2. Contribute Goodness Through Pure Intention

Welcome to Builders of a Better World Podcast, a space for depth, clarity, and honest conversation where presence matters more than performance. Let's begin.

All right. My biggest question to start this whole thing off is, are you ready to be seen?

I am so ready to be seen.

Awesome.

Yes. Let's do this. See me. world. It was time.

I love it. Why now?

Well, oh gosh, we could do, yeah, a full episode just on that question there. I've gotten the opportunity to be presented with a lot of growth over the last couple of years, particularly around really Extinguishing, but really understanding my relationship with fear.

Love that.

Yes. And long story short, it can fuck off.

And that is why we are here today.

So yeah, right? 'Cause I mean, it always comes down to, you know, you have a hesitation to do something or you have this semblance of, am I good enough to do something? You know, it could come down to a question of self-worth or a question of whatever, but at the end of the day, usually it has to do with a fear.

Mm-hmm.

A fear of, of how things will be interpreted, a fear of what you subject yourself to when you open yourself up in any public space. Social media, as we all know, can be exceptionally brutal. So yeah, you put anything out there, be it a creative work or work from the heart, and You know, you're just in some way allowing a semblance of cruelty or rejection or misunderstandings and judgment. And once I really came into living my life, honoring the fact that people are going to have differences of opinion than me, and that's okay. Um, my being able to develop my real, very truest sense of self, which helps me to not care how other people perceive me, to be really honest, or what they take away from things. It's all their own. And, you know, it's, it's easy to not be offended by things when you really own your semblance of truth. So it took me a lot of time, a lot of time, and it took me a lot of inner work. I would say the most important part was definitely establishing a relationship with myself where I understood, well, this is really who I am and this is really how I'm going to very consciously and intentionally move through the world. Whatever anyone else perceives of that is definitely going to be based on themselves.

Yeah, that's so good. That's like, I've heard somebody say, fuck fear, and this feels very much like that. And we're all excited because we want, we want all of you. I think that that's also part of the goal, as you and I have talked, is we want all of you, which brings me to the question of like, how did you get to where you are now? Like you have multiple businesses and how did you get here?

Yeah, here could be, I mean, you prefaced a little bit by mentioning, you know, professional pursuits. So that was really great 'cause here could be defined as so many things.

Sure.

Here in beautiful Thousand Oaks, California, which is where I live, or, you know, that's a story in and of itself. Here within my mindset, Here again, within the sense of self-acceptance or development in any way. Pertaining to my professional career, it's been a lot of grind. It's been a lot of accumulation of various educational pursuits. I identify very much as a student. I love learning. I'm much more comfortable assuming the position and responsibility of a student as opposed to a teacher. But I've been a coach in many different aspects of my life, and I've been self-employed since my very early 20s. I established very quickly I couldn't work for other people at a 9 to 5. I'm like allergic to, um, so I had to figure something out for myself. Um, I had a lot of struggles with regards to building a really healthy lifestyle for a while. Um, I had to do a lot of really profound just self-help and development to get myself in a state where I could be optimally productive. But then when I was there, I was there, you know, and I found a mission and I found a purpose. And my mission, my purpose is to be of service. And once you align with that, doors open and things just click, you know, things just start to happen for you. It's like the wig. You know, a way just gets paved. And I had an objective in these various different professional pursuits that were really specific goals. And I did the whole work myself to death way of moving forward. I did the, yeah, I achieved this through blood, sweat, and tears. You know, you get that a lot as a business owner or something.

Yeah.

It's like, this is my baby and I put so much into this. I did that, and I went through that phase for sure. There are far more efficient means, and you actually find yourself being far more productive when you really hone that self-care aspect to your day-to-day life. Allowing more time for me to do what I needed to do to be the healthiest, happiest version of myself. Really ultimately contributed to my establishing anything, to my finishing anything, to being proud of the thing that I poured this energy into. And people don't value that as much. It seems like a counterintuitive thing to actually take time out of your day. You're like, what? There's so little of it already. How can I do that? I can't afford that. Going to the gym, like, no. You know, meditation, what a luxury. Massages, I go and get regular massages. So important for me and for my body. Oh, love it. I wasn't doing that to begin with. And once I started taking the time, I found somehow magically I actually had more time. And to expand on that even further in a slightly different direction, The concept time abundance is a mindset. Looking at your life from the perspective of, I have an abundance of time, I am time wealthy, has actually been proven to lead to emotional wellness. It's been linked to an overall semblance of happiness. And I started to do that just kind of instinctually. And so, yeah, I mean, there's— It's been a journey, years, years, you know, over a decade of my developing what I have now. But yeah, I get asked all the time, well, how do you sleep? When do you sleep? And I sleep really, really well now, actually, because I do all the things I need to do to take care of myself. And that makes me a better boss, a better creative. You know, I bring so much more to the table because I'm fit emotionally and physically.

So cool. Thank you for that. You've, you, uh, you just said something about being fit creatively because you are a both/and, which is what I describe as somebody who is highly creative and also somebody who gets things done. Uh, you know, we live in a world where like, oh, I'm an artist, and that gives you like some sort of leniency to be not on time, Not, you know, not professional, or, oh, I was just doing my art thing, you know. So talk to us about that, how being from a dancer, from, you know, you're artistic, you have all this stuff to getting things done.

Life brought me, yeah, the world of performing arts. That's a big part of what this life is for me. And it's been a saving grace in so many ways. Film and television was how I was raised. I was raised by film and television, fortunately. It was a wonderful exposure to that which is different from my day-to-day existence. It perpetuated so much possibility. And my home life wasn't the most stable and it wasn't, you know, The warmest. So being able to watch films and different TV shows is something I'm very grateful for. And that led me to writing. I've always had a draw towards creative writing. I've always lived in this imagination. The, you know, this concept of kind of being between worlds has always really resonated with me because I feel as though I'm in this material existence, and I'm also partly somewhere else. all the time. And that's a balance, 'cause there are certain things here where I'm just like, this just doesn't, oh no, humans, ugh, no. But it brings this aspect to my work and to my interests, to my passions. Dancing was a really integral part of my life, and that led to a really wonderful sense of discipline and work ethic I'm very grateful for. And that has contributed exponentially to the way I navigate my life now, I'm very grateful that I had the world of dance. It was such a massive part of my identity and my existence growing up. And then I got into musical theater, which I love. I love performing. I love the energy. I love the preparation. I love the audience. I love, you know, fellow cast members. I love music. I love just all of it. And I got really lucky and got to work with some really incredible people at a really young age. And I got to tour. Professionally. And it was such a beautiful way to grow into being an adult. And, but yeah, but as artists you are, you have almost this semblance of what appears to be this disheveled way of kind of moving through things. And sometimes it actually is an organized chaos. You know, you do sometimes, you know, have it pretty well together, even if it doesn't seem that way. I'm very in tune and comfortable being emotional. I'm very comfortable being emotional. And in my journey, you can call it towards enlightenment or some type of conscious ascension, I still believe that experiencing all the different emotions is a very important part of the human experience. And that comes out in my creative pursuits wholeheartedly. Any exploration of acting or, you know, being these different characters, which I really, really love to do, is a really great way to exercise that. So I'm not seeming like this manic bipolar, 'cause I'm not, no. You know, if you are, just great by me. I don't mind. But it's a really wonderful thing when you can investigate all different parts of yourself and to the limits that they will go. At least I'm fascinated by that. And the creative pursuits are a really great way of doing that.

I love that. And kind of on that note as well is what inspires you? We're about to talk about why you're doing this podcast, but, um, what is the— what are those things that inspire you? And we could even say give you life, give you, give you breath, but inspiration is breathing, right?

I have such a simple answer to that question. Um, I want to feel good and be happy. That's it. You know, I feel very in pursuit of enrichment because I want to, in some way, always be desiring some semblance of fulfillment. That's not to say that I'm not content in the moment and present, and I'm happy right now. I mean, I love my life. I'm very blessed and I'm very fortunate, but You know, there's an aspect to that idea of always learning, and that comes from experiences. And I want all the experiences. I really do. I prefer the feel-good ones to the not feel-good ones.

Yeah.

I've entered into this new contract with the universe where I've said, I will learn from a state of joy. I no longer need to learn from suffering. So put me in all the states of joy and I will continue to absorb and grow and You know, take me, mold me, break me, bend me is what I like to say. And I will move forward again, just constantly owning this act of service and being that student. I don't pretend to know what other people should do with their lives. I try to not project or, you know, put onto someone else the way I think they should do things. My journey is for me, and I want it to feel good, and I want it to be fun. Getting stuff done In this material world is a part of being able to do and have that fun. I didn't wanna be a starving artist. I wanted to be a wealthy artist, a wealthy artist in health, a wealthy artist in relationships, and a wealthy artist when it comes to material prosperity. I like luxury and I like comfort. There's nothing wrong with that. That is something that makes me happy. So I create that universe for myself. It's like my own little empire and it's my own world and I have full control of and command So huge.

I wish people could understand that. Like, it's the most simplest thing to do concept. And that is to, if you don't like your life, change it.

Yeah.

Yeah. And, but, but it's what you said was simple too. It's like, you wanna be happy? You know, I mean, that, that's on you. And so find ways that— find things that make you happy and do those things. So it's great. What is your hope and goal out of— and I feel like it kind of is, kind of is one and the same, but what is your optimal goal with Builders of a Better World and creating not only this but other things?

Builders of a Better World started and still is very much Simply, it's my philosophy in moving through the world. Again, not as I think other people should, but as I prefer to do. It's the idea that I have an intention with every person I meet and every situation I'm involved in to contribute something with the intention to make it better. Not saying that it needs to be better in a way that I feel it needs to be better, but just the idea that says, I want to contribute goodness. I want to bring a semblance of pure intention to whatever or whomever this is and give them a piece of myself that is intended to be something loving and beautiful. And sometimes it's easy and sometimes it's not, but I do really believe that a big part of my reward system in this life, I guess, for lack of a better way of phrasing, has to do with being outside of myself and contributing to something outside of myself. Interestingly enough, in order to do that most adequately, you have to start with the inside first. You have to start with taking care and nurturing oneself before you can really, in my opinion, adequately or optimally contribute to something else. But I am born to be of service. I am born to be a positive influence. That's just what I was given in this life. And once I started to bring my awareness to that, put my attention on it, and really own that, it's, it has decided for me how to move through my day. And it's alleviated so much discomfort. So much discomfort because the way you react to things is in alignment with that mission. I used to think that I had this like temperament anger issue and that I forever was gonna struggle with, you know, being this in some way destructive little person. And I'm nothing like that anymore. I still get fiery and I still get passionate. I still have my convictions. There's a time and a place for anger and it can really drive you, you know, somewhere to a certain point. It can be, it can invoke that change that you're needing sometimes. It can help you to keep boundaries maintained, which is very important. But once I started to really align my life with being of service to that which was around me, Builders of a Better World was born because it's honestly, it's my own personal mission. It's a movement and a philosophy. So why not offer other people to be a part of it if they feel so called to contribute in that way? So that's where Builders of a Better World comes from.

I love that. I love that. So I'm gonna ask a really pointed question for those that are gonna join us more and more. What advice would you give to a young person? Let's just say they're coming outta high school and they have, they're bent towards, whether it be business, they're bent towards living life to the fullest. Let's put it that way. You know, some of it's entrepreneurial, maybe some of it's creative, maybe some of it's, you know, they're bent towards service. What advice would you give them going forward?

Get very comfortable in establishing your own sense of truth when it comes to identifying yourself as Anything. Your identity and how you choose to structure your identity is entirely your choosing. Do not allow encultured social constructs, norms, familial projections, or expectations define you and how you choose to see yourself. The The best thing anyone can do, especially as a young person, is establish your own semblance of self-truth. That's what my advice would be. That was a fantastic question.

Wow.

So glad you're my producer.

Even better, uh, answer, I thought. But yeah, that one came out. That's— I mean, that's what we want. I think that's our goal for this whole thing, is this whole, like, you know, what are we doing, you know? Yeah.

There's one other thing I want to address.

Yeah, please.

Back just a tiny bit here, 'cause there's, you know, when I talk about like this journey that it's taken and I'm very much in pursuit of my pleasures, which is true, like to just speak very plainly, that's what it is. Gravitating, you know, away from pain and towards pleasure is the name of the game. However, a huge part of that is purely mindset and choosing to define something as pleasurable or point— or as pleasurable or painful. You choose to identify something. You choose to assign that value onto that thing, be it uncomfortable or comfortable. I cold plunge, right, on a regular basis. It's fucking torture. It's torture. It's like, you're like, oh my God, I'm going to die. And my brain thinks I'm going to die. And that's a big part of why it's beneficial. And then you do this thing, but every time I have to psych myself into it. And I'm a huge fan of Andrew Huberman, and he talks a lot about the brain and the benefits of doing things that are difficult. There is massive benefit in doing things that are hard. It's not to say that I negate following through in aspects of my life that are especially challenging. There are times I will take that especially challenging thing and choose for it to not be challenging anymore. However, according to Andrew Huberman, it is really good to do things that just suck.

Yeah.

Yeah. So that's an important thing to note because there are certain things in life that take work and take effort and take conviction or discipline. And there's a lot of value in that. It's not to say that you should only follow the paths in life that seem to be that of, quote, least resistance, because that's not necessarily gonna get you where you should go. Adversarial situations, adversity, That's growth. And being comfortable getting uncomfortable is also a very integral part of growth.

So as we head into the bright unknown of Builders of a Better World, many of your guests and stuff will be probably dealing with some of these things, challenge, adversity. How did they overcome, whether it be weight loss, whether it be— tell us about some of the things we're gonna get a chance to listen to on this podcast?

The idea is to inspire and advocate for one being one's best self. Um, a lot of the guests on the show will have either been involved in situations where they've overcome certain things, they've had very pivotal developmental points in their lives that have been a really integral role in how they've arrived to their point of happiness and success. Some of them will be people who are struggling. Some of them will be people who have quote unquote made it, and others will be up and coming. It's not a situation where we're gonna be discussing, hey, this is what you need to do in order to get here. This is simply an idea for inspiration and an idea to grow community, to grow a collective, to join the collective, to, you know, just in some way be a part of the movement, you know, like let's make ourselves better and let's make the world better. And community is so important. So it's really building a community.

Awesome. All right, I want you to land the ship by, I've not shared something else.

No.

Okay. Just land it by, so I invite you join us, but if you have something that you want to learn about, know about, Kind of like your approach, right? Um, let me know, DM us. Um, but yeah, this is your thank you for joining us for our very first one and then into call to action.

So thank you so much for being here, Jason. Thank you so much for leading this and guiding this. You've, you've very important to me and I'm very grateful and appreciate you. And now I turn things over to you, the listeners, the viewers, the people that I hope to grow and love and appreciate so much that can be a part of this. I would love for you to receive this as an invitation to join the collective, join the movement, be involved. If there's a topic of conversation that you would really love to be featured on an episode, if there's something that you're especially struggling with or just want to learn about in different aspects of your life, please let me know. You can comment on this video here on YouTube, or you can find me on Instagram, Ashleya, A-S-H-L-I-E-Y-A. You can go to builders, buildersofabetterworld.com. Builders of a Better World is also on Instagram, so let us know. Please comment, share, subscribe, send me a message. I would love to hear from you.

So good.

Thank you for joining us here at the Builders of a Better World podcast. Please share, subscribe, comment, and be sure to pass this episode along for anyone who may need it. See you next time.