Carlos Mendiola

Meredith Haberfeld: Adding Soul to Your Business

In this episode of Art of Authenticity I had a thoughtful conversation with Meredith Haberfeld, a speaker and coach who helps companies add soul to their business.Meredith is a speaker and a coach, and she runs a company called Think Human. She has worked with companies like Spotify, Goldman Sachs, Soul Cycle. She’s been featured in media outlets like the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, CNN, and Forbes.

Thanks for ListeningAgain, thank you so much for your support! Please subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already!Show Notes

  • What sparked the new idea she's working on [03:19]

  • Why people make "bad" choices [08:00]

  • The internal mental acrobatis we use to justify bad choices [12:28]

  • What it means to take a courageous step to stop 'selling out' [13:51]

  • Some specific techniques to bring your authentic self back [17:30]

  • Avoiding accountability partners that have agendas [19:04]

  • Finding people around you that will get in your corner [21:03]

  • Why do we make and break committments to ourselves [22:29]

  • What it means to unleash soul in your business [27:35]

  • What Meredith focuses on when she works with companies [30:35]

  • What an authentic life means to her [33:29]

  • Habits that Meredith has to keep her grounded [40:41]

More About Meredith

Episode Resources

by Carlos Mendiola

The Power and Myth of Delegation

Everybody is busy. If there is a person out there who doesn't feel like their lists have sub-lists, which have wish-lists, which have second lists, then I don't know them!P.S. If this is you, waybe you should write in and come on the show and talk to us about what you're doing.For the rest of us, we just feel busy. We're trying to get through the lists, through the tasks every day. Sometimes we're waking up at absurdly early hours, five in the morning, to just get that run in and your day continues on until 11, 12 o'clock at night.How can delegation free you from some of these tasks, without the downsides of delegation? That's what we're diving into in this episode.

Thanks for Listening

Again, thank you so much for your support! Please subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already!

Episode Resources

by Carlos Mendiola

Ted Gonder: Cultivating the Mindset Behind Leadership

In this episode of Art of Authenticity I had a thoughtful conversation with Ted Gonder, the founder of Moneythink and a good friend. We talk about how he deals with success at a young age, the philosophers and books he's learned from, and a whole lot more in this deep episode.Ted Gonder is a member of the U.S. President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability for Young Americans and the co-founding CEO of Moneythink, the only movement of young people restoring the economic health of the United States through preventative, transformative, and evidence-driven youth financial education. Since 2009, Moneythink has trained over 1000 college leaders to serve as financial mentors and college role models to over 9000 teenagers across 10 states.Prior to Moneythink, Ted served as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, advising the Obama Administration on immigration policy for foreign entrepreneurs. Previously, he worked with the Kauffman Foundation and the Chilean government on transnational entrepreneurship initiatives, and published research on the topic through MIT Press and McKinsey. Ted got his start in social entrepreneurship leading a number of climate-change-related student initiatives, most notably being appointed and serving as the student advisor to The Climate Project, an organization founded by Al Gore.

Thanks for Listening

Thank you so much for your support! Please subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already!

Show Notes

  • Ted's turning point in his youth [03:05]

  • How he managed being successful early [07:10]

  • How Ted became so introspective at a young age [11:04]

  • The false delineation between talk and work [13:04]

  • Ideas from philosophers and thinkers that inspire him [15:22]

  • Why you shouldn't expect the world to work for you [17:20]

  • How to pull yourself back from going into the ego [19:00]

  • Ted's goal setting process [21:55]

  • How to balance pushing through vs. pivoting [25:45]

  • What an authentic life means to him [28:48]

More About Ted

Episode Resources

by Carlos Mendiola

Unplugged with Laura

A few podcast and website updates for you all as we approach the 100th episode of The Art of Authenticity.

Thanks for Listening

Again, thank you so much for your support! Please subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already!

Episode Resources

by Carlos Mendiola

Dr. Kathy Chavez, ND: It's Not All in Your Head

In this episode of Art of Authenticity I had a thoughtful conversation with Kathy Chavez, a naturopathic doctor

Dr. Chavez is a naturopath and she works at a center here in Chicago at a center called the Raby Center and I’ve had the good fortune of being her patient. If meditation, sleep, mindfulness, coaching all don't work, you could benefit from an ND. My work is centered around getting your mind in shape, but sometime it's not just about your mind - sometimes it goes deeper and requires an ND to help.

Dr. Kathy Chavez graduated from National College of Natural Medicine in 2007 with a Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine and Certificate in Homeopathy. She joined the staff at Cancer Treatment Centers of America Midwestern Regional Medical Center in 2009 completing a two-year residency focused on oncology. In 2011 she joined the practice at the Raby Institute of Integrative Medicine. Dr. Chavez focuses on helping her patients identify contributing factors to their illnesses and take practical steps toward greater health.

Thanks for Listening

Again, thank you so much for your support! Please subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already!

Show Notes

  • What a naturopathic doctor is and what they do [00:53]

  • What it means to treat causes and not just symptoms [03:25]

  • How a naturopath helps with chronic diseases that aren't acute illnesses [06:36]

  • Cultural trends that are contributing to the rising rates of chronic diseases [7:45]

  • The types of tests Kathy runs as a naturopath [09:20]

  • What the goal of naturopathic medicine is [12:45]

  • What a "psychosomatic illness" really means [15:22]

  • Neurotransmitter testing for anxiety and depression [16:45]

  • Benefits of natural treatments for neurotransmitter change [20:36]

  • Why people don't want to try naturopathic medicine - a cultural bias [21:25]

  • How integrative medicine is coming more common [25:29]

  • Moving from acute crisis care to preventative care based on early cues [27:31]

  • What an authentic life means to Kathy [29:57]

  • Kathy's daily habits and practices [36:57]

  • Info about upcoming Metabolic Makeover group - a 6 week program for people with metabolic syndrome [39:01]

More About Kathy

She practices at The Raby Institute. You can make appointments with Kathy online or call (312) 276-1212, and you can do appointments over the phone if you don't live in Chicago.

Episode Resources

by Carlos Mendiola

Head Down, Push Through, and Pivot

In this episode, we look at the interplay of being "heads down and pushing through," or pivoting to something new. Where is the balance between having goals and pivoting and making sure you're not working really hard in the wrong direction. This is one of the biggest mistakes I see in entrepreneurship.

Thanks for Listening

Again, thank you so much for your support! Please subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already!

Episode Resources

by Carlos Mendiola

Ari Meisel: Less Doing, More Living

In this episode of Art of Authenticity I had a thoughtful conversation with Ari Meisel, an entrepreneur who has built a business around taking work off of the plates of busy entrepreneurs.Ari Meisel is the author of multiple books, a speaker, business owner, and father. How does he do it all? His business, Less Doing, is all about answering that question — both for himself, and for the hundreds of business owners and entrepreneurs that use his services.Ari’s story starts in 2006, when some unexpected news derailed his booming real estate career: Crohn’s Disease: A highly-debilitating digestive ailment, Crohn's barred Ari from leading a normal life. He lost weight, energy, and the ability to work with regularity—in fact, there were times he could only work for sixty minutes a day.With a blossoming business to run, Ari knew an hour per day was unacceptable. Against the advice of doctors and loved-ones, Ari embarked upon an extraordinarily painful journey to cure what medical textbooks consider an incurable disease.Through excruciating amounts of trial and error, Ari not only regained control of his life but beat this seemingly unbeatable disease—and is now symptom-free.

Thanks for Listening

Again, thank you so much for your support! Please subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already!

Show Notes

  • How Ari came across the "Less Doing" ideology [02:45]

  • Some things people can do today to simplify their lives [04:39]

  • The mentality people need to have before they look at tools [05:10]

  • What Ari means by identifying the problem [06:47]

  • What to do if you can't figure out how to proceduralize something [09:40]

  • What Ari's company does for businesses and solopreneurs [11:11]

  • The most common mistake people make with outsourcing [13:17]

  • How Ari prevents himself from feeling overwhelm [15:30]

  • How to figure out when to invest in automation and outsourcing [17:18]

  • Why Ari hates the phrase "heads down" [19:53]

  • What it means to Ari to have an authentic life [21:20]

  • How to make authentic decisions under stress [23:54]

  • What habits Ari uses to keep his life moving [25:09]

More About Ari

Anything you want to know about Ari can be found at his website, Leverage.

Episode Resources

by Carlos Mendiola

How Not to Communicate Like an Amateur

Effective communication is both easy and hard at the same time. It's hard because we often make so many simple mistakes that lead to large issues over time. It's easy because communicating well can be as simple as remembering to be human when you're speaking with someone. In this episode, I share communication lessons learned while running the company I co-founded and sold to a Fortune 500 company after 15 years.

Thanks for Listening

Again, thank you so much for your support! Please subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already!

Episode Resources

by Carlos Mendiola

Felica Spahr: How to Focus on What Matters

In this episode of Art of Authenticity I had a thoughtful conversation with Felicia Spahr about how to focus on the things that truly matter in a world that seems designed to distract us at every turn.Felicia is a leadership coach who helps ambitious, professional women focus on what matters and eliminate and delegate what doesn’t to move towards bigger goals, all without burning out.She helps people find productivity systems that work so that you can stay consistent and motivated. She works with project managers, lawyers, doctors, marketers, etc. She works with women specifically who want to do their best and feel overwhelmed.

It's very easy to be overwhelmed in today's world, and I think that we all already know this to be the case. The case for single tasking and focusing on what's truly important has never been stronger, but the advice on how to get there is sometimes lacking.That's why I loved this conversation with Felicia. She really knows her stuff and has focused on a specific type of person — busy and successful women — so she can really hone in and help them with their specific problems. As one of those women myself, I got a lot out of this conversation personally and know that you will as well. Thanks once again for tuning in — I appreciate it!

Thanks for Listening

Again, thank you so much for your support! Please subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already!

Show Notes

  • Felicia discusses the myth of having to sacrifice things you enjoy in exchange for personal growth. 2:37

  • Questions we should ask ourselves in order to reach our goals. 4:48

  • Breaking down what we want in life, isolating an area of your life to focus on, and how that will affect other areas of lives. 5:57

  • How the book "French Woman Don't get Fat" helped improved multiple areas of Felica's life. 7:19

  • Different perspective on how to improve your life. Focusing on what is working well, rather than what's wrong in your life. Which makes improving your life feel more natural. 9:04

  • Feeling overwhelmed because of not knowing what your priorities are. Why the feeling of being overwhelmed in and of itself, is actually a good thing.10:47

  • Why you shouldn't give everything "top priority", and why you should let go of less important things. 13:08

  • In the "assembly line" you come first, so in order to be your best you must prioritize yourself first. 14:32

  • Your second priority should be your relationship, so that you have a good foundation to resolve any problems that may occur. 15:35

  • It is better to have a system that fosters relationships rather than a one-time fix. 18:46

  • How to work with woman who have lost track of their priorities. Sometimes, they don't even know that they have lost track of their priorities.

  • Woman are used to beating themselves up which leads to a feeling of guilt 26:01

  • On woman having the urge to be busy all the time. Always filling up free time when it becomes available. 28:00

  • Tuning in to what your body is telling you is important. 31:13

  • Realizing that work life and personal life is actually one life. If everything is working in one area of your life, then that area you think is working probably isn't working. 32:29

  • Felicia's personal story on the feeling of being on the path of self-destruction, and how she moved on to become a coach.

  • Emotional story of grandfather being ill, and the importance of allowing yourself to grieve and being your own advocate. What do you need to do in order to allow yourself to heal properly without feeling guilty. 39:01

  • Everyday routine and habits to be more productive. "Before anything comes in, I want to get it all out". 43:34

Books Mentioned in this Episode

More About Felicia

Episode Resources

by Carlos Mendiola

Deserve: The Ugliest Word in the English Language

Today, I wanted to talk to you about a question. Have you ever asked yourself, "Do I deserve this?"Replace "this" with anything you want. Am I worthy of ____? Do I deserve that ice cream? Did I work out enough today? Do I deserve it? Do I deserve a promotion?Have I worked really hard at my job and have I been overlooked or I got a promotion, did I deserve it?Have you asked yourself if you deserve to find love in your life?I have such an issue with this concept. The word “deserve”: do something or have or show qualities worthy of reward or punishment, right? That’s the actual definition of the word deserve. So in other words, do I have the right to, am I entitled to, am I qualified for, am I worthy of ___?But here’s the issue: I get it.You have to work hard and then you get the reward. We don’t want to have a world in which we just give everything out for free.

Thanks for Listening

Again, thank you so much for your support! Please subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already!

Episode Resources

Download the MP3Download the Transcript

by Carlos Mendiola