Candlelight And The Power Of Community with Majid Karam

You know, I found myself and I noticed a lot of people were lost in darkness. And throughout my life I've encountered candlelights, hence the title of my book, which serves a dual meaning. But we can get to that later. But I've met a lot of people who were. Some people call them angels, I like to call them candlelights. They've thrown a light when I was lost in darkness. And I wanted to write this book really just to share my story with my three boys so that they can share it with their kids when they have kids.

Hey everyone, this is Sean and I just want to say thank you for listening to the Meaningful Revolution podcast. The response to the launch has been really, really amazing and I could not have done this without you and the amazing guests that have been on the show. So you know from people sharing with me that they started journaling, they started a gratitude journal, or people really loving the episodes with Nicole and the power ritual or James about making that really huge connection and education. There's been a really huge output. It's been a little bit overwhelming. It's been very humbling. It's been very felt, very grateful for all the folks and all the work that we've done. So with that said, if you guys have any questions, questions, if you guys have any comments you want to start talking about and discussing the meaningful revolution with like minded folks. I wanted to say that there's a community that I've set up for us to encourage each other, to inspire each other, to act, to inspire each other, to put our good out into the world and have that supportive community. And you can go to Sean butter or community seanbutner.com or check the link below the show notes of this episode to get involved. It's a free community. Just make sure you adhere to the guidelines or I'll get you kicked out of there right away. But I just wanted a space for us to be working on this together and to really, you know, make this meaningful revolution as we define new meanings from technology or how we work and as things evolve and really find what lights us on fire and pushes us to do good in the world. You. I just wanted a place for us all to come together. So if you're interested, again, go to community SeanButner.com which is below this video and I'd love to see you there and cheer you on. You can ask me any questions or anything. So thank you so much for the support, for the encouraging words and for being an amazing part of this meaningful revolution. Today's guest, Majid was Born in Lebanon and lived in the Middle east before moving to California. He pursued college degrees in liberal arts and science. He's passionate about languages and always has been a dreamer. His first writings were A book of love, a book of love poems in French. He recently published his very fantastic memoir, Candlelight from his experience of growing up during the civil war in Lebanon. He's also a nature lover, hiking, biking, tents to his garden, where his loved ones are, where he finds peace. His philosophy is unconditional love, passionate kindness and heartfelt honesty. Something I've experienced all three of from my good friend Magito. So, Magito, welcome to the meaningful revolution.

Thank you, Sean. Thank you. It's an honor. Thanks.

Likewise. So today we're going to be talking about finding the light around you Positivity. And so I'm really curious, why do you love nerding out about this topic and how did you get into it?

Yeah, it's interesting, you know, we are all products of our experiences and I grew up in a civil war in Lebanon around age of 12 through 15. So when I was a teenager and an older child and my mom raised us by herself, I have a younger sister and she took on a lot, a lot on her shoulders. So my dad had to move out of the country to find work. So it wasn't his choice. He was unemployed, couldn't find jobs, so he needed to support us. He eventually emigrated to the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi. Eventually we reunited with my dad, which was wonderful. Where I spent my high school in Abu Dhabi before emigrating here to the United States. So, you know, I found myself and I noticed a lot of people were lost in darkness. And throughout my life I've encountered candlelights, hence the title of my book, which serves a dual meaning. But we can get to that later. But I've met a lot of people who've were. Some people call them angels, I like to call them candlelights. They've shown a light when I was lost in darkness. And I wanted to write this book really just to share my story with my three boys so that they can share it with their kids when they have kids, etc. And then I realized that it shouldn't be limited to just my family. This is something that the world needs to know about that whenever you need help, if you're lost, there's always a light shining for you.

Amazing. So through, I mean, so the civil war in Lebanon. I don't know too much about it, being a bit younger, but having read. I haven't read your full book yet. I actually got back. My wife was away for a little bit and took it. So working through it now, but some of the stories that I, you know, have read so far have been truly amazing. So it, do you have a trick or do you have, is it a mindset and belief that you'll find the candle that's lit or is it a process or is it what, what goes on behind that?

That's a great question. You know, I'd like to say it's really easy to always be optimistic and always be smiling, but it's not. There are days that are extremely hard. You know, I have a full time job and some days are very stressful. Deal with hard clients sometimes. Yeah. Easy ones. Probably listening to this podcast, I love them all. Anyway, I. And sometimes things happen, you know, somebody gets sick in the family, it's really difficult. But. But it's training myself to remember that I was in a situation that was much worse in my life when, you know, bombs are falling on our building, we were stuck in the basement, or my mom passed away of cancer after battling it for two years, and eventually we emerge. Right. So it's just reminding myself and reminding my kids when they have a hard day, and my spouse, my friends that things will always turn out to be okay. So that helps.

Right on. So is, is it more of that perspective of like, things could be bad or is it just kind of like there's going to be light at the end of the tunnel at some point?

That things are always. There's always light at the end of the tunnel. There is. And there are sometimes multiple lights. There's. It's just to hold on to that and gravitate to it. Right. We tend to, I mean, some of us tend to be more negative than others, but it's. And it's okay as long as you just start slowly changing that mindset and focusing on the positive. And it's amazing because it's really contagious. I believe in that contagious positivity.

I love that phrase. And I'm also a believer in optimism and the power it could bring in difficult circumstance. So I'm curious then, you know, so this all like your story started in Lebanon in the civil war. And I imagine you weren't initially optimistic and, you know, had this positive, like, hope for the future, you know, the light at the end of the tunnel. Could you tell a little about a bit about how maybe it. You struggle to do that or was it pretty immediate where like you were always optimistic right off the bat, you.

Know, I was always a positive kid. I've always was very smiley. Even at work people say, why do you always smile all the time? It's not that I'm always happy, it's just, you know, it's an attitude. But when I was a child in the war in Lebanon, it didn't dawn on me what was happening. I couldn't grasp situation. It was just routine. Some people in New England have snow days and in Lebanon we had bomb days. Right. You had a. Bombs would fall and then schools would close. It was just, I didn't know that other people experienced something different. I didn't come to the realization until I became a teenager. So 14, 13, 14. And I started observing my mom more carefully and seeing how she reacted. She chain smoked, which is how she dealt with the stress of not knowing if her kids are going to come back from school if we went to the beach and she couldn't contact us. So I started observing my mom more carefully and I started taken on some of her stress. But in the end, I've also observed the family members, the neighbors that came together and helped each other out. So whenever mom, my mom needed something, our neighbor would go to the supermarket or the grocery store to get us something. It was too dangerous. But, you know, we had some pretty brave neighbors that did that for us. My uncle, my paternal uncle came down after our building got bombed and he took us to my paternal grandmother's house and village in Lebanon. So that's another chapter in the book.

Wow, that's almost like unimaginable, you know, if you haven't experienced that type of dangerous environment. So I, I, so it seems. So you're pretty positive. You just didn't notice what was going on. And then you, you know, you had the model of people that were stressed out and then how people handled it or stepped up. And it sounds like there's like a huge community aspect to positivity. Right. Or the candlelight.

Absolutely. I think it's probably part of the culture too in Lebanon that it has been resilient for so long. The civil war in Lebanon lasted from 1975 to 1990. So, and my story is from 1980 to 1984. 84. 85. So it's right smack in the middle of the war. But the country has gone through and is still going through not, not a war, but an economic depression. And, but they've always compared the country and Beirut, the capital, to the phoenix that rises from the ashes. That's something that we've been told since we were kids. That Beirut's been destroyed six times or. Or. Or so, and it's been rebuilt. Some of. Some of the destruction wasn't war related, but it was. It's on a. It's earthquakes that. That have destroyed Lebanon, Beirut at least once. I have to. I have to do some research about that.

Double check.

Yeah. So.

Yeah. Okay.

So it's ingrained in our culture that you just get back up and you rise. And there are songs that have been sung by many artists in Lebanon that talk about Beirut rising. And so I think. I mean, there's no alternative. You either rise or you just stay down. And you can't stay down. So it's just the natural reflex for the. You know, to. To seek light. Like a plant. You. You go up, right?

Oh, that's okay. I love. I love that idea of, like, the cultural resilience of the phoenix. Beirut is the phoenix. And the very human thing of, like, you have a choice, you know, it's take the punch and stay down or, like, get up and figure out, you know, the way forward.

Yeah, Sean, it's also like, seeking help. Right? You know, sometimes it's not all, you know, it's. It's reaching out to people and saying that you're in pain, that you're lost, that you're depressed, that you're sad, that you're angry. It's okay. And people will listen, right? Maybe not everybody will listen. You don't need everybody to listen. You just need one candlelight. That's it.

Right on. So the candlelight is this metaphor for a lot of different sources of light, I guess. Sources. Ways forward. Right?

Sure, sure.

So community. It's resilience. It's a bit of tenacity, it sounds like, from what we're talking about here. So I'm curious then, like, from this experience from seeing the candlelight and, you know, having this belief that, you know, there's light at the end of the tunnel, that you can find your way through darkness. Have there been any ways where you've been able to. And this is gonna sound kind of clumsy, but, like, have you been able to, like, use it to create opportunity for yourself or your family or for what you do for work? Because you've had a different path and you have this guiding philosophy.

Oh, absolutely. I'm a project manager at work, so we deal with schedules and budgets and scope. Right. That's pretty much summarizing iron triangles. Exactly. The triple constraint. And things always go wrong in a project. Someone gets sick, we run into bugs. It's a software I'm a software project manager, or customers get angry, the team morale goes down. So it is up to me to keep that morale up and to keep that energy, that light shining. It's not easy. It's not, you know, I'm not, you know, I make mistakes, and sometimes I fall into the same trap as my team, and I'm, you know, beating myself down. But I have to realize, and I go back to that, you know, candlelight. I go back to that light that, you know, we're all in this together. We work as a team, we help each other out, and we seek help. If it's an additional resource or we need to have a chat with the client, a hard conversation, then that's what we do.

Right on. Okay. Has there ever been a time in your career or life where you struggled with or that that concept of candlelight was really tested? Do you have any stories or any.

Oh, yeah. Points? Definitely, Definitely. I have two stories. The. The most difficult one was watching my mom slowly die of cancer. So I went through whatever they're called, the five phases or so of grief. Right. Anger and denial and barter. I don't remember what else we need to.

Acceptance.

Acceptance is the last one. And I went through all these multiple, you know, in one day sometimes. Right. And it's hard because, you know, some people have faith and some people have, you know, believe in. In whatever happens after. After death. That's a different. Probably need another guest for that topic, Sean, because, I don't know, I'll be honest. And. Yeah, but, you know, it's. It's family. You know, my sister and I went through it together. I were the only two siblings in the family. My. Well, my dad was. We went through with. With my dad as well, but he was in Lebanon next to my. Near my mom when that happened. So. Yeah, so that was a time that. Where that faith in the candle, you know, in the light. And that was. Was really tested. That's one. One example. The other one was I lost my job several years ago to say, five, six years ago. And I was living in San Francisco Bay Area, and I was unemployed for five months. It was really hard. I was forced to sell my house and move. I had to find a job. Yeah, that's another time where that belief was tested as well. But in the end, you know, we heal. We still have memories of my mom. I think about her this. Random times, looking at my kid tending to my garden. My youngest son has her middle name. Has her name as his middle name. And then with work Things work out, money goes, it comes back slowly.

Right on. Do you. So in the. I don't want to focus too much on these kind of painful times, you know, probably, you know, one a little bit more than another. But what do you think helped you get back on course? Or what do you think helped you reconnect with positivity or believing that it would pass or work out?

You know, it's taken a moment and I took a moment and started focusing on my breathing. I don't want to sound like a meditation, but I guess it is. But I breathe, I breathe. That's what gives me pause. Because to switch from darkness to light, I know it can. It's flick of a candle. I guess a flick of a match does the trick, but in reality. But for me it was to take a break of the noise of, you know, that darkness, of just taking a step back and just being mindful. I guess that's the best, that's the best thing I can explain. Being mindful of everything, being present. It's tough to be present when you're in a dark place. Right. I have two young kids and a 19 year old son. And my young kids, you know, require a lot of attention. And when I'm in a dark place, I'm just, it's. I can't focus on them. So I have to take a step back, be mindful just to become present when around them and their, and their candlelights, they bring joy to, to our lives. So that's what matters. Just remember the things and focus on the things that matter.

Right on. And I love that, you know, as a coach, so many times it's connecting with people that sometimes, you know, if you are in the darkness yourself and I'll, I'll talk a little bit about when my mom passed, you know, but here in a second. But when you're sitting in that dark feeling. Right. I guess, or that heavy feeling, sometimes reminding yourself that there are people around you that need you and so handling the grief becomes an act of service. To be present with your kids is such a powerful motivating force. Or you know, searching for that job because after you lost it, because you have to like provide for your family or you have to, you know, doing things in service of others, a lot of times can help be one of those like lights to, to hit this metaphor over and over and over again.

I love it, Sean. Yeah, absolutely true.

So. And I can totally really like, you know, my mom passed away from complications, a heart surgery and probably cancer actually. Like she had cancer When I was, like, in kindergarten and breast cancer and she survived, but that was in the late 80s. And so chemo was really harsh. It really took a hard. She took a hard hit from that and had a lot of health problems after that. But the heart surgery and then, like, the complications or kidneys fail, like, that was a roller coaster. And, you know, you get perspective in those times, you know, when you're talking about grief and, you know, in our family, like, it. She never would have wanted any of the family to, like, slow down. Like, you know, it's kind of like the show business thing. The show must go on. But, like, to this day, it's really hard to listen to Beatles songs. That was her, like, favorite band. And, like, you don't realize that the Beatles are everywhere still, you know, even. But, like, you're walking in the store and it's like, yesterday, and you're, like, trying to, like, yeah, yeah, Find a closet. People don't see you weep in public and stuff, so.

Sure.

Um, but, you know, that memory is a sense of joy, you know, also. So it's that bittersweet feeling.

So. Yeah.

Anyways, not to dwell on.

No, no, this is good. Yeah, yeah, go ahead. No, that's. I don't have anything to say. I'm just listening empathically. I definitely relate exactly. Like, I'm looking at my son, and then I see my dad, who also passed away four months after my mom. That was pretty hard. So, yeah, I see. I'm looking at my son. He's reading a book, and it resembles my dad or a mannerism that one of my other children does. That also reminds me of my mom. But, yeah, music is very powerful, Sean. I'm glad you mentioned that and you mentioned the Beatles. I mentioned the Beatles twice in my book. A couple songs that my. My cousin used to play that invoked a different memory. But, yeah, music is light, too. It's just. It's energy. It's positivity as well.

100% as a musician and someone that really can really nerd out on rock music and stuff. There's a song for every mood, for every feeling. And there's a song that can shift you to a mood or any feeling.

Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Trying to remember a song that was healing for me. It's a U2 song. I need to look at my book. My phone. Oh, shoot. You can edit. You can edit this out, right?

Yeah, I mean, I'm gonna keep it in, but I could add it.

Okay. Keep it in. Keeps the trio.

Like, Sunday, Bloody Sunday.

No, no, no, it's. Oh, shoot. There's a ton of U2 songs. That's going to take me a while. Oh, well, it will come.

It'll come back to you.

Yeah, it'll come back to me.

Right on. Okay. So I'm curious, like, being someone that's drawn to the light, you know, I personally believe that we are drawn to other people's light also. And I know when you've been. Like, when we were. We're still friends, but, like, when you lived in the Bay Area, I always admired your kind of, like, positive, gregarious nature, you know? And so I'm curious about, like, you know, what do you think? How do you look for light in other people? Right. Because I imagine, you know, like, nobody wants to be around someone that's constantly in anguish or whatever, and part of it is reaching out and whatnot. But when you think of someone that embodies this philosophy of being the candle or being the candlelight, how could you maybe suss that out? Or what do you look for?

Wow. So the perfect example is how I met my wife, Liana. So, you know, was dating, happily dating, I guess. But I was looking for that eternal love. Now, if I were to change it around, change the words around, I would say my eternal flame, to use the same metaphor as the candle. And when we met, I just knew. I knew she was the one. From day one. I took it slow because I was cautious. Right. You just don't want to get hurt. Yeah. But she had that glowing energy about her, and she still does. I still feel the same way about her that I did when we first met. Probably more so now because there's, like, more that we've built that relationship means is more meaningful now than it was when we first had our first date. Right. When you're on your good behavior and everything's supposed to be perfect.

Right.

So. Yeah. And it's the same thing with friends. That's why we're friends, Sean. Right. We're alike. We're positive. We're good people. And these are the types of friends that you and I look for. These are the types of relationship we look for. And I'm proud to call all of my friends, you know, awesome. You know, Candles. Right. I need to. I need to use a different metaphor here, but.

Right. Lanterns in the darkness.

Lanterns, yeah.

Has there ever been a time where you're like, I. I don't have enough light to help someone else? I think that's an interesting question, because I have a guess on what you might Say, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.

Can you expand on that?

So if. Have you ever had to. Have you ever tried so much to brighten.

Oh, yeah.

Somebody else's life. And is there a point where you're like, there's nothing I can do here?

Absolutely. I mean, you know, the candle eventually loses its. The wick. Right. Or the wax, it melts. So, yeah, there are times when I've tried to help a friend. I'll protect the innocent here. When, you know, there was so much I can do where, you know, you feel helpless yourself. You're like, I'm trying to help so much. And. And it's not. It's not working. And in the end, that particular friend was turned out, you know, got out of the darkness, a different light helped him out. Right. It wasn't mine. And it's. It's when moments like this and it, it happens more than we, we, we. When we think of. It's in moments like this that we realize that we're not always the answer for everything. Right. We can't help the world. I would love to help the world, but, you know, helping one person is pretty amazing and sufficient. And helping one person at a time is wonderful. And helping people who in turn, helping one person will end up helping others. I managed a amazing program for Cisco when I worked for Cisco my last five years at Cisco, called the Partnership for Lebanon, which happened to be my home country, but it was a program that was started following the July 2006 war in Lebanon. And its goal was to help rebuild the country, which. One of the work streams was to bring in interns from Lebanon to San Jose, California, here in the US and put them in internships for six months in marketing, engineering, sales, et cetera. And the goal was to train these interns, a hundred of them, over a period of five years, and then help them return to Lebanon and help their families. And I remember a friend of mine saying, like, why are you doing this? You're an engineering pm. Why are you in nonprofit? This is going to be a career killer for you. And I said, because I get a chance to help people and to make it even more amazing, to help people from my home country. That's the best gift I can give back to my people. And he said, well, you're just. You're not help. I think the same friend asked me, like, well, you're not making a change in Lebanon. You're just helping 100 interns. I said, no, I'm helping 100 families. And they're going to help other people, their extended families. And in fact, that program was so successful, all but a couple of interns went back to Lebanon. Some, the two that went, didn't go to Lebanon, didn't return to Lebanon, found positions in, in Dubai and Qatar, but they all returned to successful jobs. They were able to financially help their families. And I'm still in touch with them. So that. That's.

Wow.

Yeah. That's a wonderful experience.

Yeah. I, I can't. The ripple effects of that and maybe like fire now is starting to become like a weird metaphor for this. This is especially here in California and I know Colorado too, where you're based out of just like everything catching. But yeah, like the, the ripple effects I can, I imagine, only make your candle shine brighter. This is.

Sure, sure. Yeah.

Sounds funny. Yeah. So I know that you mentioned that your, your mom and you had family members that kind of influenced you. Are there like a couple more people that influenced you on how you view being positive and how being that. That bright shining light for others?

Oh, definitely. Other than my parents, my sister, my wife, my children. I mean, I can name all my friends. Right. Who've in their way, have been a positive influence in my life. I've had amazing teachers. I had my English professor in college, Nooshi. I had my international student director, Maureen, who's been wonderful. She's been a candlelight for all us international students who are away from home, in a foreign country, in a foreign place. Yeah, she's. She's been wonderful. So there are numerous people. I acknowledge most of them in the back of my book, and I've of course, dedicated it to my, my family. Yeah. So these people are around and I'm excited to. To meet more people who are positive in my life. I'm planning to live a little longer than the 50 years I'm turning 50 this September. Yeah.

Wow. Congrats.

Thank you. My back feels it.

Yeah. Right on. Yeah. I'll be 40 in November.

Awesome.

So catch catching up.

Yes. I remember 40.

Yeah. I remember my own, like, aches and pains where I'm like, I'm not 20.

Anymore, you know, Exactly.

That, that mindset.

So.

Okay, so I, I shifting gears a little bit from all the amazing people that, that, you know. And you know, what really comes through too, is the, the gratitude for the people in your life that you've met. Kind of probably going back to that community focus that you, you grew up with. You know, and I, I love that, like, I use the phrase, we're all in this together. All the time. And you mentioned that before, too, and that really, like, stuck out in my head. But if you had someone that was kind of. And again, this question might be awkward, but if you were just getting started and trying to share goodness, to share your light, you're good in the world. Do you have two or three different things that maybe you would start with in advising maybe some people you're mentoring or your kids or, like, what would be, like, the two to three things you would say to start doing regularly in order to be that positive force in the world?

Sure. I try to practice two things. One is listening. It's a very difficult skill in communication because we tend to listen to our own voice, but not others. Right. So it is taking the time to listen sometimes. Listening. I forgot what it's called. Passive listening, Right. Where you're not. You're. Or you're just basically acknowledging that you're listening without chiming in. Another thing that I practice every day as well with, probably more so with my children, is I. Right before they go to bed, I ask them what they're thankful for, what did they enjoy about the day and what they didn't. Right. What was. If there's something that's bothering them, we have to acknowledge the positive, and we also have to learn from the negative to avoid it or to do something different. Right. So that's. These are the two things that I. That I try to emulate and. And practice myself.

Okay. This next question, which I think is pretty interesting too, is like, if you had to advise people that are pretty upbeat, pretty positive, how would you advise them to get to the next level of sharing and spreading their goodness out in the world? This question always gets people to think, no, this is.

This is a good question. You know, I wish I had the answer, Sean. I'm. I'm not a guru. Not yet. Not yet. I'd like to find out about their experience and how they became positive, similar to what you're asking me. I want to learn from them because I have a lot to learn. I have a lot to grow. It's not always positive. I'm not always Mr. Positivity. Most of the time I am. But I would like to maybe not be in that. That. That level all the time. I think it's impossible. You go crazy, probably, but to learn to switch from dark to light faster, right? Because sometimes things happen and you're in this dark place longer than you wish, and in hindsight, you realize, you know, that you didn't need to stay in that state of mind that you could have been. You could have easily gotten out of it. So, like, as I mentioned earlier, what I do works for me, and it may work for others, but I'd like to know what other people do when they're faced with catastrophes or, you know, death or sickness and loss of work or whatever. Sometimes it doesn't have to be that catastrophic, right, to get us in a bad mood. It doesn't have to be total darkness. What do they do to get out of it? I think if we had that ability to learn from each other, to be the candlelight, I think the world would be better.

Right? Yeah. I absolutely love that. And I keep. You mentioned the word learning a bunch of times, and I think that's so key to just being happy. Right. Like, I don't know anyone that's ever been happy that has been shut down from learning. Right. So shut down from learning you're miserable because there's always something you can learn. There's always something amazing or wonderful going on, or there's always a different perspective that can make things seem a little bit more manageable. And my humble observation and experience. So, you know, for me, like, being the annoying optimist I am and have been in corporate environments as an engineer, like, you know, I was always the guy that's like, happy Monday, guys. And everyone's like, oh, God, this guy. You know? And for me, it was just having, like, a sense of fun, you know, and then having the agency to say, like, I can choose how I feel in the moment, you know, and sometimes it's a lot harder to do that and not. Not to, like, stuff feelings down. But, like, I can feel miserable and joyful at the same time and be that weird kind of mess. And I believe other people can, too. But, I mean, have you found that for yourself or. I guess I'm curious if it's just a weird thing that I do or.

No, absolutely. I mean, and I know about your career as well, and how you've transformed yourself and seeked light outside the corporate world. Right. And I'm happy for you. And I've done that, too. After my parents both passed away, four months apart, I did some soul searching. I just wanted to do something different. So I quit my job. It was comfortable job, and I decided to open my own business. And. And. And I know you've been to my market in. In Walnut Creek. It was something crazy that everybody thought I was crazy to do, but I've learned so much from it. It wasn't easy. It wasn't I wasn't making the same amount of money I was making when I worked in the corporate world, but I was my own boss, which was wonderful. And then eventually I sold the business and went back to the corporate world where when I was ready to do so. I don't know if I'm answering your question, but.

No, like that. That. I know why you brought up the Larky Market. Because I remember having conversations with you in your backyard. Or I'm like, hey, how are things going? Is, like, learning a lot. And, like, I'm worried about paying all the bills and stuff, but it'll work out. And it did. Usually outwardly, like, it seemed like I could. I could sense there was a little bit of tension, and then it was like, okay, but yeah.

And it's similar to work. Like, I'm as a project manager. I also manage a team of project managers. There's always. There are always problems and there will always be problems in life. Right. It's never always bright and shiny and rosy. Right. Otherwise you'd go crazy. It's probably not healthy for it to be always good. I don't know. Have to ask a psychologist about that. But, yeah, there are challenges in life, but it's knowing that I've always emerged out of these situations. Right? Yes, sure. With scars. Definitely. Some deeper than others, but we always emerge. Yeah. You mentioned Larky Market. There were days where two of my refrigerators stopped working and I needed to move my deli meat to where I put the beer. And I also need to sell beer. So I would stick the beer in the freezer, but take them out and put them back in the freezer so they don't freeze, but they stay cold. Yeah. That was a lot of fun. I'm being sarcastic.

Yeah, yeah. I can only imagine, like.

Yeah, yeah.

You know, you just kind of have to roll with the punches at that time. But, like, again, that. That idea of, you know, how can you make the experience as positive as possible, make the best of it, I think is, again, shows the resilience and the like, okay, like, got knocked down, you know, have to figure out how to keep everything not spoiled so that the business can go forward and doesn't cost you. Pretty amazing.

So.

Okay, so getting close to wrap up, I'm curious, do you have any habits for keeping your purpose or mission focused and connected to that every day, every week or every month?

Habits to stay focused, to stay purposeful. Purposeful, yeah. You know, it's in everything I do, in particular with my kids, I really find spending time with Them, they're, you know, they're just wonderful angels. I'm going to use different metaphor. So I don't keep saying candlelight, but they're wonderful angels. And their, their outlooks, children's outlook on life is much healthier than adults outlook on life because they're just. They just want to learn and play and have fun and smile and just, Just be happy. And I think being surrounded by my kids is very invigorating. It's very healing. Yeah. I'm trying to think of other things I do. You know, just being around people who are like me, who are positive is something that I try to do as well. And staying connected with friends, even when they're far, like yourself in the Bay Area. Yeah. My invitation still stands, by the way. You need to come visit.

Oh, yes, yes. We are still trying to sort out all the travel stuff. There's so much backup stuff. So we appreciate that, Ashley and I. Anything else that you do to keep connected to your meaning or purpose. Because I'm assuming based on this conversation, one of the purposes you probably connect with is sharing this idea of positivity, of moving things forward, of resilience, the kind of things that we talked about as candlelight.

Yeah. I read the news, but I try not to read too much of the negative news because it's mostly negative. I mean, I'm gonna say 90% is depressing or bad. So I try to look at the positive news and there are outlets. I read most of my news on my phone in my very little spare time. But I try and focus on these little stories and some of them that are very simple, but they're very neat and nice to share. So I try to focus on these things. I don't watch much TV other than the occasional sporting events here, here and there. My. My wife probably disagrees with me. She probably thinks I watch more than I think I do. But I'm the one being interviewed, not her.

Yeah, fair enough. Maybe we'll have her on later next time.

Yeah, so. And being active, I should be more active than I am. I think that's an important thing that I forgot about. Mental state is very critical, but it's connected to your physical state, your physical health. So mental health and physical health are very interconnected. There's a saying in Arabic that goes like this, which means a healthy mind exists in a healthy body. And it's true, and vice versa. So keeping to a exercise routine, I have here in my office a pull up machine. I can. I don't want to turn And I have a boxing bag. I don't use the boxing bag as much, but I have a pull up machine and the same machine where I can do some dips. So I do that not as often as I can. I go for walks and run or run and walks. I'm trying to get back into shape, but it helps. It's just clears the mind. You're just you and your nature, you and the machine. And it's, it keeps you mindful and it helps with, with my mood. And then, and of course, if I'm in a good mood, I'm going to go for a walk. So it helps break that cycle or it creates a new cycle that's. It's all interrelated.

Right on. Yeah. Like, and I think too at the beginning of our discussion you mentioned doing deep breaths through those kind of tough times is again a way to change your state physically to impact how you're feeling or to impact how you're thinking too. Like, it's all sad.

Absolutely. It's tough sometimes to be sitting in front of a computer screen and to take a moment and start breathing. So I'm fortunate that I get to work from home and I have a wonderful garden. That's where I find my Zen, as you mentioned the beginning of the story. So I walk out. I have chickens in my backyard too. So I go check out the chickens if they laid any eggs. And it's just nice. People have pets and they, and they have healing powers as well. I have children, my wife. And you know, I have my garden. And I'm lucky to live in this beautiful state of Colorado in the winter as well as in the summer in all four seasons. We have four seasons here. Love it.

That's amazing.

You can, you can connect to, to nature.

Yeah. But I think it's super important too, so. All right. Majeed, like, I'm super grateful that we had this conversation again. I love your book and I'm looking forward to finishing it now that I'll have have a little bit of time after everything's slowed down. So I'll hit you up detailed thoughts after it. But I've absolutely loved everything I've read so far. What is the best way for the good folks to follow up with you or to find your book?

Sure. I'm on Twitter. I'm not very active. I'm fairly new. But you can go to BeTheCandle Light.com and, and you can buy my book Candlelight on Amazon. It's available there.

All right, I'll have those links Below in the show notes. This has been really super fantastic my man. I'm so again grateful for your friendship and for you doing the interview today.

Thanks Sean.

What a great episode with Majeed. Now the ideas of that we can be resilient, that we can find community to help each other out in times of difficulty, that we can be the source of good that helps others get through hardship or helps us get through hardship is super powerful. So again I just want to remind you that what Wajeet said as the takeaways are to just be present with loved ones to to build your community of positive folks and to be active. And again, if you want to be around a community of people that will inspire you will cheer you on, please check out the community.seanbutner.com below this episode. We'd love to cheerion and we'd love to see you and ask any questions or if you have something that that was really helping you, we'd love to celebrate that. So but at the end of the day it's all up to us to be the positive force out in the world. I think that's the underlying message today. That's what I'm taking away. So with that folks, we'll see you next time. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with three folks and have them look up the Meaningful Revolution podcast on Apple to rate and leave a comment. I just want to highlight one of the comments that we have received already where one of these viewers said that they're so glad to have clicked on this. A down earth yet powerful podcast provides much needed inspiration to our lives. Can't wait to listen to them all. Just really I'm super thankful the there's another comment comment about insightful guests with great knowledge to share. Love this podcast. I'm loving the energy guys. So if you haven't already subscribe and if you have, please share this again with three people and have them leave a comment. We'll highlight them at the end of the episodes as we go on from here. So with that we'll see you on the next episode of the Meaningful Revolution where we'll talk about wellness. See you then folks.