weren’t sure how it would go putting our vetted intern candidates through our entire LV5D process to define, design, data prep, develop and deliver a data visualization for a real volunteer customer. But it turned out great for us and for the intern candidates we hired, and even for the ones we didn’t. We got a great feel for the skills and personalities of the candidates and they got a feel for us and for the work that they would be doing.

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

I even have this one on video somewhere. I started this business because of my passion and expertise in the field, not my business-savvy. So there were times when an overwhelming number of things to learn and tasks to accomplish made me forget about the basics. Like being able to actually unlock the doors to your new office. We were so excited for our first day heading to our new space after a few long months touring office spaces and negotiating lease terms. Me and one of my partners, Stephanie, showed up with coffee and breakfast and champagne and glasses and bags and 30 duplicate keys and phone camera in hand, ready for the grand moment. Nope not that key. Wait let me set this down.Try this one? Can you hold this? It’s not turning. Okay now it just keeps turning. Pull? Pull harder. Umm…

It took many attempts and some guidance but we did eventually unlock the door! This was a great reminder that every single part of this process takes time. We can be in such a rush that we try to skip and streamline every step, but in the end we’re in this for the journey. I will cherish and smile at this video forever.

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 fortunate to be in the situation where I’m struggling to pick just one person for this question. When it comes to career success, I am especially grateful to my first boss in analytics, Katie Bardaro. Katie hired me right out of college and was a role model both personally and professionally. As a young female entering the tech industry, Katie showed me that it’s possible to be a trusted female tech leader who makes it to executive by 30 while being an active mother and partner. All of this while being vulnerable and human in the face of male-dominated leadership. I continue to be inspired by her career and I am proud to be following in her footsteps.

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

Founding a company is a big risk. It’s taking the leap. It means you have to truly believe in yourself.

• I believe I am good enough.
• I believe I know enough.
• I believe I can found a business, have a family, and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
• I believe that others will believe in me too.

For anyone these can be challenging statements to own. As women, there are fewer examples for us to look to for inspiration and confidence. To say she believed in herself and I can too.

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

Encourage the entrepreneurial-spirited women in your life to take the leap. Tell them you believe.

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

In my opinion, there are two main reasons. The first being that the more diversity that we have in business leadership today, the more voices we have shaping the business culture of tomorrow. Then maybe the statement “I believe I can found a business, have a family, and maintain a healthy lifestyle” gets a little easier to own. The second is for the next generation of women. If we can continue to increase the presence of female founders in the workforce, we are providing more inspiration and opportunity for young females to continue the trend, potentially reducing unconscious biases of females in leadership.

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

I think with this generation it is a myth that all male customers and employees won’t take you seriously because you’re a woman. You need to pick and choose well who you associate with, but the good guys are out there and they’ll have your back.

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

No, I don’t think everyone would enjoy the experience of founding a company. I think key traits that increase the likelihood of success are:

1. You are decisive and can be a full-time decision maker
2. You are organized
3. You thrive wearing multiple hats
4. You are comfortable with uncertainty and change

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

1. Don’t try so hard to balance — try to blend. This piece of advice was from Erin Baker, Owner and Founder of Erin Baker’s, a thriving female-owned Bellingham-based business. Earlier this year, I attended a women in business breakfast in which Erin was on the panel. She said these words and you could hear the ah-ha moment ripple through the audience. I don’t have it word-for-word, but my takeaway was that rather than drawing hard work-life balance lines that are impossible to maintain when launching a business, you can better set yourself up for success by blending your work into your life in a way that fits and flexes with your world. By adopting this approach, I still have my plans and schedule in place, but there is significantly less self-judgment on both sides of the spectrum: the late nights and the rest days.
2. Prepare for decision fatigue. This is not just to mentally prepare yourself. It’s also to give fair warning to those in your life that it may be coming. When starting the business, I was prepared and ready to answer big questions like: What is our vision? How are we going to make money? What are our company values? I was also prepared to answer some mid-size questions like: What technologies, software, and hardware are we going to use? What is our hiring process going to be? And I thought the small questions would be a piece of cake comparatively. I was wrong. I dedicated time and energy to making the larger decisions and was able to approach them with structure and confidence. All the small questions, on the other hand, come flying at you all day long every day. So, when I get home from the office and my husband asks me what I want for dinner, my answer is often “literally anything if I don’t have to pick!”
3. Expect to change your mind. With all those decisions to make, big and small, my first reaction may not have all the information. As I learn more about different situations and experience the impact of my decisions, I will pivot from my original plan as needed. A perfect example of this was my original vision for my first cohort of interns. I wanted each intern on individual projects and dashboards to ensure that everyone got equal opportunity. I was fearful that if I were to assign partner projects that teams would divide up work based on what they were the best at and wouldn’t practice the skills they were lacking. I have since done a complete 180. From observing the team in their first three months, I found that team projects resulted in more growth as teammates were learning from the strengths of their peers.
4. Value comes in different forms. Our company is centered around enabling people to better understand and leverage data. We are all about the numbers. We have built our own dashboards to track our finances, employee resources, sales pipeline, and more. But when it comes to business, not everything is a simple equation. I do not believe that money and value should be used interchangeably.. I was recently rewarded greatly by recognizing that the return on investment for our business comes from more than just dollars in the bank. We chose to invest in our people by taking our entire team to the Tableau Conference out-of-state. This was a big ticket for us at our size and current state — and I am so glad we did it! Our team came back from this with more knowledge, ideas for business products and projects, strengthened relationships, and more trust. I don’t need a number figure to know this was a big value-add for LiftedViz.
5. You can delegate but you can’t escape. I read quite a few books on starting your own business before I took the leap. A common theme was building your team by understanding your strengths and your weaknesses and partnering with people that compliment you. I did the self-discovery exercises and they reinforced things that I already knew about myself: I’m not great at sales and taxes/paperwork stress me out. So I took their advice and partnered with people who are really great at those things. In my fantasy world, this meant that I wasn’t going to have to be involved. It was delegated. But as a leader of an organization, delegated does not mean it’s outside of your purview. At some level and cadence, you will be involved in all areas of the organization.

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

I am trying to! I am fighting for the things that are important to me like providing entry-level job opportunities into the tech world that don’t require a college degree or privileged background, building cost-effective data viz solutions for local businesses, and providing a work environment that supports mental health and a well-rounded life.

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 would start the #trueofflinetime movement. I have been in too many tech environments in which I felt that I needed to be “on call” at all times. I would feel uncomfortable if I hadn’t checked my email in an hour-long meeting, when I had my chat notifications off, or when I stepped away to take my dog for a walk around the block during the workday. It took me starting my own business to feel comfortable in my #offlinetime. We set clear expectations, proactively plan and tackle blockers, and have made it a core part of our culture to protect against last-minute “fires’’. We have about 20 hours of collaboration time scheduled each week in which my team knows they can reach me and I know I can reach them. Outside of that, we get to connect and disconnect when it is right for us. Fight for the #trueofflinetime.

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

I would feel unbelievably honored to have a private breakfast with Michelle Obama. Why? So many reasons. Plus some of her inspirational-female-power-sparkles could rub off on me.

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

Female Founders: Gina Bremer of LiftedViz On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Wisdom From The Women Leading The Cannabis Industry, With Kara Kelly, Summer Rice & Monica Reese of Lure

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Great marketers don’t necessarily make great cannabis marketers- you see this across the board. A lot of executives and marketers have jumped ship moving over to the cannabis industry. They have tried to layer on marketing plans that work for other industries but the reality is because of cannabis’ limitations in terms of marketing you really have to write an entirely new playbook.

As a part of my series about strong women leaders in the cannabis industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Monica Reese, Kara Kelly, and Summer Rice. Founders of Lure.

Monica Reese: Design, Production, Sourcing

20+ years of problem solving through design- thinking with a unique combination of ideas and execution. Expertise in sourcing, growth and an HGTV featured designer that loves creating beautiful products and environments.

Kara Kelly: Strategy, Finance, and Operations

Over 25 years solving growth, innovation and profitability challenges for leading retail and consumer goods brands such as Nike, Sephora,Gap and Best Buy; trilingual global business leader; financial and physical wellness devotee.

Summer Rice: Branding and Marketing

Art History foundation with focus on the creation of a visual voice for brands. Recognized as top

4% achievers for billion-dollar female-focused product marketing and sales company. Lover of all things coastal and organic.

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

As GenX women, we found ourselves in a stage of life where we are balancing a lot and at times that can be really stressful. We are raising our kids, working, maintaining our households, and taking care of our aging parents with menopause creeping in to boot. We needed a tool to help us manage our stress, aid in better sleep and alleviate some of our body pains on a daily basis. We all wanted something not just to “wind down” at the end of the day but something to pepper in throughout the day as needed. All three of us had already harnessed the power of botanicals within our beauty routines and so when cbd was introduced to us as a tool to support some of these needs states we knew that would be a key ingredient in our formulations.

(Summer Rice)

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

I think the most interesting thing to date has been the steep learning curve in terms of fundraising and marketing in the space. All three of us have had success in various parts of design, finance and marketing but synthesizing these skills and applying it to our own brand, in a very restrictive industry proved challenging. It’s funny, we could all recognize how many of our friends had excelled in their different industries but we had this unique opportunity to really sit down and learn about their superpowers and how we could apply it to different aspects of our business. We quickly realized that in opening up and being vulnerable enough to say “ I don’t understand about (x) aspect of the business” how responsive our friends would be to give us mini masterclasses on their specialty. This led to a really important arc of friends becoming advisors and ultimately investors. We believe it is imperative to really trust that whomever is investing in your company is not only thinking about the bottom line but is thinking about your needs as Founders.

(Kara Kelly)

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

One of our funniest mistakes (well we can laugh at it now) was when we had our big moment to officially launch our website. We had created it ourselves- it was simple and beautiful and marked a big step in officially launching our brand. We hit the “live” button, but to our dismay, we immediately got a message from Shopify stating that they do not process payments for CBD. We eventually solved this issue through an arduous process of finding a third party payment platform. Our takeaway from this was that what are usually standard and easy steps in a non-cannabis related business, can turn into a complex maze within cannabis.

( Monica Reese)

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

It’s really interesting to see how people respond to us being in the cannabis industry. My harshest response came from my sister. She flat out said, “I will never try CBD,” fearing that it was potentially addictive and that it would actually impact my social life. Even after I educated her on all of the health benefits and quelled any fears of addiction she was still a hard “no.” It goes to show that the long standing anti-cannabis messaging that was programmed into previous generations still takes a lot to dismantle.

On the flip side, my 10 year old son couldn’t wait to tell all of his friends about Lure because he said, “their moms are very stressed out, and they could really use some CBD!” I get a kick out of watching mom’s in my friend group realize they can skip the wine at night and wind down with our Lure CBD oil.

(Summer Rice)

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?

We are fortunate to have a super strong community of advisors, but from early on, fellow female founder Sara Happ of Sara Happ Beauty has been unbelievably generous. She took us under her wing and showed us the ropes. From sharing contacts in her supply chain to introducing us to other female founders, Sara believed in us and our products.

( Kara Kelly)

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

Yes, we are in awe over the groundswell of interest in our brand. Currently we are continuing to expand our sales relationships with our current line and getting some incredible exposure in press and events which allows us to speak directly to our core consumer or 40+ women. We are also excited to expand our roster of products and will be launching a few products focused for the body, bath and a daily gummy for whole-body balance. We are an (inner) beauty brand so as we develop new products we start with our own needs, then think about how that ripple’s out to our communities needs and then innovate from there. We also will be rolling out some elevated packaging and new brand design elements which put sustainability and functionality as key considerations.

( Monica Reese)

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

I am so glad you asked this question. I would say the greatest challenge we are facing is lack of access to capital. It has been well documented that women-owned businesses in this space often receive less funding and fewer resources — such as mentorship and strategic guidance — than our male counterparts. That’s why it was such a watershed moment for us to secure our last round of funding since access to capital is such a critical component of taking a brand to the next level.

At the individual level we need to give more women a seat at the decision making table without repercussions for family responsibilities. We need to switch the narrative within our circles to an understanding and awareness that a whole person can have a career, relationships and family and that does not take away from a person’s value and ability to drive business.

In terms of society, I am encouraged by the initiatives surrounding social equity that are emerging. I think identifying the obstacles standing in the way of a more equitable industry is the first step and then creating state by state initiatives that address these issues is the most strategic way to go. The brands leading in practice and posturing to government and society around social policy and equity.

( Kara Kelly)

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

1. Great marketers don’t necessarily make great cannabis marketers- you see this across the board. A lot of executives and marketers have jumped ship moving over to the cannabis industry. They have tried to layer on marketing plans that work for other industries but the reality is because of cannabis’ limitations in terms of marketing you really have to write an entirely new playbook.
2. Trust your gut- you know what smells best. You know what looks good. You know if you are being sold snakeoil. Your gut got you to this place, now listen to it.
3. Your tribe ( consumer) is your greatest research panel- most brands speak about community. But there is no greater investment than creating authentic close relationships and being vulnerable with them about how you envision the brand growing. Share new product ideas, packaging, ingredients, and event ideas. They will give it to you straight and already have an inherent investment in the brand.
4. Disagree with your partner’s point of view frequently ( but respectfully)- in our case, at our core the three of us are aligned with our vision and our drive. But it is in the moments that we disagree that we really benefit from being partners. We call the moments when we express our deepest thoughts and most honest input, Radical Candor. Being able to pressure test ideas, share our very unique ideas on priorities all help strengthen every aspect of Lure.
5. If you don’t feel genuinely lucky to work with this plant, walk away- if you think that this is going to be a cash grab, my oh my, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Most brands fail in this space, and if you don’t have a true reverence for the plant and how it can really affect change in people’s lives you won’t connect with your consumer in a way that is imperative for survival in this space.

(Summer Rice)

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

1. Harnessing the other cannabinoid compounds from the plant and what that offers in terms of benefits
2. CBD being viewed as key to a daily clean beauty routine
3. The opportunity for people of color and women to benefit from the huge financial rewards of the industry

( Monica Reese)

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

1. Access to capital for female founders– Women often work twice as hard to get half as far. Product businesses are notoriously capital intensive. Women need access not only to financial backing, but also business mavericks that will share networks, resources and ideas. Venture capitalist and senior business leaders just need to make supporting women a priority and tie their legacy to helping women succeed.
2. Shine a light on Black-owned products, especially CBD brands. We believe that supporting Black-owned businesses ultimately supports the community, builds independence and creates assets that can proudly be passed along for multiple generations. We want to help shape and inform initiatives to raise the visibility for beauty and wellness brands across the board. An initiative that provided visibility to our brands was The 15 Percent Pledge. They introduced us to Madewell and we are now on their platform. The trust that people have for Madewell’s brand is now extended to us. That is a game changer.
3. Social justice reform — Black and brown people who have been involved with cannabis have been persecuted and judged for decades. Research shows that despite comparable usage rates between Black and white people, Black people are 4–10x more likely to be convicted of a marijuana based crimes. There were several programs put into place that were meant to give people convicted of marijuana crimes an opportunity to build legal businesses, but they have largely proven to be ineffective. Those programs need to be revamped with access to capital, mentors who can guide through the maze of unregulated structures and true partnerships that bolster visibility of the brands.

(Kara Kelly)

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

I think cannabis being declared an ‘essential business’ during Covid points to the inevitable and long overdue need to federally legalize. This essential distinction means we look at cannabis ( medical) in the same way as grocery stores and pharmacies- it is a key component in our healthcare arsenal, it is key to our beauty regiments and it is as safe as our evening glass of wine. Unpacking the years of unfortunate and glaring falsehoods about the plant need to start on the federal level by signaling and pointing to the research both anecdotal and clinical.

( Monica Reese)

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

“The soul is the essence of who and what we are. It is the lure of our becoming.” ~Jean Houston

This quote is all about being your true self, your soulful self. When we feel calm, healthy and joyful, we are connecting to that soulful self.

( Summer Rice)

You are each people 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. 🙂

We want to change the way the wellness and beauty industry speaks to and develops products for the 40+ woman.

As a society, we tend to write women off once they reach a certain age, but guess what, we are not done, and we are not invisible. At Lure, We look at aging as a daily opportunity to feel better and know that we want sophisticated, healing brands that understand that beauty is not defined by an age. We want to create a movement to encourage woman to speak up about the rampant health disparity with topics like sexual wellness, shared pain points and overall wellness as we age.

( Summer Rice)

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

Wisdom From The Women Leading The Cannabis Industry, With Kara Kelly, Summer Rice & Monica Reese of… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Female Founders: Suzie Carpenter of Savor by Suzie On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and Succeed as a Woman Founder

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

In our world right now, we are undergoing a collective feminine rising — feminine energy is a beautiful balance to masculine. We need both — it’s yin and yang. Businesses are shifting, with conscious capitalism becoming more of the priority — that is what people relate to, feel good about, resonate with and trust. Tapping into this shift is one major reason for women to step up and become founders of their own businesses.

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

After 20 years of implementing a variety of dietary changes with her family, predominately a grain free diet that helped alleviate symptoms of autoimmune disease, gut issues and autism, Suzie Carpenter is the co-founder of the Savor by Suzie brand.

Eat to be your happiest self — the mantra Suzie taught her autistic daughter — is the passion behind the brand. At the core of the Savor by Suzie mission is the belief that just like every ingredient counts, so does every individual.

Suzie’s passion drives her focus on areas of product development, brand marketing and the company’s neurodiversity initiative.

Prior to launching the brand, as a nutrition consultant, Suzie worked with hundreds of clients to strategize how to implement dietary changes with ease. She is also the author of the book, On The Bright Side, A Mother’s Story of Love and Healing Through Autism.

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?

Absolutely! Our children are our inspiration. When our daughter was diagnosed with autism, Celiac Disease and numerous food intolerances, she and I became partners on a healing journey, using a diet recommended by her doctor. Watching the success of these changes, I became obsessed. I was reading labels and watching everything she ate to make sure she didn’t get sick or relapse.

The good news is that eventually I was able to teach her how to notice what was happening in her body so she could make her own decisions around foods that work for her or against her.

At the advice of friends who watched our journey, I went back to school to become a nutrition consultant so I could help others realize the same success we experienced.

As my own cooking style transformed into one that was extremely intuitive and focused on simple sustainable ingredients to bring out natural flavors in food, I began teaching cooking classes. This was a way to support my clients as well as to bring together women in the kitchen using food to ground us all.

Being a flavor maker, deliberately hand picking all of Savor by Suzie’s ingredients, is driven by my passion around the power of food.

Our family has been baking pretzels for over 40 years. We really wanted to create an allergen friendly pretzel with better for you ingredients that the whole family can enjoy. Bingo! We’ve created the best tasting pretzel that just happens to be gluten free, grain free, top 9 allergen free with zero grams of sugar!

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

A week after we launched our product at Stew Leonard’s stores in New England, we got a phone call from Stew. He said he wanted us to meet his nephew. A week later, we drove up to their store in Norwalk CT. We sat in Stew’s office and met with his nephew and his nephew’s wife. They shared with us some of the challenges they were having with their own son. All the of the memories of 20 years ago, when our daughter Kelly was diagnosed with autism came flooding back — and we realized that despite the organizations out there today, social media and other resources, parents still need other parents to lean on, commiserate with, confide in, and find compassion.

This is why we say autism is our superpower. It invites compassion into everything we do, It challenges us to see things in a new light, to respect all viewpoints, and to develop new ways of doing things. As we continue to grow, it is our dream to do more and more for and with this community.

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?

Looking back at the funniest mistakes… I would have to say they were most definitely in my kitchen, while I was experimenting with different flavors. My intention is always to create seasonings free of MSG, sugars, starches or gums. But when I started, I really had no idea what I was doing!

For example, while working on our Lil Bit Spicy flavor, I bought a bunch of spices and vegetable powders to test. I wanted to create a flavor that had a hint of heat without being overwhelming. Trying to figure out how much of each and which powders to use was laughable for sure! Probably the jalapeno powder being the funniest — I opened the bag, stuck my nose in and boy was that a mistake! All I could smell for days was jalapeno powder!!

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 can think of a lot of people that have helped me along the way — and probably the most supportive would be my husband, Scott. But by far my greatest teacher is our daughter Kelly. While it can be exhausting and overwhelming to be a parent of an autistic child (managing behaviors, services, schools, therapies, diet etc), truly autism has completely changed my view of the world.

Every single day I use the three P’s to help me stay aligned with our core values and mission — patience, presence and perseverance. And each and every one of our neurodiverse team members remind me of this too, they are here to teach us, not the other way around!

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

Limiting beliefs engrained from a long history of inequitable access to resources and assets that our male counterparts have been privileged enough to have based on their sex alone. Societal norms and gender expectations have certainly imprinted in our minds how we ought to be living our lives based on gender. I grew up in a family with five sisters in a time when women’s roles were defined by many generations prior. Gender stereotypes and inequality were prevalent in the classroom, workplace and frankly everywhere in society. We were not encouraged to speak up, in fact quite the opposite.

YET, several studies not only show that women are better leaders than men but also prove that women-led organizations have more profitable results than ones headed by their male counterparts.

Gender bias is similar to what we are seeing with autistic adults not being welcomed in the workplace. Our goal is to shift workplace norms to support the neurodiverse and to realize the benefits of neurodiversity just like those of women in leadership roles.

Good news! Gen Z is tapping into this reality and have done a phenomenal job of combating gender bias and moving towards a less gender derived norm society.

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

I think we need more resources to support women in business and women entrepreneurs. Not just to encourage them with mentorship or coaching, but also to provide sound business advice. Teaming up with like-minded entrepreneurs or leaders can be hugely helpful too.

For me, I also find my personal practices to be extremely grounding and supportive. It is through trusting my own intuition, and trusting Savor to give me the signs and signals of where we are and what needs attention, that I build strength and clarity. I definitely recommend exercises around intention setting, energetic clearing and purposeful positioning. Then constantly revisit those so as to continuously align with your core values.

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

In our world right now, we are undergoing a collective feminine rising — feminine energy is a beautiful balance to masculine. We need both — it’s yin and yang. Businesses are shifting, with conscious capitalism becoming more of the priority — that is what people relate to, feel good about, resonate with and trust. Tapping into this shift is one major reason for women to step up and become founders of their own businesses.

Another reason is that working for yourself, following your passion and purpose is the most rewarding job you’ll ever have. There is one caveat though, being okay with failure is part of the process. That’s what keeps us grounded in why we do what we do!

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

Two myths to debunk around being a founder:

Only young people can start a business

You need to know everything before you start

The first one, well that’s been disproved many times over! While there are some potential barriers to being older, the easiest way to solve them is to hire talent in the areas where you need help. The founder’s role is to be the visionary, to keep the business aligned with its core values at all times, by tuning in and asking a lot of questions. As I always say in our team meetings, “let’s get present with this”, which simply means being curious about all aspects of the business, what’s working, what’s not and why. Then you lead your team to take action in the right direction.

Starting a business doesn’t mean having to know everything or think of the next big idea. Leveraging what you are passionate about and tweaking that to create a value add for others, solve a problem, is what’s key. Even taking something that already exists and improving on it in some kind of creative way is a great idea! Often it’s the simplest ideas that are the most successful…

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

It is possible that not everyone is not cut out to be a founder. No doubt, it’s a lot of work and a risk-taking proposition that many people simply aren’t comfortable with. Some traits that I believe increase the likelihood of being a successful founder are openness to learning, willingness to fail, perseverance, flexibility, follow through, and believing so strongly in what you stand for that you’re not intimidated by anyone who says No to your product or idea.

Being a “regular” employee means being part of a team and all founders need good teams to support their idea, mission and help drive it towards success. So, if you are more of the type of person who likes predictability and structure, you may find your success in a position on the team rather than as the founder.

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

Little things all add up — consistently do the little things to see big things happen

TRUST the process and trust your idea, believe in your idea standing on its’ own

Don’t worry about your competition — use it to accentuate what’s unique about your product

Keep the big picture in mind, your WHY, at all times. Use it to let go of control and focus on what you want to see happen, the change you seek

People will resonate with your story as much or more than your product

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

We believe in giving back to autism and we do this in several ways. Day by day, simply by sharing insights from our team on social media or otherwise. We plan to share resources on our website in the next 30 days that will be geared towards supporting the autistic adult community and their families.

In April, we had an autistic entrepreneur grant that we awarded to one individual which included the grant money as well as six months of mentorship with myself and the panel of judges, all working in the field of autism and neurodiversity. We hope to do this in an even bigger way as we scale and grow!

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.

Hire at least one person with autism in your organization!

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

Female Founders: Suzie Carpenter of Savor by Suzie On The Five Things You Need To Thrive and… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Ask if they want to talk about it — If a friend shares that they are feeling anxious or you notice that they don’t seem like themselves lately, don’t hesitate to bring it up to them. Ask them if they are okay and offer space for them to talk about it. Also know that they might not be ready to talk, and that’s okay too. The most important thing is that you open the door to have that conversation when they feel ready.

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

Stephanie is a holistic transformation coach, 200-hour registered yoga instructor, mindful meditation facilitator, and sound healer. She empowers unfulfilled women to uncover their purpose and step into their power so they can create a soul-aligned life they LOVE! Stephanie started on her spiritual path after experiencing deep burnout from the corporate world and it completely transformed her life. Now she helps women who are feeling stuck to elevate their mindset so they can fearlessly follow their dreams!

Stephanie is the founder of Stephanie Weber LLC, a holistic coaching brand and online platform focused on helping women become the next-level version of themselves. She is also the host of The Inner Sunshine Podcast, which is dedicated to helping women embody their most authentic selves, live mindfully, cultivate abundance, and shine their light from the inside out!

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?

Thank you so much for having me! I graduated from college with a degree in Marketing and went straight into the 9–5 corporate world out of school. However, I realized rather quickly that the office job life was not for me. I went through a difficult period in my early 20s where I was very depressed and felt completely lost. I had no idea what my purpose was on this earth, but I KNEW I was meant for more than sitting in a cube farm doing repetitive, mind-numbing work for the rest of my life.

About 5 years ago, I had an awakening when I hit my personal rock bottom. I was extremely burnt out and it started me on my journey to find deeper meaning and connection to life. I have spent the past several years investing in myself, continuing my education, and healing both physically and mentally.

I eventually left my soul-sucking corporate career to pursue my passions full-time. Since then, I have received 3 separate yoga teacher training certifications (Vinyasa, Sculpt, and Hot), my meditation teacher training certification, as well as my mindfulness coaching certification. I also became a sound healer and went back to school to pursue my dream career path in holistic health coaching and nutrition. I started my own soul-aligned coaching & sound healing business, and I now work with clients all over the world to help them elevate their mindset and live in alignment with themselves!

My healing journey completely transformed my life, and I have dedicated myself to helping other women do the same. That’s why I decided to become a coach — I want to help my clients uncover their passions and create their own personal path to happiness! Mindfulness, mediation, and sound healing also played an integral role in my transformation and I love being able to share these powerful holistic modalities with my clients and community.

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

The most interesting thing that has happened to me since starting my career is how incredibly aligned I feel in my life. When I was working my corporate career, I used to live for the weekends and would try to escape my unhappiness in all kinds of destructive ways. I had the mindset that life was happening “to me” rather than “for me” and I was always searching for something to fill the void and the emptiness that was there from not doing the work that I was put on this earth to do.

Since I began listening to my intuition and following my dream of becoming a holistic coach and sound healer, I have experienced so many incredible synchronicities in my life, and I feel more aligned than I’ve ever felt before. I’m working with the most amazing clients, I’ve expanded my sound healing practice, and I lead weekly sound baths at a local studio in Chicago. I launched my dream podcast and have made so many beautiful connections by putting my voice out into the world. It’s been an incredible journey — and I’m just getting started!

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

I have worked for many companies that have had a less than great work culture, and the number one piece of advice I have for other leaders is to create a work environment that respects employees and creates space for work-life balance. We’ve seen such a huge societal shift in our work culture over the past few years, and the outdated need for people to be in the office for 40 hours a week (or more) and live for the weekends is over. If your employees prefer to work from home and they get the job done, why force them to go into an office? The mental health and happiness of your employees should always be your number one priority.

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

My favorite book is “Everything Is Figureoutable” by Marie Forleo. This book changed my life when it came to uncovering my purpose and creating a more fulfilling life. Marie shares so many inspiring stories in her book of people overcoming adversity and doing the “impossible” in their lives and businesses. She has grown her coaching business to be one of the most recognized brands in the world, but she is incredibly honest about her journey and what it took for her to become the person and businesswoman she is today. There is something so refreshing about people who are honest about their struggles and are willing to share their stories of growth and overcoming challenges.

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

To me, being mindful is the practice of being deliberately and actively in the present moment without judgment. It’s a way to be fully aware of our everyday decisions and choosing to live out of intention rather than habit.

So many of us move through our days on autopilot — just going through the motions to get by. Mindfulness brings us back into the present moment and helps us focus on the task at hand, rather than having our minds wander in a million other directions. Stress is usually a byproduct of thinking about the past or worrying about the future. When we focus on the now, it helps us reduce stress, be more productive, and genuinely live happier lives!

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

Mindfulness includes all facets of our lives including our mindset, how we interact with others, how we talk to ourselves and how we make our choices. Instead of constantly thinking of the future or of the past, mindfulness allows us to stay in the present moment and take things one step at a time. It has been scientifically proven to help lower stress, and there’s growing research showing that it can actually remodel the physical structure of your brain!

Mindfulness can have a profound impact on our health and happiness. With regular implementation of mindfulness in your everyday life, you will most likely start to see positive shifts in your mood, lower stress levels, and an improved sense of overall well-being.

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

Absolutely — here are 5 simple steps that we can take to develop a regular mindfulness practice:

1. Create a gratitude practice

This is one of my favorite exercises that I love to incorporate into my daily routine. Throughout your day, be observant of your routine & surroundings and find ONE new thing to be grateful for. Maybe you notice a beautiful bird on your walk, or maybe a stranger holds a door open for you? When you’re doing this exercise, not only do you feel the immense benefits of gratitude, but you’re also completely in the present moment. There is always something new to appreciate and there is no such thing as something too small to be grateful for!

2. Practice being mindful while doing mindless activities

Try staying present while doing a regular, mundane activity such as brushing your teeth or doing the dishes. Rather than thinking about your to-do list or things going on later in the day, try to focus on what is happening right now. What color is your toothpaste? What do you see, hear, taste, smell, and feel? This exercise is definitely easier said than done. There are so many tasks that we complete during our day on autopilot. See if you can focus on being present in the moment for just this ONE thing.

3. Practice mindfulness meditation

Meditation is the practice of training your attention and awareness to achieve a mentally clear, emotionally calm, and stable state. Mindful Meditation is a type of mediation where you focus on being intensely aware of what you’re sensing and feeling in the moment without judgment. To do this, find a quiet space somewhere where you will not be distracted or interrupted for a few minutes. Find a comfortable seat with a tall spine either cross-legged on the ground, in a chair with your feet flat on the floor or lying down. Close your eyes or lower your gaze to minimize visual distractions and start to tune into your breath. Notice how your belly and chest move as you inhale and exhale. If you find that your mind is wandering, know that it’s totally normal! Gently bring your attention back to your breath each time this happens. Stay here as long as you want, and when you’re ready slowly open your eyes. Take note of how you feel in this exact moment.

4. Do less on purpose

In today’s society, people wear their busyness as a badge of honor. I remember I used to gloat about how busy I was when people asked me how I was doing because I thought being busy was equivalent to being successful or hardworking. Our brains are not computers — we are physically not built to multitask and jump from one task to the next and expect 100% efficiency with everything we’re doing. Doing more is not always better and taking time to rest and recharge does not make you lazy!

Take some time to consider the purpose behind your daily activities. Are you trying to pack as much in as you can, or are you giving yourself room to breathe, take breaks, and truly focus on the task at hand? Give yourself permission to do less to be fully present and notice how you feel afterward.

5. Practice having a beginner’s mind

If you’ve ever watched a baby being introduced to a new environment, you’ve probably noticed their eyes wandering around the room — completely captivated and intrigued by each detail around them. When is the last time you noticed your current surroundings with that same sense of wonder? Try spending a few minutes looking at the sights around you as if it were the first time you saw them. Do you notice anything different or new? What are the things you use daily that you usually take for granted?

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

Here are 5 steps we can take to offer support to those around us who are feeling anxious:

1. Ask if they want to talk about it

If a friend shares that they are feeling anxious or you notice that they don’t seem like themselves lately, don’t hesitate to bring it up to them. Ask them if they are okay and offer space for them to talk about it. Also know that they might not be ready to talk, and that’s okay too. The most important thing is that you open the door to have that conversation when they feel ready.

2. LISTEN and hold space for them to speak and express their emotions

If they do open up to you, take time to listen to what they say rather than responding with judgment, or interjecting with support or solutions. You don’t always have to understand exactly what they’re going through or know how to fix it to be there for them. Sometimes sitting in silence and listening is the best way to show love and support.

3. Validate and show your support

It’s important to validate people’s experiences, rather than saying “just calm down” or “it’s not that big of a deal — you’ll be fine”. These kinds of phrases don’t help and can actually make the situation worse. Let them know that you are grateful they opened up to you and that you understand it’s not always easy to talk about how we’re feeling. You can also reassure them that they’re not alone and that you are always there for them if they need someone to talk to.

4. Ask how you can best support them (and offer logical advice ONLY if they are open to receiving it)

It’s important to ask them how you can best support them, rather than just offering suggestions such as yoga or meditation. Those tools are great, but they don’t work for everyone in every situation. The best way to offer support is to ask what they need in the moment. If they specifically ask for suggestions or help, then you can move forward with helping them explore options for seeking help — including seeing a mental health professional. Also, know that not everyone is ready to talk to a professional right away. If they’re open to it but aren’t sure where to start, you can help by researching therapists in the area or offer to drive them to their appointment.

5. Keep in touch

Sometimes the best help we can give someone who is feeling anxious is to make them feel less alone. Check-in every so often or invite them to meet you for coffee. Let them know you love them, and that you are always there for them if they ever need someone to talk to.

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

There are many free resources available on YouTube if you’re looking for guided mindfulness meditations or exercises to practice. Some of my favorite mindfulness apps are Headspace, Calm, Aura, and Insight Timer. I also have several guided meditations on my own YouTube channel as well as a beginner’s mindfulness course available on my website!

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

One of my favorite life lesson quotes is “You will never experience this version of you again, so give yourself permission to slow down and be with her”.

We often get SO focused on achieving, reaching goals, fixing things, and being productive that we don’t always give ourselves time to appreciate how far we’ve come and all that we have right here and now. Life isn’t always about achieving our goals — it’s about the person we become along the way. At one point in our lives, we dreamed about everything that we have right now. If we’re always focused on the future and thinking that the next moment is better than the current one, we will never allow ourselves to be truly happy.

One day you will look back on this moment and wish that you could live it again. Not because you want to do something different, but because you will wish you had enjoyed the moment more. There are always going to be things on your to-do list. There is always going to be a bigger goal, more money to be made, new mountains to climb, etc. But the true secret to happiness is to choose it every day. It’s a powerful reminder that even if you’re not exactly where you want to be yet, you can still appreciate where you are right now.

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. 🙂

Wow, thank you so much! My goal for my life and my business is to empower others to understand their full potential and live an aligned life. If I could start a movement, it would be to help as many women as I can to uncover their true purpose, leave their soul-sucking jobs, and create a fulfilling life that they’re excited to wake up to EVERY SINGLE DAY!

I want women to understand how powerful they are, and that there is so much more to life than working 40+ hours a week at a job you hate, just to retire at 70 and hope to live out your best years before you die. Life is happening NOW! Quit the job, start the business, go on the trip, and do more of the things you love. Life is so precious, and tomorrow is never promised to any of us. Know that everything you need is already within you. Go for it!

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

Yes, please come say hi, and feel free to send me a message so that we can connect! You can visit my website at www.HeyStephanieWeber.com to learn about my coaching programs, listen to my podcast, access free guided meditations, and more!

Join my community on social media:

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/HeyStephanieWeber

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YouTube: www.YouTube.com/HeyStephanieWeber

Listen and subscribe to my podcast: www.TheInnerSunshinePodcast.com

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

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