The Rich Roll Podcast - The Power of Community to Catalyze Positive Social Change

Episode Date: September 1, 2014

In case you missed it, and because it's highly relevant to today's show, let's begin this week's offering with a read (or re-read?) of a piece I posted a while back on Medium.com entitled, Why You Should Stop Hacking Your Life & Invest in The Journey. Before you pounce on me for going all Grandpa Roll on you, let me point out that I’m all for efficiencies. But I’m more about the 10,000 hours of hard work that goes into creating something amazing. The hustle, passion, focus, and grit required to birth a dream. The work ethic and commitment to not just be good, but great – not just for you – driven by ego or self-aggrandizement – but for the betterment of everyone. Whether you get there or not, it’s the commitment I admire. It's the action that matters. So stop resisting it by obsessing on shortcuts and instead just embrace the work. Because the inherent value in any undertaking is the road travelled to get there anyway. Do this, and you will be amazed by the places your life will take you. Today’s guest embodies this ethos perfectly. I love Amanda Slavin because she gets it. Someone who had a crazy vision, set aside her fear, took a leap of faith, followed her gut and worked her butt off — all because she believed in something big — the possibility to improve lives and make a positive difference in the world. Looking back on her life, it all makes perfect sense. She was born to do what she does. It wasn't always that way however. But things began to change for Amanda when she made a firm decision to just start surrounding herself with positive, inspiring people committed to advancing change. Over time, Amanda began to exude the wavelength of these new associations, providing her with the courage and self belief to then channel that positivity into her dream — the creation of a new community of paradigm-busting thought leaders leveraging technology and relationships to forge positive social, economic, educational and civic change in urban centers across the nation. Disillusioned with traditional modalities of education in the wake of receiving her masters degree in curriculum, Amanda began her professional career as an event planner for various restaurants in New York City. Blessed with natural people skills and an innate talent for getting crowds of cool people to show up where she wanted them to show up, Amanda started to think about how she could channel this facility for good. Her first big dream was realized when she helped birth the first Global Citizen Festival — a now annual concert series in New York City's Central Park that draws 60,000 attendees and this September will feature Jay-Z, No Doubt, Carrie Underwood, fun., The Roots and Tiësto. This experience ultimately led Amanda to some very interesting posts as both a brand and event consultant with incredible organizations like Life Is Beautiful (Las Vegas' version of the Global Citizen Festival) and Summit Series — a series of events and a growing community of inspiring thought leaders that catalyze entrepreneurship, achievement and positive global change (as someone who has spent time with the Summit community, I can attest to the power of this unique and incredible organizati...

Welcome to the Rich Roll Podcast, Episode 102 with Amanda Slavin. The Rich Roll Podcast. Hey, everybody, citizens of the planet Earth. My name is Rich Roll. Welcome to my podcast, to the RRP. What's the deal? What's the goal? What is the point? Well, the deal point goal is simple, to live and be better. Who doesn't want that? We all want that, right? But how do we go there? How do we get there? How do we be there? Well, each week I have the distinct privilege of picking brains. paradigm-breaking, expanded creative personalities doing all kinds of cool things,

great things to improve our collective experience here on planet Earth. It's about incredible personal stories. It's about tales of transformation and a wealth of information from educators, innovators, athletes, entrepreneurs, and professionals to light your path, raise your vibration, and provide you with the tools, the knowledge, the experience, and the inspiration you need to discover, uncover, unlock, and unleash your best, most authentic self. Really quick, before we get into today's guest, I just wanted to thank you guys for all the amazing support recently. Last week was pretty cool. iTunes, the iTunes podcast homepage featured our show in that top carousel scroll. And that was pretty awesome. And I thank you guys for helping raise awareness and telling a friend about the show.

I really appreciate it. And it was shellacked with messages and emails from people all over the world sharing their stories with us. And it was amazing. It was inspiring and it really touched me deeply and certainly way too many for me to respond to these emails individually. But I wanted you guys to know that I read every single one of them. And I'm completely blown away. We're going to be picking a few, as promised, and reaching out with a little gift, a little care package coming your way soon. We can't do it for everybody, but we're going to pick a few.

And we're going to be doing more of this kind of stuff soon. We can't do it for everybody, but we're going to pick a few. And we're going to be doing more of this kind of stuff soon. So I just wanted to express a little gratitude for that. What else? Well, a little while back, I wrote a piece, a little blog post on my site that I also syndicated on Medium and the Huffington Post called Why You Should Stop Hacking Your Life and Invest in the Journey. Listen, I'm all for efficiencies. I think life hacks and biohacks are great, totally fine when used as tools, but I'm really much more about the hard work. I'm about the hustle, the passion, the focus, the grit,

a work ethic and commitment, not just to be good, but what it takes to be great. And great, not just for you out of ego or some kind of self-satisfaction, but for the betterment of everybody. And whether you get there or not, it's the commitment I admire. It's the actions that matter because the value is in embracing the journey, right? And today's guest embodies this ethos perfectly. I love Amanda Slavin because she just gets it. She's somebody who took a crazy leap of faith, somebody who followed her gut because she

believed in something. She wasn't afraid to dream big. She wasn't afraid to put herself on the line or to believe in her ability to make a difference. And she's someone who made a decision to just start surrounding herself with positive, inspiring people. She was able to internalize that energy, that positivity and channel it, channel that positivity into a dream. And then she busted her butt to translate that vision into reality. It's super cool. She's so many things. I don't even know where to begin to describe her. She wears a ton of hats. She's a master's in education. She's a former New York City event planner. She's a concert promoter who's been involved in super cool events like

the New York City Global Festival concert series, which is attended annually by like 60,000 people, as well as the Life is Beautiful Concert Series in Las Vegas, which is also a super cool, amazing event. She's been involved in Summit Series, which is an event series and community of inspiring world-changing innovators. She's a brand and event consultant. She's written for Forbes, for the Huffington Post, but mostly she's a social and event consultant. She's written for Forbes, for the Huffington Post, but mostly she's a social entrepreneur. And I first met Amanda about a year ago when she invited me out to Las Vegas to speak at something called Catalyst Week, which is a monthly event that she hosts through her company, Catalyst Creative, that brings inspiring thought leaders out to downtown Las Vegas, not the strip,

but old Las Vegas downtown where city hall is in the original casinos. And this is all part of something called the downtown project, which is a movement, a project that was launched by Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh intended to revitalize the downtown sector of Las Vegas into a vibrant community of entrepreneurship and artistry and social entrepreneurship and commerce. And it's really cool. This is an area of the city that has sort of been downtrodden for a number of years. And they've really worked hard

to revitalize it. And you can see this seed being planted and beginning to germinate. And there's a certain energy and excitement blossoming up there. That's really cool to see. And we're going to talk about that in today's episode. In any event, it was an extraordinary experience for me to go and to contribute and to kind of witness and absorb everything that's going on there. And I was so impressed by Amanda and I knew that I had to have her on the show. I knew she would be a great guest. She's a font of energy, of positivity, of creative ideas, and most importantly, action. All oriented around trying to make the world a better place. You know, we live in this tabloid,

Kardashian-obsessed culture where we tend to celebrate the lowest denominator in women. There are so many incredible women doing amazing things in all manner and shape and form all across the world. And I think it's incumbent upon all of us, certainly my responsibility to do what we can, what I can to put these inspiring women out in front, to give them a microphone. So it's my honor, it's my pleasure, and it's actually my responsibility to celebrate Amanda. Her message is super powerful. It's very inspirational. And simply put, we just, we need more women like her. So real quick, before we get into it, we just, we need more women like her. So real quick, before we get into it, we've been working really hard to provide better shipping rates on our

nutritional products and our garment products. Um, and we finally have a solution now in time for back to school. We've decided to offer all our products, uh, going forward on a flat rate. Uh, it's just $4.99 to ship anywhere in the United States, no matter how big your package, no matter how much it weighs, it's $4.99 flat rate. If you're international, we have a little calculator on our site where you can calculate your flat rate shipping rate for whatever it is you're ordering. But I think that this is going to go a long way towards solving what has been sort of historical shipping rate issues that we've had on our products. So just wanted to make you guys aware of that. Thanks so much. You can go to richworld.com and learn more about that and all

of our cool products, our nutritional products, our repair plant-based protein, athletic recovery supplement, our vitamin B12, our electrolyte product, our t-shirts and hats and beanies and lots of more products in development that are going to be coming to you guys soon including a cycling kit which we're going to be putting up for pre-order uh pretty soon and i'm pretty excited psyched to show you guys the design it's really cool also don't forget to pick up our mobile app in the iTunes app store. That's been really successful. We're getting a lot of great early feedback and thanks for everybody who's been using it. All right. Let's see what Amanda is all about. We're brought to you today by recovery.com. I've been in recovery for a long time.

It's not hyperbolic to say that I owe everything good in my life to sobriety. And it all began with treatment and experience that I had that quite literally saved my life. And in the many years since, I've in turn helped many suffering addicts and their loved ones find treatment. And with that, I know all too well just how confusing and how overwhelming and how challenging it can be to find the right place and the right level of care. Especially because, unfortunately, not all treatment resources adhere to ethical practices. It's a real problem. A problem I'm now happy and proud to share has been solved by the people at recovery.com who created an online support portal designed to guide, to support, and empower you to find the ideal level of behavioral health disorders, including substance use disorders, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, gambling addictions, and more. Navigating their site is simple. Search by insurance coverage, location, treatment type, you name it. Plus, you can read reviews from former patients to help you decide. Whether you're a busy exec, a parent of a struggling teen, or battling addiction yourself, I feel you. I empathize with you. I really do. And they have

treatment options for you. Life in recovery is wonderful, and recovery.com is your partner in starting that journey. When you or a loved one need help, go to recovery.com and take the first step towards recovery. To find the best treatment option for you or a loved one, again, go to recovery.com. How did we find you in town? How is it that you're in town today? That you're gracing Los Angeles with your divine presence? Because she has a surfer boyfriend, so he's looking for any excuses. I mean, the waves are crazy right now. Why are they really? Oh, they're like because of the hurricane.

It's like he's been looking at the ratings. They're like good, which has never happened here. So we're out there every single day, and he bought me a surfboard, so now I'm like a surfer. So I've been surfing every day in California with him for the past week. You're shredding the gnar. You're shredding the gnar. I'm shredding the gnar. I put that on Instagram.

I saw that. That's so funny. It's a joke. Awesome. Yeah, but it's Burning Man, so we're not going to Burning Man. So any excuse to be in California when there's no Burning Man is great because it will be like a vacation. Right. You usually go to Burning Man, right?

No, I do not. I do not. You don't? We did an event. So for one of our Catalyst Weeks, we actually co-curated it with Burning Man. I've never been, but I learned so much about what they've built and I really respect it. I'm just not there yet to go. Maybe next year.

What is it about it that would make you not there yet? The desert. You know what it is for me? It's the dirt. Yeah. The dust. The dust in my teeth. I don't know if I could take it for a week. Is it a week? However long you want. Yeah, you go as long as you want. You have to just embrace the dirt. Yeah. The dust. The dust in my teeth. I don't know if I could take it for a week.

Is it a week? However long you want. Yeah, you go as long as you want. You have to just embrace the dirt. Spoken by somebody who's never been to Burning Man. Yeah, exactly. Burning Man. It seems like there's this nexus, though, between Catalyst, Summit, and Burning Man.

Like, between those three communities, if you drew a Venn diagram, there'd be a lot of overlap, I think. Yeah. A lot of the people that have participated in our events have been through Summit or through TED or through Burning Man. Because usually the people that are attracted to these progressive, out of the box thinking ways of life are going to go to these similar... Yeah, they're going to gravitate towards something like that. Exactly. Like by a mountain. It actually was interesting because I am...

We offered to host a reunion dinner for the Catalyst Week where the boys and I performed. So I sent out a date in September and I got all these responses. Sorry, we're at Burning Man. Oh, every single one of them, pretty much. I saw that too. So we had to move to October.

That was so, that's so right on. It's like exactly after. You're the only eligible podcast guest in Los Angeles this week. We're going to go six hours. That's perfect. And when you're there, there's no cell service. You're completely analog, right?

Oh yeah, one of my employees actually went, I don't know if Danielle, I don't know if you've met her, but, um, oh yeah, she's been like preparing and like the outfits and this entire week has been like about preparing for Burning Man. So it's like a two week experience cause you're actually looking at all these feathers and tutus and things that you're putting on you. And it's just, it's a lot, it's a lot of preparation. Yeah. No, Robin robin arzon's there travis brewer is there all the these are all yeah and former podcast guests maybe we should explain burning man in more detail for the world at large oh no the people in china don't know about burning

man how many china listeners do we have a lot few actually. Hello. All right. So Amanda, quickly describe Burning Man for the two people that are listening. It's an experience where 60,000 people go into a desert and essentially build a city there. And so there's no money, there's no actual, it's all bartering. And there's support of being able to build different communities. There's different camps. Um, and it just actually turned into a nonprofit called the down called the Burning Man Project. Uh, and we had a few of the founders in Vegas. Um, they've done a few of installations in Vegas as well with some of the artwork. It's all about, again, being able to combine art, urban revitalization, innovation, and kind of humanity into this 60,000 person situation.

That was a really good description. She's amazing. You do this for a living, don't you? I tell things really quickly so people can listen. Does Tony go on a sort of an art acquisition adventure to Burning Man? Tony has been a few times. He's been, I mean, yeah, I mean, he goes and he kind of is really inspired by what they're building and we've done a lot with them

in Vegas, including acquiring some of the art pieces, which was, you know, we have a praying mantis in Vegas that's 40 foot praying mantis and then there's the big rig jig, which is a really famous Burning Man piece that's not there yet. It's like a truck shaped in an S that will be in the middle of a hotel that's being

redone now. So yeah, Tony goes. And I think that was also, this is something that I'm kind of assuming, but was probably an inspiration for him as well to kind of be like, this is possible. Right, right, right. Because it's been going on for like 30 years. A lot of the art though is temporary installations, right? Like they'll destroy it at the end of Burning Man.

Like the whole idea is non-attachment. Yeah, so there's a big, and we actually did something similar in Vegas, which I'll mention in a minute, but it's like burn, kind of like let it go, don't have an attachment to anything. So there's the burning of the man. And then in Vegas, we do something called First Friday, which you know, and it's 20,000 people every month that come from all over the country. And my first time visiting downtown Vegas, they did a Burning Woman for the first time ever in partnership with Burning Man during this first Friday. But there's also a lot of camps that come and bring this beautiful steel work and art cars where they drive in art. And the reason why I know this is because we literally curated a week with Burning Man. So I got to hear from the founders and some of the top artists there,

or I would have no idea what I'm talking about, because I've never been. Well, the praying mantis at the container park in downtown Vegas is insane. Is that steel? It's made out of steel? Yeah. I mean, it's just extraordinary.

It breathes fire. How tall is it, like 60 feet tall? Yeah, I think it's between 40 and 60 feet, and its antennas spit out fire. And then, uh, at sunset every single night, they actually have a drum circle with, um, with kids, like local kids and families that are there. Um, and these people called the Rangers, which are like concierge cops, if you will. Uh, and they just kind of get together and they go on the drums and then, you know, every single time the, the antennas spit fire,

it's a part of the actual beat. It's interesting. It doesn't happen everywhere on a day-to-day basis. Babe, what was that? Do you remember the name of that guy who made that documentary where he went to Burning Man naked with no money? You know who I'm talking about? Yeah, my boyfriend.

We met that guy. Yeah, his film screened at the Malibu. I think we met him at the Malibu Film Festival. I remember we were in Malibu at some screening party, and we talked to him. Yeah, we talked to him. Yeah, I went on to see the movie. But basically, at the very edge of Burning Man,

he takes off all his clothes, and he just walks in naked without any possessions, nothing, and also no plan. He didn't know where he was going to sleep or where he was going to get food. And the whole idea was, you know, I'm just going to immerse myself in this community and trust that I'll be taken care of.

And the camera follows him around. And, you know, of course he ends up, everybody kind of takes care of him and gives him clothes and gives him a place to sleep and water. And then he could barter that for whatever else. And he makes it through the whole week. And at the end, he strips it all off and walks out naked again at the end. Wow. I think that's how it ended. I can't remember.

Well, that's, I actually, you know, I love Detroit and I have said like, you know, Detroit is kind of like Burning Man because everyone's bartering anyway. And no one's, no one's really even, I mean. Burning Man east of permanent installation. Seriously. But that's, but that's the point.'s like burning man should then and i think does inspire people to take on things that they wouldn't but also have this like community element in their own cities whether it's like las vegas or detroit or new orleans i think people that go to burning man are then like okay how can we even apply this to what we're doing in our own communities which is what's so inspiring about it you could easily i can see you definitely you're

probably already doing this but setting up a sort of downtown project in Detroit as like a outpost of what you're doing in Vegas. I've, you know, I've actually, so for Catalyst, Tony could buy the whole city. I've, Tony, Tony's vision is Vegas. And I think for him, he, he wants Vegas to be successful. And he says, if you do it in Vegas, you could do it anywhere. But you have to succeed there. Exactly. But I love Detroit. And so what I did was just for fun, I was like, okay, let's bring 20 people to Detroit and just see like what it would look like to kind of get them out of their comfort zones. And people loved it. And I think it's, again, it's just knowing the local business owners and being able to tell a story that's different than just like, I went to Detroit and stayed at a hotel and left same thing with Vegas being up feeling immersed within that

community and I think that's the new form of tourism it's like the Burning Man tourism like let's go to a community and feel like everyone will give me water and etc and then leave like different but still naked if you will right I remember that was like a year ago when you went there maybe longer where you were at Shinola and you were kind of checking out all the new startups and kind of the creative community that's springing up in the sort of, you know, decimation of the city, like the sort of sprouting, you know, new energy that's coming up there. So there is definitely an analogy to downtown Vegas. Yeah, absolutely. And a lot of people compare and Dan Gilbert's doing work in, in Detroit. And, you know, we've spoken to their team a little bit,

and a lot of them have come through to see what's going on in Vegas. So there's, there's a lot of line. I know that Tony and Dan have been on certain panels together. You know, what we do with Catalyst and Creative Week is like, our whole intention is if you're doing great things in the country, come and see what we're building in Vegas and then take a little bit from that and then bring it back to your own community. And so we've had people from like Pakistan and London and Korea and Milwaukee and New Orleans, people who are doing revitalization in those regions, seeing what's happening in Vegas, including Detroit. doing revitalization in those regions, seeing what's happening in Vegas, including Detroit. So we're talking about Catalyst Creative and we're talking about the Downtown Project and we're talking about Downtown Las Vegas, but we haven't really set a context for that yet, which I can do in the introduction. But let's hit pause and just explain to me, I want to get into your background and your evolution and how you,

you know, hooked up with Tony and all of that, but just let's hear a little bit about what Catalyst Creative is, what Catalyst Week is, what the Downtown Project is and what's happening in downtown Vegas. And, and, and just to clarify, we're not talking about the Las Vegas that everybody knows. We're not talking about the strip. We're talking about a very different section of town. Absolutely. Yeah. And, uh, this is like the question that comes up in every conversation I have. They're like, what? There's so many moving pieces. Like let's just rewind. Right. Um, catalyst derivative. There's so many collisions. My head is exploding. Exactly. So downtown project is a $350 million revitalization project founded by Tony Shea, who's the CEO of Zappos. He moved

Zappos to downtown actually last October. He bought the city hall. And then he decided to create a campus like an NYU where you don't know where it begins and ends. NYU is a college in New York City and the campus is actually in Manhattan. So you see students walking around and you don't know really the barriers between city versus campus. And he wanted to be able to create the same thing in Vegas. So he acquired $200 million worth of land. The $350 million was separated into 200 for land, 50 for education, culture, arts, 50 for tech companies, 50 for small business. And the land is like six square blocks or something like that? I think it's about 15 now. I, 15, wow. I mean, it's scaling. I don't want to be dead set on that number.

And with that, it's really about kind of maintaining a lot of the character of the building. So if you come to see what's happening downtown, you see a lot of the hotels looking the same or a lot of the spaces kind of having that Vegas feel. But then you go in and it's a completely different experience. And so that's Downtown Project. Catalyst creative is a downtown project funded company. We were one of the first investments about two and a half years ago. Um, and we have been a part of the project in the intention of bringing people in a facilitated experience every single month to come see what is actually happening in downtown. Um, and it's a two-way model where we bring people from all

over the country. They fly themselves out, we put them up, because you both have been out there twice. And the part of it that's a little bit different than a typical, okay, come to this city aspect is that everyone gives back. So there's this give back model of giving a talk or a workshop or a mentorship to those who have moved to downtown Vegas, those who are visiting downtown Vegas, and those who have lived in downtown Vegas for however many years. Right. And distinguish downtown Vegas from the Strip and what downtown Vegas was like maybe five years ago versus what's happening there now as a result of the downtown project. Sure. So the Strip is actually not considered in Las Vegas, which I did not know. And I, I recently found out, yeah, it's not considered Las Vegas. It's outside like

the city limit. Yeah. Yeah. So what's interesting about that is there's never really been, um, a downtown in Las Vegas that has been for the people of Las Vegas, not for tourists. So downtown is actually old Vegas. Um, Fremont street is what I'm referring to. And, um, what's, what's really was happening there before downtown project and after is before there were, you know, a lot of small little restaurants here and there, it was fairly dangerous. Um, if you talk to a local cab driver and driver in Vegas about downtown a few years ago, they're like, Oh no, no, no, I did not go down there. There was a lot of crime and drugs. And there was a lot that I'm trying to be as PC as possible, because there was also some really cool entrepreneurs that took a risk and opened shop before Downtown Project

existed. But I wouldn't particularly go there by myself four years ago. Now, if you go there, there's people walking on the street all of the time. There's, you know, 900 jobs have been created over the past two years. There's a container park filled with retail spaces and restaurants that has brought about a million people to that location, including children, over the past four months. There's a speaker series, you know, there's a speaker series place called Inspire. And there's a learning village where there's just free talk. So it's like a place of innovation, education, entrepreneurship, art, culture. It's a very different place than it was a few years ago. Right, right, right.

Yeah, it is quite amazing. And Julie and I went out there. What was it? It was in the wintertime, I think. When were we there? February. I think it was February. And then Julie and the boys recently were out there for another one.

I wasn't invited. You could have come. You were invited. I wasn't invited. Yes, you were. You could have come. You were invited. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You were invited. But it was interesting because we connected. Yeah, we connected.

And you were like, oh, you got to come out and speak. And I was like, cool. And I went in without, I had no expectations. And I was like, Vegas, you know, I don't know, not my favorite place in the world. You know, we went in with open hearts and open open minds but I really didn't know what to expect and I and what I but what I didn't expect was to leave as inspired as I was I mean we went as a part of a group it was an amazing group of people that was a great weekend we had Kevin Pierce and his brother Adam the snowboarder the guy behind the documentary, the crash reel.

He's a super inspiring person that we have to have on the podcast. Yeah, you do. I've been trying to reach out to those guys. Where are you guys? We'll make it happen. And Robin Arzon, who then ended up on the podcast as a result of one of your collisions, as you like to call it. And was Travis that week too?

Travis Brewer? Travis, we met independently. But he was there too, no? We had met him shortly before we went out, but that's where the Summit community, the Summit Series community, which you used to be involved in. I'm still in, yeah.

Oh, you still are, yeah, yeah, yeah. But that was kind of like a full-time gig for you for a while, yeah? No, it was actually, so I had a full-time job and this is like the evolution, which is confusing for everyone, but- Well, you have so many jobs. Yeah.

We're gonna go back and go through the timeline in a minute no one understands i know yeah it's like uh your your your job history looks like julie's to-do list which which i've described on the podcast before looks more like a matisse collage sounds beautiful any kind of yeah anyway sounds amazing uh yeah but we met all these amazing people and we got to tour zappos and we got to tour downtown and hear about what's going on there and as you're you're walking down the streets and you can see oh you see remnants of you know what it was like five years ago where it's still kind of like that like a boarded up old hotel or something like that but then right next to it is a new business cropping up and there's young people riding fixie bikes around and there's a really groovy coffee shop that sells vinyl records. And so you see this blossoming new energy and excitement that really kind of is obviously a

direct result of the downtown project. And you see the potential and you're like, this is exciting. And I remember saying to Julie, if I was like 22 years old and had like an idea for a company or an app or a business, like, is there any other place where you could go and get support? Like you could go to, go to Tony and say, here's this amazing idea. Here's how I'm going to do it. And, and quite conceivably you could be supported in that endeavor and to pursue building that business. And it's like this, you know, there's incubators, there's venture capitalist incubators and technology incubators. But this is like an urban city incubator that spans across every sector of the economy. Not just tech, but like infrastructure and retail and everything.

And it's super cool. I just laughed amazed. Awesome. That's, I mean, it's kind of what you were talking about with the Burning Man piece of like, kind of what you just described, like the clothes and the food and the money and the infrastructure. And I think, I think it's a two-way model though. A lot of people come and they're like, I'm here, like everybody embrace me. And I think it's, it's really putting that energy and love. They call it like the return on the connectedness. So what that means is really being able to go there and offer something to Vegas as well. And I think a lot of other cities, at least like when I was in New York, I felt a lot of like take, take, take. Like take as much as you can from New York and then move to somewhere where you can kind of function and slow down.

In Vegas, what's so interesting about it is because it's still being built, it you can kind of function and slow down. In Vegas, what's so interesting about it is because it's still being built, it's this process of like, you go there and you're really embraced by what's going on, but you're also have to give back because if you don't, the city doesn't continually evolve. And that's the Burning Man piece too, where it's like, you're a part of the process of the growth, but you're then also benefiting from it directly, which is really unique. Right. So I should, I should edit my previous statement about, you know, having an idea. I mean, that idea has to be wed to the better, you know, the betterment of the community at large and giving back and having that kind of save aspect to it that grows

the community, the local community. But it's really, it really can be anything. It's quite open and quite creative. And I mean, did you create your own, did you create this? Were you, were you one of those sticky notes on Tony's wall? I was a Sharpie marker in a notebook. You know, this sort of world of social entrepreneurship is not the first thing that you pursued. I mean, your background is in education, right? Yeah. I have a master's in education. So I went to, I just loved kids.

So I was a camp counselor and was in all different classrooms and then ended up in the top education school in the Northeast. It was the Neag School of Education, like 40 students, really small. And it was a five-year bachelor master's program. my thesis was on using the outdoors as the classroom and the impact on engagement and achievement. Um, because I really believe that education is not about confining children to a seat for seven hours a day and telling them to just raise their hand and talk when they're called on. I think it's about being able to be outside and play and you know, that's what you guys have built as well. So we've talked a lot about that.

Right. So you got your master's in education. Yep. Curriculum and instruction. Right. And then from there, suddenly you're an event planner and you're opening restaurants and bars.

I'm trying to thread the needle here or figure out what the three line is. She's still just taking care of groups of children. Yeah, I know. That's true. Brattier kids, I'm sure. 100%. Well, when I was 20, so I was in-

They need a little outdoor education. You don't even, this is what I, this is every month. Um, when I was 20, I was in the program and I live in New Jersey, but I wanted to make extra money. I'm, I'm an entrepreneur at heart. And so I was going to school. I was camp counselor. I was waitressing, but I also on the weekends would throw these events in New York city. I happened to just kind of fall into this opportunity to like throw events in New York and get paid for them. You're a natural like event planner though, right? Bring people together. Before this was happening when you were a young child, right?

You were naturally organizing your stuffed animals and creating events for them. When I was three, yeah, in a diaper. My mom was confused. Yeah, so that's what it was for me. I didn't know that was a profession event planning. I actually had no idea because I was studying education, but I started doing it and I had a knack for it. So my dad would drive me to the train station and then pick me up at night and I would go back to his mom's house. And so through that process, as I was going through the education of getting my master's, I was also throwing events in New York city in December on the weekends, anytime that I

could go home. And so I built a, you know, about six, seven restaurants that I was working for on the side as I was getting my master's. How does that work though? I mean, what are you doing? You're, you're going out and trying to hustle people to show up to these places. Yeah. Well, so promoters to me are like, I hate that word and it terrifies me, but you know, and a promoter is a lot of the times, like a person currently that brings a certain type of individual to a club and gets paid for it. My role was a little bit different for me. It was just kind of bringing my friends. So I have a lot of different groups of friends. I moved three times. I had a bunch of different

jobs and internships. So I just brought 40, 50 people to a club every single weekend. They didn't have to wait online. They didn't have to pay cover. And I got paid a certain amount every single, every single weekend. And then that turned into, I got some great advice when I was 21, Facebook was just kind of, you know, picking up. And my friend said, go and look at people's birthdays and then reach out to them to see if they want that want to plan. Now everyone does this. No one did that. So I started doing it and I was just started throwing my friend's birthday parties on every single weekend. There was always someone's party and that kind of built this database of people that would always come to me for parties. Um, and so by the time I graduated in 2009 during a recession, it was like, okay, I was kind of frustrated by this education system.

I was like, this just isn't working. I thought I wanted to have a, you know, some type of impact in a larger way, maybe not event planning, but I wanted to travel and get out there. Um, and then through a series of internships, entertainment tonight and event planning company, I ended up working for this restaurant group. Right, right, right. So what, what was working for, yeah, I know. Yeah. I'm trying to get, I'm getting there. I got a grip on it. Like, wait a minute. You're just like, I was at Entertainment Tonight and then I was like, wait, hold on a second.

You work for Entertainment Tonight? I'm like 90. People are like, how old are you? I'm like, I've had 25 lives. I wanted to be an Entertainment Tonight host. I wanted to have a voice. I thought I would be like a fun host. So while I was in college throwing the events on the side, I started interning for entertainment tonight for out here in Los Angeles, in New York, New York. Yeah. I

actually only did it for three weeks because I had to be a camp counselor that summer. And on the, on the, it was the seventh day, which was my last day. Cause it was three weeks, like two days a week. Um, a field producer was late and she ended up coming to the shoot and I literally was doing the entire room. I was like, florist over here, event planner over here. Like, and she was like, what are you doing? And I'm like, I don't know. And she's like, you need to be an event planner. And that's when I started to kind of look more deeply into it, which got me another internship, which got me then kind of more in the, uh, professional line of event planning as opposed to just promoting. And then through my relationships, ended up meeting this restaurant group.

Right. And so, yeah, these were prominent big restaurants. These aren't like your corner bar. No. Well, when I first got hired, they had a nightclub in the Hamptons that was fairly popular called Dune and a smaller bar called The Hill. And I was hired in 2009. It was the deep, deep recession. And they kind of let go of three people and hired me to replace all of them. And I was just like, I don't know what I'm really doing.

I'll figure it out. And that year, that fall, we ended up opening a place called The Ainsworth, which became the number one sports bar by Zagat for three years in a row and kind of blew up. And then from there, it was just restaurant after restaurant in New York City and the Hamptons and all that good stuff. Right. But at some point you do this pivot and you realize I have this innate skill aptitude for getting large groups of people to show up where I don't show up. How can I channel this for

something a little bit more, you know, beneficial to everybody around us. And, and you came up with this idea for this concert in central park, right? What was it called? It was called the global, global festival. Yeah. So with that, when I was, I went to summit series. So summit, actually, this is all going to make sense to you guys. I promise. So summit, which is, you know, I know you've talked about on your show before, but it's an amazing, it's like a, they call it, we should probably explain what that is. because we talk about it all the time, but I don't know that we've ever really described it. They've described it when it was,

it was at the time just a conference. Like it was an amazing conference. They call it like Ted and Burning Man combined. And so like for a younger generation. So they took over a ship. It was at Summit at Sea and it was a thousand people. Yeah. And it was amazing speakers and performances.

And they actually hired me to work for the week. So I was a contractor while I was at my full-time job at the restaurant group. I worked there and I met these remarkable people and I was like, what, who are you? Like you're helping a village in Cambodia or you're working with this amazing monk. And like, it had just been totally transformative for me because I was in the same circles of like people that like to go out and drink and people that were working really hard. And it was just a different mindset. And so after that, I came back home and I was like, I have to do something with my understanding of events and then with making an impact. And so I came up with this concept. It was a nonprofit music festival. I built a deck.

I called central park the next day. I found all these numbers. I was like, it was a higher force. Like it was three in the morning when I came up with this. I still don't understand. I'd never been to a music festival. So bizarre. So I ended up talking to a friend of mine, Bobby Bailey. And he was like, you have to talk to these guys. Right. Bobby Bailey's a mutual friend of ours. Bobby Bailey just came to, uh, to see, uh, Swami Vidya Deshananda. No, I mean, he's like one of my closest friends. He was so funny. He was touching, I had to have him tie his hands behind his back

because he kept picking everything up on the desk. Oh, I can't believe you had him sit still for like a short period of time. He loved it. It was great. He's an errand too. The two of them. They're the best.

Have you met Aaron? Yeah, I love him. I'm so, that's insane. We just went surfing with him two days ago. We kind of have a couple crush on him. Oh, we should do a triple date. That would be the best. Let's do it.

Yeah. I mean, they're coming over for a 3D movie tomorrow if you guys want to come. And Bobby is one of the founders of Invisible Children. Yes. And at the time he was working with Global Poverty Project. So he said to me, I was like, hey, you know, what do you think of this idea? And I had been helping GPP on the side a little bit for some events. I just, I like to keep busy. I work hard. And so he said, go talk to those guys about your idea. And so I sat down with them and I said, here's my idea. And then they showed me their deck and I was like, this is so weird. And it was almost the exact same thing. And they were like, okay, so you're not really going to do this alone. Like you have a full-time job. What are you talking about? Just help us. And so I was like the fifth person on that team to help build their vision,

um, the global festival. And that happened, right? There was like 60,000 people at this concert. Yeah, it was 60,000 people. I'm still, so my two close friends, Babs, our name is Babs Birchfield and Ryan Gall, um, as well as Hugh Evans are really like the core group of people that have built this festival. Um, it's been 60,000 people, um, every single year in central park, they've raised a couple. It's been going on. Oh yeah. This year it's Jay-Z, um, as well as, um, fun and no doubt. And it's really amazing because I just went to an event and I saw Ryan, um, you know, from the global festival talk on stage with Ray Han from life is beautiful, which we're super involved in in Vegas. And it was like all of my worlds colliding of like,

oh my God, all these amazing people who are doing these great things are now in my world or in my ethos. And I think that was really why I wanted to do something bigger because I just, I felt like I was like outgrowing myself. And these are the types of people I want to be around. It's an amazing thing when you look backwards and all those pieces just line up perfectly and you have that clarity. I just wrote about this on my blog for the podcast that went up today. You know, we don't have that ability to see things proactively going forward, you know. And I'm sure when you are sort of having these crazy ideas for this concert, you're thinking, what am I doing? You have no idea where this is leading. You can't understand why you're so compelled to do this. And yet you are. And then fast forward and you

see those people on that stage and you're like, oh, the math is perfect. It adds up completely. Of course, this is what I was supposed to do. And of course it all makes sense. Yeah. You don't get that when you're, And no one else, I think that's the biggest thing is no one else understands it as you're going through it. Like I was trying to pitch that festival to so many people that were like, okay, Amanda, like you have four months, it's gonna be in Central Park.

And I think it was just that believing, like I believed so fervently. Was it really only four months from when you had that idea that it happened? No, it was a year, exactly. But what was interesting was the venue changed a few times. It started as a smaller stadium and they weren't thinking Central Park.

I knew. For me, it was never a question because I'm like, I had this vision. It's going to be at Central Park. I have the numbers right here. And that was something that I was not used to because I was throwing so much on my plate, I wasn't listening.

In New York, I was like meeting, meeting, meeting. And when I slowed down just enough, which was the summit, like really being like, wow, look at what these people are doing, it gave me this whole new way of thinking where I could finally hear something coming in and being like, oh, okay, I can believe in this. I don't have to question it. I don't have to ask.

I'm just going to believe in this so fervently and go for it. And that led me to a bunch of other things. It's interesting that when you went to summit and you immersed yourself with all of these incredible people, just how potent that can be and the effect that it had on you by really just raising your vibration, like being around high vibrating people, then suddenly you become more high vibrating. And the thoughts that you begin to entertain are grander and more positive. And then, you know, to use your word, it's a catalyst, right? It's a catalyst to propel you forward in a better and a new direction.

Right. I mean, that's the beauty of community. And I think that as a whole, we've been thinking about it in the wrong way or sort of like an untrue way. Because we look at, oh, community, what a hassle. I have to sort of allow somebody else's opinion or entertain somebody else's conversation or, you know, actually stop and listen to somebody else. And when you really find a way to connect with like- individuals, what it is, is it is that catalyst, it is a collision. And suddenly, it's like, this other energy comes from outside and binds to the group mind, and then it starts feeding even more information. So really, our kind of archaic idea about community as well, I'm an

independent person, and I'm here for myself and I'm living my life for myself and I'm self, you know, I'm just going to worry about my own. I'm going to take care of my own. And you have that idea that that's what's going to fortify you the most. But the exact opposite happens when you actually have the courage to open up and to say, okay, I'm going to serve and I'm going to step into this group and be vulnerable and share, you know, share my heart and risk, you know, being misunderstood or risk just being vulnerable. It's amazing what, what comes of that. And that's what I'm trying to express with my Jai Seen Homeschool Revolution. I just launched it two days ago, and it was totally that.

I mean, I was extremely vulnerable and raw, and it reminded me of the reciprocity circle because we all sort of did an experiment, and everybody stood up and offered what they had to share. And it's incredible. It's an incredible power, and we need each other. We need these relationships. And I think that's what, when I watched your sons and nephew incredible. It's an incredible power and we need each other. We need these, these relationships.

And I think that's what, when I, you know, I watched your son and nephew through this reciprocity circle during catalyst week. And it was like, you know, it was actually brought to us by another, um, attendees, Adam Newhouse, who co-curate a week. That's why we have these co-curators. Let's spread the community. Let's have other people bring their people in and ideas. Um, and it's really about someone in the circle kind of saying, this is what I need. And others in the circle being like, let's help. And it was like, that to me was like,

what education and community and events can do. It's like, your kids were just like, this to me, this whole experience changed my life. And I was like, if you could bring more 17, 18, 10 year olds, 19 year olds, whatever it is, like through these experiences with these adults that are making a difference that are living their truth. Like if I saw that when I was 10, I'd know what was possible, but you know, it's such a strict formula of like, okay, you'll grow up. You know, it was when I was growing up, you'll be a teacher,

you'll be a lawyer, you'll be a doctor, you'll be something that will make you have enough money to survive as opposed to like use your brain, create something that's never been done before. And that's the problem with the education system is they're not teaching that. And that was to me what summit kind of introduced to me. Right. And let's, let's, let's explore this reciprocity circle thing. Cause I think it's a pretty cool idea and we didn't really describe what it, what it is. And I would, cause I know, but I wasn't there when you guys did it. So break that down. Yeah. So, um, this was actually during creative week and creative week and catalyst week are, as I said before, 30 people each, um,

all from all over the country. We put them up for free and they'd become immersed within downtown creative week is a little bit more around artists, musicians, creatives. Um, and this reciprocity circle was this whole intention. And actually, I would like to tell a story about what happened after it that you don't even know, which is really interesting, but about asking for help. So I think what happens in these, you know, communities, I'm using quotes, air quotes, is because the word community is actually very often used now. And it's like in a lot of these communities, you have people that aren't vulnerable. So it's kind of like me, me, me, like listen to me and what I've done

and what I've created. And here's my LinkedIn profile and here's my business card and here's my headshot. Like it feels like that. I'm a bright shining star. Everyone is. And it's blinding.

And I think with that, it's like when does that kind of get pushed aside and you could just all be humans and be like, actually, like, I don't have it all together. Like I need help with blank or I'm feeling really, you know, in pain about why. Um, and so this circle kind of creates the space where every single person gets an opportunity to share what they need help with. And it could be something like, I'm looking for marketing support or, you, you know, I don't really know what my next job is going to be, or, you know, and different, different asks, you know, really offer different, you know, responses. And through the circle,

it was this really beautiful opportunity to see people differently. And I saw, you know, Ethan, who was the co-curator through your response to him. And that's the article I wrote about Julian and Ethan was was I just saw him differently because he finally was able to just like unleash what was on his shoulders for so long that he was holding onto. And he was just like, I need help with exposure and I need help with press. And Julie said- Right, he has a garment line, right? And Julie had been watching him sort of throughout the weekend. Yeah, I mean, well, he actually co-created the week. And then he performed the same night that we performed.

And it was in this incredible studio, you know, that Tony's created. And it has like, you know, 18 cameras and, you know, a set. It was just quite extraordinary. And so, you know, I opened. And so it was sort of my first time really public speaking, you know, and also singing. And I was singing these very raw, vulnerable songs that are like, you know, taking my clothes off. And he went kind of after me and was just like, had it all together. I mean, he was very engaging with the crowd and did like a sing along and he's a, he has a garment company and he's, he's just a

natural, um, connector and, and very, very personal, personable, extremely personable. So in the reciprocity circle, I'm sitting across the room from him. I don't know these people that well. We just had our few dinners together. We had talked and we enjoyed each other and loved each other's sets and all that. But he says something like, I need help with exposure. And it was that kind of thing. For his, not for his music, for his clothing company. He's not, yeah, he's not even, he wasn't even really acknowledging that he can play and sing and connect with people in the way that he can. So he was, he had separated himself out into different compartments and he was not integrated. And so me not knowing him, I just saw him across the room. And when he asked that question, I basically just, I distilled it down into one of those, you know, wisdom, you know, transmissions and like a

sentence. And I think it just did something. It hit him. Well, what did you say to him? What did I say? It was, it was like, have you ever thought that you like as an individual, like, are you the one that's actually asking for exposure? Like, are you up there playing your instrument or are you tweeting? Are you sharing? Like, am I following you about your message? And he was like, I never thought I said, I said, all I can tell you is that I saw you perform two days ago. And all I want to know is who are you, what you ate for breakfast, what you think before you're going to design something. I want to know everything about you. So where is your blog and where are you writing about this and where are your songs? And then I said to him, I go, he was like, thank you. Thank you. And I said, I said, and

don't really don't waste much time because you're already there. So get on it right away, like today. But the thing, the point is that he, it never occurred to him to place himself as a personality in, you know, front and center of his own. Well Well, I think actually it's a fear of being vulnerable, and I think he shared with me something to the effect, and hopefully I got this right, that he had received business advice from someone in business to keep it separate. And I think what's happening now on our planet

and in our communities is we're just tired of being sold stuff. Yeah, that's the old model the new model is transparency exactly and vulnerability you want to know how everything is made you want to see these people you want to know the people that are making whatever it is you're buying and you want to know where the money's going and like all that kind of stuff is what today's you know new business is all about. Exactly. And that was very refreshing for him, I think. But what was the biggest thing was that he just had a space to talk about it because I think it was almost so, and this is, I think, more male-focused,

but where can men be vulnerable? Where can men share their fears and their insecurities? And there was a whole Inc. article about the new leader and kind of embracing the feminine and embracing. And that's to to be in a community like a community where you can give to each other and support each other and you could walk in naked feeling comfortable is like you have to be an open enough to let it in and then to receive and i think that's the hardest thing about a lot of these communities and conferences and experiences is that you go and you're so insecure so many people are so insecure. So many people

are so insecure that all they do is push, push, push, push whatever they're pushing on you. Like I'm this and overcompensating. And I think like the best thing that what I've seen, what we can do with Catalyst is just being like, it's okay. Like we're all just humans. It's like, it's like first graders. And that's why the education piece comes in because everyone is just a little first grader terrified of what people are going to think of them and that they're going to be accepted. It's just now we're in adult forms and have so many more reasons to not express ourselves. It's terrifying. And the best part about this reciprocity circle is that when everybody went around and kind of was open about what they needed, they were given a solution almost unilaterally.

Like somebody else in the circle would say, oh, I've got the guy. Here, you should talk to me and I'll give you the whatever, right? Exactly. And so it's this ask and you shall receive. That was the article. But I think it also allows for people to feel like when they do give themselves, it's worth it. It's not something that's in vain, which I think is sometimes also hard

because a lot of the times people don't listen. So this space allows for people to be like, when you do share, you will be heard. Right, and Julie cribbed from this experiment and utilized it this past weekend. As she mentioned, we had a group of people at our house on Saturday where Julie presented her homeschool concept. And we had like 30 people here of interested parents who are, you know, there's a spectrum from people that are super into it and some people that are skeptical but interested enough to show up. And it was an amazing experience. And Julie laid it all out.

And she was very vulnerable vulnerable but she was also very strong and stating her case and her passion for what she wants to do and and how to leverage this property and the resources that we have for the kids and at the end of at the end of everything you know this went on for like an hour uh she told all of the parents that she wanted them to get up individually stand up and just assume that they were going to do it, like that we were going to do this together. And if we do, what were they going to bring to the table? Like what are their specific talents or what do they think that they could contribute? And so each person did it.

You'd think there would be one person who would just say, you know, I'm not going to do that. I'm bowing out or whatever. Every single parent did it. I'm not going to do that. I'm bowing out or whatever. Every single parent did it. And then you realize at the end of that, you're like, how much incredible, you know, the amount of experience and resources and expertise across all sorts of crazy categories was just in this one room. And I think that's going on around us all the time, but it goes back to community,

like taking that pause to actually connect with someone so that you actually know who they are and what they're all about. Exactly. And I mean, the other thing that I think is so beautiful about this is that I'm using the excuse of our children to make a plea to create community. And I'm doing it that way because I can't get, if I try to get it the other way, no one's coming.

You know, like we'll do it for our kids. And actually a lot of the children are like, they're not having it. They're not fitting into the system. Exactly. So at least one, one child in the family. So a lot of parents are getting their bells rung and they're trying to figure it out

and they're a little unstable. So in that context, it gives me a better entry point. But the real key and the big secret of this whole model that I'm presenting as Jai Seed Homeschool Revolution, it's a mystic mother's cry to create community around conscious education. I'm using that word, but really what it's going to be is it's going to be the biggest transformation in all of the parents. And what I saw in that room was I saw my friends stand up and share from their hearts,

and they were childlike. They became like children. That's exactly. And suddenly you could see their vulnerability and how much they wanted to share. And you could see the light in their eyes and the spark in their heart. And it was like, we were, it was just so beautiful. And, and it was really, it also, I was vulnerable.

I couldn't help it. Like I didn't plan it, but I've been waiting my whole life for this moment. And Rich gave me this beautiful introduction and he has this ability to just slay me. So he introduced me and I, I, I couldn't, I just broke down. Like I, I opened my talk breaking down. And this is another thing that Rich and I kind of go around between the two of us because, you know, we're attempting to share, you know, this information that we've accessed in a, in a responsible way, in a professional way, in a, in a, in a good format. So people can understand you, you know, and yet I'm not a salesperson, you know, I don't have a

canned, I can't, I can't deliver these, um, you know, these programs or something. I have to be speaking spontaneously from my heart. You're not a quipper. You don't quip. I don't quip. And it's, it's just, it's, it's hard, you know, so at least, I mean, I broke down and then, you know, I, you know, and the other thing is when I cry, like I'm not one of these graceful people that cry with like one tear rolling down their cheek. Like I'm like, you know, sobbing and choking and my voice gets higher and my face wrinkles up into a million contortions. Like I'm re it's really not good. Like it's not, it's not graceful, but at the

same time it's so real. And I looked out and everybody was crying with me, you know, and they, they knew. And then I, and then I could speak and I could share and they knew that I was real, that how much, how much I believed in this and how much I will fight for it and commit to it and already have. Yeah, it invites them in. It invites them in. Yeah, so it was amazing.

But fundamentally, the whole kind of theme of this is that when you're creating community, you approach it from a place of giving and service as opposed to what can I get from it. And when you do that, two plus two no longer equals four. Two plus two equals infinity. It doesn't equal five or six or seven. And that's been your experience.

I mean, really, because of all these amazing, it's such a cool thing that your job is really to connect with incredible people. I mean, fundamentally, that's what you do. Yeah. You have a life-changing weekend. You change people's lives. Yeah, like every week you get to go hang out with another set of extraordinarily inspiring people. So I can't imagine what your Rolodex looks like.

But, you know, what does it feel like when you have to go suddenly be around people that are like a downer? Like that must be a bizarre experience for you, which is different from most people who are kind of around people most of the time that are just sort of going, you know, struggling to get through the day. Totally. And having a harder time of it. Yeah. I mean, it's like you're touching upon so many. I wrote for Huffington Post every single week for a year through my transition of like going from MS to this. Yeah, we forgot about that job. And you write for Forbes now? Well, yeah, just like,

no, I was like in one time. But with Huffington Post, I talked about with sales with a soul and like having this intention behind your sales. And what you're talking about is I had this really big realization, like you are the five people you hang out with. And that's a lot of people have said that. But there was an interesting article recently and it was like, you actually are those five people plus their five people plus their five people. Um, and what we call that with catalyst is like the ripple of impact. So like the people that were then dealing with every single event that we do are then bringing what you've learned to your people and then they'll bring it to someone else. And that's the ROI, the ripple of impact. else. And that's the ROI, the ripple of impact. And I think what I've had to kind of learn is to not be judgmental of those who have not had those experiences because that's who I was pre-summit. And so that was actually why I wanted to start Catalyst Week and Creative Week was to provide access and opportunities of inspiration to people that don't necessarily get invited to these, to these rooms and to these parties and to these experiences and to these educational events. Um, because I was lucky enough to get hired, but I wasn't a paid

customer of summit. I was actually a hiree and for cattle speaking creatively, that's the whole point is that anyone can come to those talks. They're completely free, completely accessible. Anyone can come to those workshops. You can meet any of you in a coffee shop and and we hope with that you kind of are spreading that inspiration um but it's it's sometimes hard i mean it's hard to i kind of have to like take a step back and remind myself not to be judgmental of the negativity or the frustration and just realize they're on a different part of their journey um and and also just be there to give them that space to be like, it doesn't have to be like that. Um, and I do share that, like, you know, I wasn't given anything. Like I just worked

so hard to be where I, where I am through just building relationships and working like five different jobs. Um, and people can work their way out of, out of that negativity and frustration. Yeah. I mean, your hustle is full on. My hustle is full on. You're full-court press with the hustle. Tony once said, I'm ABC, always be curating, which I thought was really funny. You're curating your life. Curating my life, exactly.

What are you curating right in this moment? I'm curating, I think with the two of you, we're curating something together because with this, we're curating conversation, we're curating something together because with this, like we're curating conversation, we're curating knowledge. Um, and I think with what you guys are building from an educational perspective, when you said like, you know, you're using the children to build the community, I almost feel, and this is the education part of me of like everything we're building and putting into the world is for our children and the next generation. And so like the conversations,

like this is now in the world and we'll be online and we'll be there forever. And so like the conversations like this is now in the world and we'll be online and we'll be there forever. And so the more we can put out of like positive, beautiful conversations, as opposed to, I mean, if you read the news recently, it's just, it's just terrifying. That's what we're curating. We're curating the world through context conversation and people. Right. So you're hyper, you know, you're very hyper, you have a lot of energy. But in a very zen way. No, no, no. You're hyper in a zen way.

I got a point that I'm going to make though. Go ahead. Right? Like it would be very easy for you to go down the sort of device rabbit hole and just be constantly on the iPhone and whatever, tweeting and distracted and not present in the moment. And I know that you had a burnout moment, right? Which became kind of a pivotal launch pad for even getting you into the situation that you're in right now. Yeah. I was that. I mean, I like would not

put my phones down. So in New York I would sleep with my phone next to my ear. Like I would have, I have two phones still, but they're no longer, they're no longer even on the table. I would have them like on the dinner table with me. Um, and I think again, it was the, it was summit a little bit, but I think it was just pushing myself so fully into something that wasn't 100% me. Um, and I think it was kind of the world crashing down on me and being like, what are you doing? What's going on? Um, and I ended up going to India for 10 days. This was, uh, almost two years ago. Did you go alone or? I went with one friend who is a remarkable woman and we kind of became these like soul sisters and helped each other through this transitioning process with relationships and work. Did you go because

you knew that you needed a break or at the time, was it just a vacation? Like, how aware were you? Yeah. Uh, I was pretty aware. I started to, so I was in New York. I was trying the juice cleanses. I was trying, like, I was just trying something like a little bit of yoga. Nothing would stick because I would do it as a reactionary as opposed to like creating a system for myself. That's like internal. It was like very out, out, outward. Um, and I decided to go to breakfast with entrepreneurs every morning to see what they were doing. Like people that I really respected and India came up six times in conversation. So by the sixth time, this woman invited me out and I was like, I'm just going to go. And at the time I was like, I'm going to leave my job and go to India and

for like a month. And I'm like, I have to pay rent. Like I can't just go to India. So I waited a month. Um, and I said to my boss, I'm going for 10 days. I'm not bringing my phones. I never turned my phone off in my whole entire life ever in five, like five and a half years of work. Never, not one time. And I was like, no phones for 10 days. Um, this was your eat, pray, love moment. It was. And I met a cab driver and I think you guys know this story now with the tuck tuck. Yeah. I met a cab driver who, um, on the 10th day I was riding back by myself with him. And I said, you know, can you teach me a little bit about yoga? I've been getting into it the past 10 days. And he pulled over the side of the road, sat Indian style. I was like, let me show you how to breathe. And then started judging me. And he was like, you know, I told you

this too. He was like, Oh, do you, you know, like, look at you. Like you're all like, like your face is all like big and like swollen and you're look so old. And he's like, you eat meat. Right. And I'm like, yeah, I eat chicken. He's like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. And I'm like, okay. And he's like, you drink a lot. I'm like, yeah, I drink a lot. Cause it was in New York. And he's like, no, no, no, no, no, no. And I'm like, and he's like, and you know, exercise. I'm like, okay. And he's like, you drink a lot. I'm like, yeah, I drink a lot. Cause it was in New York. And he's like, no, no, no, no, no, no. And I'm like, and he's like, and you know, exercise. I'm like, no, he's like, go back to home to America. He's like, no eating meat, no drinking alcohol

and do yoga every day for six months. He's like, cause look at your body. It's tuck, tuck. And mine is tight. And I looked at him and I'm like, tuck, tuck. And I'm like, are you calling me fat? He's like, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, fat. And I'm like, oh my God.

And so he made me write it down in Sharpie marker on my notebook. And I did it. And for six months in New York, staying in the hospitality industry. And through those six months, it was this massive, because when you have to go to yoga every morning in New York city, and you're still in the restaurant industry and you're not drinking and you're not eating any meat and you're going out to dinner, cause really another kitchen, it's a very different experience and it opened me up to what I wasn't realizing which was that I wasn't happy uh-huh and I love that it came from the cab driver I went I went out of a movie it's always it's you know it's like out of uh you know karate kid so you went so you went back yeah I went back after six months and brought two of my friends yeah so you went and found the cab driver yeah and he

brought us all over India he He was like our tour guide. He did yoga. What did he call you then? Perfect. I asked him. Yeah, he named all of us. He named me Lakshmi. He named my friend Vishnu because he said he was big and fat and white like the moon. He's like, he's literally a comic book character, this guy.

But he did change my life. Right. So, so other than the cab driver, what happened in India that was so transformative? I mean, besides the fact that you left your phone behind, which I'm sure was profound for you, especially, you know, was there other things that happened there that kind of created this foundation for the, I don't know if it was an epiphany, but at least a level of awareness that you had when you returned? I think it was a little bit of an epiphany because for 10 days, it was just like, we just meditated. We read.

Were you in like an ashram? No, we were just in like, it was in Kerala. We were in the cab. Yeah, we were just in the cab. No. It would have been so predictable if the tuk-tuk guy was like some guru and some ashram. But the fact that it was a cab driver just makes it awesome. Exactly.

I mean, yeah. Anyone can be. But he's not the guy that you're bowing down in front of every day. No. You know what I mean? And doing the meditation in front of. No. Can come through many forms.

Exactly. And I think with that, it was like for 10 days, we did our own meditations. We listened to meditative podcasts. We read a lot of like books and we were kind of like, again, we were studying for our souls. And what we did was we both kind of had this realization that we were going to leave our jobs and started creating this in this notebook. And so in the notebook, I was like, I want to create a summer camp for adults. I had met Tony, you know, a few months prior, but it hadn't stuck yet. I was like, I met him at base camp, which was summit the year after at sea. It was a one year post. Um, and you know, I went to Vegas, visited what was going on.

It was two and a half years ago. So it was like, again, when it was a little bit still dangerous, um, but it hadn't really stuck. I was still in New York doing my thing. And in India, things just kept coming up of like, you're not 100% where you're supposed to be and you're going to miss an opportunity that's coming to you. And so I literally would just like in notebooks, I just wrote so much and so much came up for me of like,

I've been ignoring all these voices inside me of like, you're not 100% happy. You wanna be healthier. You don't wanna drink so much and go out to all these parties all the time. And that's, that's not you. Um, and that's what my biggest thing was when I was in India, I realized I love nature. I love to exercise. I love to be healthy. I love to be like sober where I can know what's going on. And I thought I hated all those things. I was like, I'm a city girl. I hate going outside. I hate, I hate working out. And I'm like, I just forgot.

I forgot that that's who I was inside me, but I had covered myself with all this garbage that I just didn't realize. And so at some point you have this drive to go reconnect with Tony that comes out of where? Um, it was, I think it was, I came back and I was like, realistically, what are my options? Like if I wanted to leave and create something that had impact. And I was like, I came back and I was like, realistically, what are my options? Like if I wanted to leave and create something that had impact. And I was like, I looked at the people in my life and the opportunities that had come my way. Cause there was always opportunities like Amanda do this, Amanda create this. But until someone says like, okay, I'm going to put my money where my mouth is, like I'm going to invest in you. Um, I really had to kind of look and be like, okay, there's these

great opportunities, but what's the most realistic and what is, what is drawing me to that opportunity? Um, and, and it was Tony. So I texted him and I was just said, okay, Tony, like, what would this look like? You know, a few months prior he had me in Vegas and we chatted and he was like, what do you want to build? And I had told him like, I want to, you left out the fun part of the story though. About when he invited me. Well, because you met him at summit and you were with a group of people and you guys had a conversation and he kind of was telling everyone about the downtown project. And then he invited everybody

to come out and visit him. And you had a, you know, a hankering that you were going to take him up on that. And you flew across the country without telling him that you were going to visit him and kind of stalked him, right? Like, or you just went and found him or how did this work? He invited a bunch of us and then he put me in touch with like the appropriate person that was going to be putting me up, you know, for housing. So it was, it was not, it was like kind of pushed aside of like, okay, this person's coming. So by the time I got there, you know, I was getting out of the car and he was standing on the street and he just didn't remember me at all. And he like loves the story. He makes me tell

it to people all the time because he looked at me and he's very introverted. Like, who are you? And why are you here? And I was like, oh, I don't know why I'm here. Like, I don't, you tell me that I could come. I was terrified. She'd invite me. Don't we have a meeting? Exactly. So mind you, he literally had no recollection. Um, and I go into a car to go to Zappos and I told you guys this story, but in the car, and I was super into Ted at this time, I was like education events. I could talk to all these different people about different topics. I'm in the car going to Zappos. There's a guy driving and another person in the front seat. And you know, I'm talking to him and he's like, I believe in less stuff, more happiness.

And I tell him you have to watch this Ted talk all about that. And he turned to me and said, that's me. And so I told this guy to watch his own TED Talk. And that was awful. And then Tony. You're so intimately familiar with his TED Talk that you didn't know that he was the guy. He's like, I don't have a, I didn't have a beard. So, I mean, that was fine. And then Tony invites me to text me.

I still don't know how he got my number. And was like, come to this bar. And it was DCR. It was like little cocktail room. Um, and I sit there and we're in a circle and it's me and my friend, the guy told to watch his own Ted talk, Tony and this other guy. And I'm like talking, you know, Tony's like, so who are you? Like, what are you, you know, what's going on? I don't remember inviting here. Just tell me about yourself. So I start talking like I want to create hospitality for happiness. I want to do things with intention. I want to build events for a positive impact. And I don't want these $10,000 clients to be the only ones feeling accommodated and so on and so on. And the guy next to me said, I know a little something about that. And I'm like, what's your name? And it was Chip Conley,

who's a thought leader in the space I was talking about. So now I'm like surrounded. I'm like, who are these people? Why is everyone in downtown Vegas? What's going on? And then we sat down the next day. Tony's like, let's have lunch. And we sat for two hours and just talked about this idea I had, which was to create opportunities for inspiration for the public in a larger way. What I love about that, aside from all the amazing universal synchronicities that occur, that all revolve around this idea of community that we were talking about earlier is, is, is the fact that when he said, you know, what do you want, or what do you want to do? You didn't say, I want a job doing this. Like you came up with, you had an idea for what you wanted your life to be about and how you could contribute as opposed

to, I want to be an executive vice president at, you know, or, or, or trying to sort of petition him for a job at Zappos or something like that. It was a, it was more, it's almost, it was a, it was a theory or it was just a more of a feeling of what you wanted to express than, than a vocation really. That's so true. And that's probably, I think, I didn't know a friend of mine told me a few like months before when they were thinking of downtown project, Tony said, I want to create a place where, you know, the only thing you need to get into the club is to be a good person. And the guy was like, that's never going to work. He's like, but what if we created a place next to that and a place next to that, an entire city of places that were like that, where all you needed to get

in was a good person, be a good person. And that's kind of what I talked about with this hospitality piece of like, why shouldn't everyone get access to feeling good and to being a part of these rooms and not feel communities about being, you know, inclusive. And I felt like I was a part of all these exclusive communities. And I was like, this isn't fair. And so I think it spoke to him because you're right. Most people would be like, I want this type of job, but I just, I don't, I guess I don't think like that. Right, right. And so how did it unravel from there? Unravel is a negative connotation. How did it blossom from there? what does this look like? And, um, I spoke to Mimi who's been his right hand for years and kind of was, was like supported me in blossoming this opportunity of like, you can come up with a company. It doesn't have to just be an idea. Um, and that was really weird for me because I was

like, Oh, like I'm going to have my own company. Okay. Um, and with that I was like, okay, well, the offering for Vegas can be these educational, inspirational events. I'm like, we could just bring a bunch of people out. Um, and it's kind of created by Tony and I, and then it was literally like two and a half months of, I had never written a business plan. So, and I didn't go to business school. So I would literally just write out what I wanted on a notebook, like with Sharpie marker and circles of like, okay, this is what I want. I would give it to him. He would look at me like, okay. And then like, I would be like, nevermind, nevermind. I have a completely different idea. Like this is actually what I want with like a different Sharpie marker

notebook. And he's like, let's just start here. So we started in November, 2012, brought 40 people for Catalyst Week. And now it's been two years, a thousand plus people. And we also have clients all over the country. Yeah. Amazing. The first thing that happens when you arrive for Catalyst Week is you get together with the other people who've been invited out in Tony's apartment. And I refuse to believe that he actually lived there. I couldn't believe that the guy actually lived in this apartment. He was opening it up. He wasn't there when we were there.

It's actually, to be fair, what is it, like three or four apartments that knock the walls out and combine them? But it's in this building called the Ogden in downtown Las Vegas. And it's kind of like a fraternity house meets a community gathering spot. Like he literally opens the door to his home to all kinds of people. And guests are staying there. And you never know who's going to come out of what door at any given moment. And he may be there and he may not. And there's plans for future development on the wall. I checked his desk out to see what he was reading.

Yeah. I was looking at his desk. Okay. What's he got there? What's he reading? But that speaks volumes. That speaks volumes because this is a guy who's CEO of a massive corporation. He could live wherever he wants to live. And it would be very easy for him to ensconce himself behind a couple of gates in a very exclusive community in Las Vegas and have homes all over the world that he's traveling to all the time and not even be in downtown Vegas at all. And instead, he chooses to immerse himself in the community, to live across the street from the company that he's CEO of in an apartment building that seems to be like a train station. You know what I mean? Yeah, I mean, that's something that I think is very characteristic to him.

I've never heard anything like that. Nobody else is doing anything like that. You know, it's just, nobody else is doing anything like that. No, no. And, uh, when the boys and I, uh, after the reciprocity circle, we were walking to the early dinner at the, at the container park and we're, we're completely high and the boys are just, their minds are blown and they've never felt this level of connection from a group before. And we're all walking saying how blessed we are and how grateful we are. And then all of a sudden, here comes Tony. And we're all staring at him. And I felt like I wanted to go hug him and kiss him,

like give him a wet kiss on his cheek and just say, thank you so much because it's all because of him. But he's so stealth and kind of, you're like, is that him? It's him. Oh because it's all because of him. But he's, you know, he's so stealth and kind of, you know, like, you're like, is that him? It's him. And that's, oh, it's him. And so he just walked right, he just walked right past us. And it's like, he was, he was responsible for giving us this extraordinary experience. And I hope that I get to meet him someday, but, um, you know, I don't know. It just wasn't the moment, but we, we totally wanted to like jump on him and give him a group hug or something.

And he's the type of person that would be like, thank whoever. You'd be like, thank you, thank you, thank you. He'd be like, well, thank this person because it was actually them. Thank this person. He really understands that he's one of many. And I think the other thing is he is fairly introverted. So a lot of people are like, oh, am I going to meet Tony? I'm like, you might meet him at a coffee shop when he's walking down the street. Like, but he'll probably be

sitting in the back on his laptop with a Zappos t-shirt on, on like watching from behind the scenes. Um, and I think that's, what's really cool about him is he's so inviting and open, but he's, he's very introverted. And this, this community, this city, we, again, I'm kind of weird with the word community. Cause it's like the community of downtown Vegas, the community of larger Las Vegas, the community of downtown project, like what is community? But I think like the actual Las Vegas, you know, is so, is so like so many people, so many people doing a million things and, you know, entertainment in your face. And, and Tony's just this like introverted guy that likes to really throw really cool parties. And it's like a really cool party, but for a revitalization project.

And inspiring people. Speaking of which, so Summit Series, TED, Catalyst, through all these organizations that you've been a part of, plus meeting a different entrepreneur for breakfast every morning and all these sorts of things. You're, you're immersed, you're surrounded by incredible people doing incredible things. What are some of the themes or consistent behavior patterns that these people exude? Like what do you extract from them that seem to be common denominators? I think the taking care of yourself is a big one. Um, and a

lot of entrepreneurs that I've seen that are successful aren't happy because they're not taking care of themselves. So I think I've extracted things like, Oh, that's not what I want to be. And also that's what I want to be. Um, but the entrepreneurs that I think are in healthy relationships and are kind of like flourishing in different parts of their life, have families as well as work are taking care of themselves. So whether that means like a consistent exercise, like eating right, not staying out too late, um, and having like a consistent schedule, um, like that to me, I think is extremely important. Um, the other thing is, is, is like a hobby. So besides like just staying fit, like what is a hobby outside of work that you're

engaging in, um, to make you kind of stay human. Um, the vulnerability piece is like the biggest piece to me that I look for in leaders. Um, and I think that that's like the human piece, a lot of entrepreneurs, good Tony, Tony actually told me to read good to great. Um, and good to great. It's all about this charismatic leader that is so unapproachable because they're like, like Steve jobs was actually a charismatic leader. And once, you know, Steve jobs passes away, the company is then, you know, affected because this leader is gone and you have to create companies that are almost so powerful that it's not about the one person as we were just talking about. Like, it's not like, it's not just Tony, but he surrounded himself with so many remarkable people and that's the vulnerability, but also

humanizing aspect of, of a good leader that I found. Right. Well, it's a control issue too, I would think. Yeah. A hundred.

I think not. And we, I don't know if you guys have heard about holacracy, but Zappos and downtown project are doing holacracy, which is a corporate structure that rather than having a hierarchical system, it's circles. You'd actually really like it, Julie.

And we, yeah, and we're doing it too. Kettle's Creative is doing it too. I'm going to introduce you to it. Yeah, I'll introduce you. So what it is, is- By the way, Julie was like leaning back in her chair, taking a break. And when Amanda said circle,

she like perked up like circles. I know. I can weigh in on this one. I know. And it was so interesting because what it is is it actually doesn't put all of the responsibility on the CEO. So it's all about where the work lies and accountabilities and roles versus people

and drama around those people. And then there's holacracy meetings, governance meetings where you vote in different proposals to provide tension. So that's Tony implementing that in Zappos and downtown, and we've implemented it in Catalyst. But how do you reconcile that against the power of a visionary? I mean, when you look at Steve Jobs or Elon Musk or somebody like that, they have such a powerful singular vision and they know exactly what they want. And part of that,

that, you know, hardened kind of dictatorship, I don't know how Elon Musk governs, but, but well, let me just say, yeah. So comes from a place of knowing exactly what he wants and, and, and probably at times frustration that it's not being executed the way that he wants it. And it's easy to look back and say, well, you know, the iPhone is the way it is because he was that, he was that way. You know, I don't know that Apple would be Apple if it was different. And, you know, Apple was very different in that period between when he founded it and he was gone and then he came back. So. Totally. Did you? Yeah. Well, I was just going to say that I think that this idea of holacracy, if I understand it,

doesn't mean that there has to be an original creator of the original idea. And it's like, It has to be an original creator of the original idea. And it's like, you know, in my own, in my own experience with my homeschool that I'm launching, I had to hold this vision in a container through many, many years of, you know, visioning and developing and holding the intention and the face and being tested and, you know, all of this kind of stuff. And, and in the early, I think in the early years or early foundational steps of this process, you have to have that vision. But I think there's a point where it transfers to once it builds up enough of its own personality and it's established, then it gets multiplied through the community. But you speak to it because yeah, yeah, no, well, it's, yeah, it's kind of like a combination of the two, which is interesting because like the CEO, um, you know, a typical CEO, you don't actually know what the CEO is doing and what roles are under the CEO. So the CEO can have all different roles. And like one of the roles can be brand and vision. So that can be a role of a CEO. A CEO can have a role. Like my roles are finance

relationship managers, brand and vision, CC internal strategy, curation, and a different CEO would have different roles. And then through that, other people in the company have roles as well. But if something goes wrong where let's say like the website isn't being handled correctly, it's, it's a tension that we bring up in a meeting and we talk about the work, not like, Hey, website developer, you're bad at your job and you didn't do it. It's more like, Hey, what role was responsible for this? What was the accountability under that role? And how can we move forward? And it's all about moving forward instead of kind of sticking to the same, you know, drama. And I think with a Steve jobs, he, I mean, I read his book, I'm obsessed with Steve Jobs. No, I think he's brilliant. But I also think

that he was brilliant and he passed away and Apple is taking a loss and a hit because he's no longer there. So how could he have distributed different opportunities for different people? Because there could have been someone there when he was there that he didn't even know could have executed in a brilliant way because he wasn't giving them that opportunity. Right. Or creating a better mentorship for people to come up so that, you know, it can be, it can be passed on or the essence of what he was trying to do, at least could have been dispatched over the previous 15 years of him working there so that it would be a more seamless transition. Exactly. And I'm obsessed with it. And I think the key, I mean, the essence that I get from that is that, and I was reflecting on this a lot as I'm starting to flesh out like what, what is going to be our decision-making process

and how are we going to do this as a community? And, and, um, uh, I think that when you're serving in a community of like-minded, um, individuals, there is a higher purpose that is driving the entire thing that is above any personal agendas. And so when you have that in place, it makes it easy, easier to not make things personal. Like you were, you were taking the personalness out of a mistake or really even also out of... Yeah, but does that guy still get fired? The firing and hiring thing is really interesting. And I think it's like you have to look at... So the governance meetings, there's tactical meetings,

which is like what needs to get done, let's move forward. And there's governance meetings, which talks about tensions. And those tensions are like, okay, this could be better. Let's propose something new about that. And then we all vote on it. But the lead link, which is usually the CEO does hold a certain amount of power that they wouldn't in any other company, which is the resources. Like I'm paying this person this much and the hiring and the firing. So you still do have to look at the work, but instead of like a lot of

the times there's this backtalk, there's drama within the company. There's people saying this person did this and this person did that. We really try to limit that and be like, okay, forget the person, what's the role? And you could switch people in the role. So rather than hiring a CMO and that CMO is responsible for everything with marketing, you can say, okay, what role is not working for that person? Let's switch someone else in it and try. It's more fluid. Right. I got you. It's easy to look at Steve Jobs or Elon Musk and say, oh, they're incredible, incredibly inspiring entrepreneurs. But you being who you are and what you do and being surrounded by amazing thought leaders all the time, who are some of the

people that you've had the opportunity to meet recently or in the last couple of years that you've found incredibly inspiring and different, but people we might not have heard of or know about. Yeah. I mean, someone you have heard about perhaps, but Simon Sinek, start with why. He came to Vegas and was just a remarkable human and his story is incredible. And he did just a great job. Shawn Stevenson. Yeah.

Do you know Shawn? I don't know him personally. I know who he is. Okay. Shawn is like one of my, I'm actually going to visit him. He just a great job. Shawn Stevenson. Yeah. Do you know Shawn? I don't know him personally. I know who he is. Okay. Shawn is like one of my, I'm actually going to visit him. He just had an accident. Yeah, he had an accident. I heard about that.

He's totally okay. He's been to Vegas like three or four times to share like his story. And he's also just been like a mentor and a support system. And he's been really- Explain a little bit about who he is. So Shawn was, yeah, he calls himself the four foot giant. He was born with a rare disease where all of his bones were fairly,

like pretty much broken when he was born. So he's incapable of, you know, walking on his own or, you know, his bones are very small and he's like three feet, you know, up to four feet tall. And his personality is like the most massive, extraordinary personality I've ever met in my life. Like he is, I mean, he will make anyone uncomfortable in terms of just like how upfront and personal and like, I mean, he's, he creates vulnerability in places where you don't even want to be vulnerable sometimes. Like I've cried at eat

in Las Vegas, like literally cried. Um, and he's just an amazing human. He's been to Vegas three times, spoke at life is beautiful. He's spoken, um, you know, during catalyst week and he's just an amazing human. He's been to Vegas three times, spoke at life is beautiful. He's spoken, um, you know, during catalyst week and he's also just been a mentor of mine. Um, and that's been someone that has been a big supporter of, of catalyst in general. Um, Christina Sass, who's not someone, she was with CGI for a few years. And then, um, I actually met her through summit. She was working at Summit for a little bit. She is a remarkable human being and is just a powerhouse. And she's starting a new education entrepreneurship platform in Africa around creating opportunities for people in Africa to have jobs within technology. Nyla Rogers and Emily Greener are two of my best friends,

so I'm a little bit biased, but they're two up and coming female nonprofit founders. Nyla is with Mama Hope. They do community development in Africa, but she calls herself the Batman of the nonprofit space. They identify a local leader and a local project and the local leader actually creates the entire project and they just fundraise for it. And then Nyla goes as a volunteer to check it out. And then Emily's organization is I Am That Girl. So it's all like cloak and deck. They don't disclose who they are. They just kind of go under the radar and go,

oh, wow, that's really cool. Yeah, it's amazing. And then Emily Greener has I Am That Girl. And it's an organization around instilling self-esteem within young girls and women through media and hubs all around the world. So they just got a hub in Egypt and I mean, Cairo, really remarkable. And then one more is my other really close friend.

They become my best friends, you know, is Eric Katz, who just is co-founder of Spring, which is a new app. And it's kind of like shopping through Instagram. So fashion is with Instagram and she also is with Beachman. And I mean, I literally could, this is like what I do for a living. So I can name like 45 people, but those are a few. But what's great is that there's a lot of powerful women, a lot of powerful chicks, right? And, and, and, you know, this is something I bring up on the podcast from time to time when I have powerful chicks like yourself, strong, you know, strong, successful women, uh, who have a, you know, great sense of themselves is, you know, what do you think when you look at our culture and, you know, we're sort of in this immersed in this, the world of the Kardashians and, and the role models that, that are most

readily available to young women are not exactly the ones that you as a parent would sort of aspire your child to look up to. And yet there are all these incredible women doing amazing things, you know, many of which are your friends. So there's certainly no lack of appropriate role models that we should be really celebrating and putting, pushing out in front more than our culture will allow. So how do you see that? Like, how can we do better? Yeah. Well, as a father of two young girls.

Totally. I just wrote an article for Wall Street Journal about gender imbalance in the workplace. And it was called Not Just a Statistic because there was a few male writers that were writing a lot about statistics. And I was like, well, I'll tell you from personal, you know, experience of what I learned.

I think what you guys are doing with your daughters is amazing. I think being able to find mentorship is like the first step and allowing for them to go after what they believe in and then surrounding them with amazing people. And again, the education system doesn't really lend itself to that. So like Mathis being a designer at 10, and she was just showing me all of her designs when I got here. Having a strong, powerful- She's going to Catalyst Week. Oh, 100%. She got invited. and you know, she was just showing me all of her designs when I got here, like having, having a strong, powerful, she's going to catalyst week. Oh, a hundred percent. She's

all, she got invited. Yeah. Well, I already, I invited her again. Yeah. So I think it's like, you know, it's amazing to me of like, if you can start surrounding and we've had a few kids come through catalyst and creative week. And that to me is like the first step is like, just get them around your cool friends, like invite them to the parties, have them there. We just had a two and a half year old at a Shabbat dinner we had at Emily's and it's so important for them to be, have be, you know, have exposure around people that are doing what they love and on that energy, um, field. And in, in addition, I would say it is the content like we, with life is beautiful. We, um, helped life is beautiful.com. Right. Explain what that is. Cause we didn't really get into that. Sure. With all the other stuff we got into. So Life is Beautiful

is a 60,000 person art, music, culinary, and learning festival in downtown Vegas. Right. This is just another thing that you do. Yeah. So Cattle's Creative helped with the learning section last year. We curated and produced the learning section. Then this year we helped with the actual platform. So they took the festival concept. It's still going to happen this year. 65 musicians, chefs, artists, the whole thing. Amazing bands. Yeah. Kanye's performing Foo Fighters. I mean, it's literally Arctic monkeys. I think the date October 24th to the 26th. Um, and it's the largest inner city festival in the country. So it's pretty crazy. Um, and then with that, we turned it into inspiring content platforms. So, um, catalyst supported on curation of a lot of the videos, the topics and the concept,

um, and each topic it's like bullying. I'm coming out looking for, looking for true love, finding inner beauty. Um, with those topics, it's all around inspiring content that shows kids that life is beautiful. Um, and so that's one example of like content that kids should be watching. Another is I am that girl. Like those are beautiful, inspiring women that are constantly sharing their stories and young women like 12 year olds, 14 year olds sharing their stories as well. So the mission of that is what? Creating a self-esteem within young women and girls, uh, throughout the world. And they do that. How, how do they do it? Through media and then through, um, these chapters. By sharing stories of other inspiring. Oh, cool. Exactly. Yeah. She should interview Mathis too. So it's a website. Is there like a YouTube channel or is it there's video?

Oh yeah. I am that girl. It's like a whole media content platform with like articles, blogs, as well as a YouTube channel, the whole thing. And then the Cattles Creative YouTube, we just put up all of our talks. So every talk we have is, is, you know, filmed and we are really, really like set on including women in every single one of the segments, which I talked about in this article is sometimes hard because women actually don't nominate themselves as much. So we asked for a nomination of like, okay, apply. And then we ended up having to like go to women and being like, you should really give a talk. Um, but we really do try to have a lot of strong, powerful women give talks. So that's another place for any kid to just like go through these young entrepreneurs and be like, wait, what are they doing?

That's possible. That's the content piece. Right. So as parents, it's more incumbent upon us to put those role models in front of our children because it's not going to happen by going to the newsstand or turning on the television. And, you know, we're doing that with Mathis right now, but I see it in the boys, you know, Tyler, who's 19 and Trapper, a lot of their friends are our friends. Like we bring our friends over, we try to bring high vibrating, expose them to high vibrating people. And, and they've matured to a place where they connect and they talk to those people like they're in the same age group. You know,

they're not intimidated. I mean, when I was a kid, it was like, Oh, it's the parents are here. Like we're going to go in the other room, but we try to include them. And as a result, they've been exposed to a lot of really cool people. I think I've influenced them in a really positive way. Yeah. They have been influenced just, you know, from being in our life. And I also feel very, very strongly about the value of tribal learning of having, there's something so organic and so beautiful about a group of, of people together that the age range is a whole span. Yep. Like, you know, a four-year-old with the 19-year-old and then, you know, the, the family there, even the grandparents there, there's just something very, very natural about it. And I don't, I don't really subscribe that

like four-year-olds need to be with four-year-olds or seven-year-olds need to be with seven. It's, it's almost like, it's not really natural. It's not really what happens in the family. Totally. I'm not a child psychologist. I'm just speaking from my own experience. But that kind of, I love this tribal learning. And, of course, in some cases you won't be able to do it

because the 18-year-old will want to do something that the four-year-old's not doing. I'm not saying in every situation, but every moment we can there's no need to separate there's no need to make these big you know uh you know marks and and and I think that the children um um they then they're then they're at ease they're at home they can go out in the world and talk to anybody they can you know function wherever they are I mean the world doesn world doesn't, isn't functioning with, you know, herds of children, the same age, totally the same thing. Yeah. I mean, it was, I was blown away by them at cattle. They were just another, the whole entire group was like, Oh my God, these are like, like six year old philosophers.

I was like, you're like the oldest spirit I've ever seen. And I think it's like, I was so amazed and you can see it. And I think for some like, I was so amazed and you can see it. And I think for some parents, it's like some parents might not have other role models in their lives, like, you know, in close proximity, but they probably do have an iPad or a mobile phone or computer. And like, that's where Ted comes in. And that's where like the three websites I just said, come in. And there's so much good content out there. It doesn't, and you know, soul pancake is another one. Like there's so much inspiring content. It doesn't have to, it could start with that. And then they'll probably be more, you know, they'll just be more attracted to these positive people on a different energy level.

I think that we've lost touch with apprenticeship and mentorship as a cultural priority. And I think in a, in a different day, those things were not just more important, they were crucial. You know, people pass down, you know, what they did for a living to younger people, their children. And we've moved away from that. And there's a lot to be said for that. And I think we need to reprioritize it by trying to implement it, you know, in our lives. I mean, it's like if you're playing sports, you kind of get it that way, but you don't really get it in education and in the job market like you used to, I think maybe 60 years ago. Yeah. It was skill-based now it's all like a hundred percent. There's, and for us right now, actually Catalyst just integrated mentorship for every single

employee. So every, you know, we're, we're giving them access to a mentor and it's, it's actually required like one hour a week, you're going to be on a call with a mentor. Cause what I was finding is like, I took a two hour, two year journey of like doing work on myself. It's like, you know, my boyfriend always says, work harder on yourself than your business. And it's like for, for people that just kind of jump into work and it's their first job out of college and they're like, you know, rosy cheeked and excited for, for everything that's coming to them. Sometimes they don't know how to express themselves or share appropriately or understand what's coming up for them.

And they validate themselves through work. And there's a lot that goes on for a young millennial in the workplace. And I think you really need to provide the opportunity to be like, let me help you learn who you are. Let me show you how this is done. Not just throw you into some job where you have a boss and the boss is too busy to even tell you how to do what it is they're paying you to do. Exactly. That's the mentorship piece. And it's also like, who are you as a person? And how can I mentor and guide you to allow for you to give you tools of like, okay, when I get upset, this

is how I know how to share myself effectively. Or when something comes up, you know, I know it's not from that moment, but it's something that might be bothering me from a few days ago. And people don't learn that in school. And I think it's crucial to have a role model that you can look up to and be like, and ask questions like that. And these, this external individual, that's not like in your day-to-day life, that's not working alongside you, but that can just support you and guide you and give that infrastructure. That's to me is like necessary in every person everywhere. It's hard though, if you're just walking through your life, you're like, I need a role model. Like, how am I going to find my role model? You know,

you're supposed to roll up on some random person and say, will you be my mentor? You know, it's like, it's weird. You know what I mean? So I think it has to be a systemic shift. Like if you're in an organization that prioritizes that, whether it's an educational institution or, or a corporation or what have you, um, there needs to be, that needs to be sort of constitutional to the core of that. Otherwise you are left on your own to find that person or it's the rare mentor that seeks out the disciple. But those are not everyday occurrences. So I sympathize. I'm trying to think who are my—I mean, I had swim coaches. Those were the people that, outside of my parents,

provided some level of direction and moral compass, for better or worse. Not always the best advice, sometimes good, sometimes not not but those are the people that I look to and then when I was in the workforce it was sort of like I was just tossed in there and I'm like trying to figure out like you know what I'm supposed to do and and you're too nervous to ask anyone because you don't want to look weak exactly or like you don't know what you're doing yeah so it's all messed up. Starting with when you're in a classroom. Right. Well, and that's in, in, in our community, the, the, you know, the facilitators that we're bringing in that we're actually hiring that are paid jobs are mentors, you know, and my, my first desire is that they're young and energetic and, you know, maybe not like the parents, you know, so that the kids just have an experience of someone else, you know, maybe not like the parents, you know, so that the kids just have

an experience of someone else, you know, and all the parents are donating, you know, a minimum of four hours a week to the community. Um, but, um, the mentors are key. I mean, Mathis has flourished with her mentor and it's fantastic, you know, and she's going to be coming actually with Math as to Catalyst. So, and then that's going to expand her, her, um, reach because she has her own fashion company and, you know, suddenly they're sort of created together on another level. So it's really cool. It's the ROI, like anyone that the ripple of impact, anyone that I think is, is giving back and providing like kids is it's the most important thing because whatever we're creating now, if it's not passed on in a way that's powerful and if it's not benefiting the next generation, then it's just going to be, it's not ever going to be brought

to the next level. We'll just kind of be like die with this generation. So that's the whole thing about community is like, yes, it's great for, and like we, you you know there's a 13 year old in downtown who's the best person ever she's like uh i can't even she's amazing and she has been a part of building downtown like she's helped with different events and different experiences and um that's a big piece of why i started catalyst like we've done we did a program with um this this batteries included and it was young high at risk students from 9 to 19 and we actually used the catalyst week attendees to help them how to learn how to code so we brought some people in and they ended up mentoring them for that program and we're working that program at that school that i went

to with kevin so no but that was another another impact project that we did for that month every single month we're now trying to implement an impact project with a local, either nonprofit organization or educational institution to bring these people who are coming like to students to allow for them to kind of have that, that moment. Right. Gotcha. That's awesome. We're working on it. It's like, you're amazing. We're slowly, we're slowly chipping away at the education system. Very cool. But so are you guys. And I really respect that. Well, we hope to travel out as a community and share. Oh my God.

Yeah. You should put that through the whole entire experience. Oh, it would be amazing. It doesn't have to be at the same time. Just start putting them through. Just start funneling them through. Yeah.

Yeah. It would be fantastic. As a part of like their curriculum. Yeah. And then maybe we could do something here. Totally. Oh my gosh. It's all happening. You're having, we're having a, we're having a collision. We're colliding. We're having an RRP on the RRP and ROI for the RRP. A hundred percent. I forgot. I also had another catalyst person

sitting in that chair like two weeks ago. Preston smiles. I haven't released his episode yet. He's the best. Yeah. He's an amazing guy. He told me that day he was like, Oh, I'm going on, you know, you're, he said it. Didn't he say it? The reciprocity circle. Yeah. He said the reciprocity circle the week before. Sorry. I'm right. Yeah. Because your name came up somehow and he's like, yeah, I'm going on the podcast. And I'm like, what? Um, but yeah, that's the whole thing of like these, these people. I have a new job for you. You could be my podcast booker. I mean, I can do that in two seconds. Actually, that'd be good. I'll book you the next 10 weeks. Actually, send us a lot of women. I will send you a million women, a hundred percent. I already have like 15

who are in California. Done. I'm going to take you up on that. Please do. ROI. That's the ripple impact piece. You're the hub. You're the hub. You're connected. Done. It's like the easiest thing. But, you know, I also wanted to talk about your significant other. Yeah. And I wanted to talk about your Jonathan. And you guys have an extraordinary relationship that is such a beautiful example of two people working in total harmony with each other and

support. And so how did you guys meet and how does he fit in? Yeah. So we met at a leadership course and it's actually funny. Yeah. Well, I do, I actually do want to call out like we, Rich and I met through someone I used to date who I'm really good friends with, Christopher Burcham and John. He's my Instagram. Oh, he's the best. And, but he was a massive fan of rich. And I ended up meeting rich, you know, really through Christopher because he was, he said, you have to listen to this guy. And so, and then through Charlie Knowles, but that's a whole other story. But what happened was I ended up, Chris and I were like, okay, this isn't really working. Let's just be friends. And then I was in a leadership course. Um, and I

was kind of sharing about like what I wanted out of a relationship. And I was in a leadership course. Um, and I was kind of sharing about like what I wanted out of a relationship. And I was just ready. I'm like, I'm ready for something like the next real relationship. Um, and Jonathan was in that class. So we were in this class for three months. Um, he knew me from day one. I didn't know he existed for three months. Um, and, and he ended up, you know, sharing and saying, I'm really happy to be here. Um, I'm really excited after three months, never said one word to the class. And I went up to him and I'm like, Hey, like, who are you? Are you from here? Like, what are you in this class? He's like, yeah, I've been in the class for three months. Um, and we ended up, you know,

surfing together as our first date and then moved in with each other after two weeks and then have been together for 10 months. And, um, he's the type of person that like, he understands me, which is a little complicated because I have a lot going on. He understands his feminine side. So like he can embrace his femininity and he can embrace his vulnerability and he could be in a room with anyone and make them feel completely comfortable. His father used to be a pastor for 30 years and actually created the coexist sticker. So yeah, would bring in monks and Buddhists. Like there's one guy. There was like a, there was like a tiny group and he was one of them. Yeah. So he would bring in rabbis. And so Jonathan was brought up in this environment of service of, you know, doing work on himself, of giving back.

And so we're kind of like in this space where we really look at the world together instead of like at each other for answers. And we process things in a similar way because we speak the same language because of the courses that we've taken, or it's, if something gets in the middle of our relationship, we can kind of be like, eh, what's really going on? Like, what are you really upset about? And then work through it together. We call it breakthroughs, not breakdowns. And we have quite a few of those. It's great. Yeah, that's cool.

What is this leadership conference? Oh, it's called Landmark. So many people know it. Oh, I know Landmark. Yeah, yeah, yeah. My parents did Landmark. Yeah, it was a very, you know, there's MITT, which Preston did, and there's so many.

And I think it's like, if you just- What is, I've never heard's MITT, which Preston did, and there's so many. And I think it's like, if you just... What is, I've never heard of MITT. MITT is the other, so two guys from this landmark, MITT, like pre it, it was like, I forgot the name of it. They veered off and created two separate programs that are very similar. And so MITT is a popular one and landmark is another. I just say like, choose something. Like if you choose something that's going to give you tools for success and for being able to kind of understand yourself. Cool. Mine happened to be landmark. I had a bunch of people just telling me like do it. And I was kind of like, no, I don't really not really up for it. And I ended up, you know, doing it at the exact same time. Jonathan had taken two years off and he decided to do that class. And I went right into it after like the two classes

prior. So it was just like right timing. And I think, you know, people are like, wait, you've only been together for 10 months because we're so close and we kind of just get each other. But I think that's also a product of like, it's timing. You've done the work on yourself. So you're ready. And also when you move in with each other, like after two weeks, the honeymoon phase is kind of gone. It's like, okay, we get each other. It's either going to work or it's not going to work. Exactly. It's going to flame out quick if it doesn't. Exactly. And he comes to all of the weeks and he, and what's been amazing for me is to watch what happens when a person outside of the downtown project, because he didn't really

know what I was doing in Vegas. And I was there for a year coming every single month, twice a month, the impact it's had on his life and the relationships that it's built for him. And I'm like, oh, this, this can actually work if you commit. That's the whole thing of like, commit yourself to the community and the community will provide for you. But that's the whole aspect of him coming every single month, twice a month. It's pretty amazing. Well, you're definitely operating from your heart space and you're in a very self-actualized state, you know, happy doing what you're doing. I mean, it's clear that you're in the right place doing what you're supposed to be doing. And you've done a lot of work to get to that. You know, what have you, looking back,

like what are some of the things that you think that you had to overcome that are common to, like I'm putting myself in the space of the listener who might be struggling or feeling stuck or saying, you know, God, a man has got amazing energy. Like, how can I have that in my life? Like, what, what are some of the things that I can do? Or what, what are the things that you see, uh, that are holding a lot of people back maybe unnecessarily that, that can be overcome? Yeah. Um, I mean, I'm still learning, but one of the things I'm learning about is like, just don't carry on into gossip. Like if someone's speaking negatively, like just stay out of it. Um, and that was really hard for me. I I've

encountered a few things over this year as I think as a new entrepreneur, things just happen and you have to kind of roll with the punches. And I, I encountered some, you know, gossip and backlash from like a few different people and a lot of women actually, unfortunately. And I think for me, what I found was I was given some really solid advice from a mentor. Um, and it was just, you know, stay above it. Like don't, you don't have to be vindicated. You don't have to share everything. Like this is your style of, of business and you need to make sure that you're doing the right thing and that you're of truth. I think business, um, is a place of ethics and that's what it should be considered. And a lot of people use business as a place to do things that are shy, stay in shady to get away with things. And that's not the way that I look at business. Business should be the

most ethical place. And if you stay on your truth and you stay of like, am I doing this for the right reasons or am I doing this to be spiteful or to make money? Um, that's not what you're supposed to be doing. So for me, it's like, if I'm, if I feel like I'm not aligned with my vision and my truth and I'm doing something for the wrong reasons, I sometimes have to step away and be like, why am I attracting this type of person? Um, and get back onto the, to the right path. Reading is my biggest thing. Like Osho changed my life. So I'm obsessed with Osho. Love Osho. Julie just perked up again.

I mean, I'm obsessed with Osho. I read like- Quote Osho all the time. Well, I read like before, when I was in that whole India journey, I read so much Osho and he had a profound impact on me. And then I read a lot of business books.

Like if you look at our bookshelf, it's like autobiography of a Yogi and then like the Richard Branson book. And it's like, it's this balance. But I think reading is really, really important. And then being able to educate yourself on what is going on. So Ted, and now this Cattles Creative YouTube,

which is like a hundred plus talks, is like watch people that inspire you because it is possible and learn from them of like, how do they speak? How do they talk? What are they, what are they doing? What are they sharing? Um, and that's what I did. I literally just watched a bunch of Ted talks and then I found people that I respect and I reached out. Like it's not that hard to find someone's email and be like, Hey, can I ask you a few questions? And if they say no, who cares? Right. I mean, you had the willingness to make a couple ballsy moves, right? To approach people sort of unexpectedly.

Very unexpectedly. But I think you have to have that courage. You know, you've got to get outside of your fear or your ego or whatever and allow yourself to, you know, maybe you'll fail, but you've got to put yourself on the line every once in a while. Maybe someone won't remember you when you come all the way to Vegas. Right. I mean, you know, you woke up and you had this, you know, wild hair up your ass that

you were going to go fly to Las Vegas and approach Tony without even a clear idea of what you wanted. And had you not done that, had you not, that's a courageous thing to do. You know, most people wouldn't do that. And had you not made that move, you know, you wouldn't be doing what you're doing. Yeah. It's the say, I think it's the say yes. And it's say yes while being smart. Like I think listeners would be like, okay, cool. Anyone can say yes. And like travel the world and do this. But like, what about if I have a family or what about if I have rent to pay? And I think you could have that balance. Like you guys said,

I had so many jobs. I had a full-time job while I was doing the festival and the TEDx and Charity Connector and working with all these different nonprofits and all this stuff that I was doing. I was saying yes on the side in my spare time because that's what mattered to me. I wanted to be able to create an impact and I couldn't quit my job to do it. So it was that balance, but you have to say yes or you're never going to know. That's a really important point because a lot of people, it's easy to just say, well, this must be easy for you. You know, I have all this and it's an immediate sort of barrage of all these excuses and reasons why they can't, right? And nobody's saying up and quit your job and do something insane, but try to express whatever it is that you're trying to express, even if it's just minutely at first in the context of your day, and fertilize that seed and watch it grow.

And that's going to happen while you're working full-time and all these other things that are going on in your life. It doesn't happen overnight, but you've got to begin that walk somewhere. Exactly. I think one really amazing exercise that can help you access what you want to experience, because I think a lot of times we're disconnected from our hearts and we're thinking from our head. So we think we think in our head, OK, I'd like to experience, you know, sailing through the ocean and meeting my my soulmate on an island. But you think about it in your head. So if you can set aside some quiet time when you're in a meditative space and actually write that story as if you are living in the story in the first person.

So you want to feel the wind in your hair as you're sailing out. You want to feel the ocean spray hitting your skin. You want to feel your anticipation know, your anticipation or your anxiety about that meeting. You want to experience, you know, the sand on your feet as you reach there. So if you get very visceral about the emotional feeling and you actually can experience it like you're in the movie, that's a very powerful anchor to begin to shift your experience towards that. And as I always say, and I said in my presentation for my homeschool community, and what I'm trying to create here is we are the ones we've been waiting for. And there's no one coming

to do, to, to shift your life. And if you have a dream or you have something you feel very deeply about in your heart, if not you, then who is going to do that? And when are we, when is it going to be time? And when are you going to be qualified enough? So I just met, um, an Ayurvedic, uh, amazing woman, Jennifer at a meditation retreat. And, um, you know, she was expressing to me that, you know, although she's worked in Ayurveda for, I don't know, 15 years, you know, there's still a lot she doesn't know because of course it's an ancient science and it, you know, exists for all time. And, you know, and I just looked at her and I said, you know, if you are not the one who's going to assist me in healing, you know, myself and my community, then who, who is, because you're

the only one that I know. So I was just inviting her to step into that and, and begin before you have all the answers. You don't need to have everything figured out. If you make the commitment in your heart and you do it responsibly, like you don't have to quit your job, but you can start to shift, um, um you know shift the way that you're going and then you'll be provided with those experiences and for us it was almost like you sometimes you have to take a step before the stone is there totally fake it until you make it right yeah but i think to qualify that it's also important to add that you really have to do that internal work first you know that that's something something that can't be circumnavigated

because to use your example, to say, I'm gonna go, I wanna go sailing and I wanna meet the love of my life. If you're not right with yourself or you don't have a healthy sort of relationship with yourself, generally in my experience, a sort of fantasy like that is being driven by a desire

to find something outside of yourself to fix you. Like I need to find, you know, what if I can, if I go sailing and meet the, you know, Prince Charming, then my life is going to be good, right? So it's not being, it's not the right thing to be pursuing. If you're not, if you're not coming from that heart space. I mean, I just use that as one example. Right, I know. I'm not saying that that's it, that you should be looking for your Prince Charming. I just use it as anything that you like. I'm not trying to beat up on your example.

It can be anything. You know, if somebody says, you know, I want to, you know, I got to have that new car or I want to run a marathon, like, well, what's behind that? Like, let's examine that first before the energy goes. So whatever it is you're pursuing, you, you have to make sure is the right thing. Right. And how do you do that? You do that by establishing a meditation practice and going into listening because it's right. And the journaling sounds like that was a big part for you. So that was like, literally what I was going to say, I started journaling like almost three years ago. And I wrote my first page of my journal is is would you date you? And then I said, no, maybe in two years.

And it was like exactly that. Like I had to, I had to see myself as where I, where I wanted to be in order to attract the person that I wanted to be with. Yeah. Cause water rises to its own level. You want to be the person you want to meet. Totally. And that took a lot. You don't want to meet the person who's going to, you know, you have to, you have to be the person you want to meet. And that took a lot. You don't want to meet the person who's going to, you know, you have to, you have to be the person you aspire to be with. That was a big thing for me. And then the journaling, it just, it really like, that was my, I didn't understand meditation at first. And now I, you know, I did your meditation was amazing and TM and all that good stuff. But at the time I was just writing, like that was the only thing I really knew. And I wrote every single day. And I also was writing for Huffington Post every single week.

And it was like vulnerable. I have no idea what I'm doing. Transition writing. Like it was my journal to the world every week. And I promised myself I would do it because I held myself to an accountability of like, I want to keep sharing because the more I share, what was happening was things were coming to me. And that's the vulnerability piece is like I created a community of people that were really wanting me to succeed

because they saw me in a space of, of not being afraid to fail. And also being really, you know, I had a lot of humility of like, I don't know what I'm doing. Like, I'm just trying to figure it out. Um, and people also saw like, Oh, if she did that, I can do that. And a lot of people have reached out to me from those articles of like, Amanda, what did you do? And tell me your story. And I think they just want to know that like, I'm a normal person that comes from a small town in New Jersey that was not given anything of the sort on a silver platter of relationships. Like my parents didn't get me an internship or a job and they didn't know anyone to put

into my world of like Tony Hsieh. Like I just was a normal person that worked really, really, really hard and built a lot of relationships and wasn't afraid to kind of pass the boundary. And that was in the nightclub world or like with my grades in college and also throwing events at the same time, but camp counselor entertainment tonight, I pushed boundaries so fully that I, because I wanted to feel like what it would feel like of like, if I just kept flying and kept pushing and what it would lead me to. Right. I love the idea of pushing boundaries, but I also like the idea of having healthy boundaries, pushing out from yourself. And you said earlier, it's so important to say yes. Like you want to

say yes to life. You want to say yes to experiences and you want to be open to what's coming to you. But at the same time, saying no is really important. And that's an extremely overlooked skill set, I think, especially as you get busier and busier and you're immersed in, you know, sort of a world where people are probably approaching you all the time wanting a piece of you for this or that. Another article, not even joking. It's like the most serendipitous thing was I wrote this piece around the quality of your nose, you know, make a difference with the quality of your yeses. So like you have to say no for things in order for your yeses to even mean something because

I'm like Miss Yes. I was the girl in high school being like to my parents, I have to go to that party. Like you can't keep me from going. You don't understand what it means to me like every night. And what I had to do is especially when I got into a relationship was if I don't say no to certain things, then I'm just everywhere at all times. And no one's really going to take me seriously. Like I have to maintain my relationship. I have to prioritize around like, how do I know who my close friends are? If I just say yes to every single person and my time is, is valued more because of how much is offered. So I think it's like,

I also had to come up with, because I give away everything for free. I love to give ideas for free and intention. And I love to take meetings for free because I just want to help. But I had to finally come to a point where I'm like, okay, like what can I do for free? And then what is the conversation of the next time being like, I actually have to like either pass you off to someone that can help you or like charge you for services if it's specific to Catalyst because this is, I'm a CEO of a company now. I'm not doing this for fun anymore. And that was a balance. It goes to the motivation behind the yes. If the yes is being motivated out of fear or people pleasing or low self-esteem or lack, like if I don't say yes, they're never going to ask me again, or I want so-and-so to like me. So I've got to show up.

That's probably a good reason to not say yes. As opposed to I'm saying yes, because this has the potential to broaden my experience. This has the potential to broaden my experience this has the potential to bring new energy and people into my life exactly i had to learn that no one that's really hard yeah and i am again i'm like the big and i want to see like i told you when i was three i was like lining up my stuffed animals when i was in first grade i was making everyone trade their snacks at the lunch table you guys know that like i love people and i get a lot of energy from people but as i've gotten older i've actually found that I really need like alone time. And that even includes for my relationship. Like I need me time. And that requires me saying no at certain times. And that was the India trip of like, no, I'm shutting my phone off. Like you will all live. I'm not a cardiac surgeon. Like we'll figure it out. And that's where I am today of like having that balance and checking in. That's doing the work on yourself, checking in of like, where is this coming from?

How do I know what is, what is guiding me? And then making the decision from that place. But if you don't do the work on yourself, you're just running around New York city with your head cut off. Like I was for, for five years. Well, and if you don't have, if you don't learn how to have healthy boundaries and also just spiritually energetic boundaries, this is actually something that I really think

is a huge issue, especially in the new age community. And when you start to go outside of yourself, it's like, it's a responsibility. So, you know, we're much more than a body. Thoughts are things, emotion are things. You know, we have light frequencies and all different things that make up a human being. much more than a body thoughts or things, emotion or things, you know, we have light frequencies and all different things that, that make up a human being. And it's like, as we start to expand and

we start to access some of these other States, you have to take responsibility over your field and healthy boundaries are the definition of being in your power, being in your resonance, being in your, you know, your warrior, you know, place. And so if you don't take the responsibility and you be wishy-washy about all that stuff, then you're going to be compromised and the work that you're doing is going to be compromised. So we always say like in healing, you know, circles, you know, would you like to be a garbage receptacle for everybody's stuff? Or would you like to be a healer? Because healers are contained in their own energy field and then they project out, but you're not sucking off anybody and you're also not leaking your energy. And so the second

step of my meditation, which could be rather otherworldly for some people to listen to, that's what it is. It's a sealing technique for your energetic body. And all of us, especially you, you're around so many people, and, you know, Rich as well. And, you know, it's like there's a lot going on. And so there is a containment that is part, it's just part of taking care of yourself,

which is what you said earlier. You know, it's part of personal care. And just, you know, it's part of personal care and, and just, you know, opening your, everybody knows that if somebody's, somebody you love is very, very angry, you can feel it in your body. So it's not like this, you know, you know, crazy idea. Oh no, it's, it's real. It's tangible. And like someone, what always told me, cause I was trying to do everything was like a person that stands for everything stands for nothing. It's like, it doesn't, if you just try to do everything and you try to be everything, it's like, what are you really stand for? What are your beliefs? What are your passions?

What's your identity? And that was a big lesson for me to learn of like, okay, what are my yeses? What are my no's? Um, and where do they come from? A hundred percent. Right. It's easy to know the yes versus the no when they're in the extremes. Like, you know, oh, this guy's trying to suck off me or whatever. Like I gotta, you know, I gotta say no to that versus, oh, this is an amazing opportunity. I'm definitely saying yes. Where it gets murky is in the middle. Like, you know, if I say yes to this, you know, I, that could be the thing where I'm going to meet the person who's going to get up in this all up in your head playing this crazy game. And that's where most of

the, most of the opportunities or the things that come are in that middle space. So, you know what I mean? Yes. And it's like, Oh, I'm going to give up this dinner so that I could be at home with like my boyfriend and my puppy for the night. Or like, I'm going to, you know, if you don't go, that'll be the one time that the, that the thing happens. That's what my parents heard every single night of my life. When I went abroad, I was like, but I have to go. It's the only, and they make fun of me. But what I had to say was like, and this is what I think was a product of like me seeing

what happened when I did like listen of like the global festival and Tony and all this stuff is like, I have to listen to myself. Like if I'm like, I don't want to go, I want to, you know, I want to take this day for me or I want to do something that's, you know, with maybe one of my best friends, instead of going to this event and this event and this event is like, I need to know that that that's the right thing to do. And that whatever that opportunity was, will come up again. Like I have clients now that are approaching catalyst that we were approaching two years ago. And what I just said was like, it's not the right time. Let's just, you know, we kept meeting every so often, um, over the, over the year and now they're coming back. And it's like the opportunities will come back when the time is right. If you force it and you push it, it's probably not going to work out anyway. So you're probably not supposed to meet them that night that you wanted to stay home and watch like

house of cards. for instance yeah specifically um i had this really awesome and now it's gone his face is blank went blank it's just it's peaceful all right fill in the gap no but i think i think that the uh that's good i'm a gap filler which is good i'm here i'm happy i'm here to contribute oh i know what it was no wait no wait i want to say don't forget go ahead. Go ahead, he's going to speak. No, I forgot it again. Oh, okay. No.

No, so the thing is, this is the discerning criteria, though. This is how you know, right? And it becomes mission focused. It becomes mission focused. So suddenly now, when you do find your divine alignment and you are living your authentic expression and sharing in the way that you're meant to share, then suddenly there's a criteria and where, you know, we are in our lives now, it's literally down to does it further the mission? The work becomes the overriding focus of service rather than personality desires. So it gets a little bit,

it sometimes gets a little tricky because relationships that are not involved, what I find is when we are creating something, we are with those people. We are in a creative phase. When we're in creation, then we're naturally drawn to those experiences. Anything that's extra, there's no room anymore. Exactly. So it's literally mission based. And that's hard. I'm still in that process of figuring out which is which I don't want you to forget what you want to say. No, my point was noise. Like what you're really saying is, yeah, you've made the best decisions for yourself when you were able to quell the noise and get quiet and get right with yourself and then your compass

properly calibrates and the right decision comes to you and you know it's right but when you know you're getting push notifications you know know, constantly, whatever, like our busy lives, there's so much noise, there's so much stimulus, never, you know, in the history of human beings, you know, the planet, like we've never been more inundated with stimuli. And so it's becoming more, increasingly more harder, hard, increasingly more harder, increasingly more hard to, to find that quiet time like you really have to make an effort yeah that was a big reason why i think i left new york because i that's just i'm like about stimulation i'm i'm again i super vibe yeah that's why i love it oh i love i mean i i

okay um this is really weird that i keep bringing up articles but it just so happens that we're really on the same page but i wrote an article dear, Dear New York City, I love you, but I'm leaving you. And it was like this heart-wrenching, like X, like it felt like an X relationship, a letter to my ex. Right. That's what Robin Arzon said. She said, New York's my boyfriend. Yeah. And this article actually was one of my most popular ones. And a lot of people were, you know, responding to it positively and negatively because they've identified themselves so closely with New York City. New York City is their identity. Um, and it was this whole thing just around like New York, like beat me up because I let it, like I was in that, in that mindset of boundaries and

saying, exactly. And it is so easy to say yes to everything in New York. Like you can, you know, I have friends that visit like, Oh yeah. Like, sorry, we have, I have like 22 meetings today. I can't like talk to on the phone. I'm like, what? Like, and I forgot what that feels like. Cause here you can really only have one, one in-person meeting in LA. Like you're driving done. You're going to drive from Venice to Burbank and you're going to do that meeting. And then your day's over. Yeah. You have like one call. So literally, I mean, I had like two, I had, I think I had two calls today. That was it. Like, and then this, because that's, but it forces you, it's almost almost a good thing it forces you to be able to choose and be like okay what meeting do I need to take today and what's the priority in New York it is

just for me it was like I'll jump in this cab and then I'll go uptown that I find and my friend who I went to India with gave me the best advice and she said another podcast person Laura Satrakian and she said to me the space in between is the most important. If you have 10 minutes and you're going from uptown to downtown and you have 10 minutes for a meeting, take that space to walk instead of putting like a manicure appointment in those 10 minutes, which is what people do. And it was for me a little too hard where I had to just kind of separate myself for a little bit and have a mentality and a space and just more quiet for me to be able to hear myself for a little bit while I was through that process.

Yeah, that's interesting. If I lived in New York, I could easily see. Well, I did live in New York and it did exactly that to me. I think I'm in a healthier place now, so I love to go back. And I like to step into that energy for a couple of days. It's a high. Oh yeah. I go every month. I go every single month. And you're like, oh, I'm doing so, I'm getting so much done. I'm meeting all these people. And,

and you're like in this endorphin rush the whole time. And then I come back here and I crash. And I remember why I love living here. Exactly. And then a month goes by and I can't wait to go back. That's my life. This, you have to read this article. I literally say that exact thing. I'm like, I cannot be around you. You drive me crazy. You destroy my shoes.

You rain all the time. You're disgusting weather. It's like you smell awful. But you also introduced me to the best art, the best restaurants, the best culture. And there are those little moments, like those two weeks a year when it's perfect. And you just want to walk around, look for restaurants in the. Like the foliage is amazing. And then that's pretty much it. It's like literally two weeks a year, but I go, my whole family's in New York. So I go every month and I've tried to kind of Jonathan's like surfer West coast from Arizona. Um, he does not

understand my love for it. And I just constantly kind of bring him back and be like, but don't you see what I see? Like, don't you see the pockets of amazingness and like this, this identity that the street represents. And he's like, I see like so much garbage and it smells disgusting. And I'm like, you don't get it. So we're working on that, uh, on his love for New York because that's one of my boyfriends. I have two boyfriends. Right. Two boyfriends. Julie likes it. Okay. I love New York. Yeah. I love it. But I think my relationship is a little different. Like we went, we had a great time.

It was awesome. But like I was, I'm just like, I walk around thinking about like when can I go back? You do. I do too. But I don't want to live there. That's like, it's a taste. It's a side dish.

It's like a green bean. It's not like the main aspect of the meal. I'm up for it. I'm good. Like I would love to go for like, you know, a week every six or seven weeks. You are kind of, it's kind of you're living your dream already. No, it hasn't.

You were just there like eight weeks ago. Was it that? Yeah. You just were there. Forever ago. I'm exactly the same. A hundred percent. Exactly. All right, cool. We got to there. Forever ago. I'm exactly the same. A hundred percent. Exactly.

All right, cool. We got to wrap it up here. This was awesome. Yeah, this was great. Thank you so much. Of course. Triple Date is the next time with Bobby and Erin. So nice seeing you.

And Jonathan's outside reading a leadership book. Oh, he's out there right now? Yeah, he's just reading a leadership book. Does he want to come in and say hi on the podcast? I don't know. Do you want him to? We'll say hi to him after. Okay, yeah, that's probably a better idea.

All right, cool. Well, thanks so much, Amanda. You're super inspiring. Thank you guys. I love your energy. I love what you're doing. And anything that Julie and I can do to support you, continue to support you, or contribute to what you're doing, we're like all in. Have Mathis out.

Have your other little girl. Definitely. No question about that. Jaya. Jaya. We're happy to be in your community. That's the best. Thank you guys.

Thank you guys so much. For sure. And if you're digging on, if you're crushing on Amanda and you want to check her out, the best place to do that is, where should people go? We'll get into all the Catalyst websites, but you personally? Yeah, my Instagram and all that. Huffington post amanda slaven or my instagram is aj slaven twitter is aj slaven everything is aj slaven cool and then catalyst creative no e at the end no e.com yep downtownproject.com yep also yep and lifeisbeautiful.com yeah what else what am i missing missing? Global festival. I want to say org. If they

want to learn more about that, but that's, that's a good amount of links. The YouTube page for catalyst creative is actually on the website. So they can just click right there. Okay, cool. And I'll put links up in the show notes to all of that as well as some of those amazing nonprofits that you, that you rattled off. I'll send you everything too. Yeah, that'd be cool. Yeah. Great.

Awesome. Thank you guys. Thanks so much. All right. Cool. Great. Okay. Peace.

Plants. Namaste. All right, you guys, that's our show. I hope you've dug it. Amanda is awesome. I hope you feel the way I feel about her. I can't

imagine you don't. She's so super cool. Her message is so powerful. So I was really glad to sit down with her and hope you dug it. Do you guys want to stay current with all things RRP, all things plant power, all things plant power revolution? If you haven't done so already, please subscribe to my newsletter at richroll.com. I'm not going to spam you. You're just going to get a weekly podcast update and you will get exclusive access to deals and giveaways and contests and discounts and things like that, that I'm not going to be putting up on social media. So check that out. Again, we're offering a flat rate, $4.99 shipping rates on domestic purchases and flat rates on international purchases as well. Go to richworld.com to learn more about that. an online course called The Art of Living with Purpose.

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show is all about. Talking about mentorship, talking about apprenticeship. We've lost that art of appreciation. And I think we need to get back to that in some way. So what I want you guys to do is to seek out somebody in your orbit that you respect, that you admire, that you want to be like. Somebody who has what you want. Then I want you to set aside your fears, your apprehensions, your intimidation, and approach that person. Ask for guidance. Stop waiting for that person to call you take the action do the footwork make something happen see you next week peace plants Thank you.