Conscious Enterprises: Recent Episodes

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On Thursday, May 6th, 2021, I had the great honor and privilege to share my message on a very special stage in New York City.

Maximizing the impact of conscious, sustainable and purpose-driven thought leaders has never been more important, and that has been the inspiration and mission behind everything I do at Conscious Enterprises. Thank you TEDxWaterStreet, TEDx and TED for doing what you do, and sharing your platforms with me.

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This was the first TEDx event held in NYC emerging out of the pandemic lockdown, and it was fantastic! Organized by Jean Paul Laurent, curated by Franya Ruiz, hosted by Monique Coleman with phenomenal musical performances by Annabel Oreste and Norman Alexander, alongside the other speakers: Pras Michel, Lili Gil Valletta, Daniela Pierre Bravo, Quddus Q, Danny J, Jeff Tatarchuk, Chris Valletta, Tameka Green, Aree Bly, Drew G Davis, Irina Soriano and Janice Kovach.

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Dr. Karuna Sabnani treats disease with modalities beyond conventional medication – she believes that optimum health can be achieved through approaches that value what nature has to offer, herbalism, contemplation, and most notably, feeding your senses. As a speaker and teacher of the principles of pleasure, Dr. Karuna is a naturopathic doctor with a deep understanding of holistic health.

I feel a personal appreciation for her work because I have found that my own journey back to wellness has depended on fostering a more nature-centric approach to life and an awareness that “consumption” is a lot more than what you eat. Dr. Karuna’s work validates all of this for me.

We discuss so much in this conversation, including naturopathic vs conventional healthcare, pleasure as medicine, and some great wellness tips to get you through the holiday season.

Click here to listen on iTunes - Apple Podcasts

Recognitions:* Founder of Karuna Naturopathic Healthcare

+ Natural & Naturopathic Medicine Expert
+ http://www.karunanaturopathic.com/

• Creator of The Real Detox + Pleasure Rx

Topics discussed in this conversation include:* Dr. Karuna at Conscious Enterprises panel event at Donna Karan’s Urban Zen * What exactly is Naturopathic & Ayurvedic medicine? How does it differ from conventional medicine? * Some issues that Dr. Karuna sees with conventional medicine today and how Ayurvedic principles fill these gaps? * How Dr. Karuna got into medicine * Pleasure and “pleasure as medicine” * The connection between Pleasure and Purpose? * How business leaders can utilize an understanding of pleasure to improve their business * The difference between pleasure-seeking or instant gratification type pleasure VS sustainable pleasure or “fulfillment” * Everyone is concerned with COVID and health these days - how Dr. Karuna thinks the pandemic is affecting our ability to reach optimum wellness * Wellness tips for professionals working from home these days * Holiday advice from Dr. Karuna * Dr. Karuna’s measure of “success” * How Dr. Karuna sees the world evolving 10 years from now * Valuable advice you for professionals and entrepreneurs

Bio:Dr. Karuna Sabnani is founder of Karuna Naturopathic Healthcare. She works virtually with patients internationally.

She has been on national television networks including The Dr. Oz show. Her advice has appeared in a variety of publications including Cosmopolitan, Business Insider, Yoga Journal, Martha Stewart, and Allure Magazines.

Dr. Karuna applies Ayurvedic philosophy, and the healing power of nature with her patients. For over 15 years, patients have come to Dr. Sabnani to learn how to get a lean body, restful sleep, restored energy, clear skin, strong digestion and stress reduction. They often feel a sense of ease, balance and health after following Dr. Sabnani’s suggestions.

She works with patients nationally + internationally. She has been the health and beauty advisor to supermodel IMAN’S company, Iman Cosmetics. She has been a writer for The Huffington Post and her advice has been sought after in Cosmo, Yoga Journal and Allure Magazines.

She speaks worldwide about the importance of beauty + pleasure in Wellness. She launched the PLEASURE RX course and the Five Sense Experience in 2019.

www.karunanaturopathic.com

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Rian Doris is the co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of the Flow Research Collective, studying, deconstructing and training peak performance and flow states for leaders.

Alongside 8X Nationally Best-Selling Author Steven Kotler (one of the world’s leading speakers, researchers and authors in neuroscience and peak performance), Rian has drawn from his own personal challenges with mental health and performance to create the science-based approach in their research and training.

I’m especially thrilled to have connected with Rian and the Flow Research Collective because they are boosting the evolution of leadership by training leaders to understand their own brains on a neurobiological, psychological and chemical level.

Rian shares an abundance of useful resources in this conversation, linked below, but most notably, be sure to check out his TEDx Talk, Why Hustle Doesn’t Lead to Success. It’s a goodie:)

Click here to listen on iTunes - Apple Podcasts

Recognitions:* Co-Founder & COO, Flow Research Collective * TEDx Talk:

+ Why Hustle Doesn’t Lead to Success:

Topics discussed in this conversation include:* Rian’s background and a childhood dealing with a head injury growing up in Ireland * Motivation and interest in personal development, philosophy, consciousness, flow states and peak performance * Tony Robbins * Rian’s educational background in Philosophy and Masters Degree in Applied Neuroscience * Keith Ferazzi & Never Eat Alone * Thought leaders who brought mindfulness to the west:

+ Dr. Dan Siegel ,
+ Jon Kabat Zinn ,
+ Jack Kornfield

• Steven Kotler & Stealing Fire

  • (all of you interested in this conversation should read this book!)
  • Steven Kotler’s rigorous scientific approach to flow
  • Peter Diamandis
  • How Rian went from an admiring fan to business partner with Steven Kotler
  • How Rian’s struggles with mental health and performance due to his brain injury has helped him understand and connect to the work at the Flow Research Collective so deeply
  • What is “Flow”?
  • How flow effects performance, wellbeing, creativity, learning, happiness, etc.
  • Martin Seligman, father of positive psychology
  • Training consciousness shifts into flow
  • 22 Flow Triggers to access flow states
  • Certain activities that inherently induce flow
  • Flow Cycle
  • Herb Benson & The Breakout Principle
  • Flow Blockers
  • Best strategies to remove blockers before building triggers
  • Rian’s personal flow triggers and strategies for eliminating distraction
  • “Knowledge Work” – flow follows focus
  • “Flow Hygiene” – priming your system - how nutrition, exercise, sleep and general wellness influence flow states
  • Social support is as crucial as food physiologically and psychologically
  • How business leaders can utilize flow states to increase performance or maximize their impact
  • Mihai Csikszentmihalyi – “The Godfather of Flow Psychology”

  • Group Flow:

  • “Yes, and….”

  • Vulnerability
  • Risk
  • Familiarity
  • Equal Participation
  • Shared Goals
  • Close Listening
  • Efficient Operations
  • The dark side of flow
  • Flow Strategy: identifying your process of getting into flow
  • Hacks for professionals working from home
  • Dopamine & Norepinephrine
  • Dropping cognitive load
  • Environmental boundaries vs time boundaries
  • Transition Rituals
  • Breathwork vs Mindfulness
  • James Nestor & Breath
  • Rian’s TED Talk – “Why Hustle Doesn’t Lead to Success”
  • Rian explains why hustle doesn’t lead to success from the perspective of effort and productivity

  • Maximizing output from the least amount of input – “doing more with less”

  • Strategic timing

  • Delegating effectively
  • Elimination
  • Productivity declines after 35 hours per week
  • McKenzie Study
  • Rian’s definition of success and how he measures himself on success
  • Earl Nightingdale
  • How Rian sees the world evolving 10 years from now and how he sees himself contributing to it
  • The Future is Faster Than You Think
  • Valuable advice from Rian for entrepreneurs and professionals
  • What happens in the brain during sleep
  • Dr. Andrew Huberman – Board of Directors, Flow Research Collective
  • Yoga Nidra for sleep

Bio:Rian Doris is the Co-Founder & COO at the Flow Research Collective, a research and training institute focused on decoding the neuroscience of flow states and training leaders to achieve peak performance.

Rian lives at the intersection of entrepreneurship and academia—from starting his first business at age 18 to studying Philosophy in Trinity College Dublin and an MSc in Applied Neuroscience at King's College, London.

On the academic side, Rian has lead research initiatives with Imperial College London, University of Southern California, the University of Zurich and Deloitte.

On the entrepreneurial side, Rian has worked intimately with numerous world-leading experts in peak performance such as Keith Ferrazzi,Dr. Dan Siegel, and Steven Kotler, his partner at Flow Research Collective.

Rian has been featured in Fast Company, Forbes, TedX and Big Think.

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WORK-LIFE AFTER COVID:

Wondering how to stay healthy and sane as we emerge out of our stay-at-home orders?

In this live-feed episode from Conscious Enterprises’ instagram account (@conscious.enterprises), we discuss challenges, shifts and precautions that businesses and professionals are making during times of global pandemic, as well as valuable tips to keep your immune system strong during these bizarre times.

Dr. Rafatjah shares with us her own personal experiences as a business owner during quarantine before providing many useful tips to stay healthy, sane and fit. She also advocates for regenerative farming techniques.

Click here to listen on iTunes - Apple Podcasts

Bio:Dr. Soyona Rafatjah is a board-certified Family Medicine physician and Co-Founder and Medical Director of PrimeHealth. Dr. Rafatjah is passionate about helping her patients reach their health goals. She helps them to address the root cause of their issues and focuses on disease prevention in addition to treatment. With the knowledge and tools she gives them, her patients feel in control of their own health.

Through an intimate, patient-physician partnership, and a whole-body approach, she and her patients develop a personalized treatment plan which adjusts to their needs and environment over time.

Resources & Links from this episode:* PrimeHealth * Home Exercise Equipment:

+ resistance bands
+ kettlebells
+ pull up bars

• Desk Elliptical

  • Cubii

  • Standing Desk

  • Uplift

  • Regenerative Farming

  • Corner Post Meats

  • White Oak Pastures
  • Wild Pastures
  • US Wellness Meats
  • Vital Choice (fish)

  • Supplements:

  • Online Store

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What makes a person influential in an age of distrust? Advertising and marketing master, Jason Harris has cracked the code and shares his introspective principles and character-building habits in his bestselling book, The Soulful Art of Persuasion.

Jason Harris is the co-founder and CEO of Mekanism, a creative agency serving brands such as Ben & Jerry’s, OK Cupid and HBO. He’s also founded the Creative Alliance, a consortium of 100 ad agencies using their advertising powers for good by creating socially impactful campaigns. Under his leadership, Mekanism was named to Ad Age’s Agency A-list, twice to their Best Places to Work, and to the Creativity 50. Jason has been named in the Top 10 Most Influential Social Impact Leaders as well as the 4A’s list of “100 People Who Make Advertising Great.” His methods are studied in cases at Harvard Business School.

Some highlights from this conversation include Jason’s career and challenges in advertising, his work for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, seeking fulfillment, why he founded the Creative Alliance, how he learned to become “soulfully persuasive”, how Jason measures success and valuable advice for professionals and entrepreneurs.

Click here to listen on iTunes - Apple Podcasts

Recognitions: * Co-Founder & CEO of Mekanism

+ Alaska Airlines, Ben & Jerry’s, OkCupid, HBO, MillerCoors, Peloton, The United Nations

• Co-Founder of the Creative Alliance
• Global Board of Directors, Advertising Week
• Board of Directors, United Nations Social Impact Leadership Council
• Author, The Soulful Art of Persuasion

Topics discussed in this conversation include: * Jason’s upbringing and how he got into advertising * A first job working for Miller Coors * Attributes that make a successful CEO * The type of corporate culture that makes an agency thrive * Retaining talent * The United Nations Social Impact Leadership Council * Sustainable Development Goals * Why Jason founded The Creative Alliance * Using advertising powers for good * Working with the Obama-Biden administration on social good campaigns * Using advertising powers for good * Why Jason wrote The Soulful Art of Persuasion * How to get organized to write a book * The four main principles in The Soulful Art of Persuasion * How Jason has transformed into authenticity and vulnerability and learned to embody the principles of becoming soulfully persuasive over the course of two decades * How to train yourself to become more generous * Misconceptions about empathy * Jason’s definition of empathy and why it’s so valuable in persuasion * Why you should use positive persuasion when negative persuasion can be so effective * Axe Body Spray * Conscious Enterprises at Advertising Week panel * Meditation takes many forms * Jason’s morning routine * Gratitude journaling with kids * Jason’s measure of his success professionally vs personally * New Group Therapy * The evolution of purpose-driven work * Mind-body connections * Valuable advice for professionals

Bio:Jason Harris is the CEO of the award-winning creative agency Mekanism and the cofounder of the Creative Alliance. Harris works closely with brands through a blend of soul and science to create provocative campaigns that engage audiences. Iconic brands include Peloton, Ben & Jerry’s, MillerCoors, HBO, and the United Nations. Under his leadership, Mekanism was named to Ad Age’s Agency A-list, twice to their Best Places to Work, and to the Creativity 50. Harris has been named in the Top 10 Most Influential Social Impact Leaders, as well as the 4A’s list of “100 People Who Make Advertising Great.” His methods are studied in cases at Harvard Business School.

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If you want some reassurance that big corporations and major luxury brands are leading the evolution of business, this episode is for you. Hannah Bronfman is the Director of Sustainability & Impact for all the Starwood Hotels & Resorts properties, including the 1 Hotels and the Baccarat Hotels. She has a zest for her work and an expertises that is incomparable.

As a passionate proponent of luxury and consciousness coexisting, I have always had a special admiration for brands like 1 Hotels in particular. If you’ve ever had the pleasure at staying at one of their properties, dining at one of their sustainable or zero-waste restaurants, or perhaps even attending a Conscious Enterprises LIVE event at one of their locations, you know that the ambiance exudes luxury, while holding an equally prominent respect to nature. And this exquisite balance that they have struck clearly comes from deep within the company and their leadership.

If there’s one thing that is apparent, by the sheer existence of this role and this perfectly suited impact-maker, about their CEO, Barry Sternlicht and his SH Group, it’s that he clearly understands that making an impact on the world externally comes from cleaning up his internal systems and processes within the organization. And that’s exactly what Hannah seems to live to do.

In this conversation we discuss Hannah’s fine tuned training in green buildings, engineering and environmentally minded city planning, the global definition of sustainability vs a personal definition of sustainability, waste management, bedtime stories and how the world is evolving.

Click here to listen on iTunes - Apple Podcasts

Recognitions: * Director of Sustainability & Impact for SH Group:

+ Starwood Hotels & Resorts (1 Hotels & Baccarat Hotel)

• Teaches at Columbia University about green buildings
• Background in program implementation on corporate real estate and hospitality
• Trained as an Engineer
• 10 years of experience as a sustainability and green buildings expert

Topics discussed in this conversation include: * Hannah’s fine tuned training for green buildings in cities * What appeals to Hannah about environmental planning * From Portland to NYC * How New York City compares to other cities in sustainability * Sustainability by a global definition VS personal definition * The initiatives Hannah is working on to keep the 1 Hotels and SH Group properties sustainable and impactful * Waste Management * Some things that the average person within a corporation or the average business can do to make themselves more impactful or sustainable * Balancing the scales of luxury and sustainability * Barry Sternlicht * LEED Certification * Low VOC paints (volatile organic compound) * Why running is just as much for mental health as physical health * Calm app for meditation * Bedtime stories * How Hannah measures success * Using metrics to measure a team’s accomplishments * Being obsessed with waste * Misfits Market * Hannah’s view of a world evolution towards simplification * Valuable advice for professionals committed to impact, sustainability and consciousness

Bio:Hannah Bronfman is the Director of Impact and Sustainability for SH Group. Hannah has over 10 years of experience as a sustainability and green building expert, including a background in program implementation and communications with a special focus on corporate real estate and hospitality. She has worked with organizations to incorporate sustainability across their business practices, from corporate-level initiatives and policies to building-portfolio management.

In her role, Hannah works with our property and corporate teams to enhance our sustainability strategy, implement new programs, and ensure that our sustainable business and building strategies bolster the 1 Hotels brand.

Hannah joined SH Group from WSP USA (formerly YR&G) where she was the Director of the Corporate Sustainability Team. Key clients included Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Tishman Speyer, The Dust Organization, and the US Green Building Council. Prior to WSP, Hannah held technical positions within MEP engineering firms, working specifically on green building design and operations of buildings. Hannah is currently an adjunct faculty member at Columbia University teaching courses on sustainable construction management.

Hannah holds a bachelor’s degree in General Science and Geography from the University of Oregon. Additionally, she studied visual communications at the Pacific Northwest College of Arts.

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Imagine if happiness was not just your personal mission in life, but you made it your career goal to spread happiness. Arnaud Collery is not just an expert in happiness, but is living this mission to make happiness a profession and a system in businesses and organizations. After a diverse career in finance, acting and film, Arnaud found his fulfillment by indoctrinating Chief Happiness Officers across the globe. Beyond teaching programs that create sustainable happiness for leaders and organizations, Arnaud is also reaching the masses through his event series, Standup for Passion. His TedX talks are a must-watch if you are interested in how we can begin to make happiness a measurable value for businesses and society.

At the time of filming this interview, Arnaud was living in NYC, but has since moved back to Bordeaux as he continues international events.

Click here to listen on iTunes - Apple Podcasts

Recognitions:* Founder of Standup for Passion * Global Chief Happiness Officer * CEO of Kikai Mining (Happiness Innovation Agency) * Leadership Coach & Team Building Trainer * Author, “Mr. Happiness” * TedX Speaker:

+ Ted X Lille "La passion, le moteur de notre vie" April 2018
+ Ted X Maastricht. "Share your story before you die!" November 2016
+ Ted X Aruba. "What is a Chief Happiness Officer" September 2015.

• Comedian, Actor, Artist

Topics discussed in this conversation include:* Arnaud’s extraordinarily international life, beginning in Champagne * Where Arnaud believes needs the most happiness work * The personal tragedy in Arnaud’s personal life that was the catalyst for him becoming so engrossed in happiness * The least and most fulfilling parts of Arnaud’s diverse career * Gallup stat that “unhappy employees cost $450-$550 Billion in lost productivity per year” * How corporations utilize Arnaud’s teachings as Chief Happiness Officers into their businesses * Are people meant to be happy all day every day? * Emotional Honesty * How Arnaud gets his nature fix at Ananda Ashram * Arnaud’s intentions and goals with Stand Up for Passion * Challenges vs Routines * How Arnaud measures success * Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness * The world’s evolution through Arnaud’s perspective * Valuable advice for entrepreneurs

BioSince 2014, Arnaud Collery has been working in the transformation space, both corporate and personal. He coaches c-suite teams and runs standupforpassion.com, a global platform on personal inspirational stories.

Arnaud has coached 1000+ stories (youtube.com/standupforpassion) 100+ teams, led 100+ workshops and trained 100+ Chief Happiness Speakers. 10 000 pp attended our events. 100 + speeches (3 Tedx, Harvard, Google, UN,..) Published author. Worked with.. United Nations, Dior, Cartier, Novartis, L'Oreal, Nestle, Danone, BMW, Careem. He now coaches the next generation of Chief Happiness Officers in his own training programs.

Keynotes:
World Happiness Report -NY

Word Happiness Summit

Miami Happiness at work-Copenhagen

Happiness 360 - Aruba

Happiness innovation- Dubai

Happiness Effect- Kuwait

Happy Folk - Paris

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We brought a new conversation and the very first meditation in 16 years of Advertising Week New York!

Video content from this panel discussion is available for purchase at AdvertisingWeek.com

In this session, Conscious Enterprises founder, Roxana Rafatjah, will introduce a morning meditation to get you focused, centered and performing at the top of your game.

Join us for a dynamic panel on the symbiotic relationship between impact & introspection. Understanding this relationship is imperative to improving your business and your life.

S P E A K E R S :

Jason Harris

President & CEO of Mekanism

Emily Fletcher

Founder & CEO of Ziva Meditation

Karan Rai

Founder & CEO of Asgard Partners

Biet Simkin

Meditation Guide & Author

Roxana Rafatjah

Founder of Conscious Enterprises

(moderator)

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Erin Claire Jones is a Human Design guide – What is Human Design, you may ask? Well that is what you’ll learn about in this episode…

Personally, after my assessment with Erin, I have found it to be one of the most introspective and accurate personality assessments available to us today to discover what unique characteristics, qualities and energetics we possess.

It may be one of the most effective tools for identifying blind spots and gaps in organizational and team dynamics, and may also provide insights as to exactly what kind of person may best fill that gap.

It was fantastic speaking with Erin about Human Design because she is making this fascinating service accessible and applicable to businesses for team building, creating corporate culture, optimizing performance and advising on interpersonal communication. According to Erin, Human Design can help businesses and leaders mitigate everyday obstacles and challenges. And I have to agree with her.

Erin is offering a 10% discount on her Blueprint guides for us. Use promo code “CONSCIOUS”.

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Recognitions:

• Human Design Guide
• Leadership Coach
• Former Director of Programming at The Assemblage
• Forbes Feature

Topics discussed in this conversation include:

• Erin’s background from Seattle to the east coast
• Working for startups before becoming drawn to Human Design
• Forbes Article
• What is Human Design?
• I Ching, Astrology, Quantum Physics, Psychology
• How do you incorporate Human Design assessments into your work as a leadership coach?
• Human Design for individuals, entrepreneurs or corporations
• Reaching people who wouldn’t usually come across Human Design
• Engineering teams intelligently from the beginning of start-up phases
• Interconnection of business and personal life and how understanding your own personal Human Design helps with both
• Some of the biggest challenges and obstacles Erin has been able to help businesses mitigate by helping them understand their Human Design
• Bureaucratic and legal prohibitions restricting Human Resources departments from utilizing this insightful tool
• What Human Design offers businesses and individuals that tests like Meyers Briggs or DISC Profiles can’t
• For those who might be skeptical hearing words like “astrology” or “Kabbalah” in a personality assessment, how would you explain the accuracy of this system?
• What is your personal goal or intention with this work that you do?
• Erin’s personal intention for working with Human Design
• Erin’s daily rituals to keep herself in alignment
• The importance of a partner who is a strong mirror for you
• Kundalini – Hari, RaMa, Lumina, Golden Bridge (closed in nyc)
• Measuring success
• Erin advises me on my Human Design as a “Manifesting Generator” or “Express Builder”
• How Erin sees the world evolving 10 years from now and how she intends to contribute to it
• Parenting applications for raising the next generation
• Valuable advice for entrepreneurs

BIO:

Erin Claire Jones is a leadership coach specializing in Human Design. She has been featured in Forbes, the Times, Nylon, Culture Trip, Well+Good and more.

She helps leaders and teams step into their highest potential by offering them the self-knowledge and tools to perform at the top of their personal and professional games. She has consulted for startups all over the world, built companies supporting executives, partnerships and small teams to operate more harmoniously and effectively, and conducted research on leadership challenges at 90+ early-stage companies.

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Yes, he is in fact a “lord”. But that is a whole conversation for another time.

Lord Matthew Scheckner is the Global CEO of Advertising Week, a platform where businesses and brands are discussing what he calls society’s “real issues” in a collective of conferences, seminars, special events and live entertainment in New York City, Mexico City, London, Tokyo, Sydney and Johannesburg.

But prior to bringing together international professionals for Advertising Week, Matt fostered an entrepreneurial drive and work ethic that spanned from washing dishes, to the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, and starting an his first agency during the emergence of sports marketing.

If you’re looking for inspiration, advice and wisdom from a master networker who has created a global community, bringing together many tens-of-thousands to congregate internationally, this is a conversation you’ll want to listen carefully.

In this conversation, we discuss Matt’s super interesting career trajectory to Advertising Week, the surprising reason he focused on advertising, his thoughts on corporate responsibility around data & privacy issues, the importance of opportunities to connect on a human level with other people, and how Advertising Week has become a platform for business and social impact.

Click here to listen on iTunes - Apple Podcasts

Recognitions:* Global CEO of Advertising Week * Founder of Stillwell Partners * Graduate of Emory University

Topics discussed in this conversation include:* 6 countries, heading into 16 years in NY * Graduating from Emory in 1986 as a professional breeding ground * Originally planning to be a lawyer * First jobs delivering the Penny Saver (for a literal penny!), the New York Post, working at bagel shops and delis, and many other odd jobs * Interning at the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce in the 80’s * The emergence of “sports marketing” and treating sports as economic development * “The Commission on the Year 2000” – Matt’s first job out of college, under NYC’s Mayor Koch * Maximizing utilization of the waterfront * Tax implications of the Meadowlands * Becoming the first Executive Director of the New York City Sports Commission at age 23 * Winning the 1998 Good Will Games * Building the olympic sized pool in Eisenhower Park * The downfall of these programs with Mayor Giuliani * Matt’s first business venture in sports marketing * Dabbling in a multitude of projects * DDB * 4 A’s – The American Association of Advertising Agencies * The ideation for Advertising Week * Matt’s business model * Radio City events * A secret apartment in Radio City, The Roxy Suite * Proposing the first Advertising Week event to Mayor Bloomberg in 2004 * The first opening gala at Gracie Mansion * Seed money * 4A’s, Omnicom, IPG, Publicis, Havas, WPP * Changing from non-profit to for-profit * Matt’s partner, Lance Pillersdorf * Expanding to London, Tokyo, Mexico City, Johannesburg, to a global network * Year-round content business * Why Advertising? * The importance of exclusive locations for AW’s special events * Highlighting the social and experiential part of life * How to grow an international network around the globe * Getting quoted in The Wall Street Journal * Matt’s motivation and drive * The challenge to create authenticity in each international location * Leveraging the AW platform to talk about important “real issues” * Emma Stone on mental health and wellness * Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue and the United States Surgeon General discussing the opiod crisis * D&AD Impact Awards * Cannes Lions * Social Impact topics: Health & Wellness, Diversity & Inclusion, Sustainability, Responsible Production * Matt’s perspective on how social impact is emerging in businesses * Unilever and sustainability * Brands that are doing good are good for business * Corporate responsibility around advertising and over-consumption of media * Data and privacy issues * How Matt measures success for himself and his business * Valuable advice for entrepreneurs

Bio:Matt Scheckner is CEO of Stillwell Partners, a New York City based boutique consultancy. Stillwell is best known as the producer of Advertising Week, the world’s largest advertising / marketing / media industry summit. The Week is conducted in New York City, London, Tokyo, Sydney and Mexico City and launches in Africa in 2019. Under Scheckner’s leadership, which dates back to 2004, the B2B event has evolved into a vibrant, global tent-pole event and is the world’s pre-eminent annual platform uniting the ad tech, brand/client, creative, marketing and media communities. Scheckner’s signature recipe of blending thought leadership with one-of-a-kind evening experiences for the entire industry ecosystem propels Advertising Week. The annual festival-style event is now in year fifteen (15) in the USA, going into year seven (7) in Europe, year three (3) in Tokyo and just a few months ago launched successfully in Mexico City and Sydney. Planning is well underway to launch in Africa in 2019 and Advertising Week’s related year-round content initiatives, notable AW360, continue to grow.

Stillwell’s origin is derived from Coney Island. For 20+ years, on the historic corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues, Stillwell has produced the annual Nathan’s 4th of July Hot Dog Eating Contest and ESPN broadcast.

Scheckner has served on the Board of Governors of the Friars Club and stands alongside such luminaries as Milton Berle, Frank Sinatra, Ed Sullivan, and Henny Youngman, as winner of the “Friar of the Year” - - a distinction he was awarded by his fellow Friars in 2011. He is active with many causes, including the launch of War Child in the United States, Comic Relief UK, London’s Roundhouse and Tuesday’s Children, which honored Scheckner as their 2013 Gala Honoree. Scheckner also served as Chairman of the World Trade Center Memorial Communications Advisory Council and led a public campaign that generated $300 million towards construction and completion of the World Trade Center Memorial.

From 2006-2008, Scheckner served as Consigliere at Yahoo!, where he produced the industry’s first digital Upfront, “Broadband on Broadway” in 2007 and managed the corporation’s relationships with Madison Avenue. He also conceived and produced major corporate experiential programs around the world - - from Cannes to Pebble Beach - - and led the company’s support of the Tribeca Film Festival, an early harbinger of the modern-day explosion of creative content streaming on the web.

For more than a decade (1995-2006), Scheckner owned and ran Empire Sports & Entertainment, a New York City-based marketing and strategic consulting firm. One of Empire’s largest clients was Radio City Productions. Under Scheckner’s direction, Empire produced major events outside the Music Hall including the 1997 opening of Arthur Ashe Stadium, Pepsi’s 1999 Centennial Celebration, which featured Ray Charles, Riverdance and the Rolling Stones and several Super Bowl Halftimes.

Scheckner also played a central role in shaping the Music Hall’s overall strategic plan including its acquisition by Madison Square Garden and landmark renovation in the year 2000.

Empire also served as SFX’s marketing agency developing strategies to secure more than $200 million in sponsorship across SFX’s live sports and entertainment properties. The company also partnered with Ken Sunshine and the Nashville-based Opryland to produce “Always . . . Patsy Cline” Off-Broadway. The show ran for a year at the Variety Arts Theater.

Prior to incorporating Empire in 1995, Scheckner served as Counsel on Sports Marketing for the flagship office of Hill & Knowlton, a global public relations firm where he founded the firm’s sports and entertainment practice.

From 1987 through 1994, Scheckner served as Executive Director of the New York City Sports Commission, a not-for-profit organization founded during the Koch administration. During his tenure with the Commission, Scheckner was directly responsible for successful bids for the 1993 Olympic Congress of the USA and the 1998 Goodwill Games. He saved the Jerome Boxing Club in the South Bronx from eviction and secured City funds to renovate the Club; fulfilled New York City Marathon founder Fred Lebow’s request to secure the entire Verrazano Bridge as the Marathon’s starting point; closed Central Park for the Tour de Trump cycling race; stopped City government in it’s tracks by bringing Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton and Larry Holmes to City Hall; led New York City’s bid to host 1994 World Cup matches; and successfully secured City and Community Board approval to stage an Indy Car Race in lower Manhattan.

Prior to assuming his post with the Sports Commission, Scheckner served as a Policy Analyst with the Mayor’s Commission on the Year 2000, a blue-ribbon planning group, where he was responsible for the Commission's work on demographics, economic development, education, transportation and water front development.

Among Scheckner's other professional honors, he was selected as a member of Crain's New York Business "Forty Under Forty" at the age of 28. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor of Marketing at the New York University Management Institute, and was appointed coordinator of NYU's annual Summer Institute on Sports and Event Marketing in 1995. In 1998, Scheckner was appointed to a similar post as an Adjunct Professor of the Columbia Graduate School of Business. Globally, Scheckner has lectured in Sao Paolo with Pele on sports marketing, among other venues.

Scheckner resides in Port Washington, NY with his wife Ila and their children, Benny and Eliza. Sadly, his dog Lambeau passed in 2010 but lives on in memory. He is a graduate of Emory University with a Bachelor of Arts. Regarding personal pursuits, Scheckner has the distinction of having been one of two severely injured softball-playing Friars during a 2009 outfield crash in Central Park; he is an avid golfer; and competes with pride in the Friars Pool tournaments, having finished as high as 6thplace.

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Conscious Enterprises curated a discussion on Impact & Introspection in celebration of the launch of Barry Sternlicht’s 1 Hotel West Hollywood.

These impressive entrepreneurs & CEO’s gathered for an evening of meaningful conversation followed by a Mix & Mingle at the 1 Hotel’s zero-waste restaurant and bar.

Some topics we discussed:

Can luxury and conscious lifestyle coexist?

How do successful CEO's and entrepreneurs manage imposter syndrome?

How does your relationship with your body affect what your are producing as an entrepreneur?

What are some of the benefits of being a "mindful leader"?

Please subscribe, rate 5 stars and share this episode with anyone you think would enjoy this conversation!

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SPEAKERS:

• Christopher Gavigan

  • co-Founder & Chief Purpose Officer of The Honest Company
  • Founder & CEO of Prima

  • Kevin Peake

  • co-Founder & President of Next Health

  • Suze Yalof Schwartz

  • Founder & CEO of Unplug Meditation

  • Luke Storey

  • Founder of The Life Stylist

  • co-Founder of School of Style

  • Roxana Rafatjah

  • Founder of Conscious Enterprises

  • (moderator)

Click here to listen on iTunes - Apple Podcasts

HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO: FULL EVENT VIDEO:

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We are beyond honored to have partnered with Donna Karan’s Philosophy of Living, Urban Zen, on this event.

In celebration of Women’s History Month (March 2019), we gathered for a mix & mingle in this spectacular urban sanctuary for a discussion about Women, Business & Mind-Body Connection.

These awe-inspiring female panelists spoke about balancing masculine & feminine energy, their “aha moment” in business, how introspection has contributed to their external impact, and how meditation helps hone in on the mind-body-energy connection.

Please subscribe, rate 5 stars and share this episode with anyone you think would enjoy this conversation!

Subscribe to our mailing list and follow us on social media to stay updated on our next events.

PS - Please excuse my lack of personality/voice at the event - I was recovering from a fever:)

PANELISTS:* Emily Fletcher, Founder of Ziva Meditation * Dr. Karuna Sabnani, Founder of Karuna Naturopathic Healthcare * Danielle Posa, Founder of Wellbeing Hacker * Roxana Rafatjah (moderator)

Click here to listen on iTunes - Apple Podcasts

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FULL EVENT VIDEO:

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Rachelle Robinett is by far the most connected to plants than anyone I’ve ever met. Her understanding and obsession with herbs, diet and how they affect the body is incomparable. She is a plant-based wellness practitioner, the founder of Supernatural Café – a company dedicated to real world wellness, currently the resident herbalist at CAP Beauty in the west village (in NYC); she is Integrative Health Certified and Clinical Herbalism Certified, and is the creator of some delightful new herbal supplements called HRBLS. She has also worked with brands such as Alchemist’s Kitchen, ABC Home, Elixir Bar @ The Assemblage.

In this conversation we discuss Rachelle’s journey from Seattle to New York City to work in fashion and advertising before becoming an entrepreneur committed to creating accessibility to plant & herbal life. She gives us some fantastic tips on herbs we should all be integrating into our diets. We talk about plant medicines and Rachelle shares her experience with ayahuasca ceremonies. And she also shares valuable advice for entrepreneurs.

Click here to listen on iTunes - Apple Podcasts

Recognitions:* Plant-based wellness practitioner * Founder of Supernatural Café – “a company dedicated to real world wellness” * Resident Herbalist at CAP Beauty * Complimentary & Integrative Health Certified * Clinical Herbalism Certified * Creator of HRBLS

Topics discussed in this conversation include: · Rachelle’s career trajectory from Rainier Valley farm to Manhattan fashion before plant-based entrepreneurship

· Nutrition & Plant Chemicals as a personal practice

· Food prep

· Entrepreneurship as a byproduct of plant-obsession

· Convergence

· Rachelle’s herbalism work with brands such as Alchemist’s Kitchen, ABC Home, Elixir Bar @ The Assemblage

· The balance between effectiveness of an herb vs trendiness of popular

· Rachelle’s recommendations of herbs that can combat stress & anxiety

o Lavender

o Oat Tops

o Red Clover

· Rachelle’s perspective of failure

· Planting seeds

· Work-Life Balance

· Rachelle’s business as a “conscious enterprise”

· HRBLS

· Making taking herbs accessible

· Herbs that most people could benefit from taking today

o Ashwaganda or other adaptogens

o More greens for everyone!

o Prebiotics

§ Yuca

§ Cassava

§ Fibrous, starchy veggies & root herbs

· Kale

· Rachelle’s thoughts on the use of psychedelics and plant medicines

· Rachelle’s six plant medicine ceremonies with ayahuascha & san pedro

· Difference between San Pedro & Ayahuascha

· Epiphanies

· Rachelle’s diet

· Rachelle’s personal wellness routine

· Hopes for the next 5 years of the state of the world and nature

· How Rachelle measures success

· Valuable advice for entrepreneurs

Bio:Rachelle Robinett is a plant-based wellness practitioner combining holistic, natural medicine with practical lifestyle work to help people find balanced, lasting health. She holds certificates in Complementary and Integrative Health, and Clinical Herbalism, and has been studying the relationship between plants and people her entire life - be that on a farm in the Pacific Northwest (where she grew up) to time with healers, specialists, and shaman in farther-away places.

Rachelle is the founder of Supernatural - a company dedicated to real-world wellness - that includes an herbal cafe, a product line of plant-based remedies, ongoing workshops and events, and personal health coaching.

Entrenched in the wellness world, but with an eye on the rest of the world, she brings a global perspective to individual health, and also that of businesses and brands.

In addition to Supernatural, Rachelle manages the Bowery Cannabis Club with The Alchemist's Kitchen, and offers professional consulting for companies of all sizes.

Specialties & Studies: Complementary & Integrative Health. Clinical Family Herbalism. Ayurveda & yoga. Herbalism & traditional medicine. Meditation Teacher trained. Plant-based nutrition. Positive psychology. Reiki I attunement. Mindfulness & minimalism. Spirituality & science.

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Kimmy Scotti is so engaging and effervescent, I’m sure you’ll easily see how she has become such an accomplished business woman.

Aside from being a Partner at 8VC, her venture capitalist firm, she was one of the first investors in Sakara Life; and she is also a co-founder of a women’s health & wellness company with her sister called Monthly Gift. Kimmy co-founded a direct-to-consumer healthcare company that has helped millions of Americans afford their prescription medications, and she even started a fashion jewelry line that was sold in Bloomingdale’s when she was in college.

In this conversation with Kimmy, you’ll learn what this venture capitalist looks for in the start-ups and the entrepreneurs that she invests in. We discuss Kimmy’s customizable feminine care business, the healthcare industry, being a woman in the male dominated finance industry, using meditation to enhance gut instinct, and Kimmy’s super unique mindfulness practice.

Click here to listen on iTunes - Apple Podcasts

Recognitions:* Partner at 8VC * Investor in Sakara Life * Founder of Monthly Gift * Co-Founder of a direct-to-consumer healthcare company * Former Director of Business Development * Creator of Mimz New York (fashion jewelry line sold in Bloomingdale’s while in college) * Featured in Forbes

Topics discussed in this conversation include: Shoe swapping for good karma * Growing up with close siblings in New York * Childhood crafts and becoming a “maker” * Starting her first business at the age of 15 years old * Mims * How Kimmy’s businesses got to span so many different industries * Passion for healthcare * Sakara Life and how it made Kimmy an official investor * Monthly Gift – Kimmy and her sister’s feminine care subscription company * Tampons vs Pads * The necessity for customization of feminine care product bundles * Dear Kate acquisition * Monthly Gift’s commitment to giving back through Days for Girls * Balancing a business plan that incorporates charitable giving with an accessible price point for every woman * Finding the balance of reciprocity or charity in business * Kimmy’s reciprocal business strategy - making profit from solving a big problem * Qualities that Kimmy seeks in startups and entrepreneurs * Magnetism vs Metrics * Kimmy’s wellness regimen and her strict breakfast routine * Bari trampoline class - (now at Fithouse) * Our broken healthcare system * Businesses falling short on wellness programs * Practicing prophylactic medicine * Fixing healthcare by fixing prescriptions * Blink Health * What Kimmy sees many tech entrepreneurs focusing on that isn’t working * Making the cost of care accessible * Trends Kimmy sees in wellness, work-life balance, startup culture * Biggest challenges in business * Pitching male investors a tampon company * Being bi-coastal * What makes business leaders successful * How Kimmy perceives her own success * Meditation with Headspace * Active meditation with floral arrangements * Activities being mindless vs mindful * Converting to Judaism * Shabbat dinner being meditative * Strengthening your “gut instinct” through meditation * Imposter Syndrome as a woman in business * Flower arrangement meditation process * Applying mindfulness to the cut-throat venture capitalist world * Sht happens * Accepting a base of worst case scenarios * Having empathy for the founders Kimmy invests in * When mindfulness and empathy are a detriment to business * How to know where and when and who to trust * Animal instinct * How Kimmy sees the world 5 years from now and how she intends to contribute to it * Healthcare science and innovation * Valuable advice for entrepreneurs

Bio:Kimmy Scotti is a founding partner at 8VC where she focuses on consumer and healthcare investments. She oversees the fund's investments in companies such as Blink Health, uBiome, and MakeSpace. She also is Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of the women’s health and wellness company, Monthly Gift.

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LAUNCH EVENT & PANEL DISCUSSION EPISODEThis is a very special episode. We gathered some of the greatest and most conscious minds in business for a panel discussion, and launched Conscious Enterprises’ live event series in partnership with 1 Hotels!

The theme of this conversation was Impact & Introspection, a symbiotic relationship that I very strongly believe must be understood to optimize business and leadership potential.

We also have 1-on-1 interviews with each of these fantastic panelists (links below) if you’d like to learn more about them and hear their stories.

Please subscribe, rate 5 stars and share with anyone you think would enjoy this conversation!

Subscribe to our mailing list and follow us on social media to stay updated on our next events.

(opening meditation guided by Kirra Michel)

PANELISTS:Hannah Bronfman, Director of Sustainability & Impact, 1 HOTEL & Starwood Hospitality Group

Karan Rai, Founder & CEO of Asgard Partners

Susie Fogelson, Founder of F&Co, former SVP Food Network and TV personality

Magdalena Sartori, Chief Creative Officer of The Assemblage

Alain Palinsky, Founder of Kollectiv, co-founder of Juice Press

Maja Vujinovic, Founder & CEO of O Group, former GE exec

Roxana Rafatjah, Founder of Conscious Enterprises (moderator)

Click here to listen on iTunes - Apple Podcasts

HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO:

FULL EVENT VIDEO:

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If there was a medal awarded for most job interviews you can attend while pregnant, Marissa Kraxberger just might win it. And that’s what has given her such an interesting perspective about motherhood and pregnancy in the workplace at so many different fashion brands.

Marissa did receive much media attention for speaking out about Ivanka Trump’s lack of maternity leave, but this feature is really focused on Marissa’s career and learnings, so please don’t listen to this conversation expecting something to light your political fire.

In this conversation we discuss Marissa’s amazing career working for some of the most sought after fashion brands, her experience going to many interviews while pregnant, her suggestions for improving corporate culture and parental policies, how if you don’t allow for hindrances as an option, they won’t be.

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I hope this conversation with Lisa Wang motivates you to assess your own work-ethic, triggers some introspective curiosities of your own to explore, and assess your own drive for what Lisa calls “enoughness”.

Lisa Wang is the founder & CEO of SheWorx, a leading global platform empowering over 20,000 female entrepreneurs to close the funding gap and build and scale successful companies. She also founded The AcadeMe, which offers actionable master classes & executive training for women on the rise. She’s a Forbes 30 Under 30 in venture capital, keynote public speaker, US hall of fame gymnast and host of the Enoughness podcast.

As someone who innately has all the markings of a hard working, insatiable over-achiever, with limitless accomplishments, in my opinion it’s Lisa’s introspection that gives her an extra spark. She has allowed herself to come to terms with an important psychological concept that she speaks about on her “Enoughness” podcast.

In this conversation, we discuss all the trials and tribulations along the entrepreneurial path to Lisa’s empire, how a lack of “enoughness” is the root of many people’s suffering, and how having purpose and making an impact can consume an entrepreneur.

Click here to listen on iTunes - Apple Podcasts

Recognitions:* Founder & CEO of SheWorx * Founder of The AcadeMe * Forbes 30 Under 30 * CIO Magazine’s Top 20 Female Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2017 & 2018 * Red Bull’s Hero of the Year 2018 * Columnist at Forbes and Fortune * US Hall of Fame Gymnast * Yale University Graduate * Keynote Speaker * Leadership Coach * Host of Enoughness Podcast

Topics discussed in this conversation include:* How Lisa began gymnastics at the age of 9 * The trials and tribulations of having a last name that begins with a letter at the end of the alphabet * Focus, attention, and time management as a child and Lisa’s innate work ethic * Loneliness as a child paying off in college * SheWorx started in 2014 * Lisa’s first jobs out of college (Yale) in China, then at a hedge fund * Yo app raising $1 Million inspired Lisa to make a bigger impact * Drive for creative ownership * Startup Institute entrepreneurship bootcamp * How and why to create a point of no return * Working next to a CEO at a development agency and how that experience shaped Lisa * One-touch food order app idea * Finding a food accelerator * Attaining investment, a partner and off to the races * Why Lisa thinks investors are hesitant to invest in single-founder companies * Steve Jobs reference – he had vision but couldn’t code * The importance of a team * Craigslist hiring * Technical challenges and lessons * Lisa’s higher purpose for the world * Lisa’s coined concept of “enoughness” and the psychological differences between men and women * How a lack of enoughness manifests in business * The Little Mermaid * The breakthrough “enoughness moment” * SheWorx * What inspires Lisa to do so much everyday * Being mistaken as the assistant * Creating a space where women can have access to capital * Taking painful experiences and turning them into purpose * Lisa’s thoughts on wellness in the startup world * Time becoming more precious as an entrepreneur * Wellness trends vs Balance * Lisa’s wellness methods * Why entrepreneurs tend to not have hobbies * How Lisa measures success

Bio:Lisa Wang is a former US National Champion and Hall of Fame gymnast turned entrepreneur, public speaker, and executive leadership coach.

· Founder & CEO of SheWorx, the leading global platform empowering 20,000+ women to build successful companies through access to top mentors and investors.

· Forbes 30 Under 30 Class of 2018 in Venture Capital and CIO Magazine's Top 20 Female Entrepreneurs to Watch in 2017 and 2018, and Red Bull’s Hero of The Year in 2018. She is a columnist at Forbes and Fortune focused on driving gender parity in entrepreneurship.

· Motivational Keynote Speaker headlining conferences including Mobile World Congress, World Entrepreneur Forum, Chief Innovation Officer Summit, and more.

· Executive Leadership Coach and brings the tools from over a decade as an elite athlete, and entrepreneur to train leaders to own their power.

· In her spare time she produces and hosts the 5-Star Enoughness podcast. Lisa is a graduate of Yale University.

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This interview was fascinating to me as someone who became intrigued with the scientific viability of astrology prior to diving deeply into other esoteric studies of consciousness.

Personally I believe astrological natal charts can be more accurate than some of the most prevalent personality tests businesses use today like Meyers Briggs, Jungian personality tests, or DISC Profiles. I’ll spare you my thoughts on the scientific viability of a proper natal chart for now. This conversation is not about astrology.

I think it’s important to share what people like Ruby Warrington are doing in the business world.

Best known for her widely popular online magazine, The Numinous, Ruby also speaks openly about integrating mysticism into her life in the fashion industry in London in her previous book Material Girl Mystical World.

But even more impressive to me, Ruby now works with big brands like Soho House, Unilever, Buick, Lululemon and TopShop who are looking to integrate what she calls “now age” mysticism into their brands.

Mysticism, from a scientific and psychological prospective, which is how I tend to view things, is really just another form of introspection. So the work that Ruby does for brands, from a corporate standpoint, is indicative of a major shift in perception for corporations.

In this conversation we discuss Ruby’s career, her relationship to alcohol and thoughts on plant medicines and psychedelics, and her latest initiative as the creator of the Sober Curious Movement.

That’s really the deep part of this conversation – delving into the the ideas and social constructs we have built around alcohol.

Be sure to check out Ruby’s new book – available for purchase on Amazon – Sober Curious: The Blissful Sleep, Greater Focus, Limitless Presence, and Deep Connection Awaiting Us All on the Other Side of Alcohol

Click here to listen on iTunes - Apple Podcasts

Recognitions:* Founder of The Numinous * Creator of the “Sober Curious” Movement * Founder of a sober-curious event series called Club Söda * Founder of Moon Club * Author of Material Girl, Mystical World: The Now Age Guide to a High-Vibe Life * Author of Sober Curious: The Blissful Sleep, Greater Focus, Limitless Presence, and Deep Connection Awaiting Us All on the Other Side of Alcohol

Topics discussed in this conversation include:

• Ruby’s career journey that began in Fashion Journalism and magazines in London
• Achieving her “dream job” as Features Editor at the prestigious Sunday Times Style Magazine
• Finding a lack of meaning and contribution to society while working her “dream job”
• Feeling boxed in by her own self-imposed glass ceiling
• Exploring her passion projects on the side
• Discovering astrology
• Moving to New York City
• How Ruby got her first book deal
• Realizing there is an audience of people interested in ancient human technologies and updating them for the “Now Age”
• How Ruby views herself less as an entrepreneur and more a writer
• Challenges in being taken seriously as someone so openly mystical
• Self-acceptance and finding a place of “woo woo and proud”
• A smaller, more niche market that actually understands you can be more valuable than larger scale
• A failure that Ruby is most proud of learning from
• The Sober Curious Movement
• Club Söda NYC events
• Ruby’s relationship and journey with alcohol
• Questioning why alcohol is so interwoven and engrained into our culture
• Creating Club Söda to help her answer these questions
• Ruby’s goal with the Sober Curious Movement
• Alcoholics Anonymous vs Sober Curious
• Stats from AA
• Inner work required alongside alcohol abstinence or sober curiosity
• Treating alcohol consumption with proper consciousness – is helping you heal or making you numb?
• How Ruby has created a spectrum for alcoholism or sobriety and why it’s dangerous
• Correlations between productivity and sobriety
• How plant medicines can fit into a sober-curious lifestyle
• Fascinating studies around psychedelics and addiction
• Suppressive therapies vs evocative therapies
• A great question to ask yourself: Am I doing this to numb myself or am I doing this to heal myself?
• Why Ruby considers herself a conscious enterprise
• Moon Club
• Ruby’s brand consulting work with James Hotels
• Bringing opportunities for introspection into mainstream industries via mystical modalities
• Ruby’s wellness ritual
• How Ruby measures success
• How Ruby sees the world evolving and how she intends to contribute to it
• Valuable advice for entrepreneurs

Bio:Ruby Warrington is a British lifestyle writer and creator of The Numinous, an online magazine that updates all things “new age” for life in what she terms to Now Age. Author of Material Girl, Mystical World and Sober Curious, she is also cofounder of “sober curious” event series Club SÖDA NYC, and Moon Club, an online spiritual coaching program. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, Simon.

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A self-proclaimed “student of life”, Alain Palinsky is the epitome of work in progress, in the best sense of that description. He is constantly working to improve himself personally and that translates directly into how his business runs today, in a constant state of service to it’s customers.

Well known as the co-founder of Juice Press, a national juice bar chain, Alain is now the owner of Kollectiv, a wellness space located in the Bowery of New York City offering all kinds of bio-hacking, healing, and well-being improving products and services.

In this conversation you will learn how Alain got involved with juicing and wellness after a career in hedge funds, how Alain sustains an unorthodox company culture, the reality of investments and money, and more!

Click here to listen on iTunes - Apple Podcasts

Recognitions:* Co-Founder of Juice Press * Owner of Kollectiv * Former Hedge Fund Exec * Former Tennis Athlete

Topics discussed in this conversation include:* How Alain got involved with juicing and creating Juice Press * Kollectiv – what is it and how it came to be * Serving a need and how consumers dictate what a business provides * How the Kollectiv has evolved since 2015 * Partnerships with wellness brands such as Alchemist Kitchen, Higher Dose, Kryo Lounge etc * Being unorthodox and trying to instill corporate culture * Customer Service goals * Alain’s self-serving inspiration for starting businesses * Why Alain doesn’t consider business in general to be conscious * What failure Alain is learning from the most * How lack of choices force you to grow in life * What makes Alain and his businesses conscious enterprises * How the Kollectiv’s wellness vendors are selected * Alain’s commitment to wellness * Alain’s backstory from being an athlete, nutrition, training, to getting into the finance industry and working for Hedge Funds * Bringing the Juice Press idea from Miami * Alain’s inconsistent morning rituals * Acting and how acting brings Alain back to himself * Money & Capital * How to attracting the right money is a challenge * Law suit situations * The reality of investments * How good are you at failure? * Consciousness in business partnerships * Valuing success * How people project their own perceptions onto your situation * Valuable advice for entrepreneurs * Lessons from acting school

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The wellness industry can sometimes have a tendency towards the ethereal and woo-woo, which understandably can be hard for some people to gasp.

But what I love about Danielle Posa is that she has such a direct, upfront, no-BS vibe. I can understand why large corporations and icons like Deepak Chopra would value working with her.

As the Wellbeing Hacker, Danielle is bringing well-being into the corporate world, not in just a yoga & meditation way, but in a data-backed way.

Loaded with a plethora of statistics and research to pull from, Danielle is legitimizing the wellness game in businesses and substantiating the importance of defining personal purpose.

In this conversation, we discuss so many valuable topics for conscious leaders. Danielle shares her experience as a former executive at Gallup, she shares insights about the power of the mind, she tells us about her program with Deepak Chopra, and how she believes wellbeing should be a standardized measurement.

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Sah D’Simone lives in the flow state. He also lives to break molds. While he is on a mission to break down stigmas around mental health, Sah makes meditation and consciousness seem not only approachable for everyone, but also makes it seem so stylish and cool.

With an entrepreneurial background in the fashion industry, Sah founded Bullett Magazine and a successful blog sold to Oracle, before shedding this former life and growing into the transformational coach, speaker and author that he is today.

He also just released a fantastic book – 5 Minute Daily Meditations – that leaves zero excuses for anyone claiming they want to meditate and don’t have the time. This collection of short meditations makes everyday awareness accessible to stay-at-home moms to CEO’s.

In this conversation, we discuss so many interesting topics bridging mysticism, biology, introspection and science. We discuss Sah’s rocky entrepreneurial journey (which includes a hilarious story about getting fired from a porn shop), dealing with the highs and lows of depression, bringing meditation to corporations and how it’s affecting the business world, and the most impactful benefits and transformations that Sah has witnessed from meditation.

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Jeff Bernhard may seem like your typical corporate executive. He was formerly Senior Vice President at the health insurance megalith, Aetna, where he spent much of his lengthy career in healthcare. And for an industry that is just beginning to unravel for lack of improvements in actual health, it’s executives like Jeff that are becoming the voice of reason in healthcare.

Now, the President of Continental Benefits, Jeff still makes time for his passion for gardening, growing his own food, and sharing his experiences on his YouTube channel, The Executive Gardener. He also hosts a healthcare industry podcast called Friends with Benefits.

Beyond just insights in being a healthcare industry expert, Jeff is extremely in touch with nature. He understands the importance of wellness and wellbeing. And he is contributing to moving a giant needle in a giant syringe of an industry.

In this conversation, you’ll learn about what the healthcare industry knows has gone wrong and how people like Jeff are trying to correct it. You’ll learn about food deserts and why they really shouldn’t exist – he talks about a fantastic solution to this huge problem. And you’ll also hear about his take on health and wellness.

Please SUBSCRIBE and for more conscious content look for Conscious Enterprises on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook! You can also always find us at www.Conscious.Enterprises

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In my very first round of outreaches for Conscious Enterprises content, I was reaching out to founders of products that I love for being committed to mindful, sustainable, reciprocal business. Addictive Wellness chocolates are one of those products .

Not only are Addictive Wellness products delicious, but they are sugar-free, non-GMO and full of superfoods and medicinal herbs. They come in functional flavors like "beauty", "energy", "recharge" or "tranquility" that have ingredients that help you achieve each of their namesakes.

I first enjoyed these chocolates after transitioning out of a very long intestinal candida cleanse. They were perfect because I finally got to indulge in eating chocolate; I didn't have to worry about any sugars, and I would get the benefits of powerful herbs like he shou wu, reishi and ashwaganda.

So of course, it felt only natural to let Sage Dammers, who co-founded Addictive Wellness, know that I adored what he was creating, and I sought to find out more about what inspired him, the product and the business.

Below, please enjoy this e-interview with the master herbalist, turned chocolatier entrepreneur, Sage Dammers.

Who are the founders of Addictive Wellness?Sage Dammers and AnnaBlanca Teleky

How long have you been in business? 3 Years - Launched in December 2014

How many employees do you have?2 Employees and several independent contractors who we work very closely with.

How would you describe your corporate culture and how do you foster it? Our culture is based on kindness, compassion, wanting our team to have good lives, and wanting to do right by the planet. We focus on having very open communication at all times and simultaneously make sure that we're always delivering messages to one another lovingly. AnnaBlanca and I are constantly very active in encouraging our team to communicate in this way.

What did you do before this business? Well, in the 9 months leading up to our launch, I needed to be able to make money to pay the bills while putting the business together, so I was getting up every day at 4 or 5 AM to drive for Uber.

Prior to that, I was setting up elixir bars in 5-star hotels. There was one in Paris and one in Sydney, with the idea of introducing the novel concept of healthy indulgence to world travelers.

Creating a product company was the natural next step in bringing this to a wider audience.

What inspired you to start this company?Chocolate inspired me!

I wanted to be able to have a chocolate that was raw, sugar-free, and incorporated the most powerful tonic herbs, but it just didn't exist, so I created it.

I wanted people to be able to enjoy delicious indulgence while simultaneously consuming the healthiest ingredients in the world.

Did it originate with a conscious intention or did that come later?Conscious intention was integral to what we are doing right from the beginning. I had the good fortune of growing up in the natural health world, so since my early teens, helping people to live happier, healthier lives and experience greater inner peace has been a core component of my raison d’être.

What makes your business a conscious one?We use only heirloom jungle-grown ethically sourced Arriba Nacional cacao and create a product that allows people to reach towards their ultimate potential and cultivate their health on a deep and powerful level.

We take great pleasure in sharing free educational info with people so they can take control of their own health and we donate 5% of net profits to environmental organizations.

Would it have benefited you in any way to have left out the commitment to consciousness when growing your business? Why?Even if somehow it would've financially benefitted us in the short term, I wouldn't have done anything differently.

We are so proud of what we are building and we wouldn't trade that feeling for anything. Our consciousness is the core essence of who we are, so there's no way we would abandon that.

How did you align your business goals with conscious intention?The interesting thing is that we don't really set many business goals in the way that other businesses do. We focus on creating the best possible product, staying present in the moment, completing tasks at hand, communicating openly, and uplifting one-another.

With this as the foundation everything else naturally falls into place!

Do you have a regular ritual that you practice to keep you aligned with your purpose?I'm a big fan of breathing practices like the Wim Hof Method as well as getting into cold places in nature. For me, surfing and getting into the cold are the two things that most powerfully ground me and bring me into the present.

AnnaBlanca and I also try to meditate together as often as possible, which is always magical!

What’s a valuable piece of advice you would like to give to other entrepreneurs creating businesses with conscious intentions?If you truly want to build your dream and fulfill your visions, it is going to take tremendous amounts of work!

It's like being in a kayak or on a surfboard- if you have a "conscious compass" to point you in the right direction, that is fabulous, but if you want to really make things happen in that direction, you have to be prepared to paddle hard!

Fueled by a passionate desire to help people live the ultimate life and create a better world, Sagestudied raw and superfood nutrition and traditional herbal systems, especially Taoist tonic herbalism. He has worked with and trained under the world’s leading master herbalists and nutrition and longevity experts in Costa Rica, Australia, Bali, China, and America.

He has developed products internationally and given lectures on peak performance nutrition in Australia, Bali, America, and France. His years of experience in this unique arena have allowed him to cultivate an unparalleled combination of cutting edge nutritional and culinary expertise. Sage has started tonic elixir bars in 5- star luxury hotels in Paris and Sydney serving longevity elixirs disguised as gourmet treats, introducing the novel concept of healthy indulgences to the market of world travelers. He is now the CEO of Addictive Wellness, a company he founded with his girlfriend AnnaBlanca Teleky in 2014 making delicious sugar-free Raw Chocolates and Elixir Blends.

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Yes, she does look familiar. If you’re a foodie or a glutton for cooking challenges, you may recognize her as one of the judges on the show The Next Food Network Star, while she was SVP of the Food Network and Cooking Channel. But that gig was just a peek into the expertise that Susie Fogelson brings to the proverbial table.

Not only is she a magnetic and empathetic leader from the corporate world, (who I happened to idolize at my first job out of college), but she is also showing major food brands how they can take a socially conscious approach.

As the Founder of Fogelson & Co., Susie is now serving the food industry by helping brands find their food story and tell it. In doing this, she is also elevating awareness of innovative food trends.

In this fascinating conversation, Susie shares her journey of following a passion for food, her experience striking major revenue-generating deals with advertisers, we dive deep into so many current trends in the food industry, the importance of being socially conscious as a culinary brand, food-tech vs agriculture-tech, and her own approach to sustainable eating.

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Luke Storey is probably one of the most extreme and obsessive, yet astoundingly knowledgeable, intuitive and charismatic people out there in the biohacking world. But above all, his entrepreneurial drive has been apparent along his tumultuous journey to where he is today.

From a sordid past of substance abuse and drug dealing (that he speaks about with refreshing honesty and humor), to complete sobriety and building two successful businesses that he runs today, Luke is transforming his propensity for addictive behaviors into a platform to expose the world to the most innovative, (sometimes wacky), yet effective practices for achieving “the ultimate lifestyle” by optimizing health, wellness and consciousness.

A former fashion stylist in Hollywood, Luke created the first-ever intensive training-based fashion school, School of Style to teach aspiring fashion stylists how to navigate the industry. And he continues to co-manage this business as he pursues growing his true passion through The Life Stylist podcast. And there is sure to be much more ahead of him, including classes and retreats, as he expands himself as a brand.

This is our conversation about how working for Aerosmith inspired Luke to stay sober, his 3-phase business model for success, his fast-track to monetization, and what his most valuable biohacks are.

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Meghan Asha is living her dream. She is an exuberant woman, obsessed with food, wellness and beauty products, and she has built a platform to bring these brands to market and help them grow. But her business plan wasn’t always so clear.

Today, working in her sprawling SoHo loft office, Meghan gauges her happiness and her success from the vantage point of her 90-year-old self. And it was insight from her 90-year-old self that gave her the perspective to make her very first step towards what would become FounderMade.

In my conversation with Meghan below, it is so apparent to me that she lives every day in a state of wonder and excitement for what she is building and how far she’s come. Every entrepreneur should be so lucky to operate from this state. And with her advice, you probably can be.

Please enjoy this refreshing conversation with Meghan Asha about how embracing uncertainty and taking small steps have led her to create the business of her dreams.

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Parsley Health is becoming a major disruptor in the healthcare industry. This rapidly growing medical practice is utilizing a functional medicine approach without the restrictions of health insurance; and they are on a mission to improve health and wellbeing in the most forward-thinking and holistic way.

The woman driving this movement is a true trailblazer named Dr. Robin Berzin. A graduate of Columbia University medical school and University of Pennsylvania undergrad, who has worked with Dr. Oz and Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Robin has such a refreshing, practical and mindful approach to medicine. Committed to an ever-evolving standard of problem-solving, I believe she is creating the next revolutionary wave of superior care, cutting-edge testing, and better overall health for all of her patients and Parsley Health members.

Below, please enjoy my impactful conversation with Dr. Robin Berzin as she explains how her passion for the mind-body connection fuels her, and how she has integrated these fundamentals into her innovative, metrics-proven business model.

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Best known as the founder of Sub Rosa, a strategy and design firm that serves a multitude of Fortune 500 companies and progressive start-ups, Michael has developed a program to educate corporations and society at large on the importance of empathy.

Michael has grown Applied Empathy into a movement; hosting client seminars, a podcast, a live event series, an immersive cards game, a course at Princeton University, and he has also authored a book that every business person should read.

Early in his career, while being over-burdened by stress, Michael injured his spine when he passed out at the office water cooler. This event served as a catalyst to seek a change in his life by looking inward.

From this approach, Michael fostered many expressions of himself through business: Sub Rosa and Applied Empathy, an alternative medicine practice called Corvus, an event space called And⩓, and a retail store called Calliope that he and his wife own and curate.

Please enjoy this enlightening conversation with the ever-impressive Michael Ventura.

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It has been such a pleasure to watch Karan Rai rise to the top of everything he touches. With an astounding reputation in the finance industry for building and transforming companies, his newest business venture is one that breaks every mold.

The financial industry, as most of you probably already know, does not have the best reputation for being immersed in wellness, mindfulness nor self-awareness, particularly in New York City.  Which is why it has been so incredibly awe-inspiring for me to hear about the fundamentals upon which ASGARD Partners is being built.

In 2015 Karan suffered a massive panic attack while piloting his personal airplane. Below is our conversation about how this experience changed his perspective on life, the importance of holding yourself accountable, and his approach to integrating these principles into his business.

I am so thrilled to share this interview as the first in series for Conversations with Conscious Enterprises.

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Introduction :)