How Miki Agrawal Builds $100 Million Brands And Disrupts Industries

People are still talking about the keynote that Miki Agrawal gave on our stage in September of 2021 at the last Capitalism Conference. I invited Mickey to come on our stage and talk about how she's had multiple eight and nine figure successes. She started multiple businesses that were all successful and some of them completely changed the game and made tens or hundreds.

Of millions of dollars.

I wanted to bring her on stage to figure out what is it about her mindset or what is it about her approach that creates predictable success because many entrepreneurs struggle to get just to the first million. But she is out there dancing her way to multimillion dollar businesses and nine figure valuations. What is she doing different than all of us? The focus of her time on stage was much more about being lit up as an entrepreneur than it was about any particular strategy. In fact, Mickey talked about how when you're fully lit up, your power as an entrepreneur is kind of able to light things on fire all over the place. The strategy becomes less important when you're fully empowered to go pursue something really hard. That sounds a little bit airy fairy or law of attraction, Y but I think that when you hear her break it down, you're gonna realize why this is true and why so many people who were at the event in person found that this talk inspired them to go to a much bigger level that think much bigger as an entrepreneur and make way more money. The first part of her talk was about disruptive innovation and going after big challenges in the world. You make the most money when you solve a big challenge as an entrepreneur. Now oftentimes we think about how much money we can make or what the strategy is for us to make an extra million bucks a year. But the real way that you do that, the way that you make all the money in the world, is by solving problems. And you've gotta think in a specific way to, to be able to tackle that. And you've gotta trust yourself and know yourself enough to be able to know you're gonna win. How do you do that? Mickey talks about it in the first part of her talk.

Okay, so what is disruptive innovation? We're just gonna kind of define it really quickly and talk a little bit about kind of like the disruptive companies that have really inspired me and how that kind of lent itself to building the things that I have. So disruptive innovation is simply an innovation that creates a new market which eventually overtakes an existing market. It creates a new market which eventually overtakes an existing market. Let's go through Some examples of that. Model T. The Model T car disrupted the horse and buggy category. You know, back in the day, that was the only sort of affordable way for people to get around. But then. And cars existed for super rich people. But then the Model T came along and it was really affordable to the masses. And that really disrupted the transportation space. Internet microprocessor disrupted the way we communicate, the way information's being Transmitted. Credit card PayPal disrupted the way money was exchanged. Anesthesia, we're gonna go back and forth in time. Anesthesia disrupted the way operations were had. I had three ACL reconstructions from soccer. I had a C section. Without that precious, important, disruptive innovation, I don't know if I'd still be here. Let's talk about disrupting consumer products. Tom Shoes, Warby Parker. Tom's really disrupted the one for one model and really introduced that buy one, give one model, which now is pervasive around so many different consumer product companies. Dollar Shave Club disrupted the subscription model. And you think about why did Unilever buy dollar Shave Club for a billion dollars? Well, they did, because what took Dollar Shave Club three years to do took Gillette 100 years to do when it came to customer acquisition. So let's talk about Uber, Airbnb. Uber. Airbnb disrupted taxi and hotel industry. And you, when you really think about the taxi and hotel industry, these industries were super trying so hard to maintain status quo. Remember, like, every city was suing Uber and every hotel was trying to prevent Airbnb from coming in. I mean, what's so interesting about that is, like, when companies are trying to prevent progress from happening, what happens this stat? 88% of Fortune 500 companies from 1980, 1955 are now gone. They did not innovate fast enough. I think about my beloved BlackBerry and I'm like. And it's now gone. I'm like, yeah, you know, it's so upsetting.

This next part of Nick Nikki's talk is about what she calls social entrepreneurship. Now, I'm gonna say something a little bit controversial here. When most people say social entrepreneurship, it's really left wing capitalism. It's just a way that liberals who feel bad about making money justify creating something that other people give money for. That is my personal opinion. But I don't care. Like, as long as an entrepreneur is creating value for somebody else. Think about it, justify it however you want. Capitalism makes the world a better place. Anytime you provide something that someone el sees value in and they can purchase it, both parties win. Everybody wins. Is why Entrepreneurship and capitalism is the most powerful productive force in the world. And some people are more motivated by the social impact of that. The social impact of the power of capitalism. Well, Mickey sees this as a vital part of her business. And her opinion is that the social aspect of entrepreneurship is the only way that you're going to be able to win in this era of capitalism. And it motivates her because she knows that she can create good by building a business that solves a problem. All of that is true. However you justify going into business and providing value for someone, go for it. But here's Mickey's take.

The other thing I also really believe in is the idea that, you know, like, Tom Shoes, create the one for one model, buy one, give one model, right? People love talking shit about, oh, my God, that model didn't work. It created the welfare model. I really believe that. That you have to start somewhere. And I hate when people shit on companies when they're trying something new. And let's learn and let's build from that. So when we're seeing new companies doing things and messing up, let's just cheerlead them and let's not talk shit about them. And so I was so inspired by the Tomshoes model, and I kind of looked at it, and the flaw that they had was that rather than just giving shoes away, buy a pair of shoes, give a pair of shoes. Somebody needs. So what's your name? Nick. Okay, so Nick has a shoe company in Uganda, and he's like a Ugandan person. He's working his ass off in Uganda selling shoes to local people and trying to make a living, honest living. All of a sudden, an influx of free Tom Shoes arrives to his neighborhood. What happens to Nick's business? It suffers, it fails, it struggles, it creates a welfare model. So now all of a sudden, instead of supporting Nick's business, it just creates a handout model. People are begging for more shoes, and that doesn't support the business. Even if the intention was beautiful, Even if the intention was there. So what do we do? We learn from that. We grew from that. So what do we create? We create a buy one, fund one model. So we found a company that makes washable, reusable cloth pads like Nyx. Instead of him selling shoes, they sell washable menstrual pads. And we said, we will fund your company to grow your business, hire local people, create local jobs, and create an empowerment model and not create a welfare model. And now when we started working with Apropos, they had like 25 employees and now they have over 200. And it really kind of changed the way we thought about the buy one, give one into buy one, fund one model. So we learned. So then the other thing that we kept hearing over and over again was, hey, does this work for women or people with light bladder leakage? Because when you give birth and a gigantic head comes out of the thing, you know, like sometimes when you jump, the little pee comes out. Like, how do I solve for that? And so, so we were like, okay, we'll create a pair of underwear that supports women when they have light bodilyage. And men too have this experience. And we created Icon, now rebranded to Speaks, which is a pee proof underwear. Beautiful, sexy, gorgeous underwear that makes you feel like an icon, actually.

And the give back for that is that we funded the Fistula foundation, which basically is. So anyone here know what obstetric fistula is? Okay. It's a crazy thing. So fistula is when a woman gives birth in the developed world. So my older sister, for example, gave birth and tore a little bit in her urinary canal or bladder canal. And in America or in the first world, you just throw it back up and you're back in business and you're fine in a couple of weeks. In the developing world, if you give birth to a baby and you tear a tear into your bladder canal, you end up peeing yourself forever, uncontrollably, all the time. And these women who just gave birth are put into these fistula camps to die. And it's called the modern day leprosy. That's what it was called. They're just giving birth and they were shunned by their families, disowned by their communities, and put in these Fistula camps to die. And so what we've done is we funded, we're funding the Fistula Foundation. We funded now hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of surgeries for these women so they can go back into their lives. We're very, very proud of that.

Sometimes we look at the marketplace and we say things are so competitive. Everybody's thought of everything. And Mickey's gone into some pretty competitive spaces and won. She credits that to a three pronged approach. She has three things that she focuses on that ensures that she's going to have a chance at winning in a competitive market. And when you hear the first two, it's going to prime you to think about your business or your idea and think about how you can break into a competitive space by doing things a little bit differently. And it's actually a much more fun Way to do business. So pay attention as she talks about the three pronged approach, and particularly these first two, because I think it will empower you to think about how you can stand out even in the most competitive spaces.

I really believe in edutainment. I believe that it's so much more fun to learn about something. When it's fun, I think about my kid who's 4 years old and who's just like constantly fidgeting and just sitting versus just learning as they go, like this. Somatic learning. So when you're laughing, you're experiencing it very differently. For Mother's Day, we did this really fun campaign that just again, just a little bit of movement, but it did so well for our business. So I highly recommend, especially when you're in this world that's just getting advertised to so much, moving things are just. It just makes you stop. One of the things that our Facebook ad agency talks about all the time is what's thumb stopping? What's thumb stopping? Well, what's thumb stopping is. Is a lot of movement.

Okay. Strong value, props deliver in a fun way. So these videos we found a student made five of these videos for $2,500, and these have been evergreen videos for us. It's amazing. I highly recommend you go to creative schools like universities and schools like Parsons School of Design or all kinds of schools like that, and you can just find students who are stoked to work on projects for you in such an affordable way. So, I mean, there was music to this too, but let's see.

It looks like a really expensive ad.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So artful and fridgeworthy is a really important term. So fridgeworthy is a term that I came up with that I talked to my team about, which is the idea that can we create something that's so beautiful, so artful and so personal that it can make the small real estate on your fridge. Do you walk home and you have your fridge and it's got like emblems of your family and mementos and invites to weddings and like cute little things of your family? Can you create like. Like as a. As a challenge, can you create something that's so beautiful, so artful and so personal that it makes a small real estate in your fridge? That's a great, fun challenge. So for things, we made these beautiful ads that have made it, and we actually made fridge magnets with them. And people have them all over the world.

I think about changing culture through the lens of art. We can try and force feed someone information and just be like, this is why it's better. Or you can literally get someone to be like, wow, that's so beautiful. What is that? And then like, oh, my God. Talking about periods, but you're like, no, no, no. But your first instinct was like, wow, that's so beautiful. And so that changed immediately your reaction to what I'm talking about, because your initial reaction was like, wow. And we've had our member in our first subway campaign, which, you know, these are part of our subway campaigns. I had the. I'll never forget this. I had these, like, construction workers, like Mets, you know, like Mets, whatever, baseball on their. You know, they're wearing, like, the hard hats. And they were like, literally, like, photographing our ads. They're like, yo, this is cool, man. And I was like, I. This is. I mean, I was just like, oh, it was an amazing moment because it really showcased that art affects everyone. Art changes the way you think about stuff to everyone. So accessible, relatable language also is super, super important thing. Whenever we think about our businesses, sometimes we get really technical, really clinical, really medical, really academic about what we're doing to sound really smart and to be like, look at the innovation that we created. And most time people are like, does it work? Like, does what is like, does it really work? Like, I just want to know. Just give me straight talk. And so the way we think about writing and copy is like, we're texting our best friend. When I text Colin or I text my best friends, I'm just like.

Like. And it's kind of messy, it's kind of silly, it's funny. It's like, super not. I wonder what Colin's going to want me to say for him to really accept what I say in a way that's cool. I just kind of am myself, right? We're ourselves. And like, what, like, what better way to talk to people than being ourselves? And so one of the things that we did for Thinx, which was really, really special, was that we created this campaign where we were like, we sent an email out to our entire email list, and we were like, we just want you to fill in the blank. Things is blank. Like. And so they wrote, things is. So then we. Within 24 hours, we got a thousand responses. So when you think about your customer base and people that you're talking to, just. Just reach out to them, especially the ones who love your brand, love your product, they're going to come back with epic ideas for your business. And so things is Mary Poppins in my pants, thanks to strength, freedom, dignity for all women things is a brand that has your back in front wherever you're leaking. Really. And so this is the, I mean we just. And that was our whole campaign for all of Union Square Takeover. It was really, really fun for Tushy. We're launching, you know, again, just like fun coffee, eye candy, but bliss. You know, my favorite part is the water temperature feels like Maui. You know, you kind of know what that feels like, right? And then also your booty's about to get bougie. You know, just like, just like stuff like that. Where. Look at my brother in law again. He's like, I'm so cool. Look at him, look how adorable he is. I just love him so much.

Shareable show stopping content. Okay, let's go through that really quickly. Do I have your permission and consent to show this video? Yeah. Choosing radical authenticity is such a, such an important, important thing. Oftentimes like, you know, we just talked about like it's so easy to be like, what does the customer want me to say, you know, versus like what do I so deep inside of myself want to share? Like, what is it that's raging out of me? This is like the lit energy we're talking about, right? Where it's like, what do I want to like scream out of me? And that is what how we talk at her company. Because that's real, that's true, that's authentic. That's just, you can't fake it. You can't, you can't make it up. Like it's, it's just real and true. And so our, our team actually consists of the most diverse. From ethnic to age to gender. We're everything. And that's why I think our soup of creativity is so interesting. Because it's coming from authentic people on our team, but it's coming from this diverse pool that it, what comes from it is just this like this beautiful, magical kind of like melange of it all.

Okay. This is an important piece which is press. And I know a lot of us are thinking about how do we get people to know about our product? How do we get people to get excited? How do we get press excited about our stuff? Because everyone's competing for the press. The same eyeballs, everyone's competing for the same stories and same hours in the day that those writers could be writing about. Like what, what are the things that we can do? Quick story for thanks. Which is such a powerful thing that we did was I had my team go to. So this is during the Fashion Week and Fashion Week in New York City. We were like, we're gonna do a fashion show, a period proof, under a company. Like, you know, it was like competing with Calvin Klein, all the big whatever companies, fashion labels name them. I can't remember them all right now.

And so we were just like, okay, how do we get them to come to our event and not go to Burberry's event? And so we were like, okay, we got to make the invitation interesting. Anyone here go to Burning Man. Okay. Yes. So what I learned about Burning man is what you put in is what you get out. And also, like, if you go to an experience and you start an experience, you want to finish the experience. It's human nature. Not even just if you're a burner, but if you're like, the invitation is intriguing, then you're going to be like, oh, my God, I got to, like, I got to find out what happens. Because we all want to know what happens at the end of a story. And so what we did is I had my team go to Home Depot and buy quick dry cement. And I was like. And my team had made these black plexiglass imitations. We just said, date, time, location, what to wear. Wear white. And. And I had them actually set these bricks and make these bricks on top of these plexiglass invitations. And. And I said, now I want you to wrap them up, hand deliver them with my model with. In, like, gloves on, like, on a silver platter to press and just show up unannounced and say, this is for this writer in a really dramatic way. And then. And then. So when the writer comes out being like, who are you? Like, whatever, you know, we were like, we need you to. So. So then, like, the model, like, put out, like, newspaper really dramatically, and it was like, we need you to take this brick and smash the patriarchy. This is part of the storyline. It's fine. We're all victims of the patriarchy, let's be honest. Okay, so. So. So then we just basically. So, like, the person would smash it, and then it would be, like, all over the newspaper. And then we'd have to, like, kind of pick through and find the invitation. And, like, it was an experience. And so then by the time they were like, okay, date, time, location, and then, like, this person vanished and left. So just left with this thing, and they're like, I got to finish it. So guess what happened 80 press RSVP literally in, like, the next. Like, in the next 24 hours between us doing this, we did it to a bunch of different people. And Then we also sent this like weird mysterious email with video. And so this is the event. It was an absolute sold out event. It was such a powerful experience. I was like, I thought it was funny because I was giving a talk in underwear and I was like, maybe I'll just come here and give a talk in my underwear. I'm like, nah, nah, nah, too soon, too soon. And it was just such a powerful, powerful experience. Another time we basically had an event where we took an egg and you know, when you're a kid, you, you know, it's just $5. You can go and buy a box of eggs and you can, you know, you stick a hole in the top of the bottom, blow out the egg yolk and then there are these like, you can paint them and you do it with your kids. And but so we did that instead. We made these little scrolls and we wrote like these questions in the scrolls and then we like stuck them inside the eggs and delivered them. And so we had like press open the eggs and open the scroll and it was this whole experience. And then we had invited them to dinner and all 20 press came to the dinner, Every single one of them RSVP because they wanted to see what the hell was going on, like how to fit. They wanted to finish the storyline they opened. Right. It's just human nature currently for tushy, this again is totally like, what, what's the word? Huh? Just for here. NDA friend da. I contact contract. Great. Okay. I do that with my, with one of my friends. Like eye contact contract. Like yes. I'm like, okay, okay.

So, so basically what I, what I had my team do and it's like, it's always extra stuff, right? It's like a lot of, it's a little bit of extra work, doesn't cost very much more. It's just a little extra work, but it's worth it. So basically what we're having to do. So our new product is called the Tushy Ace and it's basically the bidet. Electric bidet. Seats were fancy. Whatever, whatever. Rather just sending them to press. I'm like, no, no, no, they have to work for it. Everyone loves to work for it things. And so basically what we're doing is we built this card deck, a full tushy card deck. And we basically said in the instruction sheet you have to pull all the royal flushes out. So the royal pull the royal flushes out. And each royal flush you have to unscramble a riddle. So like I am what shy cheeks might do or how one bids adieu to poo. And so then it's like so. So you unscramble it and it spells out flush. Do you see that? So like stuff like that, where I am, state of pureness, the absence of stain. What am I? Clean? And so it's like cl. So you can see like, you know, like it's just like a fun way. So then, so then we basically have press send us all of these answers in an email and then they'll get to know what, what it is because they don't even know what they're getting. So it's a whole mysterious riddle to figure out what is this new mysterious product from Tushy. But now they're hooked, they're bought in. And when they're hooked and bought in, they're going to probably write about it, they're probably going to talk about it, they're probably going to Instagram it, they're probably going to, you know, convince their editors that this is a fun story because it's now on a journey, right? And then of course do weird shit, you know, so we had this event called Buckcon.

A holy experience for the like behind it.

So punny. So punny. This was my favorite. And I know some of our people might disagree, Justin, looking at you, but this was my favorite event because it was just such an original display of creativity for me and it was such a, like labor of love. And this was like. We actually held a real life funeral for a tree in a real life church in New York City. Judson Memorial Church, the biggest church in New York City. In Washington Square park. We held to a sold out event and this is what this, this video quality is terrible. But just whatever.

The tree's name was, Willow Bond.

What is the answer? What can we do?

And the simple and proven answer is plant trees.

On behalf.

Of Willow Baum's family, I'd like to welcome everyone to a funeral for a tree presented by Tushy and the family of the deceased. He leaves behind his wife Maple, his daughter Fern, and loyal family dog Wood.

I remember he would never ask for directions. He would always say, I always know where north is. Check my mossy side.

He was such a great tree. So strong and green and brown.

He'd always say that.

He always loved the sunny day.

We all know Will was the first and last one at the park. Every day the sun was out.

And did you know that 15 million trees are killed each year for toilet paper consumption? Let's talk about that. Mm.

And let's be Honest toilet paper doesn't even properly clean us. I mean, would you wipe any other part of your body with dry paper and call it clean? Of course not. God. So how and why are we killing Willow and his beautiful family? So you can smear poop into your butt? Willow deserves so much more than that.

Stay men. I emailed. Let's shift complacency. I emailed the guy. Other people to actually sue the US Government. Take action individually and together. Showed up because he's like, we could do this super creative. We could have what it takes to show our legacy to the ones who make a real difference. Amen.

And now, as a generation, it's one of the last generations on Earth that is going to be able to determine what the future looks like. It's time for us to leave those flowers and leave those songs, to preserve and protect and stand and fight for the beauty of this world. And that is in all of our hands. So I appreciate y' all being here. Appreciate the love, appreciate the celebration of life, and remember that this is not just about death and the crisis we face. This is about the rebirth of a world that we are building together.

Reach your branches to the sky with me for a final moment of gratitude.

The weirdest thing ever, right? And people. Oh, wrong way. Wrong way. But it's. Yeah.

Yeah. It was just one of the most special events. And I remember one of one of my friends or one of the attendees that came, he was just like. This did not feel like a brand activation. This felt like the most heartfelt. People laughed, people cried. People really felt like they wanted to support the planet and really save. Save Willow and other entries from getting flushed down the toilet and also. And getting killed by just by unnecessarily by these old ways that we're doing. So it's just a potent experience for me. That was just weird. Again, it cost us barely any money. Justin, how much did it cost us? Like, very little.

At the end of Mickey's keynote, we went into Q and A, and it was here that I invited her to go deeper into this idea of being lit up as an entrepreneur. This is the part of the talk that people are still processing and still talking about a year after the fact. And so if I interrupt it too much, I'm afraid it's going to spoil the magic. So I'm just going to let this run and hope it impacts you in the exact same way that it impacted the people who were there in person at the last Cap Con. Let's go.

One thing that came to Mind as you were talking is you both started and concluded with this idea of being lit up. And as you were talking, I was.

Trying to piece together, like, I know.

As an entrepreneur, that's actually what we're all looking for, right?

Yeah.

Like, the results that, that happen in.

The wake of that are what we all measure and, and see in other people. What we're actually looking for is that experience of being lit up.

And I was hoping you could talk.

A little bit about that, because what I pieced together as you were talking was that your companies, in order for.

You to stay lit up, it has.

To mean something beyond it being just a business. And I saw that as a consistent theme in every story you were telling. Was there was something that was drawing you bigger and beyond just the business infrastructure that exists. Am I piecing that together correctly and could you comment on that?

Yeah, I mean, I think, I think money, like, it's like moth to a flame, right? It's like you, like, I don't. I don't see myself chasing someone who's not lit up. Like my friend Colin right here. Most lit up being one of them, literally. I know. And my first friend in Austin, he built, you know, the first drone camera built dji. I'm so proud of him and that now I invested in his newest company called Gel Blasters, which is going to disrupt Nerf and all the epic toy companies in the world. And. And what, what draws me to him is lit up energy that I get from him. And we are attracted to that because it's not just us being lit up, but, yes, that's that we have to fan our own flames. But then that fanning of our flames attracts other people to like, okay, why are you so excited? Like, what are you. What's going on? And that, that's what generates. Actually, that's what generates abundance, actually. An abundance. Everything in business. Because without that, it's just like, yeah, you know, I have this thing and it's like, I'm too cool for school right now. I'm just going to tell you about my business. It's very heady, you know, versus, like, when I talk to colleagues, like, you have no idea what happened. Like, I mean, we need like 30 minutes to sit down and unpack the shit. And it's just like the most fun and alive and exciting and just, ugh. Like, it just. I'm attracted to that. And so versus, like, like I said, like, trying to fit into the box of like, you know, we live in a world where it's, it's unfortunate, but it's like, I have to like, you know, like, it's almost cool to like, hate your job. It's almost like, cool to like, meh, you know, versus, like.

I'm so excited about what I'm doing. And I feel like that, to me, is what actually drives 100 million, nine figure, whatever the fuck. That's just ancillary. But it actually drives us. It drives me. Like, I don't. I don't. I mean, the money is great, but it's not why I'm doing it. And I think when people are doing it for the money, it's just never going to last.

Do you think that that excitement or that experience of being lit up can be reverse engineered? Like, can you actually. Can you find that or is it somehow beyond you?

It's not. It's a truth. You're searching for a truth inside. And just like, when you close your eyes, you're like, ugh. Like, we know everyone here has had the moment where you're just like, I met someone who just like, woke up this energy inside of me. I can't stop thinking about them. I can't stop, like, you know, I just can't stop, like, just thinking about them or wanting to talk to them or imagining things with them, you know, or if you, like, fall in love with an idea and you're like, oh, my God. Like, I just, you know, my next company that I'm starting is just like, everything's aligned and it's just like, oh, my God. It just all kind of. It's coming together like, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. And it's magic because it's following this, like, flame that's just true. And like, you can't fake that. Like, you can't fake truth. And I think, like, I think we all try to mask it. Just like, yeah, cool, you know, and it's just. That's not cool.

You can you compare that to a relationship. But a relationship, like, a lot of times happens by accident. Like, you meet somebody.

Yeah.

And you fall for them. And it's not usually the person that you think, yeah, you're gonna fall for. Does that correlate to business?

Like, I think it's all the same. Attraction is attraction is attraction. Fire is fire. Is fire. Lit is lit is lit. It doesn't matter where it comes from. And actually when you're lit by a person, by a friend, by a lover, by a husband, by a whoever, that actually translates into everything that I do. Like, the amount of downloads of ideas that I'm having for the company, it's just because it's fueling because I'm following the truth of that feeling, and I'm not trying to suppress it. I'm not trying to. I'm trying to just. I'm letting it flip flow. And when you, like, open the flow, it just unlocks every and every area of our life.

The aha I just had, as you were describing, that is, I was thinking about it just through the lens of business, of wanting to be lit up more in the journey of entrepreneurship. But what I just realized is that it is more the experience of being lit up that then translates over into the business.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. A thousand percent yes. Because if. If we're chasing the money and the fame and the blah, you know, it's just. It's not really true because we're chasing, like, love. Like, that's because we all are chasing, like, I want to be loved. And like, how do I do that? By, like, having abundance and by, like, taking care of my family, by taking care of my friends, by, you know, by like, showing, look, look, I'm worthy. I'm worthy of love. You know, for me, like, I feel like as a kid, I had to, like, prove myself with my Indian father, you know, over and over again, like, I'm worthy of love. I'm worthy of your affection over and over again. I think, like, that's ultimately underlying thing. It's not the money. It's not the.

It's love.

And so I think if we're. If we're letting that. If we're fanning the flame of love, it'll just.

How do you.

You seem to relentlessly either protect that or pursue that.

So what.

What is. What is your mindset around that?

It's just a knowing. It's like we just. Right. Like when we love, we know. Like when we. When we feel the alignment, we know, like, it's not. It's just. We just know it's. It's. And then it's. But it's. It's the. It's the whole. The whole game is remembering because we're always again being like, oh, I shouldn't. Oh, I need to. Oh, like, this is the box that I'm in. Oh, like, I, Like, I'm in this system and I have to fulfill and be in this box. And if I'm not, will I be loved? And so I think it's like, you know, that the thing, like your comfort zone where the magic happens. Like, you know, it's like we get out of our comfort zone. It's just like what, you know, and I think we're just, we live in a world where we get sometimes beaten for getting out of our comfort zone. And we're just like, ah, I don't want, I'll just stay here safe and die, you know, like in this safe place versus like hey, we're all going to die. Like that is an inevitable thing. And like what are we going to do with our time? Like, like are we going to just stay here? Are we going to just risk it and go for it? And I, I'm like, fuck it. You know, there's like, there's the, there's the quote by.

What'S his name that he says like I want to, it's like a. He says I want to skid to death's door sideways. Not in a well preserved body, but in a flume of smoke. Thoroughly used up. Used up. Explain exclaiming wow, what a ride. Like right? That's the vibe. I don't think. It's just like, well I just lived a really nice life, you know. So that's the challenge for all of us. It's like, what are we chasing and why? Ultimately it is for love. And like if we chase that, wow, wow, the world will change for the better.

When you are in that zone. What is your relationship with money?

In my book Disruptor, I talk about money as literally a flowing energy exchange. It could be anything, it could be a rock, it could be our hats. Money is a made up energy exchange that we've agreed to, is worth something. That's it. So if we just look at money as energy exchange, then it's like, wow, like how am I going to exchange energy with you? How am I going to exchange energy with you? How am I going to exchange energy with you? It's a very different philosophy than like I got to protect my money. I got, you know, like versus like how am I going to exchange it? Like the Native Americans, like I talk about this in my book Disruptor too. Where Native Americans we, they, they, they used. They're all about circulating everything. If it's not circulating, it's dead. So like there's this story of this pipe. They talk about the story of this pipe that you share this pipe. Like the chief, whenever someone visits the tribe, they give this pipe to the visiting person and that person brings it back to their tribe. And then when someone comes to visit them, they circulate that pipe and that pipe is always alive. That's like money, right? As soon as, then the settler came in, took the pipe and put it on his mantelpiece. And then the chief came in and saw it on his mantelpiece and was like, hey, like, that's part of the tradition of circulating. It's sitting there. And that's where actually the term Indian giver came from. Which is so fucked up actually, because they were like, he took the pipe back to circulate it. And then the settler was like, you took your gift back? But no, actually he took it to recirculate it. And so we shouldn't ever say Indian giver, but that's the same thing around money. Money is just a flow of energy, an exchange of love, an exchange of, hey, like, I'm gonna give you my energy. Give me your energy. Like, what does that feel like? You know, And I feel like that actually unlocks our, like, weirdness around money because we're so. Everyone is so weird around money because the way we're taught, our parents, they were oftentimes our parents, Our parents were bad with money. My parents taught me how to budget from age 11. But there's a lot of weirdness around money. And so the minute we just take the money part off and turn it into energy, it's like, wow. Like, what will it unlock? It'll unlock something completely different.

Well, I think most people perceive that.

Once they have the money, they will give themselves permission to let the energy be unlocked and flow. Yeah, but I think you would agree that it is exactly the opposite, that once you let the energy flow, money.

Flows, money flows, everything flows. It's flow. Like we are in search of flow. It's like the flowing river versus a river that's blocked. You know, when you remove the dam and you're just in flow. Like, I think about Colin all the time when he was just like, I was literally in meditation manifesting my marketing person and literally, like letting it flow. Just. And guess what? The best person just showed up on his front door literally the next day. Like, that's the kind of shit that work. It's true. Because it's. It's a truth. It's a truth that, that. That we're. We're chasing. It's like, I'm in search of flow. I'm not in. I'm in search of truth. I'm in search of. Of energy. I'm in search of love. But if anytime we're in search of something that's like, kind of like ego driven, it's just like the flow changes. It's like it becomes weird versus, like, You've now.

You've now put the power of that thing to allow that to flow. Yeah, it just eludes you.

Have you.

Have you ever allowed that to flow and it not worked out how you wanted?

I mean, I think. I think when we're in flow, like, I, I, you know, like, when we're just in flow with an open palm versus grasping. Like, I've been. I wrote a whole thing on this on Instagram the other day I went to Hoffman, and there's just this whole thing about loving with an open palm versus loving grasping. You know, how, like, we. It's so easy to just be, like, want to control and want to grasp and want to hold versus just being, like, I trust that whatever happens is meant to be. And so even if it doesn't work out. And I went through a crazy shitstorm of craziness in 2017 when I had this major just takedown vibes, you know, like, not cool experience that happened. And I was just, like, pregnant and holding the truth that, like, this is happening for a reason. Like, I'm just gonna hold. And guess what? Like, magic followed, built another company. My baby was born. I got to be with my baby for the first year of her life, of his life. And I got to really change the way I see and view so much in my life. Before, I was very masculine, trying to be in, like, playing in the game. And then after, I just softened and I was just like, ugh, like, chasing my heart's desire. Very different energy.

When do you know that you're out of flow? And how do you get back in it?

Just know. But.

I would always say, like, just drop into, like. So, like, at Hoffman, we do this thing called this quad check, where you're just like, what is my inner child saying? What is my intellect saying? What is my body saying? And then what is my spiritual self saying? So it's like, okay, so my body's feeling a little like. Like, right now, I'm feeling, like, energized, you know, my intellect is just, like, just buzzing. My emotional child, like, probably wants to be hugged right now, you know, and my spiritual self, you know, is just saying, trust, trust, trust, trust, trust, love with an open palm and trust. And that's it. And so it's just a. It's a constant game of checking back in with ourselves because we know all the answers are within us. You know, it's just trusting that again and again and again, we come out of alignment. It's like meditation. It's like, bring it back into your Breath, Bring it back into your body. Bring it back, bring it back. It's just we know when we're kind of like chasing the ego thing versus chasing our truth.

If there's a mic runner, we're going to go to Q and A here in a second, so go ahead and get ready. Mickey, what do you see specifically business owners and entrepreneurs doing that takes them out of that place? Or how do you see them thinking in a way that's out of alignment of that?

I think it's really like when people are out of alignment, I think it's because they're trying to fit themselves in a box again. They're not. They're not following their truth or their passion. They're following I need to be this because this is what the society told me. I need to be this because my mom and dad are watching my Instagram. I need to be this because of X, Y, Z. And it's just not true. And so when, when we realize. And this is also what I talk a lot about in my book, Disruptors, is that everything's an illusion. Everything is made up. Time is made up, money is made up. Literally, like taxes are made up, our lines that draw our countries, or we need this little passport thing that we like that's made up. You know, everything is made up. And so can we reimagine a world through the lens of love, the lens of fire, through lens of lit upness, without making sure everyone joins us too? Like, you know, we're not going to hurt anyone, but we're going to make sure that we're all holding hands in this together and entering a new kind of field together. And I think it's so possible.

Even.

Even Sam this morning, like, Sam was very tactical this morning, but there was a foundation of if it is not based in something that actually has you lit up, it's a waste. There's no amount of tactics that can overcome a lack of that, what he called obsession, that positive obsession, that genuine interest, that genuine curiosity that was driving the foundation of everything they did from that point. And I think we're missing that so much in the entrepreneurial community because it is so obsessed with the tactics. But they're worthless without that underlying obsession. That is the game is discovering that.

Underlying obsession and fanning it and just like. And fanning it, fanning the flame, like, fanning that obsession, just like letting it live and just exist and grow. And it doesn't matter what anyone says. Let that shine and that will. It'll come out and attract and change and alchemize in such a different way.

I think what's so powerful about what Mickey has to share is that this is what we actually want. Yes, we want the money and some of us want the cars or all of the ego stuff. Yes, all that is true. But really what we most want is to feel alive. We want to be lit on fire. We want to feel that passion that we can't get away from, that we have to share with everybody else. That's what we desperately want more than anything else in the world. So Mickey starts with that. And the fact that she has started with that and used it to be so financially successful is very attractive because she started with the end point that all of us want, which is to feel fully lit up and alive and on purpose. That's actually what we're doing here. And it's nice to hear from entrepreneurs who start with that and still get all of the ego stuff too. So I hope this gives you permission to think about what it is that really lights you up and make that the priority. This is the work, in my opinion. This is what I work on, letting that come out of me. Because then I know that everything that I touch is going to work in some way, even if it just means that I feel purposeful in the doing of that project. This was a keynote from the Capitalism Conference, and if you'd like to be at the next one in person, you can get all the details, speakers, dates, all of that stuff. At capitalism.com capcon we keep them small and intimate so that you get interaction time with people who are there and those who are on stage. And, and I would highly encourage you to come. Open up your network, open up your mind, discover what's working for other people and to put yourself in the position to be ready for the next stage of your growth. I'm Ryan Daniel Moran with capitalism.com, we frequently release some of the best keynotes from the Capitalism Conference. I hope you'll decide to subscribe to the channel so you can see them and I hope to see you at the next Capitalism Conference.

Thanks.

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