TrueLife - Dom Farnan - From Toxicity to Creation

Episode Date: May 26, 2023

One on One Video Call W/George https://tidycal.com/georgepmonty/60-minute-meetingSupport the show:https://www.paypal.me/Truelifepodcast?locale.x=en_US🚨🚨Curious about the future of psychedelics? Imagine if Alan Watts started a secret society with Ram Dass and Hunter S. Thompson… now open the door. Use Promocode TRUELIFE for Get 25% off monthly or 30% off the annual plan For the first yearhttps://www.district216.com/https://www.domfarnan.com/For over twenty years, Dom Farnan has been a fearless leader in high-growth settings, blending entrepreneurship and advocacy in each of her roles. Whether she's recruiting talent for titans like Snapchat and Instacart or injecting joy into team meetings through sound and dance, the first thing people notice about Dom is the profound intentionality behind her actions. Dom brings radical change to the talent industry through the application of mindfulness, generosity of spirit, and a sense of compassion that values relationship building.Currently, she channels her expertise into DotConnect, the conscious connection agency she founded in 2011. In DotConnect's first year of business, Dom scaled the company to $3M. From there, Dom's growth mentality has never subsided. In 2022, DotConnect was honored by being included on the Inc5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the country. Dom also founded DoseConnect in 2022. Driven towards future healing and wellbeing, DoseConnect™ is a first-of-its-kind talent company solely focused on psychedelic therapeutics. Blending organizational strategy, systems thinking, and talent acquisition grounded in conscious connection, DoseConnect™ is built to help companies in this space scale for hyper-growth. Working directly with founders, visionaries and high-level operators, the team at DoseConnect™ helps companies with everything from human resources systems and compliance to growth culture transformation.At home in Southern California, Dom cherishes creating memories with those she loves and is eager to offer a resounding "yes" to new experiences and opportunities. When she's not spending time with her family, Dom can be found collecting stories, writing, and cultivating her soul-affirming spiritual practice. Dom's first book, "Now Here: A Journey from Toxic Boss to Conscious Connector" is available on Amazon and where books are sold.INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE?Reach out to me directly here on LinkedinEMAIL: [e-mail]: dotconnectilc.comWEBSITE: doseconnect.ioWEBSITE: domfarnan.comBOOK TIME: https:|/calendly.com/ iamdomfarnanhttps://intro.co/DomFarnanDom Farnan / CEO One on One Video call W/George https://tidycal.com/georgepmonty/60-minute-meetingSupport the show:https://www.paypal.me/Truelifepodcast?locale.x=en_USCheck out our YouTube:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPzfOaFtA1hF8UhnuvOQnTgKcIYPI9Ni9&si=Jgg9ATGwzhzdmjkg

Darkness struck, a gut-punched theft, Sun ripped away, her health bereft. I roar at the void. This ain't just fate, a cosmic scam I spit my hate. The games rigged tight, shadows deal, blood on their hands, I'll never kneel. Yet in the rage, a crack ignites, occulted sparks cut through the nights. The scars my key, hermetic and stark. To see, to rise, I hunt in the dark, fumbling, fear. Hears through ruins maze, lights my war cry, born from the blaze.

The poem is Angels with Rifles. The track, I Am Sorrow, I Am Lust by Codex Serafini. Check out the entire song at the end of the cast. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the True Life podcast. I hope everybody's having a beautiful day. I hope you got to wake up in the arms of someone you love, or you're at the very least thinking about someone you love. The birds are singing, the sun is shining.

I've got a beautiful, intelligent, incredible person here to speak on behalf of their new book. Dominique Farnon, Dom Farnon, Chief Conscious Connector, CEO of Dot Connect, Global Talent Executive, Founder, Speaker, Investor, author of the soon-to-be, in my opinion, New York Times bestseller, the book now here. Don, how are you today? I'm doing great. How are you? I am doing very well. I appreciate your time, and I'm thankful that you're spending some time with him in the audience today. So you have an incredible book that you've put out.

I read it, and I think it resonates, not only with me, but I think it's really resonating with people because it's more than just your origin story. It's a story of transformation that's sort of happening, a sort of awakening that's happening on the globe. And you really put your finger on the pulse by telling your story about what's happening in the world. That first off, I want to say thank you for that. And maybe I could throw it back to you. And how did this book come about?

Maybe you can give a quick origin story. Yeah, sure. So I always thought I would write a book. It was on my mind for a long time. I didn't know what it would be about. And then in COVID, I was in Seth Godin's Alt MBA program. So it's like a 31 day hardcore writing feedback, generous giving course. And it was so cool.

And it was really interesting because it was the middle of COVID and nobody was going anywhere and nobody was doing anything. And so it was July of 2020. I was writing a lot in that program. And towards the end of it, one of the coaches said to me, why don't you think about writing a book? Because you're a good writer. And I'm like, I don't know. And, you know, like maybe. So I was inspired and I started writing my manuscript. And it was a bit of an all over the place story. It was like, you know, when I was born, this. And then that happened, like it was a lot. And it wasn't at all what the book is now. And so I wrote my manuscript.

I wrote about 100 pages and then I stopped. And then my company started growing rapidly and crazy. And so I kind of put it on the back burner. And then last year in 2022, I was in a mastermind where we had to commit to a creative project for the year. And so initially I'm like, well, maybe I'll do a group coaching program. And they're like, that's too easy. And I'm like, well, maybe I'll like finish my book.

And they're like, perfect, do that. That's what we want to see by the end. of this nine months and I'm like, oh, okay. So I committed to that and then worked through that process and I was finished writing. I started in February. I finished writing what was the book by August and was editing and all of that. And then it was kind of good to go by the end of December and then launched in this March. I love that subtitle of it from toxic boss to conscious connector. And I think it speaks volumes of environment. I'm curious to get your opinion. You know, in the beginning of your book, I don't want to give any little nuggets out there that people can

find for themselves and be thankful for. However, you talk a little bit about your father and the work that he had and growing up in California. And doesn't it seem that growing up in California and maybe some of these multinational corporations may have a toxic environment? Is it possible that maybe the environment you grew up in, kind of set the standard for you to become a toxic boss? Oh, fully. I mean, we grew up in Lake Forest and then we spent a lot of time in Laguna Beach. And then I moved to Newport Beach when I was 16. And that changed everything because Newport Beach is a hard place to integrate into when you are in your sophomore year of high school at the end of the year. We owned a condo. We didn't own a mansion up there. We were just your middle class. And I immediately, did not fit in. I didn't continue my swimming career. So before we moved, I was a varsity swimmer

at Mission VAO High School. As a freshman and a sophomore, I thought I was going to go to school in USC and swim and be an Olympian or whatever. That was like way back in the day. So it was really hard because I had no friends. I felt very isolated. And I told my mom after my couple of months at Newport Harbor, I'm like, I'm not going back there. My junior year, I can't do it. So I interviewed and enrolled in a thing called middle college high school that was at Orange Coast College. And the caveat was you had to apply. There was only 50 kids in senior and junior year and you had to go to college at the same time. And so that was like the beginning, almost like the beginning of the end for me. Because then it was like, oh, all of a sudden you're an adult. You're not a 16 year old kid anymore.

You're not doing swim team and all the fun stuff you like to do. You're going to college. You're working. And that was that. And then quickly thereafter, I decided to graduate early. I just finished all my courses. And I was just rushing to be an adult and rushing to get out of my parents' house and rushing to, I don't know, pay bills and work.

Like it was a weird pull to really have me grow up so fast. I love the way you introduced it in your book. You're talking about working with family members. Like, I got to get the F out of this place. I'm being an adult. Like it's such a, it's such like a mindset of like the young professional who, I don't know, I love it. I think it's something that most kids on some level go through.

And I'm not looking forward to my daughter going through it, but I know that's coming. And so I do think Newport, Southern California is sometimes the very seat of, you know, toxicity because there's just these incredible standards that are impossible for kids to meet. and you're bombarded by billboards and perfect and bada, by just banging on you all day long. It's so crazy. And so I think it's also interesting as a swimmer being an individual sport. Like that teaches you a lot about how to compete in the world too.

Like you don't have a team. It's you win or you lose on your own merit. It's pretty. Yeah, I think a lot about that. Like recently I've been thinking about the young me, like Little Dom, what was I into? What brought me joy? And it was interesting because even I was reflecting on an elementary school.

I wasn't out on the playground. I was hanging out with the teachers. I was helping them file papers. I was writing on the chalkboard, the lesson plan. I was grading papers. I was always gravitating more towards adult and like more seriousness. So I never really was like super, super childish and playful. And even with swimming, swimming is a hardcore to your point, like very internally driven.

And you can be the best and someone will be you by a tenth of a second and then you'll get second place. So it's kind of like a mental, it's a mental strategy game. And it was interesting. And what I mentioned in my book is I think what set me down this perfectionistic path was when I was six and I tried out for swim team. And my coach, I overheard her tell my mom that I wasn't any good. And so like I started spiraling going, what do you mean I'm not good? Like I thought I was good.

I finished that length of the pool. Like, you know, as a six year old, you don't really know, but it was so out of context. It was more like, yeah, she needs some work, bring her back next summer. She's a little young. I didn't hear that part. I just heard you're not good. And so that like sent me into, well, what do I need to do to be good? Oh, I need to be the best at everything.

And then I have to sign up for everything and like really show up so that then people will love me. It was like, it's a very, it was a very strange thing. Yeah. You know, I have to show up so people will love me. What does that mean? Yeah. That's what I would think. I would think like, well, you have to be the best at swimming.

You have to be the best at violin. You have to be the best at model United Nations. Like I was in all, I was really super nerdy. So I was in all the things. And it was constantly like, well, if you do this, then, you know, you get the stamp of approval. And if you do this, then the teachers love you. And then your parents will love you. And then, you know, it was this constant striving for validation.

And then that translated into my work life later on. Because when I started work at 17, I was indoctrinated into corporate. and had, you know, lots of constraints and structure and rules. And it just really diminishes your essence. I was 17. Like I was so, like, young and innocent. And then all the next thing, you know, I'm like, you know, working a nine to five at an office and having to wear a suit and like zero creativity and just, you know,

file in the ranks and do what you're told and don't say this and don't look like that and don't wear that. And it was really challenging. And that's what led me to, you know, having. my breakdown of sorts in 2020 that was kind of just like, where did the last 20 years of my life go? What the hell happened? And I don't even remember it. It was very like, like you must have been disassociated because you don't even remember what happened for the last 20 years. You just know that you're here and you're not really feeling it. Yeah, it's kind of like when you get in a car,

your mind somewhere else and you just drive somewhere and all of a sudden you end up, I'm here. I don't even remember driving here. You know, I think it speaks volumes to the way in which we've been conditioned, especially since those of us who went to a public school or we've been conditioned to authority to see each other as less than human. And I think that's gotten worse over the years. You look at the corporate nature. Everyone has an employee number. We take the humanity out of it. We kind of dehumanize people in order in the name of production. We put everything below that. And I think that that is an incredible disservice to not only you and I, but our kids in the world we live in. And it sounds to me like that's a big part of what your book is about,

is changing the very fundamental framework of how you move and operate in this world. That's such a huge thing. And you talk about the breakdown. Like, was there signs of it as you were moving through your life? You're like, man, this isn't right. Were you getting a little hints before the breakdown came? A little bit, but not really because I was always motivated by external validation, success, and money. So for me, I had all of that.

And so it kind of kept me going. and I never really, I had no break. So the great thing about COVID, while there wasn't really many great things, was that I was grounded and I was stuck and I couldn't travel and I was stuck there with myself in my house, with my husband and my kid. And I hadn't ever had a break like that where, you know, because before when I was climbing the corporate ladder, I was traveling. I was always overcommitted and busy and filling up every minute of my life with work

or some things so that I didn't just have to sit still. And so when I had that stillness, that is when then a voice inside was kind of like, yeah, this doesn't feel right. Like something about this just isn't right. Also, if you look around and you have all these things and you're still feeling not great, like, what do you think that says about you? And like, why don't you kind of take a deeper look at this?

And so it was very much my kind of soul going, uh, yeah, this isn't work. for us and you know it and I know it and like let's start taking care of it. That's a tough, that's a tough realization to gum to. And it makes sense why there seems to be an acceleration, right? Because a lot of people like you or me or some people that found their voice during COVID, it was this slowdown. It was this stop. But when you're constantly going, you don't have time to think about that. You don't have time to think like, hey, I wonder why my kid is like playing by themselves in the corner and really quiet. Or I wonder why my husband's or my wife is kind of giving me the cold shoulder.

Probably nothing I did. You know what I mean? Like we automatically disassociate like that, which is it's a fascinating concept to think about. You know, I love the way in which you've broken the book down as well from like live, work, love, and wake. It does seem almost like the hero's journey, you know, like the same way you write the book like that. Is that the cycle in which it's happened?

Like, you know, live, work, love, wake. Like, what was that a conscious decision to write it in that way? Is that the way it happened in your life? Yeah. When I thought about it and I was working with my publishers, we came up with the book plan and that felt aligned with how I wanted to structure what I was talking about and what I was going through. And I'm even thinking about that now for moving forward and what I want to share with the world and what feels in alignment with you. I really kind of want to stick with those buckets because I think it's easy. for people to really drop in and decide where they want to go deep in any one of those. I mean, I have a deep, what I would say, like spiritual practice and sense of knowing and that, but not everyone wants to go there.

And so, you know, there's other things I like to talk about as well, which is conscious leadership, which is building companies and corporate cultures that are conscious and turning that on for people and planting seeds. And so I'm not just totally in my woo-woo, which sometimes I can be, but usually there's a lot of other things I like to talk about as well. I love the area of the woo-woo. I think it's such an incredible place. First off, let me say congratulations on the feature of international business times.

That's a huge accomplishment. Congratulations for that. That's really cool. Yeah, thank you. So it brings us to this idea of burnout. You know, we've kind of danced around this subject a little bit of what it's like to be playing at a really high level and making lots of money and surrounding yourself with people that could be toxic relationships. What do you think is, first off, do you think that there's

sort of an epidemic of burnout? Do you see it happening more and more? Yeah, and I'll tell you right now, for the next two months, I'm not working because I am in a burnout. So I was in a breakdown and burnout a lot in 2020. And then I started my journey. And then I've done so many things on my journey in my typical fashion. When I go at something, I go out at hard. So, you know, my healing journey has even been overwhelming with coaches, masterminds, retreats, plant medicine, you know, this whole, all of the things, almost to a point

where like that was my full time job was the last couple of years has been like hardcore healing while my company's been growing. And then while now we're in an economic downturn. And at the same time, we lost our house in a hurricane. And so all of that said, I recently have been physically feeling it. Like I know something's up physically with me. I'm like, hmm, this doesn't feel right. I'm getting blood work done.

I'm like getting all these tests to see, you know, what's going on and where my levels of health are and where, you know, I have opportunities to change things. And so recently, you know, my company slowed down quite a bit because we're in recruiting and there's not a lot of recruiting happening particularly in tech. So it's created a lot of space for me. And my immediate knee-jerk reaction and condition tendency is to fill that space up with something. And one of my coaches or maybe all of my coaches have been like, how about you just not? How about you practice what you preach and you don't actually do anything for two months?

And I like immediately have this rush of anxiety. And I'm like, I can't not work for two months. I can't not like provide and make money and all the things that I believe I need to do despite like if I don't work for two months, okay, we'll be okay. Thankfully. But also I won't be able to continue any of this, the creation, the writing, the showing up for myself, my team, my family, unless I really honor this time. So really like what I posted about the other day, in particular on LinkedIn. in about burnout was like, I'm in it now and I am recognizing it. And it feels really difficult for me to disconnect from all the things and all the meetings and all the events. Like there's events I've

canceled. There's money I've lost in certain things because I don't want to go right now. I just don't want to have any hardcore travel. And I'm nervous. I'm like, what the hell am I going to do with all this time for two months? Like that seems strange to me because I have never stopped. But I do think I can't be somebody who is trying to create an impact in the world in this space of conscious leadership if I'm not recognizing and honoring what I need and what my physical body and my health is telling me is like, yo, this isn't working for us. So now's our time while things are very quiet because I may not have another time like this right now in my industry. Like, you know, I may also discover that maybe that's no longer aligned for me working in recruiting. To me, working in recruiting, it's everything I've ever known, but it keeps me in my zone of performance. Like my easy, I can do it in my sleep.

I can tell anybody, anything about anything and how to go and hire. But my zone of genius is expanded and I can't really get to that level and be in that energy that I want to be, which is in my genius all the time. if I'm too tired or I have health problems or I, you know, can't get there. Yeah. Do you ever think that maybe the health problems you have in your life are manifesting because the work you're doing is time for change? Like you're incredible at what you do. You know what I mean?

But maybe this is the world telling you, hey, you're done with that. You're done. Yeah. No, it fully, it 100% feels like that. I was telling my COO the other day. I'm like, did we manifest this? because I kind of feel like last year, like, we were talking about, like, the future of our company and both of our roles and where we want to go. And, you know, we didn't see an end in sight.

We just saw lots of growth happening. And we were kind of keeping pace. And it was pulling us in. And then, you know, it was money and growth and all the normal human-y things. And then it just felt like the universe was like, hmm, interesting. You want to do something different? Here you go. similar with losing my house in the hurricane.

Yeah. I had thought on vacation when we were visiting California before we moved here again, I'm like, maybe I want to move back. Like, you know what? I feel it. Like I really miss the ocean. Yeah. I didn't say to the universe, like, lose my house in a hurricane, but I did say, like, I really

want to live by the ocean again. And so I feel a lot like the universe does create space. And you have to really be mindful of your thoughts. I mean, I was just recording a mini course on this yesterday, talking about all of the things that you hear. A, don't believe everything that you think, but also really be mindful of your thoughts. When you have the awareness that you are not your thoughts, then you can pick and choose and you can really focus on what you consciously are thinking and calling in and the language that you're using because it's very powerful. The world is made of language. I think it was Terrence McKenna.

He used to say the world is made of language. And when you begin to understand that and you begin to, you know, I love the way you said you invite these things in. And, you know, whether it's your house being lost, whether it's a child being lost, the time of new beginnings is when we build the foundation for the future. You know, and I hear this title, like you would said, hardcore healing. Like, that's a title of a book right. That sounds so big.

I get goosebumps when I think about that. And it's amazing to think that. These are the times that will allow us to be greater in life. Because you have to go through this pain. Like, you have to have this death and rebirth if you want to continue to grow. Part of Dom has to die. Part of George has to die. Yeah.

And, you know, rather your house and your relationship, right, whether you catch that sign or you wait until you're really sick or somebody's sick, like you're listening to the signs and you're moving forward. And you're still creating at this time. Yeah, no, I agree with you completely. And that's, I'm currently feeling very much like I'm in a death cycle and it's been a long one because it started, you know, it started as my house and like losing that. There was a huge grieving process with that.

And, and, you know, I've learned about grief and it's not just like, well, you grieve and it's over. It's like this. It's very like peaks and valleys and peaks and valleys. And sometimes you think you're fine and then something can trigger you and you go back down in a hole and then you come back up. And so it's not, it's a, it's a long process. And so I have that process. And then I also have this identity death that I'm going through because I feel like I've been performing, you know, in my role as CEO and leader and all of the things for

the last few years and I no longer want to perform for the labels that everybody has put on me. Like I didn't ask to be that. I just was that and now I am that. But I feel now like I just want to shed all of that and I want to be truly seen for me, who I am, how I, how I lead from my heart, what's on my mind, how I impact the world. And truly like my essence, I don't want to just be like, oh, well, she's a CEO and does this and that, like, all of, like, all of that is old school for me, you know? Yeah. You're, you know, it's interesting to me to talk to people on the forefront of change.

And that to me sounds a lot, like, there's all kinds of metaphors. You could talk about a snake shedding its skin. You could talk about a giant forest fire that rips through the canopy and destroys the homes of all the native and it leaves this pile of rich nutrient ash. And out of there begins to grow the young seedlings that will one day. reach the heights of the sky, but it needs that soil. Like you have to be able, like the true measure of someone who can impact the world is someone who can die, embrace it and be reborn.

And it's in all our myths. It's in the hero's journey. Yeah. It's in the Iliad and the Odyssey. It's in every story. And it's in your story. I mean, you're recording it through your books and you're going through this time right now where you are beginning to find out what you are capable of shedding the skin of

the CEO, shedding the skin of the labels is what's going to allow you to become bigger. And think about what you're doing. The same thing your dad did for you in your book when you talk about how hard he worked. And he came back with this idea of like, you know what? I got these, I got these presses. I'm going to do this. You know, and you're, that's crazy. Like, you are just the next evolution.

Now you're building this and your backster's probably like, mom, look at this. Like you're building this next chapter. And it's beautiful. And I'm so stoked that I'm here talking to you. So as you're in this process right now, you've talked a little bit about some of the things you're thinking, a little bit about shedding this skin. Like, are there anything's kind of emerging that you see on the forefront of the new Dom? Yeah, so it's exciting because I just recorded my first mini course that I'm probably just going to gift to the world at this point. It'll be out in June.

It talks about a lot of the things I mentioned in my book. So you almost can take my book and then use it as your guide. But it kind of plants enough seeds for someone to decide what they want to do after that. Like, do they want to go deeper? And then there are many different ways in which someone could engage with me. But I see in my ideal world, I'd love to work with emerging entrepreneurs or people who aren't quite there on their toxic level that I was. But like they know something is wrong and it's not really working for them. Maybe they're trying to scale their business, seven, eight figures, nine figures.

But they're early in their journey and they don't have help or mentorship or guidance or anything. And I also see me working with companies in a different way, not recruiting, but actually working on developing conscious cultures with intention because in the last 18 months at my company, that's exactly what we did. We rebuilt our entire culture from the ground up and made it a conscious culture so much so that in the last seven months, you know, we've had to make a lot of challenging decisions. We've had to let go of a lot of people and reframe everything that we're doing as a company. And during that time, every time we let someone go, I don't get lit up on glass door or

LinkedIn of people distraught about not working or, you know, being laid off or let go or whatever. I get emails from everybody saying that working at Dot has changed their life, working with me with our leadership team has changed their life. They've known and grown and learned more about themselves as a human being, about how they are as a performer within work, within their personal lives. And so that's a testament to what it means to be a conscious leader

and how it means to grow and lead a conscious culture. And it was with intention. You cannot haphazardly just do it and decide one day you're going to do it and the next day that you're not. It's a commitment. It's also embodiment. It's behavior. it's energy from the leadership down.

It starts with me, goes to my team, goes to their team, goes to the collective, and that's how everybody shows up. And so I can see myself working more embedded with companies that are maybe conscious curious or they have no clue or, you know, whatever, and really helping them to turn the light bulbs on for their leadership team and their executives. I'm so glad to hear that. I think that the disconnect, first off, I love all the language. in what you're doing, like dot connect.

You have so much language in the things that you're building that draw people together. And when I look at the old model of the corporate world, I see these Fortune 500 companies that are really centralized. And so, you know, they have a board of directors in New York that will make decisions for companies and people on the ground in Hawaii. And they have zero. They have zero respect for the people working on the ground. They have zero understanding of what's happening.

They just micromanage everything. and in doing so, in this search for control, they're squeezing the balloon and they're just popping out all over their fingers and they're losing their mind. I think that what you are building is the future of any corporation or sort of entity that wants to be successful.

You have to work consciously together to create conscious change. And this is a good segue into. As someone who was a recruiter, it seems to me that you've developed a vision to see in people what they'd be good at. Like, that's a really unique skill. And I, that's something that maybe you could talk about that a little bit before I'm opening up my next question. Yeah, no, it's interesting that you say that.

It's a good reflection back to myself because I believe that is my magic. That's always been what my magic is. And someone said that to me yesterday. Like, you have an ability to see for somebody else what they cannot yet see. And so I, that resonated with me so much. And so you just said it. So it's true. Like I believe that that's why I've also still kept in touch with the thousands and tens of thousands of people that I hired. I was at an event on Monday night here locally at a venture studio. And one of the guys I hired 15 years ago drove up to join me at the event.

I hadn't seen him since I hired him. And he said, you're still the best recruiter I've ever worked with. And I'm like, oh, thanks, Armando. I love that. But yeah, I think it's true. I think what I love and why even still take the network. calls and the calls that people have with me just to connect and talk about recruiting is because oftentimes I'm just a good kind of brainstormer. So they can just get on the call and just tell

me all the things. And then I'm thinking of connecting the dots forward. So how can you take this skill set and pivoted into this industry, this type of role? Have you thought of that role? Sometimes because I've been exposed to so many different things over my career and worked in consulting, I've worked for, you know, close to 500 companies, people don't know that. They just know what they know. So I kind of bring this breath of everything. And I've also been able to, you know, teach my team how to do that. Obviously, it comes with time and exposure and whatnot.

But I've been able to at least share with my team, you know, some tools and techniques of how to really go deep with people, get to the root of their motivation and get to know them on a deeper human level. I mean, I joke about it, but I made two hires last month. I'm not even recruiting and I made two hires from conversations that I had, you know, with people in my network. People were like, connect with Dom. So I talked to them and then they tell me something.

And then two days later, I have a serendipitous aligned conversation and connect them. And it was so funny because I'm like, well, shit, at least I know I can go back to recruiting if I need a job because I'm still doing it like unconsciously in a way that what we're just, you know, works out. and people are getting hired. So it's cool. It's super cool. I guess the next part of that question is,

if you look at that like a superpower, like a skill or a tool that's been unfolding, like you've had this ability to see in other people what is possible. And if you see that as a skill that's continuing to unfold, the same way that people on plant medicines continue to unfold their journey, like it seems to me like the next logical step in that unfolding use of that, that tool is where you're at now, like taking some time to thoroughly hold that tool in your hand to see your ability to see the good in others and then to see further in that.

Like, you know what I mean? Like, what do you think? How do you think that tool continues to unfold in your life? Yeah. I mean, I think it is an evolution of my writing. I do feel I'll write more books. I also applied for grad school. And so the grad school program is called Masters of Consciousness inaction.

And so I want to be consciousness in action like I already have been. That also feeds into a PhD program around regenerative business and regenerative leadership. And that's basically like the next thing in business, right? How do you run a regenerative business? What does it mean? how do you regenerate your own energy to then create a business that is regenerating its own energy and nobody's feeling tired and burnt out and stressed out and exhausted and depleted and how it's health problems and blah, blah, blah.

So I think 100% that that is exactly why this is happening for me and why this space is opened up. One of my coaches gave me homework the other day and he said, I want you to write for the, write all the lessons you learned from the last four years of you leading and growing your team. all of them, write them down and then A, that'll probably be your next book, but, but B, sit with all of those lessons because that's how you're going to help these other emerging entrepreneurs that you want to work with as well. And I agree, like the mini course that I said I recorded was a lot around hoping to be a

little bit of a mirror for people to look back at themselves and go, hmm, okay, that kind of sounds like me. Maybe I should try this or I can try that. There's a lot of invitations for people who are curious to, you know, think about things a little bit. And it's not preachy. When I was first on this journey, I get so excited. And I tend to be very preachy in my like, everybody do this thing. And now I'm a lot more low key and subtle.

And I'm not trying to tell everybody what to do. I'm exposing people to all the things that I've done and sharing all the things and just saying, hey, any of all of these things, could be great. So maybe you just test them out and see what works for you. And even in my own life, you know, with my parents and with my family, I was very much the like torch holder of, of healing. And, you know, and sometimes my mom would be like, are you in a cult? Like, what are you doing? Like, what is all this stuff? You know, just the people don't understand. But I think I've changed my posture a little bit. And it's not about even saying. It's just about being and embodying this and coming from a different energetic place.

So the best compliments I get now is from people or that my, my energy's changed or I seem lighter or I seem different or I don't seem stressed out or any of those things I'll take it because that is exactly how I want to seem and be. Yeah. It's almost like, you know, I don't know how many people can drive stick shift today, but when I was little, you had to learn. And whenever you shift gears, like it's like, what? And then boom, it gets easier.

You know what I mean? But then you build up that momentum and then you shift gears. And that allows you to go faster. It allows you to get to places that you couldn't get to before. If you didn't shift gears, you couldn't get uphill. If you didn't shift gears, you're not going to be on the freeway. So it sounds to make it. And if you look at it from a fractal level, in this conversation alone, you would mention,

you know, George, when I look back on my swimming career, you know, George, when I look back on the beginning of my recruiting career. And already in this conversation, you're talking about, look, I remember looking back on this other career when I was more of this cheerleader type. And now I'm this. Like so if you just take like just in this conversation alone, the amount of gears we've already shifted, I think it speaks volumes of where you're at and where you're going to be. Another thing, if we equated to the idea of plant medicine, you know, I don't know that

anybody who hasn't had a plant medicine experience is really capable of helping someone through their journey. And so it kind of makes sense if we look at it from that angle. How would you be able to help people take it to the very next level if like, you know, you can help CEO. You can help all these people right now. But how are you going to be able to create this world that you want of a conscious regenerative business until you have that living experience? You're doing it now.

You're like in the tough part of like reimagining what's possible. I think it's like I think I'm going to look back on this. I remember when I talked to Dom. I remember when she was in the phase right here. Like it's going to be happy. Yeah. Yeah. No, I see that too.

Yeah. It's interesting. I mean, it's good conversation to have. I'm getting ready. I go to Costa Rica tomorrow for a. a retreat and I'm sitting with grandmother ayahuasca again. And, you know, I booked this retreat in January feeling very much like I was ready because it was, you know, a little almost a year since I had had my first experience.

As I get closer to going, I'm, you know, one percent nervous, which is normal. Totally. But I actually feel much more empowered. So much has happened from my first experience in April of 22 in Peru to now. And I feel like that has just the integration, but also like the new, you know, it's kind of like laying fresh sod. It's like this new, this new experience. And so I have a different mindset going into it. I think when I first did it, I was like way more scared and it was unknown.

And, you know, I was feeling brave. and now I feel empowered. Like I'm choosing this. I know what my intention is. Even this morning, I had an extended kind of morning devotional practice before our call. And I did a meditation. And I was doing a meditation from the Chopra app. And it was about a freedom.

I think it was about freedom. So anyways, in the mantra, I'm repeating it. I immediately dropped in. And I saw all of my guides, which are, you know, a lot of my grandparents and former, you know, family members and whatnot. And they were all standing there with me and it was little me. And they were hugging me and kissing me. And I said, I miss you all so much. And they said, we miss you too, but you're ready to go. And we've got you and we're holding you. So just you got this. You know, go. And then I just started crying. And then I'm texting all the people

I'm at the retreat with it. I'm like, I'm ready, you guys. I saw my guides. We're going to do this. But I feel definitely like after going back and going to sit with this medicine again, it's such a tool. I mean, talk about something for emerging leaders. And it's not for everybody, but for those of you who are called, you know, follow the calling and just do your research and see where it leads you because that has been something that has single-handedly completely changed my life. And it was not something I ever had on my radar at all because I was not your like teenage mushroom, you know, like I wasn't the opposite of that. Yeah, that was not me. I'm not like zero percent like that. So this came to me in the last couple of years and it's just been such a beautiful

addition to my life. And so I can go on and on about it all day. I was talking to people this week. I was meeting some, you know, heads of HR and friends of mine that are local and we're having dinner. And I'm telling them like, well, you know, you could try microdosing. You could try this. You can write that. And they're like, wait, what? Is this a thing? I'm like, oh, this is the thing. This is a whole thing that's happening now.

Right. They're surprised, but curious. And, you know, that's the way you want to be. Yeah. That's why you're such a good ambassador for it. Like you said, you are not that person coming up. But you have found a way to make this practice. Not only you've domified it.

Not only have you made it yours, but you have found a way to, introduce it to other people who may not have even had it on their radar. That's the real change. It's not maybe in the boardroom. It's the friend meeting for lunch that respects another person that is providing results outside of the workplace. It's beautiful to me. I had a friend that went out to Palm Springs and she wanted to do a little bit of a psilocybin

journey. And so I worked with her and I helped her understand how to dose and all. all the stuff. So anyway, she goes out there. And then she texts me, I ate the whole chocolate par. And I'm like, oh my gosh. I'm like, um, did you want to do that? Do you know what's going to happen? Are you okay? What's going on? She's just like, I'll call you Monday. I'm like, oh, k-dokey. So she called me Monday and she goes, now I get it. Now I totally get everything you've been saying. And it was so beautiful. And I saw my younger self and I saw my grandma. And like all the things that she needed to see and feel and hear is exactly what she got.

And that just warmed my heart. And I'm like, oh, my gosh, this is exactly why I was sharing this with you. And I'm glad that you did it when you felt safe with, you know, your husband who was babysitting you and all of that. And you got exactly what you needed from it. You know, and you don't know, like some people, they go really deep in this. And, you know, it might even be a way of bypassing other things. But sometimes all you need is one thing. And sometimes you don't need a big, huge journey.

You can do a microdosing journey. You know, it's just, it's just an extra tool in the tool belt. And it definitely creates a lot of space for expansion and contemplation and healing. I know in my first ayahuasca journey, I came back feeling so light. Like I had left a lot of my depression and a lot of the things I was carrying just down in the jungle. Like they just didn't come back with me at all. And so I'm excited now because I feel very light and going into this next journey. I'm like, all right, light and love.

Let's see what we got. Let's see what's going to come up for this one. You know, so here's an interesting, I've been talking to quite a few people who have been fortunate enough and I've been lucky enough where they share these different things with me. And much like your friend who got to experience on one level, one kind of journey, and you getting to go to retreat and what? What are some similarities and some differences, maybe good and bad, between taking a journey by yourself and then getting to have a journey outside in, like, Costa Rica with a group of people?

Are there some benefits and some drawbacks from both of those types? Yeah, so I've done, you know, I did a psilocybin journey in Costa Rica last year with two people. Okay. And we had our guide with us, but he played the most incredible live music. It sounded like there was 50 people in a band. Wow. And it was so beautiful. It was the most beautiful, one of the most beautiful journeys I've ever had.

It was so just transformational. It was small. It was like us too. But I was really just in my lane doing my thing. Like I didn't even know what my friends had going on. With my ayahuasca, there was about eight of us. And there were five shamans, which was a lot. It was a lot of extra kind of care.

And it was a lot of. a good size group. The next group I'm going with in Costa Rica now will be double. That's going to be 18 people, which is a lot of people. Yeah. So, so I don't know how it will be. It is just a lot of energy, right? Right. And I do feel like it depends, you know, I don't know if I will ever be someone to go to a big, huge, hundred person ceremony that may not be. Stay away from those. Yeah, I don't think that's my my vibe, I'm more of like the small, small group or an individual. I think if it's just you and either a shaman or a guide or a trip sitter or whatever you want, I think it does allow you to go really deep and not, you know, hear anything.

Like sometimes your mind will wander, right? If you're in a room with someone, you're kind of like, what's going on over there? When you're home, you're just in it. And so, you know, and you can be really free and you can be really expressive and you, you know, if you're feeling safe and you have the right set and setting, then you can go as deep as you want or not. Yeah. Yeah, it's interesting. I've been reading quite a bit about some emerging techniques that I've seen where they're beginning to use neural imaging, like neural feedback during some of those things. Have you heard about that?

I've heard a little bit. So one of my friends, Marcelo Geffen, he does a lot of work in that space. And he's like this crazy neuroscientist guy. So he'll know all about that. He's amazing. But he actually did a reading, a scan of my brain after I got back from my first ayahuasca. And he was like, you look like you have a different brain. Like it looks like it's firing on all cylinders and a lot of things that weren't really showing up before are showing up.

Your energy levels look different. your certain brain waves were tapped in and turned on than others. And so it was really beautiful. I will say, too, for those who are listening that may not want to go that route yet, or maybe they can't. Some people can't for health reasons. There are other things that you can do like breathwork. You know, you can do a deep breathwork or sound healing.

Or there are devices now, too, that can take you to place. is there's a device called brain tap. And so they have these goggles that you put on and headphones. And the goggles have LED lights that kind of flash. And so it can get you into a really deep meditation and it almost will feel like a journey. Similarly, there's another product called Entheotech, same kind of thing, goggles, headphones. And they have a bed that you lay on. And so as they're taking you through the meditation, you breathe.

And as you breathe, the bed will start to vibrate like with the energy of your breath. I did that last year at Wonderland, and it was so cool. What was it like? Was it a full psychedelic experience? It was. I was like, whoa, I'm straight back into Peru. It felt very potent. And it was quick.

It was like a 15-minute thing. So I went and told everybody I knew. I was like, you guys got to go over there and do that thing. It's really powerful. And everyone agreed. So this brings me into this interesting idea of evolving, but not so much evolving consciousness, but something we do as humans to try and like pack everything in.

You know, it seems that, you know, we want to have the quickest, strongest experience we want it now. Like if you look at the way in the 80s, cocaine went to crack or you look at the way you go to the drugstore and you're like extra strength, power now, you know, or five hour energy. Like, do you see, and this kind of ties into the idea of the toxic culture that's not giving way to conscious connection.

And that is maybe that do you see as someone who has come from this toxic environment that there is a arm of this transformational thing we're going through that is trying to squeeze it into production. What I mean by that is, are they trying to take this to make people productive? Are we in danger? You know what I mean by that? Yeah, no, totally. And I agree.

And I think that there's a lot of conversation and contention around psychedelics in particular and the industry coming together and like the biotech people and the venture money and what does all of this mean and where are the intentions rooted right are they to really help people or are they to really make a lot of money or you know like so I definitely think there's a lot of that conversation happening but I also on the flip side think that there's a lot of people who need help, mental health. Like what they've done so far is not working. How much more research do you need to know that psychedelics do work versus all the research

that you have that support that everything else that you've done isn't working, you know? Like there's treatment resistant everything now. Like so I don't know what the answer is, but I do agree. And my hope is that they're not just trying to do it quick and fast and make a buck. but it really is to create impact and create, give people options when they need them. It's interesting too because, you know, Oregon just opened their first psilocybin clinic

and to get like a microdose plus therapy session is very costly. And so that's a whole other thing. Like how do you create it so that it is equitable and fair and accessible? and how do you also create it so that it's reciprocal and you're protecting and acknowledging the truth of the medicine and where it's even coming from? I've been in some situations and places lately where people are calling certain things medicine

when it's not medicine or calling certain things ceremony when it's not ceremony. and they're just, you know, not respecting what it is. And that really like breaks my heart when I'm like, you know, at certain events or something. And you have people who are, you know, urban shamans and, you know, the microponore on Instagram, he, he like is a comedy guy. And so he kind of. Phenomenal.

Right. Yeah, exactly. So I don't want to go down the rabbit hole of that. But it's just like, yeah, I'm just, I'm seeing these things. things, which makes me, you know, think about even how I talk about it and really how I go about it with myself. Like, if I'm going to microdose on Friday night or I'm going to take a bite of chocolate, we're not doing ceremony.

I might set an intention, but like I'm not sitting here, like, talking about ceremony and prepping for ceremony and like, you know, so just call it what it is. Like don't, don't like, you know, make it something that it's not and then mainstream it and confuse a lot of people who are newer to it. around again going back to language. Yeah, it's interesting. And on some levels, I fear, I think what Cole Butler called the McDonald's of transformation.

You know, we're like, I'll take a Big Mac, a Coke, a coaching certificate. And what is that, a micro dose? I'll get four of those. You know what I mean? Like in some level you can see emerging. Right. Right. And you know, like someone who wrote, I think Brom Rector wrote the other day on LinkedIn,

like he had been doing a lot of research and talking to people. about, I don't know, psychedelics and non-psychadilics. And like the through line is people want access to whatever psychedelics and or drugs or substances that they want. They don't want to go to a clinic. They don't care. Not all of them. But, you know, like it's the same that it ever was.

Like people just want to do what they want to do. And like some people will go ceremonially. Some people will go to therapy with it. Some people won't like. It doesn't matter. Just let us get what we want in a safe way. Make it accessible. Decriminalize it.

especially decriminalized plants, right? And then whatever. Yeah. Yeah, I like that. You know, if, and I really am excited for the future. You know, I think that there are these interesting issues at the forefront that are fun to talk about. And if only we had like a person that had recently moved from a toxin environment to a conscious creator, if only we had this person that was redefining their life so they can build these regenerative businesses.

Do you know anybody like that, though? I mean, I don't know. You're speaking it into existence for me. So I'm happy to carry that torch forward. I love it. I love it. I know that you have another interview coming up, but I really enjoyed this. And I really am thankful that you got to spend some time with me.

And I, you know, maybe when you come back from your trip somewhere along the lines, we could have another conversation. We could talk about who you were there and what happened there. And we could further our relationship. Yes, I love that. Let's do it. Okay. Well, before I let you go,

So where can people find you? What do you have coming up and what are you excited about? Yeah, people can find me on my website, Domfarnon.com or on Instagram at I am Dom Farnan. I'm also on LinkedIn for those of you who might still be in The Matrix in corporate. I'm still there too. It's Dom Farnan. And then what I have coming up, so I will tell you in your audience, I haven't announced this yet yet. Nice.

I filmed a mini course yesterday. There's four modules, talks a lot about my book, Wisdom Life Lessons. It's my gift to the world. So I'm bringing that out in June. I'm excited about a couple of months of quiet and spaciousness and spending the summer with my son and walking him to junior lifeguards. Yeah. Yeah.

So just dropping into that energy. And I'm hopeful that that space will allow me to create what the next thing is. without a doubt, without a doubt. I think it's already emerging. And I'm so thankful that we got to spend time. Hang on one second. I'm going to hang up with the people, but I want to talk to you real briefly afterwards.

Cool. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for spending time with us. I want to make sure that everybody goes and checks out the links in the show notes. And I would love to tell everybody listening, do yourself a favor and pick up Dom's new book, a journey from Toxic Boss, a Conscious Connector. It's a beautiful book here now.

I'm sorry, now here. Yeah, now here. I apologize for that. It's a beautiful book, and it's written in a way that is both passionate and compassionate, and I think you really enjoy it. I know I did. Ladies and gentlemen, that's all we got for today. Aloha.