385: Content Creation Through Inspiration, Not Depletion with Aileen Lavendaire

Namaste, it's Sahara Rose. And welcome back to the Highest Self podcast, a place where we discuss what makes you your soul's highest evolvement. I hope you are here fully, all of you. And if not, just call all of your fragments back in at this moment, right now. Because this is a time that our energy can feel very, very scattered. It can feel like parts of us are simultaneously existing in many, many different planes, in conversations that we did not finish, in social media battles and debates, whether they are on our posts or someone else's, in global issues around the world, in fear and worries, both ourselves and others. So I invite you now to just reclaim all parts of you into this space, I am calling back all parts of me into this space, I am calling back all of my soul fragments back into wholeness. May all parts of me, wherever they are right now, come back to me. And may I simultaneously release what is not mine to hold so I can walk my truest, highest and fullest expression on this planet. Aho. And so it is welcome.

Again.

It is a heavy moment in time and it's funny because we're all feeling this heaviness, but we're all in totally different realities. But it's almost like this like impeding weight of part of ourselves wishing and hoping for things to be better and, and part of ourselves actually being in this like amazing new reality that we have co created for ourselves in the past year and a. But then also this other part of ourselves that is still so heartbroken for all of the parts of the world that seem to not be getting better or actually seem to be destroying and getting worse. So we're simultaneously grieving and celebrating, but that is life. You know, I shared last week on the podcast about if you feel overwhelmed, frazzled, completely, just beside yourself with all of the weight of the world, to just take a step back and focus on one issue, one area that you are completely passionate about, that you can devote yourself to going beyond sharing an infograph on your Instagram stories and feeling sad about it for two days and then going on with your life that's not actually making a difference. Let's be real. For us to really get to know any of these global topics or local topics or really any topic, we need to dive into it and see all of the perspectives and give it that time and energy and nurturing and watering that it takes, especially with things so complex. So when we are constantly overwhelmed by hearing this horrible thing that happened here and another horrible thing that happened there and we are not giving ourselves Time to experience the resolution that happens after periods of chaos. We completely fry out our nervous system. So if you're feeling that right now, which I know a lot of people are, be sure to also listen to last week's episode, because I really dive into that nervous system fry response that so many of us are having of just knowing all of these things going wrong around the world, but feeling so disempowered and not even knowing how even if we can make a difference. And I really dive into what true activism is about out. So be sure to tune into that episode right now or maybe after this. So this conversation is one that I had with a friend of mine, Eileen, that some of you may know. She goes by the name of Lavendaire on her YouTube channel where she has over a million subscribers. But in this conversation we go beyond that and she actually shares that she reached this point, that her goal was to get a million followers and she was working so hard making all these videos and really sacrificing her free time and her play and her life. And just on this one track goal of I need to reach my 1 million subscribers on YouTube, which so many of us, we become that woman on a mission, right? But she hit those million people and found herself still feeling empty and void and purposeless and burnt out. So in this episode, we speak about content creation from a place, place of inspiration rather than burnout. I know a lot of you listening, want to or are content creators. So I ask her different questions about creating content and tips and the lessons that she's Learned building this YouTube channel over the past, you know, four or.

Five years or so.

And then we also go into the other side of it of not doing something just for the point of like having a goal and defining your, your productivity with your worth. And she also shares this incredible tool that she found, this form of mind body medicine of Korean origin that has really helped her release trauma that she has been holding onto in the body and get clear on why she is doing the work that she's doing and taking a step back to really dive deeper into herself so she can create from a more aligned place. So I think it's just such a power, powerful lesson for all of us. We're so used to just the hustle, hustle, hustle.

Go, go, go.

Keep going forward, keep chasing. Next goal, don't stop. If you stop, someone else is gonna get in front of you. So you gotta keep going. You gotta be faster than everyone else. Like, these are the narratives that we're.

Taught, like we watch like a sports.

Movie and it's like he woke up earlier and slept less and sacrificed more and that's why he's a winner, you know? And we're like, oh shit, I guess I gotta do that. But it's like, is that actually your highest form of happiness? Is that actually what you want to leave this world with? And if so, go for it, keep doing it. And I think there are periods of our lives that we're just like we're on a mission. And then there are periods of our lives that we need to get into that earth energy. The kapha dosha that I speak about, to just take a step back and really look at like, WTF actually matters? Like what actually matters to me? And is it the number of subscribers, is it the number of dollars, or is it what I do with those things? And that's really what this conversation is about. So I hope you enjoy and I'll see you on the other side. And before we get started, check out these brands that make high self podcast possible. So if you're anything like me, you catch yourself late at night on your computer with all of these words and thoughts and things you want to research, but it's super late and you know you're going to scroll, spew up your sleep. And Ayurveda told you your circadian rhythm really matters. So you're secretly mad at yourself, but you still want to keep going. Does this sound a little bit too specific? Well, if so, I have the solution for you. And those are blue blocks glasses. So these are glasses that help block the junk light, all of the artificial light, the blue light that's on our phones, our laptops, all these screens, even our light switches. I've actually changed out all my lights to no longer have the blues artificial light that comes through. So it's a lot more soothing for my circadian rhythm cycle. And wearing these blue Blox glasses has been so helpful. I sleep better, I wake up early easier, and I don't have that same digital eye strain. And if you're a little skeptical, all of these glasses use science back technology tested to ensure they work unlike other blue light glasses companies. If you want to get your hands on a pair, head over to Blue Bloks.com that's B L U B L O X.com Sahara for 15% off your first pair and you can find that link in the show notes. Are you ready to finally discover your soul's purpose? The big reason why you are here? Well, I've created a free Masterclass experience for you where you will discover what your Dharma is and how it may be different from your career, how to navigate through having multiple passions, different ways to transition into your dharma, ways to overcome people pleasing and caring what other people think. My number one tool, whether knowing a decision is right for you and journal prompts on the different types of resistance and how they show up for us. All of this is available for you for free in my Discover your soul's purpose Masterclass. You can head over to iamsaharrose.commasterclass to join today. Again, that's I am saharrose.com and you can find that link in the show Notes. I'm super excited to see you in there.

Welcome Eileen, to the Highest Self podcast. It's so great to have you back.

Yeah, thank you Sahara. So happy to be here.

And the first question I'd love to ask you is, what makes you your highest self?

I think what makes me my highest self is the fact that there was a point in my life where I decided to live for me and it was completely a new concept. But that was probably around like right after graduating from college. And since then I've been on this journey of really discovering who my authentic self is and then being able to express myself creatively. And I'm still on that journey, obviously, but I think that's what makes me my highest self is that continuation of finding that.

And something we share is we both come from Asian families and a lot of times there is pressure of, you know, your career looking like a certain way, your life looking like a certain way, not sharing too much of yourself, not drawing too far outside of the lines, and especially not going into spiritual social media content creation we are doing. So can you share a little bit about your own journey? Because right now, for people who don't know you, lavendaire, your YouTube has over 1.4 million subscribers and you've been content creating for so many years now. But it hasn't always been as easy for you as it is today. So can you share a little bit more about your journey with this?

Oh yeah. So growing up, I was the type of child that was very obedient and I did what I was told. I did things to get the approval of my parents. Right? You're supposed to get good grades. You're supposed to just be this good girl, this perfect girl, just be that as much as you can as an Asian child. And then you also get compared to your cousins and all these peers. So I think I grew up thinking that was normal. And thinking that just my goal in life was to get straight A's and go to a good college and get a good job, make money. The end. All of that really started unraveling during the later years of college and then around the point of your life where you're trying to figure out what you want to do with your life. Because all my life I followed the rules, I had the syllabus to life, I knew what to do. But when it was time to choose your career, I was lost and I was paralyzed because no one had the instructions of how to succeed in life. And over experimenting with internships and this and that, I really realized that going into that office life, that corporate culture was not for me. Deep down I knew I was a more creative person and I wanted to do something with a bigger impact. But it was a tough few years because I was just struggling to figure out, okay, if I don't want this life, what do I want? So I graduated college when all my peers were getting good high paying jobs, this and that, I was just like, I don't know what I'm going to do. I like music, I like singing, so let me pursue that. I pursued music and singing for a couple years and I actually started singing on YouTube as a hobby in high school. My experience with YouTube started in the end of 2007, which is a long time ago. Throughout college I had that I was like a foot into the YouTube world. It was just a hobby at that point. But after graduating I decided to pursue it full time. And I just embarked on this journey, reading all these self help books like how do you find your purpose? How do you succeed in life? I was just trying to figure it out and it was tough. I really just wandered around for a few years trying acting, hosting, doing marketing events. And eventually I realized that, hey, it's been like two years after graduating. I don't have a normal job, but I've been doing all these interesting things. I've been meeting interesting creative people in the film industry, in music, and that was really inspiring to me. And I realized that I survived not taking a traditional route. Oh, it's possible to create your lifestyle, it's possible to create the life that you want to live. And it's possible to create that from scratch, meaning not follow someone else's rules, but to design every little detail for yourself. And so when I was really inspired about that concept, that's what inspired me to start lavendaire. Because I, I wanted to have a platform to share all my Lessons and just my journey in discovering that. So on lavendaire, our tagline is life is an art. Make it your masterpiece. Because I believe life is a canvas. Each one of us is an artist. Obviously it's not an empty canvas. We all start with something. We start with our families, just the things that we're born into, our gifts, our strengths. But you use everything that you have to create from there to build on top of what you have.

So.

So that's the journey of life as an artist of life. And that's what Lavendaire is all about. So I started Lavendaire in 2014. It's been seven years, a little over seven years now since I've been doing it. And that's a whole other journey too.

Yes, I can imagine. And I love that because I think so many people can relate to that, of intuitively knowing that they don't want to go down the beaten path, but thinking, who am I to do something else? I'm not an expert in this or I don't have like a Justin Bieber voice or a manager or whatever else. The story that we have in our heads are of like, what makes people successful, especially as creatives, you know, so it's so inspiring to hear people just like yourself who are just had this intuitive hunch within them that they wanted to design their own lives and then went on to teach other people how to design their own lives as well. And I have your journals over the past couple years and all the practices you go into that. So I'd love to know what tips do you have for someone who wants to. To share themselves on YouTube, social media in general, especially spiritual content, but they feel all of this imposter syndrome of like, I don't know, like, my friends from high school will think I'm a fake because they knew that former version of me, or, you know, people in my church will make fun of me or whatever else the story is. How can we overcome that?

Yeah, that was a transition I had to move through too, because I think if you want to do this, if you want to put yourself out there, you have to let go of what others think of you. You have to let go of how you think others will judge, because people are going to judge you. And it's really about. You have to understand people see the world the way they want to see it. So if what you want to do it doesn't fit in their box, then obviously it's not going to make sense in their head. But you can't Live your life for other people. In that way, you have to just create your own rules, because they don't have power over your life unless you give them that power. So even for me, it was awkward because my friends knew me as this one version of Eileen in college. And then after, when I was pursuing all this creative routes, it was a transition and they had to get to know the real me. But I think the most important part is knowing that it's a challenge and knowing you have to be vulnerable.

Totally. And how can we expect ourselves to remain the same version of ourselves from high school? And we would never expect other people in our lives to remain the same. But for whatever reason, we feel like, oh, well, I don't want them to think I've changed. As if changing is a bad thing. You know, like when people say, oh, you've changed. It's like, thanks, Goddess, I've changed. Imagine if I hadn't ever changed and I was still the exact person I was when I was, like, 14 or whatever age they met you at. And sometimes I feel like we, like, hold their opinion more than our own opinions. And it's like, yes, cognitively, we know not to do this, but it really does hold us back. So did you ever get confronted by anyone in your life or haters or anything like that who said to you, I don't like what you're doing, or you shouldn't share your voice, or who are you to do this? And how were you able to overcome that?

I would say, surprisingly, most people didn't say. Like, the friends that I thought would judge me, they didn't say those things to me. The biggest person in my life that was against this was my dad. And I had to really argue with him because he thought if I wanted to take a creative path, he's like, oh, artists are crazy people. You're not going to make it. I don't know. He was just so against it, Right? And so, yeah, that was something personal that I had to struggle with. But in terms of the judgment from friends, I realized that most of the time, either they didn't. They kept it to themselves. If they thought it was weird, they didn't personally tell me that. Okay, that's weird. It was mostly in my mind. It was mostly my own self judging myself in my mind, being scared to post this video because I thought I was being weird. I thought I was being different. And I think most of this imposter syndrome, you think it's other people, but it's really yourself. It's your own Critical voice in your head.

Absolutely. Yeah. We think, like, the whole world is going to fall apart if we share. And it's like most people really aren't even paying attention.

People don't care about you as much as you think they do.

Yeah, totally. And I had the exact same fear when my first Ayurveda book was coming out. I thought, like, everyone would, like, protest on the streets against me. It's like, no. No one cares at all, like, that you're not a doctor. Like, that's actually part of who you are. And I think it's. Sometimes we think we need to be this expert because back in the day, the people we would see on TV were like, doctors or PhDs or whatever else. So we may have the story in our minds that, oh, only if I have studied something for 20 years can I share about it. Or maybe our parents have told us that story, but it's not true because some people want to know about it from your point of view as just a normal person who's gone through the experience, and that's what makes it relatable.

Yeah. I think social media has. It's changed the way we get information from experts. Right. Back then when it was just mainstream media, tv, you would have, like, a doctor on TV and just these expert people telling you what to do. But now, because social media, everyone has a platform, everyone has a voice. So it's. I think people like to connect with a real person who feels authentic much more than someone who they think is, like, an expert.

Absolutely. And it's really, you know, coming down to who you are and who you're here to serve and having your brand and your niche and all of that. So for you and your own process, because you have a very particular aesthetic and branding, and that's like, really something that you spend a lot of your energy and focus on. So how did that come to be? How did you, like. Did you channel like what my branding is? Did you start to share and get feedback? What did that process look like for you?

Yeah, I mean, I think at the base of it, I like pretty things. I like things to look aesthetic. And so obviously I tried my best to make my videos and channel well, as. As pretty as possible. But the feeling I wanted with lavendaire, I mean, the reason I chose the name, it has multiple meanings. Like, because my hair was lavender at the time. I love the color. Number one, I like that lavender is a flower. The scent is very calming and soothing. And number two, it's a color that is really pastel and pretty. And my brand is all about like pastels and like a dreamy, pretty vibe. And so it's. I wanted lavender to be a place where people come and then they feel those things. And yeah, I think with the videos, obviously my first early videos were not that pretty, but I just grew with my skills as I, you know, as the time went on. And yeah, I do try to be intentional about always making everything I create beautiful because I felt like personal growth. This space was very like, at least when I started in 2014, it was dominated by like middle aged white males. Right. I was reading books by like Tim Ferriss, Jack Canfield, all those classic books. There was no person of color. There was very little women that I followed talking about these topics. And there was no one doing it in a pretty way. Right. Like Tony Robbins does. Like they have their own style. Right. There was no one bridging these meaningful, insightful lessons, but also making it pretty.

I love that so much. And that's really what it's all about. It's about finding the void that we wish that we had. We wish that we, you know, for you, you wish you had a self help person who was relatable to you, who was mystic, who had these colors your age. Exactly. And sometimes we wish for those things, but we like wait for someone else to do it. But it's just a matter of stepping in and leaning in and be like, well, why don't I be the person? And it doesn't mean that there is no other way of doing it, but this can just be like another piece of this beautiful quilt that we have of all of us. Like we're really all here to raise consciousness, but every single person is doing it in their own way.

Yeah. And that's a big thing too. I think a lot of people don't start because they're like, oh, there's so many people doing this same thing already. Like, what am I going to add? But you just being you, like, you are a unique person, you have a unique perspective. There's always something new that you'll be able to share and bring to the table.

I love that so much. So before you got started or would you suggest that someone really nailed what their branding is going to be, who they're speaking to, what they're talking about, have that all figured out first and then execute on that to keep it really on point? Where would you suggest someone to start posting, see what's working and then move accordingly?

I think it would be more of the latter. But you have to have a mix of both. So you have to start, obviously, if you know who your audience is, great. That's really important to know. But even if you don't know that yet, that's okay. You can start posting things that make it make you excited and then you see what sticks. YouTube is really like an ongoing experiment. You post what you like and then eventually one type of content will stick, and then you'll create more versions of that content. And that's how you grow. Why I say it's a mix is because you have to. As you go, you're going to figure out your audience, you're going to figure out your branding. All of that grows with time. Right. But you also have to be really, I guess you have to be aware of your brand and stay true to it. Because if you only post random stuff and you post what people want, it becomes like, you lose the brand and you lose the focus. And I've seen a lot of YouTube channels do that, where they just post what's trending and they become a slime channel or a beauty hacks channel. And that's not what they really wanted to talk about in the first place. So you always, yes, you have to experiment, but then you have to know at the core, what is it that I want to stand for? What do I want to talk about? I made a lot of decisions to not follow trends on purpose because I was like, okay, people are asking for minimalism and decluttering videos, but that's not the kind of channel I want to be. Right. There's a lot of these trends that people wanted me to go more towards, but I. I pulled it back. I was like, okay, no, I am going to just like, I am personal growth, and I'm going to stay in this brand, in this arena.

I love that so much. I think it's so important for us to recognize what is true for us. Otherwise. Yeah, I do know so many people who, you know, they may go into whatever kind of content, content creation because they wanted to share their voice, and then they end up kind of recreating the same, you know, job.

They pigeonhole themselves. It happens a lot. Yeah.

They're like, everyone wants manifestation. So I'm just going to talk about manifestation. And then it ends up being like, everyone regurgitating the same content because they're not adding their unique flair. It's not coming from the heart. It's coming from, well, this is viral. Or. Or another thing that I just kind of been thinking about is when we speak about things that are Very pertinent to right now, then that content might. Might not be relevant a couple months from now or a couple years from now. Like just for example, on social media, writing about the moon, like the full moon or the new moon or whatever is happening at the time, everyone might be really hyped up over it, but in a week, no one cares about what happened last week for the new moon because now they're on to what's gonna happen next week for the full moon. So I think it's important for people to, you know, and some people want to be astrologers or want to talk about polit or culture, et cetera. But to keep that in mind, because sometimes I feel like what happens is you just see, well, people want this. Everyone's talking. Every single feed on my Instagram is about this. So I should do a post about it too. But especially on YouTube, it really is about the long game and it's about people, like going to a video from years ago and still finding value. And if you want to create that, you can't just go after whatever the current moon or current trend is alone.

I love creating evergreen content. Evergreen just means you create it, and four years later, it's still relevant. People can still watch it and get value from it. And I do have a funny story about that is in 2019, because I started learning about astrology in 2018ish and I got really passionate about it. I made a video in 2019 about astrology, how to read a birth chart, just basics. And it didn't do that well on my channel. I really put it in the folder of, okay, let's not talk about that again, because it wasn't that popular. And then in 2020, like over a year later, that video just started blowing up on YouTube. And I think it's just because the trend of astrology was growing because of TikTok and this and that. And now that's the most viewed video on my channel with I think over 7 million views. 6 or 7 million views. Isn't that crazy? So. So YouTube really is a long game. Like, you never know if something's gonna pop off or.

That's very true. And also you made that content still in an evergreen way. How to read your birth chart. Like, that is always very helpful. You're not like the full moon of April 2018.

Yeah, no, it was evergreen.

Yeah, exactly. And it is very true. Even on TikTok as well. You could do a TikTok that doesn't do that well. And actually a month later, it starts popping off. For whatever reason, someone reshared it. People are interested in it, so you never know. Whereas on Instagram, that's not the case. It's very much like that day.

Yeah, Instagram.

And then that's it.

Yeah, you're right. It doesn't happen on Instagram.

So for someone who wants to get out there on social, would you suggest for them to just pick. Pick one platform. Really, really nail it. Pick two platforms. What's your advice on that?

Well, you know what's funny, because now the social media platforms all want to be each other. Like Instagram and YouTube both want to be TikTok. They all have the same thing. So I would say focus on one type of content and do it really well. And right now it's probably like the TikTok shorts and reels type of video. That's the type that is. It's new and yes, it's fast. You have less loyalty, but it's a great way to get, get started. Like, I do believe in video as, like, really important to nail down if you want to do social media, because everyone, everything, every platform is prioritizing video.

So, yeah, it's kind of hilarious how now we have YouTube shorts, we have Instagram Reels, which are basically just TikToks. And it's funny because my Instagram reels do better than my TikToks, even though I use the TikTok app to make it, because it just has more features and it's easier for me, but because I already had an audience on Instagram and I feel like there's just less of that kind of content on Instagram. It does better. Whereas on TikTok, it's like, oh, the 10,000th dance. Like, you know, Instagram, they're like, you are great putting yourself up there. It's.

Cause on Instagram, you've built your own audience. So I do like that they have. They brought it over to Instagram.

Yeah. And I think the cool thing about TikTok, like, I see a lot of people sharing, you know, millennials are now basically all on TikTok, and a lot of them are sharing. The reason why is because on Instagram, everyone who they grew up with, like their high school friends, college friends, et cetera, are all following them there. So they feel like they can't really be themselves because they feel kind of like we were talking about stuck to this former version of themselves. Whereas on TikTok, it's basically all people who don't know you. So you could be whatever version of Yourself you want to be at that time and you're not being judged.

I think that's why TikTok is more fun too. And that's what appealed to me with TikTok, is that no one, you know follows you, so you could be whatever you want. And there's freedom in that. Actually, when I started my YouTube channel in high school, I started it because YouTube was such a small thing. I was like, I'm going to post videos of me singing. No one in my life knew that I like to sing, but it was freeing to be able to share it and express myself somewhere. And then eventually people found it. But I like the freedom of anonymity totally.

And I think that that's what TikTok is offering, though, just like every other platform. Soon people will find you everywhere and then that will shift to people. So for YouTube shorts, I don't really know much about it. Is there a strategy or anything you would suggest for people who would want to get on that?

I mean, it's the same thing as TikTok and Instagram Reels. I would just say if you're creating that content for one of those platforms, just post it on YouTube shorts. Because it's relatively new. Less people are posting on YouTube shorts from what I'm seeing. But obviously the type that I'm seeing on my feed are the super viral types. I haven't seen influencers talking about a topic show up on my YouTube shorts because they're literally just prioritizing like the top, most popular ones. So I'm not sure right now, like, it's still so new.

Yeah, I've been putting my TikTok reels on YouTube shorts, but I really don't get any views on YouTube shorts. So I'm like, is there like a different strategy going on here? But I just think there's not enough hashtags.

Yeah, I think there's not enough people watching the shorts and they're only watching the ones that show up on their home feed. And those are the ones about like, Kylie Jenner or like entertainment news. Like they're very. The very viral ones.

It's good to know. And. Yeah, and as these things change, you know, it is important for us. Like, it is an opportunity every single time something new like that happens. And I. I feel like the people who are the biggest on whatever platform are the first movers. You know, it's not a matter of them having the best content, but it's about. They were amongst the first people on that platform. We see that right now, even with TikTok. And that's why you just, like, build. As the app builds, you build with it. So I think, and I still think we're at the very beginning of TikTok, for example, or Reels. So I do suggest for anyone who's wanting to get themselves out there, especially for spirituality or whatever else, to use these platforms while we still have access to it. Even though I still feel like it's never too late. Like, sometimes I have a story with YouTube, I'm like, it's too late for me to be a YouTuber. Like, everyone is already doing it.

But let me give you my perspective on that, because I. I've seen YouTube since 2007. People used to think, oh, YouTube is so saturated, you can't get in. In 2014, people were already saying, YouTube's too saturated. No one can start a new channel. And I started my channel 2014. So many famous, very successful people have started, like 2015, 2016, 2017. It's never too late. And I'll tell you why I think that. So, number one, when there's a new platform, sure, the first movers have the advantage, but usually the first movers have kind of a very rough. It's not polished. The editing is very simple. YouTube in the beginning was just webcams. TikTok in the beginning was just people talking. Lighting wasn't even that great. But as time goes, the second wave, people's qualities improve. And so if you want to join in on the second or the third wave of a platform, you have to have higher quality. But that doesn't mean you can't get in. You just have to. You have to obviously be on the same level or better than the people that are already there. What I see with platforms is whether it's just phases over years, people get tired of watching the same person, so they phase out, or whether that creator just gets stuck in an old way of creating that they don't catch up with the new ways. Those are the opportunities that new people have to just come in the game and kill it. Because I really do feel like creators have a life cycle. Obviously, every creator's life cycle is different, But I've seen YouTubers, YouTubers 10 years ago that were really popular. They're not as popular now. Their engagement has gone down for whatever reason it is. Maybe people are just tired of their content, don't want to watch them. Maybe they didn't reinvent themselves. When those YouTubers die down, obviously there's room for others to grow. So it's not a Zero Sum Game. Obviously there's enough of the pie for everyone, but I guess this will encourage people who haven't started yet. I really see opportunity. Even if you, you start tomorrow, if you do it well, like, you can still take over, you can still grow so fast. Like there's so much opportunity.

That's very true. You know, two years ago I was speaking with a friend who wanted to start a podcast and she felt like, oh, it's too late for me to start a podcast now. Everyone's been doing it for so long and now her podcast is like the biggest part of her business and her brand. And she started it two years ago. So had she had that story then she wouldn't have realized this like massive ability that she had to reach people in this way. So I think it's 100% true. I mean, even right now, I'm sure there's like some YouTube videos. The account was made yesterday and like the video is going viral. It's just really pertinent to the times. And I do see, yeah, like sometimes with like older content creators, it can get very stuck in like a certain type of comedy. Like I feel like YouTube is very like all about comedy. A lot of TikTok is just about like lip syncing to songs.

I mean, with TikTok, people don't find value, right? Like TikTok, lip syncing and dancing was so cool back then, but now it's all. It's not as cool, right?

Yes.

And as more people get on everything and as consciousness raises, we're gonna naturally have more people who are gonna want to have more, you know, high vibe information wherever they are. So I do think, yeah, if you're listening to this and you've been thinking about it like, now is the best time to start. And, and what is your advice for someone who's like, I don't know what to call my YouTubes or the thumbnails or all of those things. What is your advice for that, for.

The name of your channel? I mean, obviously most of these things you can change it with time. So don't sweat it. Don't have it perfect in the first go because you're going to want to change it as you grow and evolve. But my tip for a name is to just pick something that people, it's easy to remember, that's easy for people to spell. Right. Don't have a name with like all these different letters or numbers that are, that people can't remember. Like, make it easy that if you tell someone your channel, they'll be like, okay, I'll look it up. Like, you don't have to explain it to them. But aside from that, I think anything goes.

I love that so much. And yeah, I think another thing is maybe look at the type of content in your niche and just see what are the thumbnails people use or the kind of ways that they name things and kind of get inspiration of how it's been done. And then maybe your own spin to it. Though I'm sure there are people who create something totally. You know, there, for example, on TikTok, there was that guy who is like, did you see that? He was like reading the funny conversations that people have online. Like the random fights people have. Like a text between someone. He's like, they're like, is this apartment available? And they're like, yes, it is. And then they're like, please stop contacting me, I'm not interested. And it was like just this ridiculous online conversation. And then he just made it his niche to find these totally like weird out there online conversations and turn them into songs. And this guy went viral overnight. He went on the Jimmy Fallon show. Like, people loved it because it was just hilarious. Like, we've all seen these random, like Facebook threads or Reddit threads that are just like, who the hell is writing these things? But he just like took something that we've all experienced, made it his own and shared it out and then. And I feel like that's the thing too, especially with social media, is just relatability. Like, if you could just like put to words or form something that I have felt or experienced, whether it's, you know, in my spiritual journey or whatever else, so many people have a hard time sharing that. So if they could just like share your video that is doing them a huge service of them trying to like even put to word something that they cannot.

Yeah, you're so right. Relatability is huge on social media. Especially now with like TikTok, people share things that is an expression of themselves. Right. Instead of them, like writing a paragraph about how they feel, they can just share a video that you made that, oh, this is exactly how I feel. Right. So yeah, that's such a good thing to keep in mind when you're making content. Like, would someone share this because they relate to it?

Absolutely. I always end up sharing things that are like funny nostalgia, just because I'm really into like 90s and 2000s nostalgia. And it's just like these random things, like being at the Borders bookstore and like listening to that, like Sounds of Nature album and I'm like, oh my God, I remember that. And like, even though that's like not really that relevant to my life now, I just want to share it with everyone because it just unlocked a memory or like a funny type of conversation you had with someone and things like that. If you could like put to words what people are experiencing. I think people love that.

Yeah. Yeah.

We'll take a quick break so I can give a shout out to ourselves. Sponsors this podcast is sponsored by Better Help. It is so important to have someone that you can openly talk to about your issues and what's going on. Sometimes we use our friends as therapists, but that's really not what they're for. Our therapist is our therapist and I know in my life it has been beyond helpful to have someone hold space for me so I can openly speak about what's going on in my mind and have someone to reflect back back my thoughts at me so I can find more clarity and overcome any anxiety that I have been feeling. So I am so excited to be partnering with better help. BetterHelp is customized online therapy that offers video phone and even live chat sessions with your therapist so you don't have to see anyone on camera if you don't want to. You can even message your therapist throughout the week for additional support. It's much more affordable than in person therapy and you can start communicating with your therapist and understand under 48 hours. So please don't wait weeks to find someone to talk to. There has never been a more important time to invest in your mental health because you my friend, are your greatest asset. Again, this podcast is Sponsored by Better Help and Highest Self podcast listeners get 10 off their first month at betterhelp.com Sahara Again, that's Better Help. H E L p.com Sahara for 10 off so my words for 2021 are rest, relaxation and receiving. And I am supporting this with Organifi Gold Chocolate, which is the best thing I've ever put into my mouth and it really is so helpful because for me at night I really crave chocolate and instead of eating a bunch of chocolate and feeling like crap in the morning, this actually supports me with my sleep. It has ingredients including turmeric, ginger, reishi, mushroom, turkey tail mushroom and lemon balm with less than 1 gram of sugar per serving. It's 100% USDA organic, gluten free, dairy free, non GMO, all the good stuff and it literally tastes like heavens. I swear. Try some with some hot almond milk and you are in for a treat. If you're ready to get your hands on some of your own. Head over to Organifi.com and use coupon code code Sahara for 20 off. That's Organifi.com O R G-A-N-I-F-I.com with coupon code Sahara for 20 off.

So I think another huge part of sharing yourself on social media is the inner work. And you have been sharing that. You have been doing a lot of energy healing work to just clear any blocks that have been holding you back. Can you share a little bit about what type of energy work you've been doing and how been supporting you?

Yeah. So starting from, I guess end of 2019 or 2020, I really feel like I've been in a slump creatively and energetically. My motivation has just been lower since that time and I kind of lost my sense of purpose and passion for what I do. Maybe because I've been doing it for so long. I think a big part of it was definitely creator burnout because creating videos every week for seven years, it gets tiring. Like so many creators burn out because we don't have. We don't know how to create a balanced structure in our lives. So it was a lot of things like social media anxiety because of TikTok, like that voice in your head that's like, oh, you should be doing more. You should be doing more tiktoks. You should like that feeling that you're not enough, ultimately. And so I realized that, I mean, I had a lot left to heal. I just needed to take a step back. So really since, for the past year, I've been really doing less, trying to do less in my work, trying to slow down and find ways to take better care of myself and the universe kind of led me to this healing practice that I'm now doing with my boyfriend, Wilson. So my boyfriend that I've been with for, I think 14 years, we've been together forever. He's been dealing with chronic migraines for the past five years. So it's the kind of thing where we've seen so many different doctors, neurologists, allergists, Chinese doctors, this and that, and no one has really been able to like pinpoint what it is nor really give him anything that really helps heal. If anything, they give you pills and medication to mask the symptom. And so that's something that is a whole other journey that I've been learning about the body and how emotions get held in your body. I really do believe that suppressed emotions, if you don't release that energy. It will fester. Whether it becomes as simple as having tense shoulders, tense neck, neck problems, back problems, and eventually it might turn into something more serious. But I really do believe in that. Reading books like the Anatomy of the Spirits or you Can Heal your Life by Louise Hay. So believing in these things has led me to find this healing practice called Body and Brain Yoga. It's essentially a mix of. If you've heard of Chinese Tai chi, Qi Gong, I think it's in the same family as yoga, but it's. And this methodology originates from Korea, but it's all about unblocking wherever you have blocked energy in your body, whether it's like your heart chakra, your sacral chakra, where you hold emotions. And it's part yoga, part body tapping, part. Just like it's part manipulating your body, doing exercises, and then part, like, telling your mind, okay, what emotions am I holding? What can I let go? I choose to let go, like, using these reflective questions and affirmations. Yeah. So I've been doing these sessions, like, private sessions with my boyfriend. And what's interesting is he's seen improvements right away. Every time he does one of these sessions. He doesn't have a migraine, which is huge because he didn't have a way to stop the migraines before. So at least now he has a practice.

So.

And then for me, I've been doing. It's only been like a month and a half of doing these new exercises, but I feel like I have more energy in life. I feel like I just. I don't know, I feel more clear. Whereas, like, two months ago before, I felt very, like, lost and muddy, like, just not in the best energetic state. Now I feel a lot more clear and it's. Have you ever done breath work? I'm sure you've done breath work. So part of this exercise is like, deep breathing. So you're doing breath work. And when I've done breath work in the past, like, I get these, like, clamp hands and, like, a tense, cramped mouth. So I get the same sensations doing these healing exercises as well. So I would put them in the same family. But essentially there's been many crying sessions. There's been many physically feeling, like, the energy, it just, like, tenses up my nerves. But it's. I take those. Those physical symptoms as signs that, like, inside I was holding so much I wanted to be in control, or, like, just feelings of resentment that I. I didn't realize that I had. I forgot that I had when I was A kid towards my parents. When you're doing these exercises, the memories come back too. So memories of childhood and middle school come up. And I think once something comes up, you can work through it. Because now my mature mind, knowing about psychology and all these things, I can work through it. But basically, I think before doing these exercises, you can't work through it if you don't know it's there. So it's been healing on just in a lot of ways. And that has been. It's just been really interesting to learn about this. And I feel like learning to release emotions from your body is something that everyone should know more about, right? We don't realize we hold on to so much. And even me, I felt like I had everything I wanted in life. Like my career was doing well. I had a great job. I really love my life. Everything on the outside, but I still held so much inside from childhood. And I mean, healing is a lifelong journey. I really. I feel like I've been healing from these things for the past ten years, but it. More and more layers start to unravel.

Wow. And what is this practice called again?

Body and Brain Yoga.

Body and Brain Yoga.

You can look that up. They have a bunch of studios in the US but they're based in Korea, and the founder is named Ilchi Lee. I actually met him in 2015, which is how I found which I knew about this practice in the back of my mind, but I reconnected with him recently, like a couple months ago, which is why I was like, okay, let me just try doing this. A new book that he wrote recently is called Water Up, Fire Down. So I would recommend that to you and your listeners because that teaches the basic energetic principle in Eastern healing, that you want to have water energy in your head and fire energy in your belly, meaning you want to have a cool head and a warm belly. That's the ideal, I guess, energy state to keep everything circulated. Most people have fire energy in their head, right? They have a hot head. Whether it's anger, stress, anxiety, overthinking, that's all energy in your head. Like, I had trouble sleeping and now I can sleep better. Because trouble sleeping is you have too much overthinking in your head. Like, just too much stuff going on in your head. Whereas, like, you're supposed to bring that hot fire energy down into your belly area, which is where your guts, your stomach, just your intestine, or just your vital organs are all in that belly area.

This completely relates to Ayurveda, because in Ayurveda, Our digestive system is literally called digestive fire. Your agni. And when you have a strong fire, you can digest food and emotions and everything in life that the differences in Ayurveda. I've never heard of water being in your mind because air is the quality of the mind. But it's also very similar. It's to be cool and to allow space, which is very similar.

It doesn't have to be water, but just like a cool head and a warm lower body. I think that's why in Asian culture they drink warm drinks. You want to keep everything down here warm. Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's all from the same family, you know, just taught in different ways.

Yes, exactly. Yeah. I mean Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, like, they're all interconnected, which moves to Korea and then macrobiotics in Japan. So that's amazing. And I think it's so important. Like sometimes these different practices show up in our lives and they're exactly what we need. And you may have heard about it a couple of years ago, but then you can find your way back to it. For me right now though, I really want to try this too, but breath work?

Yes.

Something I've been doing on and off for the past seven years or so. But I have been making it my daily practice now. And I feel the same thing. Like that wave of energy. And like sometimes it can feel like this, like orgasmic energy, and other times it can just feel like this like, like. Yeah, just like cramp and release. Also depending on the.

Do you listen to something guided or do you just kind of breathe on your own?

I was breathing on my own. This thing, I kind of call it goddess breath work that I'm inhaling and I'm kind of like, like undulating or body rolling forward and then exhaling back or doing it in circles. So I'll do that like 55 or so times, hold it on the inhale and then release it it and like hold it for the first time, like one minute. The second time, maybe two minutes, sometimes even three minutes. Kind of like a Wim Hof breath. Very, very similar to that. And sometimes. So now that I'm trying to learn more about breath work, so now I listen to different. I find it on YouTube, different places, Kundalini ones. I'm just trying different ones to see. Like, I love this practice so much. Like, are there other styles of it that I like? And I really like Wim Hofs but. But just like the energy of it can be quite intense. More like a come on you've got this energy than like what I'm. What I'm needing in my life right now. But it's very similar to that in just a more feminine, fluid way.

I love that. That sounds so interesting. If you have any breath work resources or links, send them my way. Because I feel like I've done it in class. I've done like, I bought like, you know, Leora Alexandra, she has like a breath work thing that I have, so I've done hers, but I don't know how to do it on my own. I need some sort of guidance and it's hard to find good ones.

Yeah. So like a holotropic breath work is like those long 45 minutes an hour, sometimes two hour journeys where you're inhaling, exhaling really fast through the mouth. And that's when you get the lobster hands and you cramp up and people cry and it's very intense. That's not the style that I love, like in my research of breath work and in kind of knowing Ayurveda, when you're inhaling through your mouth, it can trigger your nervous system and make your body feel like you're in a state of stress.

Yeah.

Which is why you can have these really intense experiences. But for me, I feel like I know my body's already in a state of stress, so I want to do things that bring my parasympathetic system.

I want to relax, calm down.

Yeah. So inhaling through your nose rather than through your mouth triggers your body to go into that parasympathetic nervous system relaxation, however you can do, you can do the breathing in a faster way for a shorter amount of time, but you still have that like, beautiful sense of release when you're exhaling and holding your breath. And then you can be surprised by how long you can actually hold your breath for and not actually need more air. And then every time that I do kind of feel like, oh, I need to breathe, my mind is telling me I need to breathe, I swallow my saliva. And just like swallowing your saliva, it like tells your body you're okay. This is something I actually learned in mermaid school because we have to free dive in mermaid tails, but we have to hold our breath for a really long time. And she. And she holds her breath for like five minutes, six minutes.

Wow.

And she's doing it by just like swelling her saliva because it's your brain telling you you don't have enough air, but actually your body can go for quite a long time without it. Of course, if you Feel like you're going to die. Breathe. It's not a competition. But when you are having that, especially the exhale. Because for people like us, we are much better at inhaling and we're not as good at exhaling because exhaling is like the release of energy.

Energy.

It's the letting go, it's the surrender. Whereas inhaling is the taking in and achievement. And this is also related to the energy of orgasm. Like an orgasm comes from that exhale. So people who like may have short orgasms or like. Yeah, just like a quicker but shorter orgasm, it's because they're inhaling more. Or if you're getting the lobster claws in breath work, it's because you're not exhaling, you're more inhaling. So it's so fascinating. Just like how you breathe is how you live, right?

Wow, that's huge.

And then taking it. Yeah, it's so cool because in the past I've never, I knew about it, I never took it seriously. And then just things find you again and it's the right time.

Yeah. I just think it's crazy that just breathing differently can change your body in these ways. Like it's so simple, right. You don't have. Because people are into like plant medicine and this and that. Not that I'm against it. I also tried that too. But like just breathing will do that to your body, right? Just breathing is a way to heal.

Yes, absolutely. I feel the same way. Like I have nothing against plant medicine. I know it can really help people. But for me I'm more interested in how can I get my own body at this point into these states without needing anything outside of myself. Because we can naturally release our own dmt. DMT exists inside of us. It's just getting to that right state. And I also recently did a qigong class.

Nice.

And it, it was like, I've done it before but I think my like pit to energy was like I need more of a stretch or like something harder, you know. But what I love about is it's really just like, it's so grounding and it's so good for people who they may have a harder time with meditation because if you're just sitting, your like thoughts are going crazy. It's kind of giving you something to focus on, but it's also very relaxing and calm.

Yeah.

Yes. Love that. And it seems like the practice you do also uses some tapping as well.

Yeah, like body tapping. It's not eft tapping which is slightly different, but it's literally just tapping Your chakras or wherever. It's like blocked and deep breathing while you're doing that.

I love that. Yeah, I went down this, like, eft rabbit hole too, like, two years ago, so it's beautiful. Like, there's so many methods to heal our bodies. It's just sticking to something and then. And then moving to something else. I think it's also. It's also great for people to hear that you had a successful YouTube channel, you have over a million subscribers, and you're feeling like, what's next? I'm feeling creatively stuck in my purpose. I think a lot of us have this idea of like, oh, well, once I get it up and going, I'm going to be good forever. But it's to continue to recheck in with ourselves and see what's in alignment with us at this moment.

Yeah, it's realizing that you will change. Because my goal up until that point was I want to have a million subscribers on YouTube. That was my big goal. And once I reached it, I'm like, okay, what's next? Of course I have. I always have these small goals, but I don't know, I just really had to recheck myself and also allow myself to change and to evolve. Like, maybe I'm not going to do this forever. Maybe some, like, I don't know, just be open again. I feel like I'm starting from another beginning. It's once you've, like, reached a certain point, you start over again to the next level.

Absolutely. And allowing that process of evolution being part of your journey to take you to the next level, next thing.

And sometimes it's scary because you don't know what's next. There's a lot of uncertainty. So, yeah, it's part of it.

And I think too, it also shows that no matter how many, you know, followers, subscribers, et cetera, you have, if we don't address that, like, deeper fear within us that feels like, I'm not good enough, I'm going to be irrelevant. There's another platform. I got to get on that other platform. People will forget about me if I don't. Like, even if you have a million followers, that could still happen. It's something. Something deeper that you might not even still consciously be aware of. That's like putting that in your mind.

I would say most creators that get to success, it's because of an unhealthy. There's something unhealthy going on, you know, like the people who are super ambitious. It's because you have a sense of Lack and lack of self worth or you need to be productive to prove yourself worth, you need to succeed to prove that you're worthy to other people. And sure, it's a very productive trauma or issue that you have, but eventually it is something that you're going to have to heal. And this is why a lot of creators face like mental health issues, because it's a very anxiety inducing career. It's very easy to get your mind into this comparison, into this, I am not enough, I should be doing more and this and that. And so ultimately you are in charge of your health and your mental health as well. So yeah, even though it's productive, it's still something you have to heal.

True 100%. I was reading Lilly Singh's book and she was sharing the same thing, how she basically like didn't hang out with friends or have a social life or hobbies or really anything for so many years. It was just her by herself, like recording these YouTube videos constantly. And, and then she would see how one would go and then she was like onto the next.

And you get kind of addicted to the high of like the feed, instant feedback, right? Like the, how many views, how many likes, what all of what are people saying? And then it's a, if you're creating constantly, like it's a non stop feedback loop and it just, yeah, yeah, it can't be healthy.

And I think that, you know, it really does come down to our level of consciousness at that moment of time because that could happen really in any career. Right. There are people in finance who are going after that school, people in law people, people at the grocery store. Like people in any job could continue to try to be the best and compete and you know, hit that accolade. And content creation is no different than that. It really comes down to what is our mindset behind it. And I think a lot of people on social media, they started it as a passion and they never expected it to get to where it, where it is now. So they don't have those boundaries, they don't have a work life balance. This is just who they are. And they're pouring everything into it until they're realizing that like, hey, maybe this isn't the lifestyle that I really want, but people depend on me and I need to keep showing up. And it creates this codependency with your audience sometimes. So I think it's so important to back away if you're in that cycle right now and really assess who am I at this moment of time and how do I Want to show up. And if it's not feeling true, what is the point?

Yeah, I think it's about recognizing what do you truly need in your life? What's a false ego need versus what is a true need for your soul? Right.

So, yeah, and I think too, like, I've thought about that for myself, because my dad also was the person in my life who was really like, you're not gonna be able to do this. You need to get a normal job. And, like, always wanting to please him as well. And that definitely did create in me this, like, desire to, like, achieve and create and be successful in all of the things. Plus Immigrant, plus Capricorn. Yes, a lot of.

And for me, it was like, in my career, at least, like, I needed to prove to my parents and to my peers that I could do this. It was like, I need to prove my worth, prove that I was successful. And then I did it. I succeeded. And yet that inner part, like, I guess the people around me stopped caring because they're like, oh, great, they're happy for you at this point. But something in me still had that, like, still wanted to hustle and work so hard. And then my mind. Or I would just be like, why am I stressed? Like, I have enough money, I have enough everything. Like, why am I still stressing and suffering over just everything in this career? Like, I don't have to, but I was. So. It was trying to let go of the part of myself that needed to achieve, that needed to be productive, that needed to, like, prove something.

And it's like, because at that moment of time, it's all we know. Like, you got from point A to point B by working your ass off and, you know, being on it and doing the trends and, like. And also, I believe we chose our parents for a reason that, like, we have chosen those parents to put that. That drive and that ambition and that grit with. Within ourselves because it is a necessary part of our soul path to share this with the world. However, what took us from point A to point B will not take us to point C, which is the next evolution of life. Okay, you can relax. You don't need to prove to your parents anymore. You're not trying to, like, make it out of nowhere. Like, you're okay. You're safe now. How do you want to use your energy? But then we have the story in our minds that, like, well, I'm successful right now because I worked my ass off. So if I stop working my ass off, then I'm no longer going to be successful. And like everything's going to fall down, but it's just you've built like that first level of the structure and now you don't need to be building.

Yeah, I also think that you're. Because you've been doing it one way way for so many years, your body is used to functioning that way. So if you're trying to do it any other way, your body is rejecting you. Like, like, no, you shouldn't be taking a break. Why are you like, it's, I feel like it's literally ingrained in, in your body and you have to learn, it's a habit. You have to learn to release that habit and build a better, healthier one.

Totally. And it's totally somatically in our bodies and in the way that our brains have conditioned ourselves. For example, you know, when we're starting our journeys, we read like, okay, how do I have like most optimal morning routine? Okay, I'm going to get up and I want to do all of these things and by like 8am I'm going to do more than the general public has done in the whole day. And so we're training ourselves to get out of laziness, to get out of procrastination, to get out of being average, quote unquote, to be this like super achiever. And then we're like, wait, is this the vibe that I want to continue or do I want to create now from a place of ease and abundance and flow. But then part of our brains are like, yeah, right, that's never gonna happen. Good luck.

Inner battle.

Yeah, exactly. And sometimes too like I'm really retraining my brain on this exact thing right now. And like, because we're also creative type of people, I keep having these ideas for things. So I'm like on a walk, trying to take a break and then I'm like, I'm gonna make a new 10 day audio course right now.

I know what you mean. Yeah.

And then I'm like, okay, like is this coming from like this genuine hit of creativity of like this is what I'm like I'm meant to do or is it coming from. I have a really hard time having free time for myself, so I need to come up with some productive thing to like make this walk worth it and like, do I need to keep creating new things or can I just stick with what I've created and like water that seed and let it grow and just, I don't know, enjoy my life? What a radical thought.

Yes.

I think especially now as I grow older it's all about like finding the joy and calm in my life. I think before it was not about calm, it was about do as much as you can in a day. Right. But now it's really like the busier I am, the more time I have to make to just relax and do nothing. I need peace in my life now.

It's so funny you say that because for so many years, like my New Year's resolution or my word, it was like expansion, growth, abundance. And now I'm like, can I just have some peace? Yeah. And I used to think, I know, I used to think like peace was like an old person, like resolution, like who wants peace? Like I want growth and expansion in every way. And now I'm just like, just give me some space on my schedule. Like that would be great. And then the thing is too, that I'm realizing is like the only gatekeeper to my schedule and my time. It's me. Like the people who have all the, they're super busy doing all these things. That's a them decision. That's a nerd nervous system decision. That's a, I don't know, another way to operate decision. So it's so right now I am putting the space, now can I remain in the space without going back into my old way of filling things up? Yeah.

Yeah. I really think even as a culture I see this trend that we are really letting go of this idea of like we have to be super productive productivity as like a trophy, you know. So I like that trend because we need to live more balanced lives. We need to allow our bodies to get into that parasympathetic relaxed, relaxed states. Not just to heal, but just that's our normal. I guess we need that state. Right? It's like the digest, rest and digest phase. Whereas all of most of us are always in the stress and anxieties ridden state.

And then two like understanding that we can actually create our best content from that place because you know, someone might be listening. I know a former version of me would be like, well, you got already successful so I have to hustle my ass off until I'm there and then I can rest and chill. But the thing is, your best and your truest and your highest self is only going to come through when you're in that authentic relaxed space.

Yeah, I think that's the magic too. It's like you think you're doing your best when you're working really hard, but the real you that can create your best work is the you that's more Calm and relaxed and peaceful. Yeah.

And I think right now too, like in this post Covid quarantine world, we're actually rethinking like do we need a 40 hour work week? Do we need this structure that we have only known to do things like I think they're seeing on average, the average worker wastes three hours a day at an office. Just like you know, going on Facebook or going, continuing to go to the water cooler, whatever else. So, so what are the ways that we can actually create more without having to spend all of this time that we think we need to spend?

Yeah, it was such an archaic way. I think that 40 hour work week going to the office is from, I don't know, was it from industrialization era, like factories? Because I know schools were created based on that timeline. Right. The nine to five or nine to whatever two or three school system was to was because people worked during that time. But I mean we have the Internet with technology, all the tools now it's about time that we update it.

Very true. I think it also was like back then we all worked in factories. So every hour we were working it was like more production. Whereas now that's not the case because most people are working using computers and their brains. And the brain isn't something that can compute.

Yeah, it's not a machine at all.

Hours of the day.

That's also a huge reason why I think productivity is so ingrained in our culture. Capitalism. Right. Like working hard, getting the most output out of the people as possible. Like we've been trained in school and we've just been taught by society to. It's all about output. It's all about what you can create, just how productive you are. And I think we're. Instead of how much I can output is, is just allowing yourself to just be and naturally things. Of course you're gonna create naturally, but not forcing it, not seeing yourself as a machine. It's not about optimal productivity.

Yes. I really think that's what we're coming back to. And so many people finally are now questioning, you know, we're questioning our work systems, we're questioning our school systems. And I do think there's going to be, you know, a collapse of many of these systems, but a, like a necessary one to pave the new way of being which we're simultaneously doing. It doesn't have to be like we're all in one. I mean the new world is already here, we're already living in it. You know, we're all, we all have access to It. If we just shift into that timeline. However, it does take, you know, dropping our old way of thinking, relating, believing, to be exactly where we are, but on a different timeline.

Yeah.

Yes. Exciting times. So do you have any final tips, words of wisdom you want to share with people who want to share their spirituality with the social media webs, but also they don't want to burn themselves out and, you know, end up where we have been? What would you suggest?

I would say the most important thing is learning to just let go of the fears that you have. Just any blocks. Because like I said earlier, everything stopping you from becoming your best self, from doing your best work is yourself. You think it's the people around you. You think it's your environment or circumstances. It's not. It's you. So just working on unraveling. Okay, what is this negative self talk? Or what is this limiting belief? Is this limiting belief true? Can I do this? I don't know. Just work through your inner world, and if you can unravel and release some of those unnecessary fears, then. And that will be so powerful. Ultimately, your goal is to just be your authentic self because authenticity, number one, is what resonates with people online. And number two, you're gonna have so much fun creating from that place rather than creating from a place of, like, lack or a place of, oh, I need to do this, or else the best place is just through from your true self, if that makes sense.

Yeah, I love that so much. And questioning your beliefs, this is so major. I love the Bayard King, maybe the work. I don't know if you've worked with that before. That has been huge for me this year. But just, is it true? Who would I be if I didn't believe this thought? Can I reverse it? And so many of the thoughts in our heads are bullshit, Y', all, like.

Don'T believe them and really unravel them. These are thoughts that you maybe had as a child. Like, oh, maybe you felt unpopular in school, and you're like, oh, I'm not cool enough. I'm not pretty enough. I'm not like, all of these thoughts, thoughts, they originate somewhere in your history, but ultimately they came from an experience outside of you. It like, those are not true. It's not the true you. Right? So, yeah, dive deep and unravel and do your best and have fun.

Yes, yes. And I really believe our social media is a reflection of our inner truth. And, you know, as much as we try to, like, come up with the branding and this and the that, it really does come down to our inner truth, vibration. And that's always what people will feel. Above all, even if we're not saying it, we could be saying all the right things. We can always feel someone's resonance from the unspoken. So if you want to be quote, unquote, successful, become your inner version of success. Yes. So where can listeners further connect with you? Check out your YouTube channel, podcasts, Instagram, all the things.

Yeah, find me on YouTube and Instagram lavendaire. My podcast is called the lavendaire lifestyle. And I've had Sahara on the podcast as well a while ago.

Yes.

Yes.

Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with us today.

Thank you. I had so much fun.

Thanks.

I hope you enjoyed that conversation. And it reminded you to really zoom out of whatever it is that you're doing. Whether you're in the middle of chasing a goal or you're in the hustle, you're in the grind, or you're on, on autopilot, or you're just not really sure, like, what your next move is. To just get out of that. That constant what's next, what's next? And to look at what do I really want to create from my heart? Where is my heart guiding me? If I could do anything, what would it be? And this is really why living your dharma, your soul's purpose, is so important because it goes beyond just your career and what you do and your projects. It's really being, being the fullest expression of your soul. And there is no greater feeling than knowing that you are living on this planet for the very reason why you're here. That is the greatest form of gratification. And it goes beyond, again, any form of doing. It's actually into the being. So if you are curious about discovering your dharma, I invite you to join me in my my free discover your soul's purpose masterclass. You can head over to the link in the show notes or iamsaharrose.com masterclass to join that. It is absolutely free. I share my process on how to discover your soul's purpose, and I'm so excited to share it with you again. Head over to iamsaharabros.commasterclass and that link is in the show notes. I'll see you in the next episode. Namaste.

Sa.