Sacred Business Stories: A Journey Through Spiritual Entrepreneurship with KC Carter | Episode 08

We are live. Welcome to anyone who is joining us. We are here with sacred business stories. Hey, Diane. It's good to have you. Yeah. So this is our show where we have an honest conversation with entrepreneurs and yeah, just awesome people about what it looks like to build a business that aligns with your deepest truth. And today we're joined with my longtime friend. I've been his client. He's been my client ally, Casey Christopher, Casey Carter. And we'll share more about him here in a second. But the reason for inviting him on is, as always, we believe he is someone who really embodies and exemplifies what it means to have a sacred business.

Yeah. So let's just wait a couple of minutes as people are like joining and like the. The reason why we decided to do this sacred business, Taurus, is really for you to feel inspired. There's like so many people creating a lot of cool things. And as we listen to the stories and then as we listen to the struggles too. Right. Because it's not always just beautiful, we could feel inspired to take action and give birth to our sacred business, which is for us really like a combination of all your gifts. When you decide that I'm going to share what I have in my heart fully, all my gifts, all my certifications, all my experiences, all my victories, and you step forward to share from that space, your life changes completely. Like we often say, like everything is connected. And if you can combine all of who you are and bring that as a gift to the world, it's a huge transformation for yourself and for people around you. And that's why, of course, he's here, because he's done that. And we would love to hear more.

Yeah. Yeah. So I'm going to give you the official official bio. It's long, it's awesome. But then Casey will. Casey will share the more colorful version. But yeah. Yeah. So really, Kasey is an executive coach. He works with a lot of Fortune 500 leaders, really well known big companies like AT&T. Amazon. There's a long list. I don't know how long it's been, but more recently joined the board of directors for the Yoga Alliance. And that was really exciting to hear about. And as I think getting more involved serving the global work of his guru, Parahanza Yogananda as well. So, yeah, that's all the official bio notes, but would love to turn it over to you, Casey, and have you share a little bit about yourself and your business and also just how you relate to this idea of sacred business that Carolina was sharing.

Yeah. Well, first of all, it's like a total honor to be here. I really appreciate you both and the work you're doing in the world. I've watched Phil progressed in his wizardry over the years. We worked closely together, and when he met you, Carolina, it's just been like a rocket ship of alignment. So thanks for modeling what you all teach. It's really beautiful to witness. And I've learned so much about myself and your work over the past week, just diving into the assessments and doing all the great tools you have on Sacred business flow. So thanks. Yeah. About me. I mean, the thing is, half the time as entrepreneurs, we feel like we're Forrest Gumping it. We feel like we're just getting through the next day or the next project. But the long and the short of it is that yoga had plans for me. I can't describe it any other way. I walked into a Yoga Studio maybe 25 years ago as a kid, stressed out, and many years later discovered the work of my guru, Paramahansa Yogananda, through his spiritual classic, Autobiography of a Yogi. And the more that I've surrendered into that work and just let it have its way with me, it kind of chose my new career, it built my business, it draws my clients. And the hard part, I believe, day to day, is getting out of our own ways to allow that process to happen. It's extraordinarily humbling to realize that we don't got this. And what I mean by that is I think I got. This is great. Like, I do have a fair amount of confidence. I have an ego like everyone. However, when we go on that quest to find our purpose and unleash our purpose, that's when the miracles start to happen and things get really interesting. So, like, the clients you list off, I'm like, oh, yeah, I work with them. Amazing. And, oh, yeah, I do that. That's cool. Yoga Alliance. When did that happen? But it's one of those things where it's kind of like the gift of a hard year. I had a hard year of personal change last year, and I wasn't completely detached from my business, but I kind of just set it on coast so I could attend to the needs of my family and my kids. And as I'm coming out of that and kind of getting back to work after this big India trip I just took, I'm just super blessed for how it's unfolded for me. And, you know, the days, it's like raising kids. The days are long and the years are short. But most of the time at my desk, I feel like I'm on purpose. And I think that's the biggest gift.

Yeah, I think there's. There's something unique about what you're sharing, and it's so beautiful. When you said about, like, kind of, like, I don't know, about yoga and kind of like yoga chose you. Right? Like, I feel the same way. And one thing that I often like, Phil and I, we talk a lot about, like, this idea of sacred business is, like, you don't choose your business when it's coming from that pace. Like, you're just like the perfect vessel.

That.

That's why it's like, so, like, this huge combination. And then you see that everything that you did in your life is serving how you are actually, like, helping your clients right now. Right.

Oh, my gosh. So. So I kind of have a working case study, a real time case study, because I just re haul, like, overhauled and relaunched my substack today, and I worked all day like crazy yesterday. But it's the product of a lot of alignment, you know, and that I really believe in the law of accumulation. It's not just all about the law of attraction. I love that one, too. But the law of accumulation is that we are the. We are bigger than the sum total of everything we've ever lived. And when we tap into that. I've been practicing this. One of my teachers left behind this book for me, and I've been getting into it. It's about psychosynthesis, and it's about putting together all the Legos from your entire life. And I'm a. I'm a big Lego fan, so I've been laying all my Legos on the carpet after this crazy year and deciding what I want to build. And it turns out it was always in there. I just needed to sit down and chisel it. And I want to really encourage people with that because it can be very easy to lose yourself in all this and comparing yourself to others and trying to give everybody what they want versus giving them the biggest gift, which is you, and doing you, and it's hard for everybody. I certainly get lost in that, too. But, yeah, that just my last 24 hours was kind of. That it was like, oh, yeah, it's all right in there. I just need to sit down and create it.

Yeah, no, that's. That's beautiful. And just. Just for curiosity, like. And I'm going to share, like, my experience because I feel that for me, like, when I started, like, choosing more Consciously what I was trying to create. I felt that it was like this energy worker over here, and then this yoga teacher over here, and then this blah, blah, blah over here, and then it was very hard for me to find my point of attraction or this accumulation that you were sharing, because I was seeing myself as many, many parts. And you, too, have those many, many parts. But it feels to me that you were able to bring, like, very powerfully, like, how. And I have, you know, my own experience on how I relate to that and how I was able to bring that forward. But I would love. And I took it like, I think many people trying to jump in their business and trying to, like, I want to be. I want to create something that is really, like, authentic. Like, authenticity comes from combination. Right. So if you could just speak about your journey into that and you combining all of who you are and, you know, putting that forward.

Yeah, thanks for bringing that up. And it's an ongoing struggle for all of us. I certainly. I wake up on some days and think, well, the executive coaching corporate clients, that's not the sexy part of my business. You know, the being on retreat with Phil down in Costa Rica is like, the best vibe ever. And I want to do that all day long. Like, who doesn't want to do that for a living? Or like, you, you love your job the week your book comes out, because you go on a book tour and talk about your awesome book. But the rest of it, you're like, who am I? What am I doing? How am I gonna make the. All the money I need to make this month? And I. I kind of take it back to the 80s. I'm a child of the 80s, and the worst thing you could be in the 80s was a poser. So I really tried my best, I think, to not give up and to pursue mastery at things. I'm not saying I'm there, but when it comes to practicing, I just don't fuck around. I try to know my stuff. I have to walk into rooms with very well educated, accomplished people and not only not embarrass myself, but to hold my ground and hold them accountable. And so to prepare for that, I found no better medicine than just spiritual practice. A lot of Korea, yoga, meditation, a lot of, you know, studying scripture and reading and chanting japa. Like, all these things stabilize us. And this is. This is kind of the irony, because sometimes I feel like I'm hiding from the hard work of adulting and building my business by doing all the spiritual practice, but it's actually the inverse that When I. When I surrender into that and do that, it's the most important investment I can make. And then the things just appear, you know? So when I. On a day like this, when I hear my bio back at me, anytime I'm on a podcast or walking onto a stage and people introduce me, I'm always kind of, like, detached from my body. And I'm like, oh, my God, I want to meet this guy. He sounds interesting. And then I'm like, holy shit, it's me. Like, I talk. And it's not as conscious. The less conscious of a process of designing what I think is perfect for consumption, the better it actually unfolds. It's.

It's.

It's kind of a paradox. It's like the less I chase and try to prove that I'm all these things, I just get to just show up and be them when needed, you know? So, like, Phil is like me. He's an enneagram7. And so we're kind of Swiss army knives, you know, it's like, what do you need? You need a knife, you need some scissors, you need tweezers. And I like that dynamic part of my personality. But on the other side, it's also crazy making, because, yeah, you could feel very split and free, fragmented. You're doing too many things in too many places. But I think the meditation just integrates it all and says, here, take me as is.

Absolutely, yes.

I was wondering, Casey, if you could take us back. Another thing we talk about is this idea of the. The love led leap, which is really this moment when you choose to kind of commit yourself to this path forward to what we call the sacred business. And it's been a while since I've heard it, but I just remember your beautiful story of kind of how you came into this work in the first place as a coach and kind of your previous life in kind of the corporate world, which we both have that background. Could you kind of give us the short not, you know, the Cliff Notes of that vibe?

Yeah. So it was kind of. It's kind of funny in retrospect, because the end of 2015, I had pivoted my career from being a sales director at an ad tech firm. So I was a salesperson, sales leader. I had a team into training and development, and that was the bridge that my mentor, Jonathan Fields from Good Life Project, he helped me build that bridge. So I pivoted from the sales side to the people side of the business. So I was ready to go out on my own. But all of my mentors were saying, you're not ready. You don't have a network, you don't have case studies. You don't, you know, like, don't take your family of five through this journey. You're not ready. And I'm like, so impatient. I was pissed off about it. And so the, the December of 2015, my. I went on a sabbatical for work. I was gone for three weeks out in Encinitas, mostly meditating, hanging with my family, and my position was eliminated. So when I got back, I went into the office to get my laptop fixed. And they're like, what are you doing here? And I'm like, what do you mean? When I'm like, work here? And they're like, do you? And I'm like, do I? And my job was eliminated. But the funny, the really ironic part is that I had just signed the closing documents on my dream home. Phil, you visited that house. We just sold it last summer. And it's like this Barbie dream home. And so I had this dream home and no job to pay for it. So, like, I had this pressure cooker of motivation. And, you know, I grew up as a middle class kid. Like, there was only so far I could fail or fall. And I needed that pressure cooker to bet on myself because all my signs and the signs and meditation were saying, this is your chance, this is your gift. Here's your opportunity. Take it. And wow, I was terrified. I couldn't land the first coaching client for like three months. I was a disaster. Not sleeping, not making money, watching the bills pile up. And then slowly that year, I just had no choice other than to completely surrender into purpose. And, you know, fast forward a couple of years after that, you know, when I met Phil, Phil was like in his mid-30s. And I was so amazed and envious of him because he exceeded his first $100,000 month, but. And his wheels were coming off with overwhelming stuff. So he hired me to coach. So we started working together. And I'm like, this young MOFO is making 100 GS a month, you know, and. And about a year and a half later, I reached out.

You helped, you help that. You helped that comment.

We help each other, man. It's the river of light, you know, but the. When I was, you know, like about a year and a half later when I. When I started meeting that threshold, and then I'm realizing, like, you know, the biggest aha's were that, oh my gosh, I'm approximating my corporate salary doing the work I love in the World. Like, no matter how long the days are, no matter how much you're getting paid per hour, like, bye, bye, corporate life. I'm getting paid to be on purpose. I'm getting paid to be me. But then you start having these crazy inflection points where your monthly take exceeds your yearly salary and those kinds of things. You're like, what the hell? Like, how is that working? And so I think it's that invitation to just keep surrendering more and more. So, yeah, it was. It was really messy for me. And I mean, and you, you've known me and worked in my business, you know that, like, it can be really rickety and messy on the inside. But the. The core of what I do being me and my spiritual practice, I think is really solid, you know, so. So I'm patient, I'm in the long game. And, you know, week to week, it's always like, how can I make this better?

Yeah, um, yeah, it's a perfect pivot. Like, one of the things that we ask everyone on the show is, or one of the things we like to convey to our audience is this idea that, like, as you're moving forward into this meaningful work, it's like, perfectly normal to like, add this fear and resistance and kind of like what you were describing of, like, the messiness of, like, the bills piling up and how you relating to all that. So I'm just curious, like, and especially maybe now it's particularly relevant as I feel you are kind of in this. I wouldn't call it like, full reinvention, but as you said, putting all the Legos out there, like, what. Where do you see, like, fear and resistance showing up for you now and then? Kind of, what are the practices that you use to kind of keep yourself moving forward? And what could you offer to people listening if they find themselves in a similar position?

Yeah, I'd say if I had to summarize any of my fear and resistance, it's like classic kind of enneagram 7 in Jonathan Sparketypes. I'm a performer sage. So like, any of those, like, administrative number related, you know, it's so ironic because when you're the CEO, founder, you need a dashboard on how you're performing. You know, I help all my clients create that all day long. But in my own business, I'm an artist first and foremost. I design and run my business like an artist. So when I get an email from, like, the irs, for example, I have, like, an outsized threat response. I feel like the Count from the Muppets. Is chasing me down the street in my dreams and wants to murder me. And then I open it. I'm like, oh, it's just a notification, you know, So I think I really resist complexity. I really resist the unsexy pieces that I just need to hire for. I kind of. I'm in a place where I'm getting ready to rebuild some of my team, like, on the support side.

And.

And, you know, I actually don't do a terrible job at that when I force myself to do it. But the rest of the time, I find myself resisting it and letting it pile up. And like many of my clients, I coach, you know, investing in the talent around us to make the dream real. Those are big decisions. You know, I have clients hiring senior executives that are 250 to 400 grand a year, and for a small business, somebody, like four to five grand a month is, like, a big decision, you know, So I think resisting growth, resisting. You know, it's funny, now you're making me feel like the hairdresser with the busted weave right now, But I write book. Like, in my book, I write a lot about leaders needing to ask for help. And I am so generous with how I give because that's how I grew up and was trained. And when I. When I need support, I really resist and have not fear around receiving support, support. But I put it off until the last possible minute. So those are the things I'm always working on. It's just like, hey, can you help me do this? And when I do, like, people, like, oh, hell yeah. We've been waiting for you to ask.

So much wisdom in what you're sharing. And I feel that in many ways, like, we resist a lot asking for help. Right? Like, and I'm, like, included on that. And I think, oh, that makes me feel better. It's. It's just crazy. Like, I don't know what happens in our mind that, like, for example, when I decided to, like, hey, I'm quitting my job, and I'm gonna dedicate myself into that, you know, Like, I thought that I could do everything alone. And then I kind of created something that I see the amount of struggle that I could have avoided if I was just like, hey, can help me? You know, if I could just see the talent around me that I don't need to know it all to make it happen, that, like, you know, somebody else is better doing this than I am, and that's his gift. It's kind of like this giving and receiving, right? Like, can I give that? This Person opportunity to, you know, share their gift. And it took me, like, I think, two years to ask for help. Like, if I. If I would like to share with people, like, connected to this topic of fear, like, just ask for help right now. You know, it doesn't matter, like, where you are in your journey, but if you have this calling, if you are trying to create something, just ask for help, you know?

So I have a question for you because I love asking questions. I'm a coach. I feel like when each of you showed up in one another's lives, things took off quickly and found alignment because you are so complementary and help each other in extraordinary ways. Like, that's the power of partnership. Truly. Carolina, what was the breakthrough for you, you think that allowed somebody like Phil to show up and, like, take such a heavy load and lift and to do his thing? Was there any, like, personal breakthrough for you that led to that?

Yeah, like, I realized that I was not able to take or to give birth to my vision alone. And then, like, he became my client first. And then when I was learning what he was doing with, like, growing online business and I was transitioning from, like, seeing clients in person and trying to create a business that would give me, like, more freedom to travel, for example, I had to assume that I'm like, I don't know how to do this. And then when I kind of, like, very humble, like, I don't know how to do it, and I don't think I have the ability to do my business or to do the job and serve my clients and do this at the same time. That was kind of like, you know what? You know, you got to ask for help. And that was like, when I finally assumed that I was not capable of doing it. And then I hired him as my coach. And then things start moving. And then we, you know, we saw, like, opportunities after a while, and then we decided to work together. But before was just me realizing that, like, I am not capable of doing that alone.

Wow. I. If I could just sing the salt and pepper song, what a man, what a mighty good man right now for Phil Palace, I would do it. But I feel like Phil's the one that got away from me because you saw that and seized it because he's such a. He's such a powerhouse resource and ally and believer and. And everything I know about him is that your work with him completely changed his health and life. So it was just obvious. So I got it. I got to share, like, a super funny story from two people that Phil actually knows. From our retreats, a couple of my clients, past clients. It ties to what you said, Carolina, that one of my clients, this CEO Mark Blauschild, he was the third generation of, like, an incredible company. Like, $450 million company. Jewish man, high integrity, incredible service, all this stuff. And he. In our. I was coaching him one day, and he said, chris, do you want to know the seven most powerful words in business? And I'm like, who the fuck would not want to know that? Yeah, I want to know that. He's like, I don't know. What do you think? And I was like, okay. And I was thinking. I was thinking this was, like, some, like, sort of platitude, right? And at that second, I swear to God, his son Brian kind of rushes into our, like, invades our coaching session in his dad's office. And he's like, dad, we have a supply chain thing, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And he, like, comes up with, like, word problem for his dad. And his dad just gets, like, really chill, and he looks at me and winks, and he turns to his son, he's like, I don't know. What do you think? And his son just stands there and solves the problem and leaves. I was like, man, this is the most dope shit I've ever seen. Like, I got paid to show up and coach you. But, like, it's totally true. The more I think I know, the less I do. And I just have to be uncomfortable in the uncertainty of not knowing, because the divine gift is right there beneath the surface, waiting to be birthed. And if I step into the unknown and I just say, use me as an instrument. Use me to birth this thing. Use me to create it. It's boom. It's, like, nearly done. And, yeah, I have to clock in. But I think when I. I think when any of us struggle to figure it out, figure it out, figure it out, it holds us apart from the thing that just wants to be there. Absolutely crazy. I love to know. I'm a knower. I love to know things.

Yeah. I think that's exactly why it took me a while to admit for myself that I wasn't capable, that I did not know. Because I'm, you know, I'm someone that, like, I'm. I figure it out. I make it happen, you know, I'm a manifester. And, like, I can, you know, like, I kind of get what I want and. And then want to get to a point, and I'm like, yes, and I'm being guided, and I'm like, oh, but my guidance is like, ask for help. You know, my guidance is not just for me to do it alone. And then when I met Phil, I told him, I'm like, I don't know any other business coach, and I don't need to know any other business coach because then I'm being guided. And I have the feeling, you know, like, I felt that, like, you understand or you're going to share, like, marketing in a way that will resonate with me because I had a lot of resistance in this, you know, selling and all of that. But my guidance was like, hey, you got to ask for help, otherwise you're not moving anywhere. But to admit that idea, I didn't know, and I wasn't capable of doing that alone was, I think, what it took me, like, so long to, you know, to move powerfully into this. Taking action and asking for help.

Yeah, yeah. And thinking about what you two are creating right now and how fast it's picking up on Substack and other places. I've watched all of. I've been on every. Every one of Phil's email lists since I met him, and this one by far feels like it has the most heart and soul because that's like, mostly your department, Carolina. It's just such a good synergy of gifts. And I would imagine when Phil started working with you as a practitioner, as a healer, he was needing to open up all that. And it's just really powerful and gives me a lot of hope for capitalism going forward, that we're going to have more leaders and business owners founding businesses from this place of how do I balance these. These forces and not lose my soul to the chase for money or not spiritually bypass my way into thinking that I'm gonna make money when I'm just not. Like, I work in the yoga world, I work with a lot of yoga teachers who unfortunately have that non business model of, you know, I'm not gonna sell anything, but I hope to make money this month. It's like, ooh, that's a tough one. You know, And I was lucky. As much as I hated it being a salesperson, I'm so grateful for that training of how to put together pitches and ideas and position, value and all that stuff, because it's just an essential piece of the thing, whether you're selling yoga or coaching or a program or anything else. I mean, so, yeah, I think you two are just such an interesting case study of the balance of that. It's just wild.

Yeah. Yeah. It was just interesting how it all came Together. And this idea of, like, being led or called, like, it was. It got to a point. And I think we've mentioned this on in other places, but, like, one of our agreements when we decided to create this business was that everything else had to go. Like, for example, at the time I was still working, like, very deeply in Leo from Zen Habit's business. Like, and that was also my huge, like, largest paycheck. Right. You know, it was like a significant amount of money on top of the other things I was doing. And Carolina as well, she had her a pretty thriving practice in Costa Rica doing the, you know, the bioenergetics work. And yeah, basically our agreement was like, if we're going to do this, like, we're all in. We can't, like, fragment even more and be like, okay, like, you're going to be over here doing this. I'm going to be doing this, still chasing my business, and then we're going to kind of squeeze in this thing on the side and we're like, do we really believe in what we're creating here? Because if we do believe in what we're creating, then we have to give it our best. And yeah, this was a big thing for me and that connects to actually the next. Just kind of a continuation of the fear, the resistance. One of the things that I've always admired about you, Casey, and when I first met you, other than, well, the first time I met you, you were like, yeah, I think it was a good life project. You were running around doing crazy shenanigans and, I don't know, some crazy socks and. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know what my opinion was of you at that moment. But as I got to know you, you were, to me, you really exemplified this, like, idea of, well, just like, what it looks like to be this, like, yogi householder and like, have this, like, deep inner spiritual landscape, but also be, like, showing up powerfully in the world and, like, doing business and like, your business was like, thriving and. And yeah, I would just love to hear more around this idea of faith, but also specifically because we've. We've had. We've shared some experiences, like going to Temple of the Universe and like, studying Par Par Yogananda's work. Like, I would love to hear more about how that piece of your faith kind of fits into the equation of how you show up and, and run your business.

You know, I. I have my whole altar wall behind me, you know, so Guru, Guru is always looking over my shoulder Saying he never needs me to talk about him. But I'm so grateful for the omnipresence of that force in my life. So when we met, my working model was something I created. My first manifesto is the full life integration model. Soul, vitality, family, art, and work. And my work was to meditate enough to integrate those things into a seamless whole. And so I use the analogy of, like, voltron from the 80s, the five robotic lions that comes to whip ass at a whole other level because it's the integration of these things. And so I really worked hard for a long time on the integration piece. And then what I started realizing over time, first it was that soul. The first the soul practice is the fulcrum on which all those other things, like Archimedes, the Greek philosopher, said, give me a lever long enough, a fulcrum on which to place it, and I will move the world. And soul is absolutely that fulcrum. And so once I knew that, then it was life kicking my ass just enough every year to surrender fully and fully and fully into that and saying, like, you know, do with me what you will. God and guru, I'm your instrument. Anytime I get up to speak, I never feel prepared. I never know what's about to come out of my mouth. Like, even today, I'm like, do I know what I'm talking about? But when I ask that force to. To work through me, it has never failed. And that is not me feeling super spiritual. That is the science of yoga. And believe it or not, I'm wired to be a skeptic. I'm a Virgo. I'm just like, prove it. You know, And I think that prove it thing kind of forced me into, like, the scientific path of yoga. And yoga is scientific in that the more you practice, the more results show up. It's measurable. And because I was a professional musician as a kid, I know how powerful practice is and how essential it is. My daughter is now a professional musician at a far higher level than I ever was, and we talked constantly about her practicing. And so as I just started realizing, oh, it's all about practice. And that's what my new substack is about. It's like, if you practice and you're willing to practice, you're going to be better than okay. Like, better than most people that work their asses off constantly. Like, give me one hungry person that wants to practice, and you will be the next fill in the blank. So I think I just had to trip over that. But. But I did it. Of course, in school of hard knocks, like, that's my, like, bumbling clown side of myself. Like, oh, I think I could handle all of it. I get overwhelmed. I burn out. I, like, fall apart. And then I learn the lesson, and then I practice doing it better next time. And so it's a long way to get into it. But the more I practice, the more faith turns into knowing. And knowing is scientific. And Yogananda talks about volition, that the man or woman of volition never stops repeating conscious acts until they die trying. And that, to me, is powerful, and that's perseverance. And, you know, I just. That little kid inside of me that never stopped practicing his cello or whatever, just always, you know, wanted to do something impactful, you know? And I think in this type of work, if you. If you rally your cards around impact and are willing to practice, nothing can stop you, you know, you just have to keep going.

Absolutely. It's so beautiful the way you talk about yoga. And, like, I love yoganand. I love his teachings as well. I remember, like, reading his book. It was such, like, an interesting experience because I read in a couple of weeks and it wasn't like, you know, it's a big book. And I took me, like, maybe, yeah, I would say, like, three weeks or so. And every time I would go live my life and I asked a lot of questions in my own head and something would happen. I would come back to the book where I left, I would open the page and the answer was just there. And I'm like, what is going on? Because I've read all books, and I'm like, how? Like. And it's not that I'm opening right now, it's just where I left. And it was just a continuation. And then, like, something would happen. I would open the book and I'm like, what's happening here? You know? And I feel that, like, this guidance as you experience and you allow yourself to be present enough to recognize the magic. That's not magic. It's just you and life. Right? Like, for me, being like, one and through his teachings and all his energy, like, you keep going. And you're like, yes. Everything is, like, helping you to go forward, to move forward, to take the next step. And all your answers, all your questions are being answered, like, if you just pay attention. And my relationship with him was just like this, you know, and sometimes, like, I sit on meditation and I share with you. I'm like, I totally feel, you know, his presence and sitting on my right side. And it's just this Deep guidance. And yeah, it's just very. And the way you talk about yoga is, fascinates me like this science and it's not mysticism. And sometimes people like, oh, science and yoga feels good. I'm like, yoga does not feel good. Like it's regulating your nervous system and science is catching up with the machines to one day be able to prove everything that yoga is, you know, I.

Just to want like, well, it's the medicine. The medicine has always been inside us and yoga unlocks that or the guru unlocks that and it aligns your spirit with something bigger than yourself. And so for years, whether I was performing or doing things, my favorite compliment there was also like a head scratcher. Like people would say, what are you on? And where can I get some? You know, like it was drugs or something. And I'm like, I'm, I'm on a lot of green juice and meditation or yoga. And so as it over time, as it softens. Well, first of all, I just really, really am moved by how you talk about Yogananda because. And now I'm realizing like, I don't know if there's any better matchmaker in the history of the world than Yogananda. So maybe that's who brought you two together. But that, that he's, he's an incarnation. He was an incarnation of love. And I just got back from a six week pilgrimage tour through all the sites of Autobiography of a Yogi. So I wrote about today, like being in Babaji's cave and being in Yogananda's childhood bedroom where he first found God. And like, it brings up so much emotion in me because I realized like, what a gift any of us have to find teachers that laid out a path for us, that pull us through the hardest stuff and to know that we're part of an internal link, that all we need to do is keep showing up. That's all they want for us. And if we don't get through it in this life, that's fine. We're going to pick up right where we left off. They'll be there waiting for us, guide us across to the next and we'll get started again. And that's so far what this lifetime has shown me. And you know, so I was laughing while you were talking about him too, Carolina, because right before this call, he made me laugh my ass off. Like I sat here laughing maniacally because, you know, you get nervous getting on live chats and all I wanted was a pic because I'm gonna surprise you by playing A song that I wrote for Yogananda on my trip. And I thought I could be the first song performed on your video cast here. So I'm like, but I needed a pic. It was the one missing link, right? So, of course, I'm a little nervous. I start turning over my apartment, like, trash my room, turn over the kids room. I'm like, I just need one pick, you know? And I was just. And I was speaking to Guru in real time saying I could really use an assist here. All I need is a pick, you know? So I was chanting and playing it. I come back into my office and fire up the thing thinking, like, okay, I'm not supposed to play a song today. And right next to my. Right next to my desk is my guitar with the pick in the strings on the headset, you know, And I just look at his picture and I start laughing because I'm just like, slow down and practice what you teach, man.

It's there for you.

Yeah, yeah. Like, you know, you actually have the thing. But, yeah. So whenever you're ready, Phil, I would love to play that for you because I think it's. It's relevant because I've never performed it before. But also, the song showed up in India, kind of like, as a summary of the trip. And I think it really ties into what. What you're doing here is that we're all lifting as we climb. When it comes to community, we're all climbing and working, but we're lifting and. And that. That spirit of the lineage that pulls us all forward, it's just such an act of grace. And, you know, so over the past week, I've been so deeply inspired by what you're doing. It got me back into substack and back, you know, reinventing my thing and here talking about it. And so, yeah, I would love to share that if it makes sense.

I think we go for it now, man. Like, there's no more time than now. Now. I will say I've never done music on here, but we were just talking last week there's some sort of musician mode here on the live. Do you see, like, a little, like, a music note thing there on your.

Yeah, let me.

Let me check it out.

Change the spectrum.

Ooh.

So I don't know what that does. So we're going to learn this together, but let's. Let's go for it and see what happens.

Learning together, growing together. Do you recognize this machine?

I do. I love that guitar. That's epic.

As advertised, right?

I knew you before, sat at Your feet came flooding back to me. Our temple of leaves. Nobody quite knew me as you have. Guruji, you guide, protect me. Correct. Redirect me. We are mirigled in tea. Lights flickering, floating. Her current changes day to night. Love goes before us holding the line. Every one of us will persevere in time. Every one of us will persevere in time. River of light. In the river of light.

Yeah.

When my clock winds down and my roll's complete. Hold up my name. No more bags, just name and walk me across Our separatist link from opal Pools of peace we'll drink. We're all miracles and tea lights keep flickering, Floating. Cause the river's long, the river's wide. Love goes before us, keep towing. Every one of us will persevere in time. Every one of us will persevere in time. Every one of us will persevere in time. Every one of us will persevere in time. Been for a flight in the river of light. Holy river of light. In the river of light.

Wow. It's beautiful, man. Do our celebration post.

Yes. Thank you so much. That was so beautiful.

My pleasure. Yeah, it's. It's crazy how things, you know, I think I want to get to the place where my business can be like my art or songwriting, where the thing just flows through into form like. Like, I don't know, anything harder to do than write a song. It is brutal. But when I'm out of the way, like that one showed up in like 20 minutes, which is rare. A lot of them take months if not years to get them right. And so it's just a great lesson for me that when I hear it come out that I'm thinking, man, what if building the next, you know, certifying coaches to teach the four permissions framework, or writing the next book or any. Any of these big endeavors can just be surrender to the process because like everybody, I resist it too, you know, But. But songs are. Songs are that mystical magic that just remind you that like, oh man, it's either right or it's not. And sometimes it's just easy.

Yeah. What a powerful question. And it comes to me that, like, what if we could just see business as art, right? Because music is something and then painting is something. But when it comes to business, it's this rigid structure and separate from everything. And if we could just understand that business is self expression, that is art, maybe we will create a space for this flow that you're sharing that I think it's possible. Like, I. I honestly believe it's possible. And I think from your lips, your.

Lips to Guru's ears.

Yeah. And I have a question. Are you going to India again? Would you take us with you?

Oh, my God. Well, let's. The second part.

Yeah.

And yeah, I'll go anywhere you guys want to go. I want to come down and see you in Brazil, South America. Brazil. And so India was a lifelong dream. I just documented this epic, epic recap of the whole experience and I'm starting to give that talk a lot more often. But India has so much to teach us as the origin of these things and it gives you such long term perspective. And so to answer the question, I will be going back again sooner than later. And I. I was able to do like an overview of all the major places my lineage is from. And I want to just tune into like one or two key areas and see stay for like three or four days in each because I was unpacking and repacking a lot. It was 36 days, eight plane flights inside of India to cover a lot of ground. Like, we met a lot of India Indian people who said that we've gotten to see more of their country than they have growing up there. So I felt really spoiled. And now I just want to go in there, go there and just really absorb and actually serve. I'm trying to figure out how to bridge Yoga Alliance's work for From America Better into India. And of course my guru's work. I've been working on that task force as well. So it's just. Yeah. Now it's like India has plans for me, you know, So I just, I gotta go back soon.

Yeah, I'll keep following you and I want to go with you.

Yeah, totally. Should we, should we take Phil, though? I think we should. I think he needs a wizard.

Yeah, it's on my list for sure. Well, there's one other main thread we wanted to pull on with you, which I feel is something. Well, I feel something you do masterfully within your communities. And I also, I feel that what you just did here with us, with the music, that's. That's a gift that you've created. And I've, I've gotten to witness you in that, in that, sharing that gift in many different ways. But I would love to talk about connection. Like, I feel that a lot of our people that we talk to, they kind of, especially in this online world, like, they, they struggle with this idea of like, what does it look like to create meaningful, authentic connection in places like Substack. And so I'd Just be curious, like as you've navigated your journey and creating more audiences online, like, how do you, how do you relate to this idea? How do you approach connection and yeah, maybe like what tips or practical guidance could you give to people who maybe struggle with this and struggle to offer what they have consistently?

No, this is a great question. So I've coached many more people who are way more successful at this than I will ever be. People that have massive platforms. My client on Link, she's huge on LinkedIn. Her name is Netta Jenkins. She's now the CEO of her own company and it's a big company and she has something like 400,000 LinkedIn followers. And when I coached her, she was just trying to write a talk about diversity, equity, inclusion and start giving that talk at Google. And now she's just this force in the whole thing. And what I noticed people doing really well that I was never natural at. Like, like what I do is built for retreats. Like I could go into a retreat and make sure we are all having the best moment of our entire lives. Like, that's my, that's my gift. I love to give and because that's the kind of event that I want to give, go to. But, but social media is different and where I, where I get in my own way is because I'm a performer and I grew up making flyers for my bands and all that posturing. I, I can choose like a studio photo of myself to write a big post to. And I'm really proud of the writing in that post, but I noticed that that post doesn't perform the same way. Just like a really messy selfie of like, what's up? You know, or like, you know, just like a really human to human thing. And so as I embrace more of my humanity through my recovery work, I'm noticing that I'm just more comfortable being me, however that looks. And that's what works on Substack. I mean like people that get tons of engagement in their notes and that sort of thing, it's just show up as a human and engage as a human. And so many of my friends who've come over there, I see them either struggling with the same stuff I struggle with or just being really naturally gifted at it. And the engagement is astonishing, you know, So I, I'm really excited to spend more time in Substack now, like inspired by our boy Landon to show up more as a human, serve others, elevate others and just learn from them. Just be humble and learn. But I, you Know, my daughter, she was naturally gifted with music, and she grew up with a dad who finally figured some of it out. And so she could always sit down and look you in the eyes and play a song that just makes you cry. From the time she was 8 or 9, she could play her little ukulele and just make you weep. And now she's on huge stages doing that for big crowds. I was never that musician. I was always like, I gotta practice and feel prepared and feel like I know my stuff. So it's a long way of saying, don't overthink it. Go be a human, be concise. Being concise and editing yourself is an act of generosity. You want to be user generous. The people that I think enjoy what I do, they feel like they got something that either helped or uplifted them. And I really try my hardest to make people feel seen. I reply to every comment. I thank them and ask how their kids are doing. I care about people and I think that comes through and it's harder to scale huge like that. But that's what's worked for me.

Yeah, I love what you said. And there's like this dance. I feel like there's this balance because on the one hand, I like you. I'm a big fan of like, this discipline, like preparation, commitment.

To your.

Yeah, to your. To your craft. Right. And when I even think about, you know, all the marketing work that I've done in this world, like, I truly see that as art. Like that. That is my art. It's not a lot of the things. They are things that.

Well, I would say yours is not all of it is, but yours is for sure.

Oh, thank you. But what I was going to say is, like, there's this dance between that and then also this thing that Carolina and I often share, which people with people, which is to let it be messy.

Right.

And so like this dance between allowing yourself to be messy, not like going to that edge of, like, perfectionism where you can't, like, show up in an authentic way, but also to be kind of like doing the work off camera.

To like, make sure you're showing it raw and real. So I gotta. I gotta thank. You know, my authenticity coach really is this amazing woman I met last year. We dated for a while and she's become just such a special, true friend. But she is my model for just being human. I somehow missed the classes on this growing up. You know, like, I could be a super. I thought I was a superhuman. I thought I was, like, talented or this or that. And I coach performers all day long, so being a performer helps. But the human softening, open the heart, the chakra twist, open the anahata heart chakra and just love yourself as is. And when you do that, people feel it. People feel that you're. You're not bullshitting yourself. In addition to bullshitting them, they feel seen and witness to something. And so it's been, it's been a big lesson of a hard year, you know, culminating with India, is that if I sit down and chant Aham Prema 108 times with my Mala, turns out it works. And if you bring that into your social thing, your brand, I don't have to think about my brand anymore because it's all just me. And on my best days, it's a pleasure to be me, you know, I love that.

So beautiful, beautiful line. Yeah. Well, cool, man. This has been an awesome conversation where we're a little over. So I appreciate you being super generous with your time.

I could go all day. I love talking to you guys.

It's great.

Yeah.

And this has been overdue, but yeah, for now, like, you're here on Substacks. That makes it really easy for people to find you. But if someone has been following along either with us live or checking the recap and they're just more curious about your work, like, what would you, what would you suggest to start with?

The easiest thing here is I'd love for people to check out the brand new substack I launched today, Permission to Chill. It's based on Permission one from my book, Permission to Glow. And it's just about practice and community and a lot of things we talked about today. The LinkedIn. I kind of have to be everywhere, unfortunately. But LinkedIn is also a great place. I'm trying to get away from the meta platforms because they're becoming a sewer that's causing more harm than good. I like them, but what at what cost? So I would say LinkedIn or Substack and reach out to me, you know, it's like, shoot me a note. I'm happy to connect, I'm happy to grab time. I love coaching from a distance and supporting people's success and I love sharing people's work. So send me your stuff, tag me in it, and I will happily restack it.

Cool. So, man, well, thank you again. This is beautiful. Really appreciate you. Really excited that we're mixing it up here on Substack. So I feel like it's a whole new fun little chapter of support and collaboration. So it's really cool.

Yeah.

Thank you so much for your time. It was really nice to connect and, well, I heard about you, like, many times before, but, you know, just in person, through the screen connection makes a huge difference. It was really, like, an honor.

Oh, thank you. Yeah, I feel. I feel the same. You know, I.

It's just.

It's all a real blessing, you know, to even have these conversations, let alone amazing people want to come and be a part of it. You know, just really grateful for the people that made time for this today. And it's just. I'm leaving with my heart really full. So thanks.

And we will, yeah. Put together a recap, so feel free. Usually have that done in the next hour or so, and you're. You can share that with your people as well. And. Yeah, I know you want to share.

With us, but I can't help it. Yeah, I'm all about that recap.

Let's go. Cool. Cool. Yeah. And anyone that's joining kind of in the last few minutes. Yeah. Keep your eyes out. I'll be sharing kind of this full interview with Christopher, Casey Carter, and trust that it will be. It'll be worth your time. And if you missed the song in the middle, I don't know, that was probably a dog. 35 minutes in or so. It's a good one. Thank you. Thank you again. Have a great rest of your day. Casey, much luck.

Love you guys. Take care of.