Welcome to our weekly segment, "Three Minute Thursday"  where host Pooja Mottl highlights a piece of wisdom she has come across from her own readings, or shares an inspirational anecdote or insight that can help you lead a more calm and rooted life.--"The purpose of life is a life of purpose” concludes author Robbin Sharma (Monk Who Sold His Ferrari). But what is your purpose? If you don’t know, you’re no alone. Most people fly through life existing but never living, going through the motions, doing what they think they’re supposed to be doing but never really taking the time to figure out if that aligns with what truly energizes and fulfills them.If you want to know one thing about your purpose, its about being selfless. Living and doing things that go beyond your individual gain. But to get to the heart of your unique purpose, you’ll have to put in the effort. You’ll have to take time out life to find it. And one thing that helps

People unconsciously imitate the desires of others—and therefore they value jobs, spouses, brands, viewpoints, and even themselves according to what others around them desire. In his latest book Wanting, my next guest, author, educator and former Silicon Valley entrepreneur, Luke Burgis spotlights a theoretical framework to answer why we want what we want and provides antidotes to chasing what leaves you unfulfilled. Luke uses mimetic theory to explore how our technology, relationships, politics, economics, education, and other ecosystems affect what we want and how to change our own desires so that they bring lasting and enduring satisfaction, meaningfulness and love. After living in Italy for 3 years studying classical philosophy and theology, Luke confesses that “He couldn’t continue to start businesses and chase dreams without understanding the tr

 Khurshed Batliwala, fondly known by the nickname “Bawa” is a renowned speaker, meditation expert and author of the new book Sleep Your Way to Success. After speaking with him, I found him to be is a beautifully wise, jovial, charismatic and witty teacher, not surprisingly beloved by so many. He has decades of experience teaching with the Art of Living, and organization founded by spiritual leader Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankharji, a volunteer-based, humanitarian and educational non-governmental organization with centers in more than 156 countries around the world.This was a beautiful and fun conversation I am so grateful to have had and to share with you now. You will hear him talk about the profound connection between spirituality and science and how the scientists in ancient India were also saints. He says spirituality answers the question" "Who are you?". "Whereas science answer

Gary Russell is the CEO of Winning Profile, a company that helps identify talent and how to maximize performance by focusing on the heart and the mind rather than the just the external optics. He’s worked with world class athletes, the NFL and Team Great Britain prior to the 2021 Olympics. "Everyone can see and recognize exceptional performance" says Gary, "but we have trouble selecting and, most importantly, reproducing it."If you’ve been enjoying these episodes please text or email todays episode to someone you love and tell them to subscri

Regina Wallace Jones is the former Mayor of East Palo Alto and currently serves on the board of SF based AI company Sama and prior to this she spent many years in leadership positions at blue chip tech companies like Facebook and Ebay, and most recently Mindbody. Over the course of her nontraditional, prodigious career, Regina has made it her priority to bridge the heart and the intellect by having one foot in public service and the other in cutting edge silicon valley. It is this powerful blend of empathy and intellect that make Regina’s stories and insights so relevant, necessary and instructive for us in today’s fast-changing, world.If you’ve been enjoying these episodes please text or email todays episode to someone you love and tell them to subscribe so we can continue to share these life lessons on finding calm and redefining success to enable freedom with many more people. --Follow  Regina:<p

Welcome to our weekly segment, "Three Minute Thursday"  where host Pooja Mottl highlights a piece of wisdom she has come across from her own readings, or shares an inspirational anecdote or insight that can help you lead a more calm and rooted life.--In a fast-changing world, news about success runs rampant. It seems society wants to sell us it's own version of success and the fact is, most of us have bought into it.If you’re connected to the internet, news about people achieving great wealth, respect or fame, grab your attention in the form of posts, tweets, headlines, and alerts. This kind of sensational success is more alluring and seemingly more accessible, than ever before in human history. From unicorn founders to voyages into space, stories about success mesmerize us and seduce us into wanting it, and the herd mentality justifies this narrative and keeps it alive.There’s nothing wrong with working hard for financial f

Our guest today is AGAPI STASSINOPOULOS, best-selling author of the new book Speaking with Spirit. Her previous books include Wake Up to the Joy of You and Unbinding the Heart. In this latest book, Agapi encourages all of us to tap into the power of secular prayer to help us manage our minds and find the calm, tranquility and rootedness we need to flourish in a fast-shifting world. It was a great pleasure to have this dear friend on the podcast again. We talk about the general need for ppl to travel inward as opposed to seeking joy from the material, external world. We also talk about how self-worth can hijacked if we don’t find it from within and how moving beyond your ego is where real peace, grace, surrender and calm lives. --<

Welcome to our weekly segment, "Three Minute Thursday"  where host Pooja Mottl highlights a piece of wisdom she has come across from her own readings, or shares an inspirational anecdote or insight that can help you lead a more calm and rooted life.This week, learn all about the Calm & Free Podcast collaboration with the World Happiness Foundation, to bring you 3 special conversations for this year's World Happiness Festival. To learn more about the WHF, visit their website. --If you want to read more of my essays on living calm and free, please sign up to my newsletter by following me on LinkedIn or signing up to at our new website at calmandfreepodcast.com. Please share this episode with someone you love.--Website: <a href

Our guest today is Dr. Andrew harman, a Professor of Virology and Immunology at the University of Sydney School of Medicine and an ordained Buddhist who has much insight on how Buddhist practices and philosophy can help us deal with change, restlessness and uncertainty in our fast moving world. He shares how acceptance of your reality can help bring about calm. Dr. Harman and Pooja talk extensively about how we may need to reset our definition of "happiness" – instead of desperately seeking out happiness through exciting, impermanent experiences, things, people or moments, we might instead think of happiness as a state of equanimity which is defined as mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper. Equanimity, according to Dr Harman, comes from doing the inner work and obtaining wisdom and insight from it.In other word

In this special exchange, Pooja and Professor Negi discuss the central tenants and urgency of compassion, a focus of His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Dr. Negi expands on how although humans have made tremendous progress from an outward, material standpoint, we have neglected to develop the core inner values that lead to contentment and inner peace. In other words, we have been focused on educating the mind, while forgetting to educate the heart. Dr. Negi shares how compassion is linked to the idea of safety and security in a world with so much diverse thought, biases, and differing groups of people. It is in this kind of world, especially, that people need to feel safe. He shares that at the heart of compassion is a sense of meaningful, tender connection with each other, and that creates a sense of security and trust, happiness and love.Pooja and Dr. Negi also uncover the links between traditional Tibetan Buddhist mind training practices called "Lojong", which systematica

Welcome to our weekly segment, "Three Minute Thursday"  where host Pooja Mottl highlights a piece of wisdom she has come across from her own readings, or shares an inspirational anecdote or insight that can help you lead a more calm and rooted life.If you enjoy these episodes, please text or email this episode to someone you love and subscribe.--Last week we premiered a compelling storytelling video entitled Self-Worth you can check it out now by searching Pooja Mottl and Calm & Free Podcast on LinkedIn or YouTube.The essence of the message of this video is that in a world where we’re told to measure our worth by external benchmarks and accomplishments – like wealth and status – we end up on a never-ending, futile chase that leaves us burned out and discontented.As the chase continues, we get less connected and more cynical. More fearful, less trusting. Less joyful, m

Ali Kershner is an entrepreneur, coach and creative at the Art of Coaching and formerly a Sports Performance coach with Stanford University and their 2021 Womens Basketball National Championship team.Originally from Palo Alto, California, she was a student athlete at DUKE University where she was captain of the Blue Devils Womens Soccer team. In this special episode Ali and I talk in detail about why embracing change is a necessary life skill, and has been since time immemorial, an insight found in various ancient philosophies but especially relevant in todays fast-moving world. We also talk about shedding beliefs about identity that may be holding you back as well as how to re-examine your personal definition success in a way which brings you calm and inner peace. Follow  Ali:The Art of Coaching Website: https://artofcoaching.com/<a href="https://www.instagram.com/ker

Pooja and Agapi discuss how embracing practices like self-love, meditation, checking self-doubt and limiting beliefs at the door, and not being afraid to unleash your childlike freedom can help create a limitless, fulfilled life. Wake up to the Joy of You is the title of Agapi's most recent book and both Pooja and Agapi touch on and extend upon many of it's core lessons such as "Enoughness", "Momento Mori", teaching yourself and your children about the deeper meaning of "Wealth", and dealing with difficult situations and people with "Grace".“The big truth that every day, moment by moment, all you have to do is be yourself” and “once I gave myself permission to be the unique person that I am, I began to live with a feeling of love, abundance and safety.”  -- passages from "Wake up to the Joy of You".About Agapi:Agapi is a best-selling author and speaker who inspires audiences around the world. In her previous book, Unbinding the Hea

Welcome to "3 Minute Thursday"  where Pooja shares a weekly nugget of wisdom in just a few minutes.  If you enjoy these short episodes please text or email them to someone you love and subscribe!--Today I wanted to share with you the last words of Steve Jobs prior to his death.  I hope they can help you, too, craft a more examined life.I reached the pinnacle of success in the business world. In some others’ eyes, my life is the epitome of success. However, aside from work, I have little joy. In the end, my wealth is only a fact of life that I am accustomed to. At this moment, lying on my bed and recalling my life, I realize that all the recognition and wealth that I took so much pride in have paled and become meaningless in the face of my death.Material things lost can be found or replaced. But there is one thing that can never be found when it’s lost – Life. Whichever stage in life you are in right now, with time, you wi

Welcome to "3 Minute Thursday"  (#ThreeMinuteThursday) where Pooja shares a weekly nugget of wisdom in just a few minutes. --I’d like to honor and celebrate Thich Nhat Hanh, the Vietamese Buddhist monk who passed away last week.Many of you have been listening for a while, know that much of my work and my own inner shifts have been inspired by the work of Nhat Hanh (lovingly known as Thay).When I first got a hold of his tiny book, How to Relax, for under $10 dollars at my local bookstore, I had little clue what mindfulness was all about. I picked up the book only because it seemed like a "mindfulness for dummies" type book.But what I found inside the pages was beyond belief, and quiet literally changed my life. Thich Nhat Hanh was one of those special beings – a genius at not only mastering the teachings of the ancients for himself but mastering the art conveying these teachings to beginners. I encourage everyone to pi

Jaineel Mistry is a Life, Executive and Leadership coach based in London. Once an unfulfilled pharmacist, he soon found that the way to master life is to master the self.You’ll hear Jaineel discuss how to bridging the gap between where you are and where you want to be, and the courage he assembled to buck traditional career routes in an effort to find his own personal fulfillment. You'll also hear him talk about the clarity he obtained from sitting in silence, his definition of success, and an unorthodox, powerful gratitude practice.Follow  Jaineel:On Twitter: @JaineelMistry - https://twitter.com/jaineelmistryOn IG: @JaineelMistry - https://www.instagram.com/jaineelmistry/?hl=enThe Thriving Scholar: https://www.thrivingscholar.c

Welcome to "3 Minute Thursday"  (#ThreeMinuteThursday) where Pooja shares a weekly nugget of wisdom in just a few minutes. --The idea – that the more you want the more you suffer – is a basic tenant of Buddhism and many other spiritual and religious traditions. The Buddha believed that most suffering is caused by a tendency to crave things. These things might be exact and tangible like wanting to own a sports car or getting to 100K followers on Twitter, or more amorphous, like just not feeling content in the now – wanting to be somewhere else or do something else.Think about how much wanting happens in your own life. How often do you think about wanting things or experiences or situations?Legendary coach John Wooden, didn’t need to study eastern philosophy to figure this out. He wrote in his 1997 book,<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wooden-Lifetime-Observations-Reflections-Court/dp/0809230410/ref=asc_df_0809230410/

Lynn Guerin is the CEO of The John Wooden Course, and the President of Guerin Marketing Services, helping individuals and organizations reach their full potential in life. He is also the author of Coach 'Em'Way Up: Five Lessons for Leading the John Wooden Way. Lynn spent significant periods of time in the presence of legendary UCLA basketball Coach John Wooden before his passing in 2010, learning a great deal of wisdom from this "philosopher-coach" who impacted the lives of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Walton and many others. Lynn now shares this

Welcome to "Time Out Thursday"  (#TimeOutThursday) where I guide you through a powerful meditation. --Often, many of us try to meditate with a misunderstanding of mediation which then leads to doubt or hesitation to meditate regularly.Today I’ll start by briefly helping you understand what mediation is and then we’ll go straight into the experience of it.Meditation is about moving into stillness. Our bodies may be in the noisy outside world but we are going inside with mediation. You can also think of it as allowing your mind and senses to stop working. Letting your mind rest. Your eyes rest from seeing – your ears and mouth rest from hearing and talking. Meditation is a way to slow all of this down – to give your mind a body the break they need. And when we can relax the mind and body, we can move beyond the mind itself – into a deep and silent space, what yogic philosophy refers to as the Self, or atman. Where we can touch

Louis Gagnon is a seasoned corporate executive having worked and lead at Monster.com, Audible and most recently was the CEO of Total Brain, a company that leverages neuroscience to optimize mental fitness. At the age of 48, he found the self-awareness that has led him to move beyond the intellect and into the heart which has fueled renewed life purpose with a focus on human wellbeing. This conversation was genuine and rich with insight. You will hear Louis speak about an unhealthy obsession with growth in the corporate sector, the era of Newtonian-based scientific materialism coming to a close, the power of self-awareness in leading your best life, and his definition of personal success which I found most beautiful.Please enjoy...Follow  Louis:On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louisgagnon--For more from Host Po

Pooja and  Saroya talk about her journey to finding the freedom to express her authentic self as an elite athlete at an Ivy League university and as a professional athlete in the Premier Hockey Federation. Pooja and Saroya discuss strategies to overcome limiting beliefs, imposter syndrome and fear of failure as well as defining success and a purpose beyond one's individual accomplishments.Follow  Saroya:You can find Saroya and keep up with her work and mentorship initiatives at:On Instagram @saroyatinker71Mentorship on Instagram  @saroyastrong--For more from Host Pooja Mottl:  https://www.poojamottl.com/Podcast Producer: <a href="https://www

Welcome to our weekly segment, "Three Minute Thursday"  (#3MinThursday) where I highlight a piece of wisdom I’ve come across from my own readings over the past week, or share with you an inspirational anecdote or insight that can help you lead a more calm, free and compassionate life. --I’m overjoyed by the support we’ve received this year on this very special podcast. I want to thank you for taking the time out of your life to be here with us every week. It is my sincere hope that the insights laid bare on this podcast will help you navigate both your inner and outer world in a way that brings you deep and lasting happiness and the freedom to blossom fully into the incredible human being that you are which will allow you to not only take life fully by the horns but also pass on these gifts of head and heart to the people you love and extend it further into our common humanity.Today I want to reflect on the world calm. Calm is the chief s

Welcome to our weekly segment, "Three Minute Thursday"  (#3MinThursday) where I highlight a piece of wisdom I’ve come across from my own readings over the past week, or share with you an inspirational anecdote that can help you lead a more calm, free and compassionate life. --Today we want to share with you an insight about steadiness, richness and peace."You do not become rich through working, through power prestige or influence, You become rich when you find peace inside and out. " ~ Pooja MottlWe can Find peace with the outside world by:1. Accepting people and daily experiences as they are, without resistance.2. Being able to keep your calm, equanimity and grace in every situation.3. By realizing that there is something to be grateful for in every moment of our lives if we stay present.Finding peace with your inside world means:1.

Welcome to our weekly segment, "Three Minute Thursday"  (#3MinThursday) where I highlight a piece of wisdom I’ve come across from my own readings over the past week, or share with you an inspirational anecdote that can help you lead a more calm, free and compassionate life. --Today I'd like to share with you an insight based on the book, Your True Home – everyday wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese Buddhist monk who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King  Jr.He says that most of us believe that happiness is possible only in the future. And when you are searching for something else, you are not at peace with yourself, you are not satisfied with yourself. Then there is conflict. And with conflict there is no peace and calm. And when there is no peace and calm, there is no happiness and joy.But the truth is, he says, that

“There is nothing more priceless than each and every moment of your breath”. Based in his home in Nepal, Shyalpa Tenzin Rinpoche shares with Pooja a wealth of knowledge and teachings relating to how to live a life of ease, joy, and authenticity.Topics discussed include:Keeping "busy" and filling the mind versus appreciating the processThe "awareness of nowness" as it relates to finding your authentic self and eliminating anxietyKnowing you are valid just being who you are this very momentTrying to legitimize existence due to a "poverty mentality""When breathing is not burdened by fear or hope or driven by an agenda, so that breathing becomes natural, in that naturalness there is liberation, meaning you are able to find your true self.""The way to be rich is to be free from attachment""Being able to relax, to remain at peace, is our purpose here on the Earth.""Discontentment is like a war/battlefield in o

Welcome to our weekly segment, "Three Minute Thursday"  (#3MinThursday) where I highlight a piece of wisdom I’ve come across from my own readings over the past week, or share with you an inspirational anecdote that can help you lead a more calm, free and compassionate life. --Earlier this week I got some sad news – a former boss of mine from London passed away. He left behind a beautiful family – a wife and three kids. He was an amazing human with great empathy and compassion for humanity and others.I'll be the first to admit, that most days, I’m not thinking about life as impermanent, as transitory. Most of the time I’m playing for the future. For the next week, the next year. But this incident gave me that reminder I needed to keep mortality in mind each and every day. To live each day as if it were my masterpiece, not as if it's just another ordinary day in an infinite life.Stoic philosophers opined on death greatly and have lef

This conversation is filled with life changing wisdom that you won't want to miss - powerful, practical knowledge that can help you change the way you think so you can change the way you live. Ruchika delivers beautiful thoughts on how her definition of success has changed over the years and what it is now. We talk about how to become aware of a culture that normalizes craving and aggrandizes the finish line more than the day to day process. Ruchika also provides some insight on the reshaping of role models for a healthier, happier society.About Ruchika:Ruchika Lal is the Co-Founder & CEO of Winked which helps you live with more joy in life. She's also a teacher at the Art of Living Foundation, an organization that works towards reducing stress in individuals and society and fostering well-being and inner peace. Prior to her journey as an entrepreneur, she held senior

Welcome to our weekly segment, "Three Minute Thursday"  (#3MinThursday) where I highlight a piece of wisdom I’ve come across from my own readings over the past week, or share with you an inspirational anecdote that can help you lead a more calm, free and compassionate life. --This week I have contentment on my mind, inspired by my current education at the Sri Sri School of Yoga. Many of you know that one of the central areas of focus in this podcast is spotlighting profound wisdom and philosophical insights, both ancient and modern, that can be applied to finding calm, freedom, and compassion in the hustle of modern day living.Today I want to talk about some key wisdom around contentment and happiness – wisdom that has spanned not only the ages, but continents and world views.The idea that contentment and happiness is a choice is not new.Sentenced to prison twice for his views on the French government, 18th cent. Pari

In this conversation we dive deep into the inner skills that have contributed to Lu’s outward success. A product of inner Mongolia and a child of entrepreneurs, Lu cultivated a fearlessness toward risk and discomfort early on in life. She also discusses the power of being equanimous and non judgemental in the face of challenge, and the personal freedom and power that comes from being fiercely and consistently authentic to her true self. You will also hear Lu reflect on how, over time, she learned that an airtight conviction to her principles is the most effective antidote to pitfalls associated with ego, comparison and competition and the best path to contributing real value in the world. About Lu:Lu Zhang is the Founder and Managing Partner of Venture firm Fusion Fund, a serial entrepreneur. She is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and has been named <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/zhan

In this episode, you will hear Lisa and Pooja engage in an honest and authentic conversation into many topics spanning from what she calls "good girl brainwashing" to being "fearlessly female", to learning to be your own best friend, and reaching that state of awareness that reveals to you that becoming the greatest version of yourself is a duty.About Lisa:Lisa Carmen Wang is a former 4X US National Champion & Hall of Fame gymnast turned serial entrepreneur, investor, keynote speaker, executive coach, and unapologetic feminist.Lisa was the Founder and CEO of recently acquired SheWorx, a community platform of over 20K female entrepreneurs. She has raised over $50M in funding, spoken across many world stages on the power of Enoughness, and has coached 100K women on personal & financial confidence. Lisa is currently the Head of Brand at <a href="https://republic.co/about"

Welcome to our new segment, "Three Minute Thursday"  (#3MinThursday) where I highlight a piece of wisdom I’ve come across from my own readings over the past week, or share with you an inspirational anecdote that can help you lead a more calm, free and full life. --Coach John Wooden is one of the most revered coaches in sports history, the brains behind the Pyramid of Success, and known for his simple, inspirational messages that have impacted thousands of individuals and organizations. Since on this podcast I try to uncover timeless wisdom – no matter who its from or what century it was born in that can help us lead our best lives - I’ve been drawn to Coach Wooden's work for a while and today I wanted to share some bits of wisdom I found from a recent book I read on the life of John Wooden.It seems John Wooden learned the bulk of his most important life lessons from his father, Joshua, a farmer than a sanitarium worker from Indiana who li

Priyanka Naik is a self-taught vegan chef, Food Network champion and the author of The Modern Tiffin, a cookbook showcasing  simple global dishes inspired by her heritage and travels.In this conversation you will hear Priyanka reflect on her the deep-rooted drive she has to educate people about global cuisine, sparked by her childhood experiences growing up in Staten Island, New York. She also reflects on what success means to her, now that she has reached one of her biggest goals: becoming a published author.--Connect with Priyanka:Website: https://www.chefpriyanka.com/Instagram: @ChefPriyanak  https://www.instagram.com/chefpriy

Welcome to our new segment, "Three Minute Thursday"  (#3MinThursday) where I highlight a piece of wisdom I’ve come across from my own readings over the past week, or share with you an inspirational anecdote that can help you lead a more calm, free and full life. --In a recent conversation with a budding entrepreneur, it hit me that overachievers who embrace the idea that the harder you work, the more you increase your chances for success, tend to struggle nearly all their lives with placing limits on that hard work itself.Driven individuals tend to believe that the more effort they put in, the more they can guarantee their future success. And because these individuals are so incredibly determined and ambitious, they’re willing to overwork the competition and sacrifice everything, even their own happiness, so they can toil, grind, and push even harder.But here’s the rub: The finish line can’t be guaranteed, no matter how hard

Rooshy Roy is the Co-Founder & CEO of AAVRANI, a clean skincare brand inspired by India's ancient beauty rituals.Rooshy is a driven and determined businesswoman with soul. This conversation with Rooshy uncovers an abundance of life wisdom that can help you grow the skills you need on the inside, to shine on the outside. In speaking with Rooshy I noticed a common thread that connected almost every aspect of her life: the pursuit of authenticity – authenticity in her brand’s mission, authenticity of her products and authenticity in the life she continues to craft for herself. Her journey as an entrepreneur has helped her not only unmask this pursuit, but has shaped her sense of self, her definition of success, and the rules she lives by to make it manifest.In this episode you’ll hear Rooshy talk about how emotionally detaching from business is essential for any entrepreneur, how she dealt with past burnout, and how she embraces p

Welcome to our new segment, "Three Minute Thursday"  (#3MinThursday) where I highlight a piece of wisdom I’ve come across from my own readings over the past week, or share with you an inspirational anecdote that can help you lead a more calm, free and full life. --Many of you may know from my posts on social media that this year I decided to take a teachers training course from an authentic school of yoga based in India, pioneered by world humanitarian leader and spiritual master, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.The first few days of this course flipped my understanding of yoga inside out and upside down. Yoga, in its truest form, has to do very little with asanas (those exercises and poses that we have now come to automatically associate with yoga) and everything to do about calming the mind.See, when the ancients began asking those profound questions like "What is the meaning of life?", and "How do I find joy?", and when they began practici

Welcome to our new segment, "Three Minute Thursday"  (#3MinThursday) where I highlight a piece of wisdom I’ve come across from my own readings over the past week, or share with you an inspirational anecdote that can help you lead a more calm, free and full life. --This week I have compassion on my mind. Compassion is an antidote to stress, anxiety, and a gateway practice to thriving. I recently learned this from taking part in a talk given by Dr. Jim Doty at Stanford University who is a co-founder of a program called ACT – Applied Compassion Training.Jim spoke about how compassion has been scientifically proven to be a health-booster not unlike exercise, the Mediterranean Diet and meditation. When we are kind and compassionate, our physiology changes through the reward centers in our brain. By practicing compassion, our blood press

Bryant Terry is a James Beard & NAACP Image Award-winning chef, educator, and author renowned for his activism to create a healthy, just, and sustainable food system. He is editor-in-chief of 4 Color Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House and Ten Speed Press, and he is co-principal and innovation director of Zenmi, a creative studio he founded. In 2015, he was named the inaugural Chef-in-Residence for the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco.His newest book, Black Food, has just been released – a visual and spiritual feast of recipes, art, and stories from over 100 black cultural luminaries.Many know Bryant as the inspirational, artful, and i

Welcome to our new segment, "Three Minute Thursday"  (#3MinThursday) where I highlight a piece of wisdom I’ve come across from my own readings over the past week, or share with you an inspirational anecdote that can help you lead a more calm, free and full life. This week, we unpack why you don't have to be busy to be successful.--So the other day I saw a post that introduced someone by saying they had a "busy and successful life". It seems our cultural norms have evolved to equate busy with success or at least allow for both to happen simultaneously: You can’t be successful unless you’re busy. And if you’re not busy, you can’t be successful. The irony here is that to be truly successful, you’re never busy. Yes, you’re engaged in activities and you’re doing, but you’re present and calm and you are enjoying it. You’re in the flow and open to adjusting. There’s no resistance. Busy often connotes rigidity and this idea that you’re leaping fr

Jes and Pooja discuss the mission of the increasingly powerful Rebel Girls platform: to close the gender “confidence gap” across the world. Jes and her team want to help raise the most confident global generation of girls. And to that extent, Jes uncovers the details behind why RG’s storytelling is so compelling and the mental and socio-emotional facets that contribute to building self-confidence in girls such as empathy, curiosity, the power of tenacity, and sense of belonging. Their digital app, Rebel Girls Dream, is out now, and their pipeline is filled with more efficacious products in the works. It all very exciting and inspires much hope.Moving beyond Rebel Girls, it became obvious to me how much wisdom can be extracted from Jes’s own personal journey - He

Welcome to our new segment, "Three Minute Thursday"  (#3MinThursday) where I highlight a piece of wisdom I’ve come across from my own readings over the past week, or share with you an inspirational anecdote that can help you lead a more calm, free and full life. This week, we unpack the experience of "presence".Presence is...noticing that dog on a leash smiling back at you as you pick up your drink at the coffee shop and you smiling back.Presence is...tuning in to the sounds of the wildlife and the hum of traffic outside your window just before you settle into sleep. Presence is...spotting and admiring a flower as you walk by it on your way to a meeting downtown.Presence...is feeling the warm rays of the sun heat your face during your lunch break.Presence is...being able to smile at a stranger at the UPS store.Presence is...acknowledging the deliciousness of each sip of your favorite cup of tea coffee or bite of your

Dr. Rebecca Heiss is an evolutionary biologist, stress expert and keynote speaker, applying science to find solutions to ensure that our fears aren't holding us back from living full, happy, productive lives.She uses her background in biology to work with individuals and organizations to re-mold our instinctive brains 🧠 and change behavioral patterns in order to overcome limiting beliefs subconscious fears that hold us back from being the best versions of ourselves.She is the author of the book INSTINCT and founder of The Leap: a network for thriving professional women. In my mind, Rebecca is one of the best examples I’ve seen yet of someone committed to living a life of freedom – brave enough to show up in the world as her true, unadulterated self. And its beautifully refreshing.You’ll hear Rebecca and I talk about the biggest biological irony: How our

Welcome to our new segment, "Three Minute Thursday"  (#3MinThursday) where I highlight a piece of wisdom I’ve come across from my own readings over the past week, or share with you an inspirational anecdote that can help you lead a more calm, free and full life.Today I’d like to offer you my thoughts on what I call the “Me Mentality". The Me Mentality happens when we live and act solely to feed and protect our own ego. And it may come as no surprise that most of us live with this mentality every day, and for some, all our lives.Here are some signs that you’re living in a me mentality: When you’re on a zoom call for work but thinking about whether the other person thinks what you're saying is smart; Someone criticizes your work or doesn’t give you business making you stressed, angry, and vengeful; You fail to say hello to your UPS driver because you think you’re too busy to take the time out. That’s the me mentality.Now if we can extract t

Welcome back everybody. I was listening to a podcast with Tony Robbins and Sadhguru recently and I heard Sadhguru – who is an Indian spiritual master – compare the human existence with the existence of other animals. He gave a powerful example – he said when most animals have a full stomach, they feel satiated and at peace. They’ve solved their one essential problem: an empty stomach. But when we humans have full stomachs, we end up having hundreds of problems. The story here is that although Mother Nature has given humans a special capability over other animals – a remarkable cognitive capacity - we haven’t yet learned to master this capability. We’re actually so bad at utilizing our cognitive abilities that we end up creating undo suffering for ourselves.When are stomachs are full, we’re safe, we’re physically healthy, we have supportive relationships, contentment should be a breeze. Yet our monkey minds – jumping from thought to thought – bait us into manufacturing

Welcome to our new segment, "Three Minute Thursday"  (#3MinuteThursday) where I highlight a piece of wisdom I’ve come across from my own readings over the past week, or share with you an inspirational anecdote that can help you lead a more calm, free and full life.Today's episode provides reflections on how to deal with the past from teachings from spiritual guru Sadhguru and author of The Power of Now, Eckert Tolle.----Hi everyone, in this #3MinuteThursday episode I want to share some profound wisdom about how to treat the past from the Indian philosopher and teacher Sadhguru. So many of us identify with the past, especially if it makes us feel very good or feel bad – that is the nature of the monkey mind. But the past is dead. The past has passed

Luis and Pooja begin by uncovering the fundamental tenants of Luis's World Happiness Foundation: Freedom, Consciousness, and Happiness. More on Luis: Luis is the Founder & President of the World Happiness Foundation and World Happiness Fest and author of Happytalism and The Exponentials of Happiness. He is also the Director of the Gross Global Happiness program at the United Nations University for Peace. Luis is a social innovator and entrepreneur with the higher purpose of elevating the vibration of the planet by developing ideas, connecting thought leaders, activists and communities and increasing awareness on the science of happiness, holistic education and smart innovation.Over the years Luis has been an advisor to CEOs, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, Nobel Laureates, political and institutional game changers on strategic personal positioning and brand building. That acce

Welcome to our new segment, "Three Minute Thursday"  (#3MinThursday) where I highlight a piece of wisdom I’ve come across from my own readings over the past week, or share with you an inspirational anecdote that can help you lead a more calm, free and full life.Today's episode provides three easy ways to practice presence:Ask yourself what is going on inside me right know? Am I feeling nervous or uneasy or tight? Try to get in touch with your emotions because emotions are merely reflections of the mind. And usually our minds are busy manufacturing problems. So when you can tap into your emotions, you are automatically practicing presence and you give your mind a chance to pause, rest and reset.Ask yourself, what thoughts am I producing in my head right now? I do this often when I’m driving. I observe where my mind is going (which is usually thinking about something I have to do or judging a situation) and I bring it back to the now

Simon and Pooja talk about several big ideas on enabling success including taking Responsibility for your own success, which gets you from being interested to committed, 2) Cultivating your passion via curiosities and pinpointing purpose, 3) Dealing with other peoples' opinions and criticisms, 4) What he calls “destination addiction” as it related to the "I will be happy when" narrative, and 5) What we are going to do with the lottery ticket we’ve all won - the lottery ticket called LIFE. There is a lot of beautiful wisdom here for personal development.More on Simon: "I believe that the greatest investment you can make is in yourself. Because the more you grow, the more you feel alive. And the world needs more people like this! I transform lives and help people like you achieve crazy BIG goals."Simon is an Award Winning Life Coach, Business Strategist & Public Speaker based in London with a new book coming out in 2022 called <a href="http

Welcome to our new segment, "Three Minute Thursday"  (#3MinThursday) where I highlight a piece of wisdom I’ve come across from my own readings over the past week, or share with you an inspirational anecdote that can help you lead a more calm, free and full life.Today's episode is about avoiding the "I will be happy when..." mindset trap with wisdom from ancient Buddhist and Yogic philosophy and inspired by Pooja's podcast conversation with Simon Alexander Ong.--For more from Host Pooja Mottl:  www.PoojaMottl.comPodcast Producer: www.Go-ToProductions.comTwitter: @PoojaMottlInstagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/theca

In this conversation you’ll hear Sandra and Pooja talk about how investing in a life coach can help you “unearth the real you”, and about the downsides of living in what Sandra calls “artificial harmony” with others. You’ll also hear them talk about the need to practice our “self-awareness” muscle, the downside to defining ourselves by socially acceptable labels, and thinking about success in terms of a feeling contentment at the end of every day. Sandra’s purpose is to help all of us not just survive, but thrive …while realizing that the biggest impediment to thriving is being trapped by our own ego. In this interview you’ll here her say: "If we’re shackled to who we are now, we can’t reach for who we’ll be next.”About Sandra:Sandra Colhando is a Certified Leadership Coach and Co-Founder of TransforMe. She is an executive coach with over 17 years of experience in helping people and

Hi everyone – welcome back to the Calm & Free Podcast. On Fridays like this one I share a short, under 3 minute monologue with you where I highlight a piece of wisdom I’ve come across from my own readings or learnings this past week, or share with you an inspirational anecdote that can help you lead a more calm, free and full life.This week I want to spotlight the power inherent in TURNING OFF YOUR PHONE. On Wednesday I took a presence break, a block of 20 minutes where I stop everything I’m doing, calm my body, and give my mind the opportunity to connect with the present moment. I was lying on my hammock with my phone beside me and I picked it up and turned it off. The simple action of turning off my phone completely – not just silencing the ring – but shutting it down totally – gave me this almost immediate sensation of lightness. I was unreachable for the next 20 minutes and that made me feel free and happy. The noise of the world couldn’t reach me. I was alone with myself

Pooja and Senator Dhingra touch on the social stigmas and conceptions of mental wellbeing versus physical wellbeing, finding a career that’s aligned with your inner true self, using nature as a medium for finding calm, and defining success in ones life and career.About Washington State Senator Manka Dhingra:Manka Dhingra is Deputy Majority Leader of the Washington State Senate. She brings two decades of experience as a prosecutor and behavioral health expert to her roles as chair of the Senate Behavioral Health Subcommittee and vice chair of the Senate Law & Justice Committee. She also serves on the Ways & Means Committee.Dhingra was first elected to the Senate by the constituents of the 45th Legislative District in November 2017, the first Sikh legislator elected in the nation. Since then, she has sponsored and passed legislation addressing a wide range of issue areas, including: curbing domestic violence and sexual assault, preventing firearm

In the last episode, Episode #43, we looked at how rest is an innate, visceral part of being human and how we need to reset ourselves to be able to tap into our natural instincts of rest.Now we’re going to experience rest with an easy mindfulness breathwork meditation that you can do anywhere. Nhat Hanh says that relaxation is essential for accessing the tranquility and joy that lead to increased personal well-being and that “If we can’t rest, its because we haven’t stopped running” – running the body and the mind. So in this mediation, we’re going to calm both. --For more from Host Pooja Mottl:  www.PoojaMottl.comPodcast Producer: www.Go-ToProductions.comTwitter: @PoojaMottlInstagram: <

In this episode we’ll get into why rest is an instinctual, innate part of being human. Animals naturally rest  -  lions spend the majority of their days lying around and resting. And when an animal is wounded, they look for a very quiet place and stay there for many days, letting their body heal itself. They don’t think about their next meal. They fast. Animals have the wisdom of stopping and resting.  We humans also have this innate capacity to rest, but we’ve been conditioned to go-go-go, and this tendency continues to increase as the pace of technology increases.  So in order to get back to our instinctual primitive behavior of rest, we need to reset ourselves. We need to first use reason and intellectualize why rest is natural, which we are doing right now, and second we need to experience it on a soulful level by actually doing it more.And its not just the body that needs rest. When animals instinctually rest their bodies to heal, they are also resting thei