Creating a Vegan World

Welcome to the Heart Led Soul Fed Podcast. This is Season 3. I'm Christine J Gold, and yes, formerly known as The Power of Healing Your Energy Show. Let's go. This is a live show and podcast all about love, light, intuition, and your soul's purpose. This is episode 181, and we're welcoming Andrew Alexander all the way from Australia. He is a producer of a new documentary called Creating a Vegan World. Depression and anxiety are a side effect of not living your life intuitively, not trusting your gut, the lost connections with yourself and others, and I truly believe healing is the end of conflict within yourself. And that healing begins where the ego ends. My first book, Intuition Saved My Life, is a guide for empaths, lightworkers, and sensitives, and it's available on Amazon now. Replays can be found on Facebook, YouTube, and Anchor FM. Please like, subscribe, and follow. We're live every Wednesday at 3 PM Eastern, and I want to give a shout out to my supporters, Catherine in France and Gute in Denmark. Hello, welcome everybody, come on in. I know some of you were waiting, waiting. The times were changing, we changed the name. Why not? I mean, if Prince can change himself and, and manifest into so many different versions of himself, why can't we, right? We're always transforming and evolving. And let us know where you're from. Coming in live today from Lima, Peru. And, uh, yeah, like I said, I have Andrew Alexander here. He is the producer of Creating a Vegan World documentary, and he's going to talk about his story, how he's interviewed more than 50 of the leading changemakers in the vegan, plant-based, and animal rights movement. So maybe you're a creator, maybe you're a producer, filmmaker, what, artist, whatever it is, you know, come on in. Andrew has a ton of experience. I also put a link for his Kickstarter, so, you know, you guys need to go and support. I've donated, and I know that he will reach his goal, and we're just going to bring him on in. Hello!

Hey, thanks for having me.

Thanks for being here. Thank you so much. And, uh, yeah, I guess How, hmm, have you always been, uh, a, an aspiring filmmaker, producer?

I'd say absolutely not, just kind of like what the universe brought me to. So I guess since 2012, I identified more as an entrepreneur. I wanted to create things in the world that made the world a better place, whether it's products or coaching service. I worked at a vegan startup, and just when I knew that, I just kind of put out into the universe, and when the vegan community had overwhelming feedback when I suggest idea for a documentary called Creating a Vegan World. I was getting hundreds of messages. Like, I just knew, like, that's what I'm aligned to do.

Yeah, I, I, yeah, I love that. And, and how, you know, we were talking about manifestation. What, what, uh, what maybe you want to share with us what that means to you and, and how you get your messages?

Absolutely. I could just kind of go back to my story since I first started learning about manifestation, which is before I went vegan, of course. But, um, it was 2014, I built an internet business, which is a digital app company where I went through the traditional, the struggle where everything was frustrating, stressful. I was doing it to get the money and just, I was working a job I didn't like at the time. I was, I guess, faced with a lot of stress and resistance on my path. And once I kind of made it over that hurdle and I started making passive income from the internet business, I had freedom to travel, to learn things that interest me. And as many people who get into manifestation, they know about the documentary or the film The Secret, where I started learning about it that way. I learned neuro-linguistic programming, a technique called the Emotional Freedom Technique. And over the course of probably 2014, 2018, I just really studied it. Turned it into a coaching practice. And I guess when it comes to, I guess, my form of that, I always get myself at the end result. I see, hear, and feel what I want. Then if there's anything getting in the way, like, um, feeling of scarcity, frustration, stress, uncertainty, there's a whole tapping ritual from the Emotional Freedom Technique that kind of releases the negative emotions under it. And by the end of like the session, I do it for about 60 minutes, I feel as if I already achieved my goal. And I noticed the opportunities that come my way usually speed up, different things happen. So when I was building my coaching business, um, I got a $6,000 client the first day after I did my first big manifestation ritual. And that was absolutely amazing. And then in terms of this with the documentary, I just, I don't do it as often anymore because it's kind of a if it's the practice of doing it versus just going on the path, trusting that I'm supported, and just mainly in the more practical sense, opportunities coming my way aligned with my goals, and act on them and just take massive action towards the goals.

Mm-hmm. Yeah, it's like I heard, I heard it's now ingrained in every fiber of your being. So you're just a living example, you're a living manifestation in action.

Mm-hmm. Absolutely. And I guess sometimes, like, when I first learned it, I wanted to break out of scarcity, but now I did it the other day. I'm like, I want the film to be completed. I want it to be on Netflix. And with an hour of doing my little session, it's like I have so many people coming my direction. I got introduced to 3 people here, scheduled 4 phone calls here, and just so much is coming. And, um, it's good that it's keeping me busy and occupied and having fun with this.

Yeah, that's, that's, I love that. Um, and how long did it take to produce this documentary?

So it's still in the works. So it was about 14 months ago when I first threw out the idea and did my first interview. I interviewed, uh, David Simon, the author of Meatonomics, where I wondered why plant-based milks cost more than dairy milks. So he wrote the book Meatonomics. He really took me behind the scenes of the economic system. From government subsidies, what we can do as consumers to lower the price of meat, supply and demand. Then he ended the interview where he said, what we really need is a vegan lobbying organization that petitions lawmakers. And someone commented in the YouTube channel, because it's a YouTube interview, saying, oh, there's Agriculture Fairness Alliance, they're doing exactly that. And just one interview after another after another. So over the course of the last 14 months, I've done 50 interviews, um, some of the leaders in the vegan movement. And ultimately my goal with the film is to take those interviews, upgrade them to 4K cameras. This way it could be seen on platforms such as Netflix if they accept it, or Amazon Prime, or Hulu, or wherever it may be. So in terms of documentary, I have the storyline built, I have the interviews completed, but I, I'm going to go back and redo it to make sure it's more professional to make sure we get the best distribution for it.

Yeah, because I mean, and I'm— silly me, I don't know much about this. So why would you do that then?

Which part? The upgraded camera gear?

Yeah, upgrading everything. Is that too— so the whole world is able to see it?

Pretty much. On Netflix specifically, they have really strict requirements. You have to film on specific cameras. That's before 4K high definition. So What you see right here from a laptop, it's, it's not the quality they would accept. I'm sure Amazon and the other platforms do the same thing. So if I'm gonna put everything into the work, I could, I would just wanna make sure it's the best quality possible. Then I could talk more about the storyline for people who are not interested or not informed about the documentary yet. Mm-hmm. It's kinda what I'm looking to accomplish. So basically I just, it started off with how do we make a massive change in the world at a system-wide, a wide-scale level. So when I first got into veganism, or even if you're not a vegan, you're listening, if you're into environmentalism, human rights, passionate about any specific positive change in the world, it's how do we make the best possible impact with systems-level changes. So I interviewed people like I mentioned, the meatonomics, the economic system, leveraging the existing system in government to be able to transition to plant-based agriculture, fat faster. New laws in financing where instead of accredited investors where you have to be a millionaire or make $200,000 per year to invest in businesses, there's new laws that allow everyday people to invest as little as $100 each into vegan startups. And it's just taking advantage of these new changes to the systems, um, medical schools, uh, universities, um, hospital systems, healthcare systems. So everything the higher level, all across society, uh, what type of systems levels we could change. And then of course at the end I just reflected back on the individual because we see all these people doing these great things. It could be a medical doctor on stage, it could be maybe a someone who's looking to make electric cars like Elon Musk where they're famous or celebrities. And I interviewed one person on my YouTube channel and I'll put her in the film where she works a customer service job and she's like, Why are you interviewing me? I'm just a normal everyday person. I share the Veganuary campaign with my coworkers at the office. I show vegan movies. I have a vegan food truck come to events through the company, and I'm just doing my small part. I'm not significant like them. And I just realized that one of the reasons I went vegan is because a friend of mine shared a picture of a sheep on Facebook of a fundraiser for medical bills. And that lit the compassion in my heart. And that one little event, it had a ripple effect where I eventually went vegan myself. I joined a vegan startup, served tens of thousands of plant-based meals to people, and now I'm producing a documentary. And all this happened because of that one little thing one person did, a single Facebook post. So when it comes in terms of activism, changing the world, um, I cover the higher level, but it's really individuals doing what they want to do and what they feel inspired to do. That make the biggest difference, whatever cause you're fighting for.

Yeah, that's really important because I, I had just finished a book about spiritual activism. Many either say, you know, I'm so outraged, I don't know what to do, and then the other side is, who am I to do anything?

Absolutely. And just realizing how significant everything is and I know along with spirituality, I told you I studied neuro-linguistic programming, which is personal development psychology, and there's a lot of trauma from our childhood that makes us feel that we're not as significant as we actually are. So someone could have like scolded you down as a child, you might have frozen up, and that might cause an imprint so you don't realize how powerful you really are. What was the other side of that you said? There's not realizing how powerful you are. What is the other side? Not knowing—

the other side is not doing anything, just being like Uh, I'm just, you know, I might share a few things, but I mean, I, yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah. Maybe apathy. Would that be applicable?

That's possible. I think I've kind of reached the point of like not knowing what to do or not really like putting myself out there where I don't know, just from my experience when I built that first business, which was money driven, it's just kind of like I forced myself to do it. And as soon as I got to the place of like financial security, and my business took off and I achieved my goals. Then I wrote a book about my experience of building my first business, all the struggles I went through, how I navigated them. It's called, uh, I'm Not a Millionaire: Making the Shift from Failure to Financial Freedom. And I just— the entire book was written on Skype conversation because one young entrepreneur named Brandon, he was in my position. I was just maybe a year ahead of him. He kept asking all these questions. I gave him advice, all the common struggles. Put it together through a book. And it just, in that instance, is like acting out of like inspiration, flow state, or just kind of the universe asking for it. Same thing with the documentary, where it's not like— you asked if I always aspired to be a filmmaker, where my answer was no. It was just, that's what I feel like is happening, and I'm feeling inspired to do, and like everything coming my way makes it not really resistance. Um, once those things come into your life, it, it helps a lot. But like I said, acting on opportunities as they come up is a big thing.

Yeah, and I, and I see that as, um, you know, uh, inspiration. I mean, I— we all, you know, are inspired. It could come through your dreams or conversation or synchronicity, and a lot of times we're like, oh, that's crazy, or no, I'm not going to do that, and, and I find. Yeah, so I guess I'm talking about dismissing things like breadcrumbs or things that are right in your face, right?

Absolutely. Signs from the universe, as I used to call them.

Yeah, definitely. Uh, Patty's just saying hello. Uh, so nice to see you here. She's in Pennsylvania. Um, she's just talking about a story, um, that she was on the way to physical therapy with her granddaughter Sophia and we were behind a trailer and had two cows in it. And Sophia was like, where are they going, Nana? And I said, well, they're, they're coming to the countryside and going towards the city. And she had that, that heart-wrenching conversation, you know, because kids, kids see and, and feel. And, um, I guess, what would you recommend even for children, what, what they could do?

Interesting. Um, we kind of talked about this before we went on air about children specifically. And yeah, one story I shared, uh, my personal experiences when I was younger, I realized I never liked the taste of milk. I hated eggs. Like, what's with sour cream? Just those things were just kind of like forced upon me on society. It's like, you have to drink this for this. But like, as far back as I remember, like, it— those disgusted me. Then I had to go through the mainstream way of doing things. Then going vegan, it's like I kind of re-realized what the truth was. So, um, in terms of that, like, uh, Christine and I were just talking before we went on air about— I just did an interview yesterday where someone said, um, what could we do about helping raising future generations of vegan children? Because there's a lot of stigma attached where, um, one person I interviewed, she's a vegan mother raising her children, children 100% vegan, the only vegans in the school, and they get a lot of backlash saying like child protective services should come. They're gonna be nutrient deficient. There's this, there's this. And it's just, from my perspective, I'm not a medical doctor, so I can't give advice on the medical side of things, but there are people that should. And I guess my solution I was talking about on the last interview was there's two sides of the equation. Make sure we have the appropriate research. So I interviewed Lisa Simon. She's a registered dietitian in the United Kingdom. Where she focuses on fertility and plant-based diets and probably has a lot of information on that route. And there's someone else here in Australia I spoke with where if somebody could get all the research together and they could speak about it and just like get the— I guess if you're taking it to a court of law, if you can make a case against it, get that research out there. But there's also the emotional side of things where with all the logical information going in our minds, people are not gonna change. It could be the children's teachers at school. It could be parents, could be doctors who are not recommending plant-based diets. There's also the emotional side of it. So when I was talking to Christine J Gold, I was like, what if everybody who's been vegan since they were birth or since they were born could make like a little video clip, like a collage together, or speaking up and forming a coalition, being like, I've been vegan for 30 years. I never had protein deficiency. My health is great. And just getting the emotional side and the the factual side together. If somebody could lead a movement like that, that would be absolutely amazing.

So, um, that's it. I love that. Hey, I— okay, anybody listening, watching, this is, this is for you. This is for you. That would be amazing. Yeah, worldwide movement.

Absolutely. People are doing this in other areas. Like, one of my things is modeling people who've done something before. So Let me give examples. I guess when I mentioned Lisa Simon, she's part of the Plant Based Health Professionals in the UK. They have their little organization, well, big organization in the United Kingdom focusing on plant-based health, addressing health side of things where they probably went through a process to get that up and running, how to bring other people on board, how to get the research to get the website up, how to post on social media. There's other groups promoting veganism in schools, veganism, options in hospitals. So find other organizations that are already successful and just kind of model their approach with your specific message. So the structure is the same, get the content in and kind of like the, was it the Gandhi quote? Be the change you wish to see in the world. If you don't see a solution there, start putting out there. And coincidentally, like once you do that, there's always, you're gonna find someone else doing exactly what you're doing. Cause my goal, like I mentioned with creating a Vegan World, is how to focus on system level changes or documenting the rise of veganism. And just a couple weeks ago, after filming for a year, I got introduced to another film producer named James Hoot. Um, I forget the name of someone, might be called Vegan World or Planet Vegan or something along those lines. And I, when I first saw, I was like, wow, it sounds very similar to what I am doing. And in the past, my mindset would be like, okay, competition, someone go against it. But my new way of doing things. Like, no, he gave me advice on what camera gear to give. Like, even if I'm releasing my film to Netflix or whatever, I'd still promote his. So I guess the— where I was going at is there's gonna be other people already doing it once you start going out there into the world. And just align with them, if you have the same mission, see if you join forces.

Yeah, the cross-pollination. There's no competition. We— that's an old, scared, fear-based model. And so speaking of being scared and fear-based, why do you think people are scared of vegans? Or why are we, you know, kind of shunned or pushed aside? Where do you think that comes from?

Great question. So there's two sides of it. There's always the psychological side of things where— this might not answer your question, but this is what's coming to my mind— where When you have the identity of veganism, it's like encompasses everything that you are, where it's everything about your values, your beliefs, the environment, the people you surround yourself with. And I guess in tribal type of society, there's like kind of going back to competition. There's one tribe here, there's one tribe here. Like it just, if you don't have shared values, you might clash up against each other. So if people who are not vegan, they might feel threatened in a way it might it might conflict with their sense of identity. So when you conflict with your sense of identity, um, kind of one example is I've been an entrepreneur since 2014. Then actually, as many viewers don't know, I actually lived in that room you're living in right now in Wisdom House.

Really? The same room?

Before you moved there, I was living in Wisdom House and I joined the, the Vegan Startup there. And it, my identity up until that point, because I built my app business, was entrepreneur. Like, I kind of resisted the identity of being an employee. And once I joined that startup as a team member, it was just some type of clash about my identity. I always resisted it. So maybe, uh, when it comes to non-vegans, it's just their identity is being challenged. So maybe that's why I see a lot of people who are not vegan for animals or the environment. They might identify saying, I'm on a plant-based diet, or if they take a step further, I am plant-based. Yeah, but there might be some type of stigma attached to it. And I remember growing up in the '90s where vegans always had the, I guess, reputation for being angry. 'Cause when we aren't heard and we're not like felt, we wanna yell louder. We wanna be heard. And I guess maybe that reputation is still kind of carrying up. And of course all the, I guess, propaganda that goes into society from the meat companies, the dairy companies, you're deficient. You're going to like do all this, like people go against that. So I don't know if I answered your question, but that's what came out.

No. And that's great. I mean, Patty is— she's quite engaged. She's saying her Sophia will not eat meat anymore. And she— and I heard this too. Maybe that was at the Vegan Conference of the Peoples that we had at the end of January, V COP. Our body is made up of mainly protein because the meat was eating the grass. So yeah, we're talking about cows eating grass and then we eat cows. Hello, you know, and, um, that's— yeah. And, and she's also asking, uh, what is the difference, in your humble opinion, between vegetarian and vegan?

Great question. Um, I'd say basically the straight definition, where vegan is— for anyone who's not too familiar listening— or vegan, it's not consuming any animal products, whether it's in your diet or like leather or silk or any products because at the core it's about protecting the lives and wellbeing of animals and keeping them, just treating them just like we should treat humans and any other living being. Where I guess vegetarian by definition is, my definition I see is vegetarians support things that don't kill animals, but they still might consume animal products or other things that might actually harm animals that don't kill them. So for example, the dairy industry, if all the dairy cows get locked in crates, they get like, I don't wanna talk about the specifics of it, it's kind of gruesome, but if you look up Darius Scary, like there's still a lot of negative things happening to animals from milk consumption. So veganism is more to a level deeper, just understanding not to harm any being and just respect equally.

Mhm. Yeah, exactly. And honestly, I feel personally, if you— I mean, that's how I started. I— it was one or two meals a week that was vegan, and I was all— I was preparing to come to Wisdom House. So I will not shame or shun anybody, and I don't think anybody should. You know, when you hear someone say, even in spirituality, oh well, if you don't do it this way, then you're not spiritual, or whatever the, the ego mumbo jumbo separation is. Don't— if you hear that, say, I'm out. Like, um, truly. And go find, you know, people that are like, welcome, you know, we welcome all. I think that's the most important piece, is we are all connected.

Mhm. And going back to what I said before about the, I guess, society going against like angry vegans, quote unquote, where That reality was shattered because 2016, when I started to go vegan, I got invited to a vegan potluck and it was just the most welcoming group of individuals. So the same people that you might see like shouting on stages, grabbing microphones and like society might go against, I met them face to face and just so welcoming. And just once you're in the community, it's just absolutely amazing. And I feel that's like the glue that keeps us together. And speaking of Wisdom House, like I was vegan before I went there, but Ken and Allison, they cook mostly whole foods, plant-based, natural foods, like not the boxed chemical type of processed stuff. And it's interesting when you're like in that community, you kind of like resonate with it more and kind of like absorb it. Like you absorb the energy and you become it. And it wasn't until actually after I left there where I noticed I was eating more healthy foods and really taking in that philosophy.

Yeah, and it is, and there is resistance. I know at first I was like, okay, there's so many things that we— obstacles that we put in front of us. Like, it's almost like we set ourselves up for failure, and that's not true. We need to get— be more open like a child would when they see something and be like, wow, that's cool, I'm gonna try that, and I, I'm still alive, so nothing happened, it's all good. Um, so our Go ahead.

Yeah, I feel like you, like we both came from an open mind before we went into veganism, cuz I feel like entrepreneurship, that kind of woke me up because I was conditioned to like go to school, go to get a master's degree, get a job, 9 to 5 in an office. Then I broke free. I learned from a bunch of internet entrepreneurs who made millions of dollars on the internet, had the freedom and are enjoying the work they do. So I kind of broke free from, I guess, social conditioning in a sense. Before I was even in— yeah, exactly, before I was even introduced to veganism. So this way, when I saw the vegan message for the first time and spoke with people one-on-one, I already had that open-mindedness that allowed me not to reject it instantly. And I feel like maybe the same with you. You, you're really big into spirituality, you understand, you're, um, you're woken up in a sense, and that might have contributed to it as well.

I'm woke.

No, I'm kidding.

Oh geez, anybody hears that, they're gonna be like, ah, no. Anyways, Um, and yeah, and I was so, you know, enthralled in everything, like, you know, being introduced to climate healers, um, you know, being certified, and then watching all those documentaries. Although there's one I won't watch, I can't remember what it's called, but it has to do with the dairy industry. I saw the trailer and I was already traumatized by it, so I couldn't. I'm such an empath, I can't, I can't go there.

So that's the big thing for my film. A lot of the films showed like slaughterhouses, all that stuff. I think Dominion was one where they Dominion.

That's it. Thank you.

I saw the first 4 minutes and I just, I turned it off and I was like, I'm vegan at this point. I understand. I don't want to see it again. But when I'm filming mine, it's just really about solutions-focused thinking because there's so many problems in the world. And I see on my Instagram feed every day, it's like all the problems, all these different things that are wrong, but what's the solution? And we take the shift from problem to solution-focused. I just want to highlight the positive aspects of my film. So instead of showing the slaughterhouses, I could show maybe like lentils, for example. They're being grown organically, naturally. It could show the nutrients, people eating it, people being healthy, and just painting the positive image. So hopefully that resonates with people who won't watch the other ones, like you said.

Yeah. And it's just Again, being open. I mean, you tried milk, you tried pop, you tried, I don't know, junk food. Why don't you try something different and see how you feel? You know, it's really those small changes, and it really is a small change, but it's a shift everywhere. So, um, what, uh, you know, in regards to your, um, documentary, when, when are you looking at releasing it? I mean, you've got a Kickstarter coming or that's going on right now. Do you wanna talk a little bit about that?

Absolutely. So yeah, like I mentioned, I recorded 50 interviews. Most of them are on Zoom. 2 of them are in-person, 4K high-definition cameras ready to be on the big screen, so to say. But I'm paying a, I was paying a videographer for that. I, if I have to get Netflix-approved gear, I had to rent it, which is $400 to $600 per day per filming. So what I'm doing right now is I'm launching a Kickstarter campaign. It's actually 5 days remaining. I think it ends on the 27th or 20— Australian 27th, 26th in the US. And so that's gonna cover the Netflix-approved camera gear where it's the right camera, the right lighting, the right audio to make sure it's the right quality. And then outside of that, I'm also seeking fundraising from other donors. Maybe people could come on as executive producers, financial backers, refilming everyone in person. And hopefully this time next year it'll be ready. So my goal is to 2023 to be able to launch it. But like I said, the big obstacle is the funding now. So I launched that Kickstarter campaign where people could pre-order the film, be the first to watch it before it gets released. Um, they can get their name in the credits, they could be an associate producer title, they could get involved. Um, there's different types of rewards there. So with Kickstarter, it's— I guess they only charge your credit card if it gets fully funded, which is 5 days from now. And, um, from there, there's actually rewards as opposed to simply like a donation. So regardless if that's a success or not, I'm still going to continue forward. It still will be completed, but it might push things back by 3 months or 4 months while I have to continue to get more funding. So any help supporting the Kickstarter, helping us reach our goal, that's really, really helpful at this point.

Yeah, all you need is a— I'm looking at it right now— a co-executive producer. Come on, you'd be done. You wouldn't— you— this would be done. And then I just see You know that it's— yeah, I hear like this is the start of everything for you.

Mhm. I have the storyline together. I know exactly what it is, but getting everything professionalized, that's— this is the start.

Well, it's, it's out there. I have donated, so I can't wait to see it. And, uh, I recommend everyone to, you know, support as well. I mean, you were talking all you needed That, that caught my, my attention. $100 to start a vegan business with the equity crowdfunding, or— yeah, yeah, that was— did you want to just talk a little bit about that? Because I, I see a lot of, you know, they call it the Great Resignation, where people are like, I don't want to do these crappy jobs anymore, but then what am I going to do for work? How am I going to make money? There's the other side of it. What do you say about that?

Definitely. I think there's two separate things we're talking about now. So the $100, so Um, crowdfunding, the Kickstarter we talked about, is reward-based. Like I mentioned, people donate money, they get maybe an advanced screening, name in the credits, etc. Then there's equity crowdfunding. So there's a company called Vegan Fine Foods. It's an all-vegan supermarket in Fort Lauderdale where they did an equity crowdfunding campaign. So they raised $711,000, I believe, where, like I said before, that they would have to approach accredited investors, angel investors, venture capitalists. And as any business owner knows, it's very, very difficult and it's a time-consuming process to find the right one. And it's a lot of people go out of business because they can't get the funding. And I interviewed Mark Winstine on my, uh, my YouTube channel, who'll be in my film, where he's starting a movement called Vegan Launch. And he said there's $3 trillion vegans have in the public markets. And that number goes up to $30 trillion if we include people who are environmentally conscious. So using new equity-based crowdfunding laws, everyday people could— let's say there's 1,000 people and they each donate only $100 to a company such as Vegan Fine Foods or another one. This way we could use like micro-investors to help fund vegan companies. But I think when you were asking the question, you might have said like people who want to start a business.

Mm-hmm.

So like, I guess on the flip side of that is people wanting to start a business. It's cheaper than ever before. And especially if, let's say you wanna do, I don't know, health coaching, for example, you could put up a website, you could really start something without having to put in hundreds of thousands of dollars of startup costs. And I guess it's called a minimum viable product in some instances where one product idea I started, I was gonna export artichoke leaf extract from Peru to the US. Because it was a natural way to naturally lower cholesterol without having to take prescription medication. It was a genius idea in my mind. There's a whole story behind that, but from the basic example, it was $600 I paid for the product plus maybe $1,000 more for getting into the US, the packaging, etc. It could be cheaper than that. So for less than even $1,000, you could find a unique solution such as artichoke leaf extract is for one thing, it can be beetroot powder or maybe some type of invention. Just start off small, sell to local fans, validate the model, and then you could always raise capital from investors, equity crowdfunding, or let the profits take you up from there. So in today's day and age, it's really easy to start a business compared to ever before.

Absolutely. I guess I'm just trying to give other people inspiration, you know, especially with everything that you've done. And I always ask my guests two questions. Questions before we say goodbye. Uh, how can— I might already know the answer, but how can we as a collective energy help make your dreams come true? What's your— I call it the Moby Dick, the big whale.

Well, for the short term, it is the Kickstarter, so helping us reach that goal, definitely. Um, outside of that, just if you see the trail— the movie trailer on Facebook, on YouTube, on social media, just share it, post it in groups, and just bring awareness to this and, um, just spread the word because we want to deliver the best message possible and it's other people's help that make it a success.

Absolutely. Yeah, sharing is caring. And then what does magic mean to you?

Hmm, great question. Um, my law of attraction mind and manifestation is coming to, uh, answer this where I guess making the— what was previously thought to be impossible possible, and realizing that there's other powers that guide us that allow things to happen that seem like miracles. So whether it's the right person coming at the right time in your life, or— and even people who don't follow the spiritual mindset, it's just, I guess, walking your path and having trust that things will work out.

Yeah, that's beautiful. Thank you so much. Is there anything else you'd like to share? I did leave the links for the Kickstarter. People can reach out to you on LinkedIn. Is that mainly where you like to, uh, to hang out?

Yeah, I'm on LinkedIn. People can message me. Um, they can email me, andrew@veganhealthpack.com, if you want to start some type of movement, such as someone commented about helping vegan children. Whatever it is. I just got an email from someone who watched my things and they want to get plant-based meals into hospitals. So they emailed me, gave them, gave them some advice how to get started. And just if you have ideas, I'm more than happy to talk to people and we could always jump on a 15-minute call sometime. If you have an idea, you want to bring it to life and just want to talk for some reason.

Yeah, this is your guy. I mean, come on, he's got a wealth of experience and knowledge and, and again, and, you know, connect you to, to the right people. And really, that's what it's all about. Like, model yourself after someone who's very successful, and you, it just kind of, you absorb it after a while. And, and it's like a catalyst, really. It's a catalyst.

One final thing on that is, like, if you're really passionate about something and you want the change in the world, like, nobody else is going to do it. Like, nobody else would do it. You'll sit on it. And it's much more satisfying to, like, come up, be alive, and just really see the energy of something coming to fruition when you commit to it, where I've been doing this for 14 months and I feel like I'm still just getting started. And it's, it's a journey. It's harder than you think, but it's absolutely worth it.

Worth it. There you go. And it probably requires a lot of patience and perseverance.

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for, for joining us. And like I said, please, you know, let's get this kickstarted. Starter to its goal and then some. You guys, we got 5 days. It's gonna happen. It's already happened. I mean, act like Rumi says, act like life is rigged in your favor. And thank you so much for being here, Andrew. Take care, and please remember, healing begins where the ego ends.