Latest / Curiously Guided Podcast / Ep.85 | Follow the Breadcrumbs: The “Secret” to Being Sustainably Creative w/ Omari Harebin, Marketing Mindset Coach & Founder of SQSP Themes

Transcript

Ep.85 | Follow the Breadcrumbs: The “Secret” to Being Sustainably Creative w/ Omari Harebin, Marketing Mindset Coach & Founder of SQSP Themes · Curiously Guided Podcast

0:07
SPEAKER_02: Welcome to the Curiously Guided Podcast.
0:10
SPEAKER_02: We're your hosts, Mariah and Jay, two online business strategists passionate about rewriting the rules to success within both life and business.
0:21
SPEAKER_01: This podcast started because we both felt frustrated by the lack of deep, meaningful, and transparent conversations around what it takes to actually run a business that we both feel good about.
0:31
SPEAKER_01: So we decided to create that for ourselves.
0:33
SPEAKER_02: We want our solo episodes and guest interviews to be examples of how you too can chase your dreams and go down your own rabbit holes, ultimately leading to a more sustainable and fulfilling life.
0:47
SPEAKER_01: We believe that curiosity is our superpower.
0:50
SPEAKER_01: And trusting the nudge is a muscle that's meant to be strengthened.
0:54
SPEAKER_02: Especially if we want to create a lifestyle that feels good from the inside out.
1:00
SPEAKER_02: So are you ready to open your mind and let curiosity guide the way?
1:05
SPEAKER_02: Let's take this journey together.
1:07
SPEAKER_01: We're so glad you're here.
1:08
SPEAKER_01: Now let's dive in.
1:10
SPEAKER_01: Okay, friends, welcome back.
1:12
SPEAKER_01: I am so very excited to share this episode with Omari Harribin with you guys.
1:18
SPEAKER_01: Mariah met Omari um this year and invited him on the podcast after hearing him speak.
1:25
SPEAKER_01: And um, I've been reflecting on what I wanted to say about him in the introduction because his interview has had such a profound impact on me since we had it.
1:35
SPEAKER_01: And to be honest, I kind of just want to keep it a bit of a secret.
1:38
SPEAKER_01: There's a few things that Omari drops in here, especially towards the end of the interview, that literally just you'll hear me like jaw on the floor, blew my mind, totally shifted my mindset and perspective.
1:51
SPEAKER_01: Especially if you're like me and you kind of struggle with the idea of like creating content.
1:56
SPEAKER_01: And sometimes that idea, like, oh, sounds just like you want to roll your eyes.
2:01
SPEAKER_01: He just has an awesome mindset around what it means to be a creative entrepreneur online and in such a positive way to look at the contributions that we make and the impact that we can have on the world.
2:15
SPEAKER_01: Um, I he has a wealth of knowledge in the online space.
2:20
SPEAKER_01: He's taken on a lot of chapters and a lot of different, he's worn a lot of different hats and he's grown a lot of different businesses.
2:26
SPEAKER_01: So he is just very wise and in a wealth of information.
2:30
SPEAKER_01: And I think you guys are gonna get a lot out of this episode like I did, and I'm excited to share it with you.
2:36
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's kind of what drew me to Omari's talk.
2:41
SPEAKER_02: So I've seen him at Squarespace Circle Day in 2024.
2:47
SPEAKER_02: And his talk, so everybody only had around 10 minutes to present and to like speak on stage.
2:53
SPEAKER_02: You can only pack so much stuff into 10 minutes.
2:56
SPEAKER_02: But I was so drawn into what he was saying because it felt so different resonance-wise than everybody else.
3:04
SPEAKER_02: And everybody else had like amazing presentations.
3:06
SPEAKER_02: They did a really good job at like having different perspectives on things.
3:10
SPEAKER_02: But like I remember watching his presentation and he was kind of talking about like the flywheel of content and like how to stay sustainable with content creation.
3:18
SPEAKER_02: And I feel like that's kind of like a topic that we've heard before.
3:21
SPEAKER_02: Like, okay, cool.
3:22
SPEAKER_02: But his perspective, like, it was an ear prick up moment for me because I don't hear other people talking about this a lot.
3:29
SPEAKER_02: But he basically, and not in these words because he was literally on stage at a conference, but basically he was like, you have to give a shit about what you're creating.
3:39
SPEAKER_02: And that's a huge part of like keeping it sustainable.
3:43
SPEAKER_02: And I love that like he kind of went into the energetics without going like too deep into the energetics, without like losing the really heavy strategy people.
3:54
SPEAKER_02: I think that he did a really nice job at just being like motivational, inspirational, and strategic all in like all in one without being so obvious about it.
4:02
SPEAKER_02: So I'm really glad that he said yes to coming on the podcast and like hearing his journey about the online space is super interesting.
4:10
SPEAKER_02: I feel like when we ask people like, how did you get into the online space?
4:13
SPEAKER_02: It's usually like post-college.
4:16
SPEAKER_02: And he brought us back to like elementary school when like the internet first became a thing.
4:21
SPEAKER_02: And that was a really cool reminder of me to be like, yeah, that's when I got into the online space too of like using Ask Jeeves.
4:28
SPEAKER_02: Who would have thought that I would be helping people get on like the later version of essentially as like what Ask Jeeves kind of started as?
4:37
SPEAKER_02: Like, that's so fucking cool.
4:39
SPEAKER_02: So this interview was really fun.
4:41
SPEAKER_02: It was really inspirational and just like it got real deep real quick.
4:47
SPEAKER_02: And it's cool because like he took us down these different perspectives and perceptions of what we're doing in the online space, and really, I feel like grounding it into our souls a little deeper versus like just staying on the surface and like that's kind of exactly what I was hoping that he would do when I asked him to be on the podcast.
5:05
SPEAKER_02: So this interview is amazing.
5:06
SPEAKER_02: We're so excited to share it with you.
5:08
SPEAKER_02: So let me just read the bio really quick.
5:10
SPEAKER_02: Omari Harribin is a homeschool dad, creative entrepreneur, and marketing coach.
5:16
SPEAKER_02: After walking away from the security of corporate America and facing the uncertainty of entrepreneurship, he built a thriving business as a solopreneur by redefining what's possible with productized services and strategic growth.
5:30
SPEAKER_02: Now, Omari guides others to scale their own ventures, offering practical insights that lead to profound personal and business transformation.
5:40
SPEAKER_02: So, with that, let's just kick it into the interview.
5:44
SPEAKER_02: Okay, Omari, I am so excited for this episode.
5:47
SPEAKER_02: So basically, how me and Omari connected is we were both at Squarespace Circle Day a couple weeks ago.
5:54
SPEAKER_02: But by the time that this comes out, it's probably going to be a couple months ago, but it was in September.
5:58
SPEAKER_02: And Omari's presentation really, really got my attention because, like as he was presenting on stage at Circle Day, the pieces that he brought into the conversation, into the presentation were just so different than what everybody else was talking about.
6:15
SPEAKER_02: In my opinion, it felt like it was deeper and just like a deeper resonance.
6:20
SPEAKER_02: And he kind of brought in the pieces that we talk about so much on the podcast of just like the strategy and the energetics and kind of like combining both of them.
6:27
SPEAKER_02: And he kind of he only in 10 minutes.
6:29
SPEAKER_02: So I mean, like he could only kind of tiptoe in into things a little bit, but we ended up kind of elaborating on the conversation at dinner after Squarespace Circle Day.
6:38
SPEAKER_02: And I was just really excited to kind of bring him on the podcast and kind of talk about his story and where everything started.
6:45
SPEAKER_02: So, Omari, thank you so much for saying yes to the podcast first and foremost.
6:50
SPEAKER_02: And then will you just like kick us off with like, how the fuck did you discover the online space?
6:57
SPEAKER_00: Um, I was 10 years old in fifth grade, and it was September, and I was uh at a new school in this like talented and gifted program that uh my I was on the wait list for it, and my mom just kept persisting with the director and got me in.
7:15
SPEAKER_00: And um the teacher had this thing called Brainiacs, Miss Gross or Goss.
7:22
SPEAKER_00: I don't remember if there's an R in it, but um there's this thing called Brainiacs, and every week there was a question, and you get a prize, you know, like pizza party, ice cream, whatever.
7:33
SPEAKER_00: And I was really competitive when it came to brain games, so of course I was gonna like kill it with the brainiacs.
7:41
SPEAKER_00: Now, this is 1996, so the internet was fresh, so online was a new thing, and we didn't have a computer at home yet.
7:50
SPEAKER_00: So, in order to get online, we had to go to the library.
7:54
SPEAKER_00: So it's me and my mom.
7:55
SPEAKER_00: Um we'd only been in the states for like two years, and um, the question of the first week of Brainiacs was what man-made object can you see from outer space?
8:08
SPEAKER_00: Do you know the answer?
8:10
SPEAKER_01: The Great Wall of China.
8:13
SPEAKER_00: Okay, well, all right, hold on a second, we'll pause for a second.
8:16
SPEAKER_00: You can Google it and figure it out right now.
8:18
SPEAKER_00: Um, but that was what we did.
8:20
SPEAKER_00: So we went to the library, and I could have looked at the Britannicas and try to figure it out, or you know, or I could go on the internet.
8:29
SPEAKER_00: So we went on the internet and it was like Netscape at the time.
8:33
SPEAKER_00: I think that was the br the the search engine, or maybe like Alta Vista or Lycos, these were the search engines of the time.
8:41
SPEAKER_00: And I uh couldn't find anything.
8:44
SPEAKER_00: I I you know, I I searched it on the internet, 10 years old to this question, and there was no answer.
8:51
SPEAKER_00: So I had to go to the books.
8:54
SPEAKER_00: So that like experience was my introduction to searching the internet and not finding something, and later on in life realizing that, oh, wait, you can put something there to answer the question.
9:08
SPEAKER_00: And if you do that often enough, or as often as you do this, um, you know, someone else will find what they're looking for.
9:16
SPEAKER_00: And that's the magic that I like live off of basically.
9:19
SPEAKER_00: Um, and that's how I got online.
9:23
SPEAKER_01: Okay, I love that.
9:25
SPEAKER_01: The idea of like um you get to be the person that like contributes to the internet is like a very cool, empowering idea.
9:32
SPEAKER_01: So to be honest, you know, I've been a fan of yours.
9:35
SPEAKER_01: Uh, Mariah and I both got started in the web design world.
9:38
SPEAKER_01: And so like I've known about the first, I don't know, was Squarespace Themes the first business you built, or like how did you get into like the business world of the online space?
9:47
SPEAKER_00: Um, funny question.
9:49
SPEAKER_00: So um like my first my first website was like 2001, right?
9:55
SPEAKER_00: I was like a ninth grader, and I signed up for this thing called Commission Junction, which still exists, and it's just an affiliate network thing.
10:06
SPEAKER_00: Um, and I think I made a couple of dollars then, um, but it I didn't know how to get the money off of it, and like my mom didn't know what was going on, so it was just like, and I also didn't know what was going on.
10:19
SPEAKER_00: I I was like, wait, people are I'm I can get 50 cents if someone clicks on this.
10:23
SPEAKER_00: Like, what's to stop someone from just clicking all day?
10:26
SPEAKER_00: Like, I didn't it seemed like scammy to me.
10:28
SPEAKER_00: Plus, I'm like, you know, 14, 15 years old.
10:31
SPEAKER_02: So in ninth grade, literally making money off of the internet, and your mom's like, how the fuck do we get this money off here?
10:38
SPEAKER_00: It wasn't enough, it was like a couple, I didn't believe it.
10:41
SPEAKER_00: I was so there's like a you know, an unbelievability thing that like delayed the reality.
10:47
SPEAKER_00: Um, I like that.
10:49
SPEAKER_00: Um, so when I got to college now, four years later, now I'm a freshman in college and I have my own laptop for the first time.
10:59
SPEAKER_00: Um, I got like free access to super fast internet for the first time.
11:03
SPEAKER_00: So like I'm in internet heaven and I'm making beats.
11:07
SPEAKER_00: And so I was making the internet and I sold a beat for$30 to a guy named Same Old Jake in Ohio, and that was my first money online.
11:18
SPEAKER_00: So my first digital products were WAV files.
11:21
SPEAKER_00: I had to go to like the computer lab to convert the files and stuff, um, and put it in a zip and send it over to uh same old Jake.
11:31
SPEAKER_00: And I had to set up a PayPal account in order to get the money.
11:34
SPEAKER_00: So this time I got the money, and now I was able to use it to like buy pizza and stuff like that and flex a little bit.
11:42
SPEAKER_00: So that was that was my first money online, first business venture online was really selling beats um in the MySpace era.
11:50
SPEAKER_01: And what what platform were you selling them through?
11:52
SPEAKER_01: I'm sorry if I missed that.
11:54
SPEAKER_00: Uh, so I would be on forums, message boards.
11:58
SPEAKER_00: Wow, and the beats themselves were on this website called SoundClick.
12:03
SPEAKER_00: Um, and you just upload your music, and they had like, you know, all of the stuff to stream it.
12:10
SPEAKER_00: And I I had a website too at the time, osospectacular.com.
12:14
SPEAKER_00: There was always a website in the background, but the website never got like full attention or full life.
12:21
SPEAKER_00: It was always kind of just a vanity project.
12:25
SPEAKER_00: Um, and so the sales though were always direct.
12:28
SPEAKER_00: So it would be, you know, I'm posting in a message board and someone's like, oh, I like that, you know, and then they send me the money.
12:37
SPEAKER_01: That's old school, but I love that.
12:39
SPEAKER_01: So then how like help us connect the dots?
12:41
SPEAKER_01: How did you get to where you're at now?
12:43
SPEAKER_00: Cool.
12:44
SPEAKER_00: So um that's college, right?
12:46
SPEAKER_00: So then I graduate college because for me there was no dropping out of college.
12:50
SPEAKER_00: Um, and I I had to like not just graduate, I had to get a master's too.
12:55
SPEAKER_00: Like I had like I had to.
12:57
SPEAKER_00: And um so I'm I'm like working professionally as an engineer, and I'm like, man, I like this is not it.
13:05
SPEAKER_00: Like I'm I haven't taken any risks, like I I have all of this potential, like I I can do things, uh I could hustle, but I can't hustle to the proportion of the salary.
13:17
SPEAKER_00: You know, I was I was waiting for the salary.
13:20
SPEAKER_00: Now I'm here, I got the salary, and but I still need something more.
13:25
SPEAKER_00: So then I got into just freelancing on the side as a videographer and photographer, and that kind of propelled me to when I left my corporate career to keep doing like that.
13:37
SPEAKER_00: Was the thing, the moneymaker thing.
13:39
SPEAKER_00: But also on my list of ways to make money was web design.
13:44
SPEAKER_00: So now for the first time full circle, it's like, okay, maybe this web design that I've been doing in the background, there's potential there, it could be something.
13:54
SPEAKER_00: So I uh Squarespace was the platform I was using most recently for my videography portfolio.
14:03
SPEAKER_00: And I was skeptical that like you could people could pay you to like make a website for them on a DIY platform, but Squarespace was still kind of like unknown at the time, if you will.
14:16
SPEAKER_00: So it's one of those products where it's so good that you don't want to tell people about it because it gives you that edge, you know.
14:24
SPEAKER_00: And so I didn't really want to, you know, I didn't know how it worked, right?
14:28
SPEAKER_00: So I had to Google, I had to search Squarespace Web Designer to see if it was really a thing.
14:34
SPEAKER_00: And I found you know, people doing it, and I was like, okay, maybe this is a thing.
14:40
SPEAKER_00: And um, naturally, when you're doing creative work, someone always needs a website.
14:46
SPEAKER_00: So um a couple of my clients, friends, artists, they needed websites.
14:52
SPEAKER_00: So pretty quickly I had three, and you needed three to become a Squarespace specialist, which is now I guess a certain well, a couple of things now.
15:03
SPEAKER_00: Um, and so that's how I got into like the whole Squarespace thing.
15:07
SPEAKER_00: I I got into the specialist directory, and now I was finally able to make money as a you know, doing web design because leads were coming through that channel, and I still hadn't figured out how to get leads on my own that weren't people that I knew.
15:25
SPEAKER_00: So that was like the very first problem that I had to solve was like, all right, how do I you know, how do I get clients?
15:33
SPEAKER_00: Okay, here's a easiest way, but then now they're coming with like all these custom requests and like stuff.
15:40
SPEAKER_00: They're not coming for a website, they're coming to like make the website do magic, and I'm like, I don't know how to do that yet.
15:47
SPEAKER_00: Um, maybe I have to hire someone.
15:49
SPEAKER_00: Okay, I hire someone, they don't know how to do it.
15:52
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, damn, I gotta refund someone.
15:55
SPEAKER_00: Damn, like this shit is kind of hard.
15:58
SPEAKER_00: Uh, and I still gotta keep increasing my prices.
16:01
SPEAKER_00: So, like there's a point where like I I think I priced myself out of the directory that existed at the time because you could scroll through and you can see everyone's like project minimum.
16:14
SPEAKER_00: And at one point I put my project minimum to like 10k and I stopped getting any kind of any kind of inbound, anything.
16:22
SPEAKER_00: But I was like sipping a lot of like charger worth juice and stuff like that, so I didn't really understand the whole thing, right?
16:29
SPEAKER_00: Like I was coming from a perspective of like everything that I tried in the past, I did it pretty well pretty quickly.
16:37
SPEAKER_00: Like I was always in some accelerated thing.
16:40
SPEAKER_00: So now for the first time, I'm like, yeah, I'm gonna accelerate.
16:44
SPEAKER_00: Like, let's go.
16:46
SPEAKER_00: And as much as I was trying to accelerate, like reality couldn't wasn't matching up to what I was trying to imagine for myself and what I was seeing around me.
16:56
SPEAKER_00: So, anyway, that was my first year as a Squarespace uh freelancer, but it really kicked off the next that was like nine years ago.
17:04
SPEAKER_00: Uh, it really kicked off my Squarespace journey.
17:08
SPEAKER_00: Um, and and Squarespace has been kind of like the container for me to try out all of the different online businessy things that I wanted to try.
17:18
SPEAKER_00: So I've sold pretty much everything that you can sell underneath this in this container.
17:24
SPEAKER_00: Um, and it's been just really a growth vehicle for me, um, almost like a womb in a sense, where it's like as it as I've grown, it's grown.
17:35
SPEAKER_00: And now I'm like transitioning to okay, what does uh what does life look like beyond, or what does my online business look like beyond the square space?
17:47
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
17:47
SPEAKER_01: Well, I want to backtrack a little bit.
17:50
SPEAKER_01: Uh as you were talking, like I so resonate with that story as when I was getting into web design, I researched all the platforms and I really liked Squarespace because I thought for these people I'm trying to work with, it really is like an all-in-one platform.
18:02
SPEAKER_01: But can I be a designer on the platform?
18:04
SPEAKER_01: And I had so many of those first projects where I didn't know what it could and couldn't do.
18:08
SPEAKER_01: And so I, you know, like um clients would ask for super special things and I'd spend so many hours trying to figure out the code.
18:14
SPEAKER_01: Like I literally had that heart-racing moment.
18:17
SPEAKER_01: So I definitely relate to that.
18:18
SPEAKER_01: Um, and I do think it's such a cool platform.
18:21
SPEAKER_01: And I'm curious, like, where did the flip come for you?
18:24
SPEAKER_01: Like, I know as web designers, I hit that point too.
18:27
SPEAKER_01: You hit 10K, and then you're kind of like in a different level and it's a different ball game.
18:31
SPEAKER_01: How did the flip for me?
18:34
SPEAKER_01: Your templates were like such a game changer because it's like, hey, we can now do these really cool things that we couldn't do before.
18:41
SPEAKER_01: How did you get how did you even know that like templates were possible and like you could like get into that space?
18:46
SPEAKER_01: Like, where'd that flip happen?
18:47
SPEAKER_00: Uh so first of all, and not my templates, um, but but I'll I'll explain it in a second.
18:53
SPEAKER_00: Oh, sorry.
18:53
SPEAKER_00: Um no, it's all good.
18:55
SPEAKER_00: Um so I was like exploring everything.
19:02
SPEAKER_00: As soon as I didn't have a job and I needed to make money on the internet, I was eating up all of the webinars, all of the ebooks, all like everything.
19:12
SPEAKER_00: Because now I had all the time.
19:13
SPEAKER_00: I didn't have all the time in the world, but I had all the time, and it was like I need to make money.
19:18
SPEAKER_00: So anything that was a clue in that direction, it was like, all right, I have to follow it and figure out what this magic trick.
19:26
SPEAKER_00: Everything felt like people were doing magic tricks, and I was like, what the hell?
19:29
SPEAKER_00: Like, um, I could figure this out.
19:31
SPEAKER_00: And but I also didn't like a lot of what I didn't like a lot of it as well.
19:36
SPEAKER_00: I was like, I don't trust this, I don't trust that, whatever.
19:39
SPEAKER_00: Anyway, that but what that did is it exposed me to a lot of platforms and a lot of what the dominant marketing tools were at the time, and all of those other platforms had template marketplaces, and Squarespace didn't.
19:55
SPEAKER_00: And um, in my mind, that would ultimately be a thing because naturally people want more than they're given.
20:03
SPEAKER_00: So um I've it was just to me, it was like I remember waking up one day and I was like, oh wait, Squarespace themes.
20:10
SPEAKER_00: Um, one day people will want that, and right now it doesn't exist.
20:14
SPEAKER_00: So therefore, uh this is the time to at least sow the seed.
20:19
SPEAKER_00: Uh, and that was just that was it.
20:21
SPEAKER_00: So it wasn't like uh uh automatic the resonance that you speak on, that's the resonance that like I created the business on was like I've had this experience, I'm not gonna be the only one to have it, therefore, let me create something or create pathways or whatever, so that anyone else who goes through this, they'll find what I've you know, they'll find something.
20:47
SPEAKER_00: Um, so just like the Great Wall of China.
20:49
SPEAKER_00: I don't know, did you find the answer to that?
20:52
SPEAKER_00: My teacher at the time, she told she told us that it was the Great Wall of China, but when I googled it later on in life, turns out that it wasn't.
20:59
SPEAKER_00: The internet changed the answer on us.
21:02
SPEAKER_00: What is it?
21:03
SPEAKER_00: Oh no, I forgot.
21:04
SPEAKER_00: I got I haven't looked at it.
21:05
SPEAKER_01: I feel like this is such a good turn of events, I'll look it up right now.
21:08
SPEAKER_00: Um, but anyway, yeah, that's how I got into templates was just there were there wasn't any.
21:13
SPEAKER_00: So um, and I knew that there would be.
21:19
SPEAKER_01: Wow, and that ties back to that initial story you told us of like, hey, there's a gap here, I've experienced this.
21:26
SPEAKER_01: Sorry, I don't know.
21:28
SPEAKER_00: Anytime there's a void, um, anytime you perceive there to be like nothing, uh, instead of running away and going the opposite way, because that's scary, uh, lean into it and leave some, you know, fill it, fill that void, leave something there.
21:43
SPEAKER_00: Because that that means that you're at the edge of the universe and the universe is constantly expanding.
21:48
SPEAKER_00: So therefore, whenever I like to this day, if I Google something and I get the little icon, there's an icon with a little fish that says, Oh, that thing is now, we have an indexed anything for that, I feel like I'm in a really special place, especially when it's like a a two-word term that really go together and it does it's not the on the internet, it's not on, it's not in the known web.
22:12
SPEAKER_00: Um I feel like, you know, there's always that potential.
22:17
SPEAKER_00: And and that potential comes at the end of a curious search, always.
22:22
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
22:23
SPEAKER_02: Holy shit.
22:25
SPEAKER_02: That that alone, everything that you said, I feel like is extremely inspiring, especially for business owners that like want to create something that's never been done before.
22:38
SPEAKER_02: But so often people are like, well, find examples of what you want to create.
22:43
SPEAKER_02: But then it's like, but there is no fucking example because nobody's done it in the way that I want to do it, in the way that I want to share it.
22:49
SPEAKER_02: And I feel like as business owners, we have to walk this line of like pushing the envelope a little bit.
22:55
SPEAKER_02: But if you push the envelope too much too fast, people aren't going to resonate at all.
23:00
SPEAKER_02: And then you're going to be like in another universe waiting for this universe to catch up and like bring the path of people to you.
23:07
SPEAKER_02: So I feel like it's like that interesting line that we have to walk in terms of like how can we not only push the envelope of like what's happening, but how can we bring our people and create a path to where we're pushing it to and I feel like people people get lost in those because they think it's either one or the other.
23:29
SPEAKER_02: Either I stay where everybody knows and I stay where I'm comfortable and I say what's known and I'm going to build a business that like I know is going to be successful or I build something that's never been done before.
23:39
SPEAKER_02: And it's like yeah but there is a middle point that we do have to connect.
23:42
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
23:43
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
23:44
SPEAKER_00: I I visualize it like for me this I visualize it like like I go up to the mountain and then I come back down.
23:51
SPEAKER_00: Go up to the mountain come back down.
23:53
SPEAKER_00: If I stay up at the mountain then I'm totally disconnected.
23:56
SPEAKER_00: And if I stay down then I'm also disconnected.
23:59
SPEAKER_00: So therefore it's that you know back and forth oscillation of like going where no one is gone and then bringing back something that they haven't seen understanding that they're not going to receive it immediately.
24:13
SPEAKER_00: And but there will be one or two who do and then that will grow and that's always been like the path for me.
24:21
SPEAKER_00: So like even recently 18 months ago I got really into AI and like I was doing some stuff that there's there's stuff that I wanted to do that wasn't possible yet.
24:31
SPEAKER_00: And then there's also things that I've wanted to do for 20 years that I could finally do.
24:36
SPEAKER_00: So I was in this really sweet place of having that like edge of the universe experience and then also like oh this is just some stuff that people have been doing for 20 years but I haven't been able to do and now I can do that.
24:50
SPEAKER_00: So now I can be I can experience that like oneness of what a quote unquote everyone is able to do.
24:58
SPEAKER_00: And then I can also experience the oneness of what no one is able to do.
25:05
SPEAKER_01: Man I'm feeling really lit up by this I really like what you're saying.
25:11
SPEAKER_01: I think a lot of us have that fear of like oh I just don't see it and in this idea of like that's good.
25:17
SPEAKER_01: The man with the fishing rod is a wonderful sign.
25:20
SPEAKER_01: What is this unexplored place?
25:22
SPEAKER_01: But also remembering that resonance idea of like and there's this piece that I think people will relate to.
25:27
SPEAKER_01: And even though I can't quite see it this is the other element of when Mariah was telling me about Squarespace Circle Day she brought up your talk and she said it was all awesome but there was one talk in particular that I really resonated with and it's this idea of you and your spirit have to be behind it as well right and like you have to be showing up in your best energy.
25:47
SPEAKER_01: It's kind of hard to fake something.
25:49
SPEAKER_01: So it kind of seems like you lately have kind of evolved again and like gone to the mountain and are trying to show up in a way that like lights you up.
25:56
SPEAKER_01: Do you mind like telling us a little bit more about that side of things?
25:59
SPEAKER_00: Yeah so like bus like the Squarespace business or just online business like like I said in the beginning I'm just trying to make a living um on the internet and using these skills that I've had for a couple decades I didn't really understand or know what to do with.
26:15
SPEAKER_00: And now I'm like okay now I'm learning what to do with it.
26:18
SPEAKER_00: At the same time I'm also learning myself.
26:21
SPEAKER_00: So the whole like journey of the mountain back and forth like all um that has to be recorded.
26:28
SPEAKER_00: And so I've always been a recording artist and so but I've also learned that like it'll it's all recorded like everything has to be recorded otherwise you have no record and without a record there's no value there's no proof there's no evidence of this thing.
26:46
SPEAKER_00: And that school is designed that everything is designed that way to hold a record.
26:51
SPEAKER_00: And and if you're not holding a record of yourself then you're you are someone else's everyone else's so you should be as well.
27:00
SPEAKER_00: So this record that I started to to hold when I started this online business journey um a part of it was like my identity it was like okay I'm now gonna rebirth my identity and this identity is going to create a business that is gonna exist or and um I know I just said a lot so let me zoom out real quick um listening to this podcast today you'll hear me as Omari Harrabin um when I started my Squarespace business people knew me as Ross Omari and but prior to that uh people knew me as Omari O'Neal and then if you knew me at work you knew me as Omari McPherson.
27:48
SPEAKER_00: So I had these different names that went with the different places that I was in.
27:54
SPEAKER_00: So within the work in the you know the system I was born into the government whatever it was McPherson Omari McPherson um and then as I became an artist it was like I need an artist name I can't you know I gotta be a producer so I can't be Omari McPherson.
28:14
SPEAKER_00: So it was Omari O'Neal which was my middle name and also my father's middle name and so then uh but that's also like a boyish name.
28:23
SPEAKER_00: So it's like I need something to become a man.
28:26
SPEAKER_00: So when my son was born um I went through this transition a big spiritual transition and it was like all right I'm gonna become Ross Omar and it was it was a very bold uh identity to take on because in the worlds that I was coming from uh there was a lot of negative connotation around it uh the identity that I was taking on um within the corporate world I couldn't uh in these in those times um like my high top I had a high top and it was a it was tight it was like I used to get it shaped up two times a week it was tight it was fresh and um my manager wanted me to cut it you know even though he would send a picture to all of his manager buddies and be like look at this guy on my team uh he still sat me down and was like you know uh you should think about cutting it kind of thing if you want to like climb up in this organization and I was like no I'm not cutting my high top so my so you can only imagine like you can see how long my locks are now I'm sure this is okay these days but back in my days you know you you got you know this wasn't like a thing so anyway um I say all that to say starting this business for me it was a risk it was a huge risk in always because I had no proof or evidence that I would be received or taken seriously as myself right everything else in life had told me that in order to be received accepted belong whatever you have to be something slightly other than yourself um whether just just because of how the environment is set up or whatever the rules are whatever the case may be so this time I was like nah I'm gonna try to be me and we're gonna see how this goes and it's gonna be kind of scary and I'm gonna feel anxious at times like I'm gonna you know have someone reach out to me and then I'm gonna feel anxious when they don't get back to me because maybe they discovered something about me that they now no longer like I'm not gonna mess with this guy.
30:35
SPEAKER_00: Right?
30:35
SPEAKER_00: So those are all experiences that I had in the beginning that it was like the whole point was like to build myself to to uh to grow stronger as myself and to and let that be the thing as opposed to some other thing.
30:53
SPEAKER_00: So just because that was the initial intention you know that's a long time ago I'm talking about that's nine years ago so here we are nine years later and I I'm st I'm still I'm still the same person.
31:08
SPEAKER_00: But like it's just expanded uh my consciousness is expanded in in a certain certainty and then I also have a record and so the record uh it it now lives it can speak for itself it lives on its own and it testifies to everything that I've just shared sorry I'm just over here scribbling notes frantically um I really so the record becomes the proof there was a line you said in there about I didn't have any proof or evidence that I will be received as myself and I think that is like oh um I mean how I think everybody like that that is like very deep in me too and that's something that you feel like you have to be this certain thing and fit it in this certain way.
31:59
SPEAKER_01: And I like how your story like the name changes kind of allowed you to like come in as like this new evolution of yourself and like kind of step into this new role.
32:09
SPEAKER_01: And I think for me like what I'm taking away from your story, I have a lot of I've pivoted quite a bit and every time I'm like feeling I need to pivot again but I I'm running into that fear of but I don't know if it's possible and have I pivoted too much and really it's such a beautiful thing.
32:25
SPEAKER_01: It's like you're climbing up this stairway of your own personal development and evolution and you're getting more comfortable being you and being seen as being you.
32:34
SPEAKER_01: And when you're keeping that record which is something I definitely avoid I think that kind of builds up the trust in yourself right for something that doesn't exist.
32:42
SPEAKER_00: Yes the the self-record is the for me it's been the most important thing because it it's what reminds you of yourself.
32:50
SPEAKER_00: Like other and and that reminding you of yourself brings you back to one so you can go go through the cycle again.
32:59
SPEAKER_00: What you just described of like um you know am I like pivoting too much am I rebranding too much like when I actually tracked out my name changes it was literally like every four years and I was like okay that's cool I like that and and and the fear comes up every time but I I think about it like I've had three children in this time and they're all born three years apart to this to the month.
33:22
SPEAKER_00: And so that that experience gave me like a real time uh necessity to go through this transformation um over and over again where it's like all right here we go again you know like um but here's the here's the important part uh we've all been there you know and it's important to remember that like no one comes into existence without going through the very same spark right so and and that pattern it doesn't stop it just keeps going and so but each time it goes around we have to like level up and like reperceive it at a different state in a different stage right so it starts off in a very minuscule way but then it just multiplies until we become you know billions of cell or millions of cells or whatever functioning as one and uh with one mind hopefully you know and then it's like oh wait I have to like recreate a new universe as well and oh like and then there's like universes on top of universes that I can potentially create and and and so the name is a call it's you know it's a brand and and it and it's always just to remind you of where you are and and what you are uh what is being uh what you are supplying right so like this podcast Curiously guided it speaks directly to what you are supplying and sometimes you might plug into a different supply and so then it changes so that it's called something else.
35:11
SPEAKER_02: So I can listen to you talk for literally 35 years.
35:18
SPEAKER_02: I love the way that you explain things and like the depth there's like a depth of your language that like is resonant that I feel like you don't hear a lot.
35:30
SPEAKER_02: And I just want to thank you for like talking about this shit because I'm feeling like equally grounded and motivated and inspired all in the same time which feels like a really good place to be but okay so I'm gonna go back to a couple minutes ago talking about the records and like you said what record are people holding of you and I think that obviously it's so important for us like the the personal transformation and like to continue to go up the spiral staircase and continue to whatever.
36:01
SPEAKER_02: But I feel like like we're saying like one of the hardest parts about being a human in a society where we have consistent relationships and all different levels is like those people are holding different records of you and those records will never match the record that you have with yourself.
36:19
SPEAKER_02: And that can be really inspiring and motivating when they have a more positive record of you than maybe you have of yourself.
36:26
SPEAKER_02: And that can be really like deflating and upsetting and frustrating when you have a more positive record of yourself than maybe other people have.
36:34
SPEAKER_02: And I just think of like teenage Mariah back in high school ooh honey the record that I have of who I was in that time is a little painful for me to think about.
36:51
SPEAKER_02: And so it's like I moved away and I came back and like coming back to my hometown and running into people that I knew from high school at the grocery store and all of that.
37:00
SPEAKER_02: I'm just like fuck do I say hi to them?
37:02
SPEAKER_02: Do they remember that nasty thing that I said back in high school but it's like hey I'm not that person anymore.
37:08
SPEAKER_02: And it's like I there's a part of me that wants to like prove that like I have evolved past that.
37:16
SPEAKER_02: So I feel like that's an interesting thing to hold.
37:19
SPEAKER_02: And then we're also coming back to like what you said about like that continuous transformation.
37:24
SPEAKER_02: And it's funny that you said three or four year span me and Shay talk about this where it's like we go through these chunks of years too.
37:31
SPEAKER_02: Mine seem to be probably around two to three years where it's like if I'm not moving I want to burn everything to the ground and I feel like that trans that itch for transformation I assumed that everybody had it and that has been very interesting to be like people's period of transformation is longer or shorter but we all go through it but some people evolve just at a slower rate and it's not good or bad.
38:05
SPEAKER_02: It's just the way that they're meant to evolve but I feel like the consistent thing here is like isn't it interesting at human like as humans it always comes back to letting go yes it always comes back to like if you want to step into a new like coming back to like what record are people holding of you like I have to let go of like that record that that person from high school might have for me.
38:28
SPEAKER_02: I have to let that go.
38:29
SPEAKER_02: But then for me personally my own personal record of myself I have to let go of who I am today in order to become who I want to be tomorrow.
38:38
SPEAKER_02: And that's fucking hard especially when you have all of the people around you in the day to day reflecting that current record of you back in there just like, oh yeah, but like you're so like that's so you and I'm just like no dude I don't want that anymore.
38:54
SPEAKER_02: Like you don't even know me anymore.
38:56
SPEAKER_02: I've literally transformed in the past 25 minutes like you don't even know who I am and so I think that like I know that we got deep real quick on this episode but like it's fascinating to me that regardless of who you are and how you got here, there's so many consistencies to like how we operate.
39:18
SPEAKER_02: And I think that it's cool that we can have conversations that's like hey what you're going through might not be exactly what I went through but like there's a similar resonance of like letting go in order to create what you want.
39:32
SPEAKER_00: Yeah that's a I have a mantra that came to me a long time ago the same thing that you think you need, give it up and that same thing set you free.
39:42
SPEAKER_00: And I've used that and held on to that in order to make that letting go transition.
39:48
SPEAKER_00: And I I sometimes I visualize it like the monkey bars.
39:51
SPEAKER_00: You know like when you gone from monkey bar to monkey bar there's that you gotta get the other one before you let go of but there's a you don't just get it automatically there's some strength needed you know there's there's your own ability to like reach and let go simultaneously right so like the do the monkey bars you know in in your in your meditation uh make it difficult for yourself and see get along because that's the that's the letting go in order to to grab on to the next thing and then doing it as a bit like in terms of business um that's where like for me the the asset comes in where like okay what what assets am I creating and what am I leaving behind or what am I transitioning or what am I um first of all transmuted into an asset so that when I make this transition into this next thing there's some value there that can support this next growth and evolution.
40:56
SPEAKER_00: So I don't feel like I'm always going back to zero because I think that's the threat and the fear is that like I'm going back to some nothingness.
41:03
SPEAKER_00: You know I'm going back to the abyss of like solitude or being alone or like no one knowing or all of those things.
41:11
SPEAKER_00: And I've just had to get comfortable at that place like just getting comfortable at one getting comfortable where there's no one you know to the point where now that I can see okay crap I'm going back into like the multitude um it's a little scary but because I've gotten so comfortable being by myself and I think that is something that people learned a few years ago that like getting comfortable with yourself is it helps to to to grow and evolve and because that's where you always have to come back to aloneness solitude yeah I definitely relate to that um I have a million things I want to talk to you about but where my brain is going right now is your memoir if that's okay.
42:01
SPEAKER_00: Do you mind sharing with us like how did you decide that is where did the memoir come from where did that kind of spark yeah so so 20 years ago I was a freshman in college and my favorite album was the college dropout but like I said there was no dropping out of college for me.
42:18
SPEAKER_00: Like my mom was an educator she's uh she was there was like when I got on academic probation and because I was making beats in my dorm and not going to class like the threat was like you can come back home to the community college or you can figure out your act and and you know finish your degree or whatever.
42:39
SPEAKER_00: And then I couldn't just get one degree I had to get two degrees so um you know I for me it was like when I finally got to corporate America that was like okay I'm I'm I'm here where I where like I'm supposed to be now um that was now my dropout experience or or opportunity where it was like all right I'm gonna take the story into my own hands.
43:05
SPEAKER_00: And um the things that I admired in that artist 20 years ago of like being open and expressive and communicating emotions at a deep resonant level through music um that became my opportunity to start my story because I knew in order to to get along in the world you need to have a story.
43:27
SPEAKER_00: And if you want to make a serious impact in the world then you really need a story.
43:31
SPEAKER_00: And I've I didn't have a story.
43:34
SPEAKER_00: So it was like I guess this is where the story starts and um I've been writing it since then and um it's been a very difficult process because it's literally everything I've been sharing with you here in terms of like uh the whole processing of you know this story.
43:54
SPEAKER_00: But um the the the longest part was like the finish like where where does the This end?
44:00
SPEAKER_00: Like, when do I know that I've like made it?
44:03
SPEAKER_00: Like, is there I kept waiting for this like uh ultimate, like um, like this ultimate finish, you know, where it was like, oh yeah, you know, um now he has a story worth telling.
44:19
SPEAKER_00: Like I was waiting for this like end outcome that would make it worth it.
44:24
SPEAKER_00: And then I realized, man, bro, you've been in your dream since you actually started writing the story.
44:30
SPEAKER_00: So you've lived this dream 10 times over now, and you have to like let it go and you have to let it out into the world so that others can experience the benefits of it.
44:42
SPEAKER_00: Um, and so that's where we are now.
44:51
SPEAKER_01: Do you want to go, Mariah?
44:52
SPEAKER_01: Am I okay?
44:53
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
44:54
SPEAKER_01: Um there's a consistent theme in what you've been saying that I feel embarrassed.
44:59
SPEAKER_01: I've never really thought about before, but I think it's very for me like a shift in my mindset.
45:05
SPEAKER_01: I feel like a lot of the messaging we get about being online is all about consumption.
45:11
SPEAKER_01: Oh, we're consuming, we're getting on and scrolling and consuming and consuming.
45:15
SPEAKER_01: And you have said consistently over time, many points in the story of like, how can I contribute?
45:21
SPEAKER_01: How can I give value?
45:22
SPEAKER_01: How can I keep track of my own story and share it so other people can maybe learn from it?
45:27
SPEAKER_01: And I think that is a part that I have that feels empowering.
45:31
SPEAKER_01: Like that feels like we're we're doing doing the work, right?
45:34
SPEAKER_01: We're here, we're noticing the gaps, we're contributing to the the internet.
45:39
SPEAKER_01: Which sounds wild, but one thing Mariah, this is what I wanted to say earlier.
45:42
SPEAKER_01: One thing Mariah reflects to me a lot is we're in an awesome point in time where people like us who have this desire to transform, perhaps generations ago, there was no option to do stuff like this.
45:55
SPEAKER_01: You know, you you could not transform every three years radically.
45:59
SPEAKER_01: You were probably stuck in one job your whole life.
46:02
SPEAKER_01: And my parents, you know, had that model of get a good nine to five, stay there.
46:06
SPEAKER_01: That's the safe thing to do.
46:08
SPEAKER_01: And so I have struggled as someone who loves to transform and loves to be in the online world and try new things.
46:14
SPEAKER_01: I, as I'm getting older, I'm running into this, oh, you gotta figure it out and you gotta find your lane and you gotta stay in that lane.
46:23
SPEAKER_01: And so Mariah keeps reminding me, hey, it's a new economy.
46:27
SPEAKER_01: Like we're in the Wild West.
46:28
SPEAKER_01: We are on the frontier.
46:30
SPEAKER_01: There is unlimited possibilities to create.
46:32
SPEAKER_01: And your story is reaffirming of like, what if your career is constant transformation?
46:38
SPEAKER_01: And like, what if that's okay?
46:39
SPEAKER_01: What if it doesn't need to be like, of course I know this, but I think my like subconscious is always like, we gotta get back in the box, it's sink in the box.
46:48
SPEAKER_01: And so I think just like the remembering in your story is so cool of like, hey, we're literally living in the coolest time ever.
46:54
SPEAKER_01: You can notice things, you can notice this weird little thing that you have a spark for and go after it.
47:00
SPEAKER_01: And honestly, the barrier to entry is the lowest it's ever been, and like maybe your career is gonna look so different than it ever has before, and it's possible, right?
47:10
SPEAKER_01: So I just I want to just reflect back like how inspiring that is.
47:15
SPEAKER_01: And that idea of like this is we are contributing, we are creating, we are like adding to this instead of just like this constant negative consumption language is really powerful.
47:24
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I don't it's funny, I don't even know what negative consumption language you're talking about.
47:30
SPEAKER_01: You're scrolling, you're scrolling all day, you know.
47:33
SPEAKER_01: Like I just feel like everything is like yeah, right, right, yeah.
47:38
SPEAKER_00: No, I I understand.
47:39
SPEAKER_00: I was and I was joking about don't tell me, but it it's like almost this like, you know, um I think about it like this, like, because I I also school my children, and the reason I do that is to skip a lot of the false programming and conditioning and and get to the heart of like what are we like what is the point?
47:59
SPEAKER_00: You know, like why are you getting educated?
48:02
SPEAKER_00: Like, what is the point of your education?
48:04
SPEAKER_00: And then okay, oh now you're in the work world.
48:07
SPEAKER_00: Well, what is the point of that?
48:08
SPEAKER_00: And so for me, it's like, well, how do we turn our consumption into production?
48:15
SPEAKER_00: Right?
48:15
SPEAKER_00: How how do I turn what I've consumed into something?
48:18
SPEAKER_00: That's just the for me, that's the creative way, right?
48:21
SPEAKER_00: You you see something you like, it inspires you, makes you want to do something like it, and but in your way.
48:27
SPEAKER_00: So, in that whole process, you have become an instrument for this creativity that has flowing through something else.
48:36
SPEAKER_00: And so the goal is to just keep that flow going.
48:40
SPEAKER_00: So uh keep consuming the things that inspire you and the things that light you up and get you going and motivate you because when you consume those things, you actually do things.
48:51
SPEAKER_00: The things that motive when you consume the things that motivate you, you do something differently quickly as well, and you experience a much faster shift than you do when you consume the things that don't inspire you to do anything, right?
49:06
SPEAKER_00: So um that flow is a channel for me, and it's like you can start very small, and and I emphasize starting small all the time because small you you know, we get so many impressions of big things equal in success and value that we undermine the fact that all big things start small.
49:26
SPEAKER_00: Um, even if it goes small to big really quickly, it still starts small.
49:31
SPEAKER_00: So getting comfortable with the small and like, okay, what is the small thing that I can do today?
49:37
SPEAKER_00: What is the small breadcrumb that I can leave?
49:39
SPEAKER_00: Like it might not be pop profitable today.
49:42
SPEAKER_00: That's something that I've had to uh like a muscle that I've had to build, which is how do I create when there's no immediate return?
49:52
SPEAKER_00: You know, when there's no, I'm not getting paid immediately for it.
49:55
SPEAKER_00: Um, and how do I do that consistently, sustainably over time?
50:00
SPEAKER_00: Right.
50:01
SPEAKER_00: Um, that's kind of what my my circles talk was really built around that idea of like, well, there's a whole lot of like small things that could almost be perceived as failures because they don't take off.
50:16
SPEAKER_00: And I I I realize when I talk to people that a lot of people expect things to like it's almost it's like an either-or thing, like either this takes off or I'm nothing, and it's back, you know, or it's like all everything is staked on this like one thing taken off.
50:34
SPEAKER_00: And for me, it's like, nah, you just gotta have many, many, many things that take off for you that like you know would would just get one other person excited, and if you can do that enough times, it that's the compounding effect at play with this, you know.
50:53
SPEAKER_00: It's like, man, um leave behind as many breadcrumbs as you can freely, and at some point in time, you know, someone might collect them all and and and have a big level up experience because of it.
51:10
SPEAKER_00: Um, and so for me, I've done that with it's a it's like a practice, it's like a a spiritual practical practice where you you take this these spiritual ideas, but then you practice them through whatever your particular skill sets are and whatever your creative mediums are.
51:27
SPEAKER_00: And so it's it's always present.
51:31
SPEAKER_02: Shay, correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel like this is speaking directly to you right now.
51:43
SPEAKER_02: Like me and Shay have had conversations, uh, not recording about things that she's uh brought up already in this episode.
51:51
SPEAKER_02: And I feel like what you're saying is like the exact message that she needs to hear right now.
51:56
SPEAKER_02: I'm just like, yeah, not to be selfish, but this one was for me today.
52:01
SPEAKER_02: But like, bitch, follow the breadcrumbs.
52:05
SPEAKER_02: Like, you already have breadcrumbs.
52:07
SPEAKER_02: And it's like it's so funny because I just feel like it all comes back to awareness.
52:14
SPEAKER_02: I mean, doesn't everything?
52:16
SPEAKER_02: Do you know what I mean?
52:16
SPEAKER_02: But like there's fine lines between everything here and like allowing the consumption to inspire you or allowing the consumption to drag you under requires awareness.
52:30
SPEAKER_02: Because like we can say, like, I only follow things that inspire me.
52:35
SPEAKER_02: And then all of a sudden you're on social media for three minutes too long, and you went from inspired to holy fuck, now I need to buy.
52:46
SPEAKER_02: Like, holy fuck, you need to buy a face fascia program in order to work the fashion in your face.
52:53
SPEAKER_02: And so, but it's like, yes, I'm excited about that.
52:56
SPEAKER_02: And I enjoy it, like I'm a lifelong learner.
52:59
SPEAKER_02: But it's like we can go so easily from like I'm inspired to now I need to produce or like take action from a place that's not inspired.
53:10
SPEAKER_02: And like all of this just comes back to like who you are, what you want, and what you want to do.
53:19
SPEAKER_02: And I feel like as business owners, like especially, but also in personal development, that's why it's like always coming back to like your why.
53:26
SPEAKER_02: Why do you give a fuck about what you do and how you do it?
53:29
SPEAKER_02: And I know that it's like the quote unquote why in business.
53:33
SPEAKER_02: Everybody's like, come back to your why, and you want to eye roll so hard, you're literally just like, come back to your why.
53:40
SPEAKER_02: But like it really is super grounding to give you that awareness of like where are you going and what you give a fuck about, because there is no shortage of content or no shortage of stimulation for us to get in this digital world.
53:57
SPEAKER_02: And we have to keep checking in with ourselves over and over and over and over again.
54:05
SPEAKER_02: And that's why I really liked your talk because we don't we talk about it a lot on this podcast, because like that's the nature of curiosity, in our opinion.
54:14
SPEAKER_02: And like being curiously guided, which thank you, your story is literally like a perfect example of like following curiosity and just like fuck it, let's see where it takes me.
54:23
SPEAKER_02: I'm just gonna allow myself to follow this breadcrumb.
54:26
SPEAKER_02: Um but it's just it's all so connected into like our inner world.
54:37
SPEAKER_02: And I feel like that's just the practice that like we have to keep coming back to, like letting go.
54:41
SPEAKER_02: Like, how do you know when to let go or to like keep going?
54:44
SPEAKER_02: And what you said, I wrote it down like the same thing you think you need, you have to let go of.
54:52
SPEAKER_02: That's you need awareness of like, no, I don't know.
54:55
SPEAKER_02: And then sometimes we're confused.
54:57
SPEAKER_02: And then so it's like, where, Omari, where do you go when you when you feel like you don't have that clear example and you're walking all of these lines to be like, okay, I'm either inspired, or like am I operating from like the need to produce, or like am I operating from like my own record of myself?
55:13
SPEAKER_02: Or is this like an old record that somebody has for me?
55:16
SPEAKER_02: Like, who am I and what do I want in this moment?
55:18
SPEAKER_02: And how do I know my intention behind taking action?
55:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I I keep a log, right?
55:24
SPEAKER_00: Like all anything that I record, I record it first for myself, and I capture it so that I can come back to it and I can learn why.
55:34
SPEAKER_00: I think the the problem with the why question is that in the beginning, it's always superficial, right?
55:41
SPEAKER_00: It's like my reason why, oh, I want to travel the world.
55:45
SPEAKER_00: Okay, I traveled the world pretty quickly.
55:47
SPEAKER_00: That can't be why.
55:49
SPEAKER_00: Um, I want to make a lot of money.
55:52
SPEAKER_00: And I think that why as well, if you don't end up making a lot of money in the time period that you imagine, then it's like, well, then what like you lose again?
56:02
SPEAKER_00: It's like, oh wait, why?
56:04
SPEAKER_00: So um, but recording the reason for your decisions when you make them uh is a practice that allows you to then reflect and and and like aware and treat awareness like a muscle.
56:19
SPEAKER_00: You know, all of these these practices are like workouts to like strengthen awareness, to strengthen your perception to see or to feel when it's time to let go, when it's time to hold on.
56:30
SPEAKER_00: So as I was listening to you, I was thinking about music, like how how one perceives and and flows through music or plays music, where there's a a constant back and forth, there's rhythm, there's uh patterns, there's sequences, there are their melodies, there's solo ends of life.
56:51
SPEAKER_00: And and so when you keep your own record of these decisions and you zoom back and you look at them, then you can see like the song, and you can see you can actually see the music of your life.
57:03
SPEAKER_00: And I think the struggle for a lot of people is is the environment.
57:07
SPEAKER_00: And environment is something that I've um had to be very uh intentional and deliberate about creating for myself in a way where it can just allow myself to grow.
57:21
SPEAKER_00: Um, so it's funny that I bring this up because like people ask me like, like, yo, so Mari, like like what do you do in your downtime?
57:29
SPEAKER_00: You know, like what do you do like when you're not being a dad or like running your business or whatever?
57:33
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, well, it's funny because I feel like I'm always in downtown, downtime.
57:40
SPEAKER_00: Like there's there's nothing for me to escape or like get away from.
57:43
SPEAKER_00: Everything that I'm into is what I'm into.
57:46
SPEAKER_00: And and so the reason I bring that up is because it's like that is something I had to get like get comfortable with.
57:59
SPEAKER_00: I had to get comfortable like not having people to reflect on, like to to bounce stuff back to me until I can just like be good with myself.
58:12
SPEAKER_00: Um, and that took like time and it was very it there was once upon a time where Omari like needed to be seen and he needed to be like acknowledged and recognized, and like there was like like at parties, for example, like there was no party that I would ever go to where you didn't leave the party being like, yo, did you see that guy on the table, or did you see that guy on the speaker, or did you like can you imagine like you're like, wait, you were on speakers?
58:40
SPEAKER_00: Um, but but I I was that guy who like had to court attention at all costs, and so I had to go through a period of like court and no attention uh at no cost, you know, like the the complete opposite for just as long as I was courting attention at all costs.
59:01
SPEAKER_00: So that pendulum swinging of like you know, going all the way to the other end of the spectrum and then holding it until it's like almost uncomfortable, and then letting go, and then being like, all right, and then you get to the other end of the spectrum where there's like oh crap, there's like mad people here holding that and being like, wait, I'm at one with this because these people are a manifestation of my own consciousness, and then releasing that and going back, you know.
59:32
SPEAKER_00: So all of these um principles like polarity, uh rhythm, um as it is above, so it is below.
59:46
SPEAKER_00: Like they all they're all things that you can practice, they're all principles that you can practice in your daily work.
59:54
SPEAKER_00: Um, they're all principles you can practice in your meditation so that they get stronger and you can you can see and you can feel.
1:00:03
SPEAKER_00: It's like if you're in a band, you you know, okay, this is where we're going.
1:00:06
SPEAKER_00: Okay, this you know, like you can feel it with yourself, you with the people you're around, and y'all can just play.
1:00:14
SPEAKER_00: Play life.
1:00:17
SPEAKER_01: The metaphor of music is insanely beautiful.
1:00:20
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for sharing that and noticing patterns and all that's I'm not a musician, but that's very powerful.
1:00:25
SPEAKER_01: Um, like the music of your life.
1:00:28
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that was so yeah.
1:00:31
SPEAKER_02: I love it.
1:00:32
SPEAKER_01: I've written down so many little quotes, I don't even know where we're gonna begin with, like trying to sum this up, but incredible.
1:00:38
SPEAKER_01: So to kind of wrap up this idea, I'm curious for you, how does this all get sustainable?
1:00:43
SPEAKER_01: Because for me, as like kind of a create, a creative, I will jump into something, I'll get real excited about it, I'll do it for a while.
1:00:49
SPEAKER_01: And then at some point it, I can't show up like I used to.
1:00:53
SPEAKER_01: The energy is not there.
1:00:54
SPEAKER_01: Now I'm interested in something else.
1:00:55
SPEAKER_01: So, like, how do you navigate sustainability and keeping it sustainable for yourself?
1:01:00
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
1:01:00
SPEAKER_00: So um this is gonna sound kind of repetitive now, but um so when you are consuming the thing that you're interested in, you have to buy something at some point, correct?
1:01:17
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's a book, maybe it's a book, maybe you know, maybe it's a piece of workout equipment, maybe a fascia course for your face that you found on Instagram.
1:01:28
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
1:01:29
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for bringing that back.
1:01:30
SPEAKER_00: Because when you said it the first time, I was like, girl, you better keep talking about that because that is how, right?
1:01:37
SPEAKER_00: Um as simple it for me, it's as simple as in order to accomplish this desire that I had that I was curious about, I had to consume something, I had to pay for something, I had to pay a price in monetary price, energetic price, uh, whatever price I had to pay, right?
1:02:02
SPEAKER_00: I'm not gonna be the only one with that same interest, that same curiosity, that that same spark.
1:02:08
SPEAKER_00: That's gonna happen again in the future for someone else.
1:02:12
SPEAKER_00: And they're gonna be, they're gonna need my version.
1:02:16
SPEAKER_00: Let's put it simply.
1:02:18
SPEAKER_00: I exist because I am a version of God, and we are all versions, and we all need each other's versions at some point in time in order to get a clearer perspective on our version.
1:02:31
SPEAKER_00: So I will uh create something of equal measure, or or I might not even create anything, but I will let someone know, hey, there's where this is it, this is it right here.
1:02:44
SPEAKER_00: I will share the good news of what I have consumed because it got me to where I want it to be.
1:02:52
SPEAKER_00: And uh that good news that you share, if you can record it and capture it in some medium that is transferable, it becomes an asset.
1:03:05
SPEAKER_00: And depending on what you capture, determines the value of that asset, determines the the duration of that asset.
1:03:13
SPEAKER_00: It could last for many, many years.
1:03:15
SPEAKER_00: Um, but or it can just last for a day, right?
1:03:19
SPEAKER_00: But ideally, we're we're pursuing things that last.
1:03:23
SPEAKER_00: That's why we pursue them.
1:03:24
SPEAKER_00: We're we're we're always pursuing something that's gonna bring us back to some transformation.
1:03:30
SPEAKER_00: So capture the things that get us to the transformation and develop them in your own way so that they can be exposed to someone else who just like you will be born, well, that desire will be born in them, and they will have to go through the same path.
1:03:49
SPEAKER_00: Uh, and and as often as you do that, um, you will be able to continue on your journey.
1:03:56
SPEAKER_00: But if you don't do that, then you get stuck and you stagnate.
1:04:00
SPEAKER_00: But as of as often as you do that, you give someone else something to to consume of your experience, of your lived experience, this metaphor is heavy, um, then you can continue on your transformation.
1:04:18
SPEAKER_02: Okay, so what I'm hearing is the secret to, and I say secret lightly, like the secret to essentially being sustainably creative and sustainably connected and inspired is like allowing yourself to follow the breadcrumbs, go into these little rabbit holes that you're feeling curious about, and then share them.
1:04:48
SPEAKER_02: Allow them to transform you and then share them.
1:04:52
SPEAKER_02: Because that sharing essentially is what like rounds out and pushes the second half of the wheel.
1:04:59
SPEAKER_02: And then you're sharing it and you're picking up all of this energy of just like, I'm just sharing what I've learned.
1:05:04
SPEAKER_02: And then, oh, but this is my new breadcrumb.
1:05:07
SPEAKER_02: And then you go into the rabbit hole of learning and then you share it.
1:05:10
SPEAKER_02: Is that correct?
1:05:12
SPEAKER_02: In like super simple terms?
1:05:13
SPEAKER_00: In super simple terms, and people do it all the time, and they they explain it in in their own way all the time, you know.
1:05:19
SPEAKER_00: But I explain it in this way because I think there's a bridge that needs to be connected between, you know, the how how this feels, you know, like like, oh, okay, this is a this is a natural part of me, like this is what my soul instinctively desires to do, and the practical everyday of like, oh, I gotta make some money, right?
1:05:40
SPEAKER_00: And and how do you bridge that gap?
1:05:42
SPEAKER_00: And the bridge is an asset, is that okay, I'm creating assets here.
1:05:48
SPEAKER_00: And the and what defines an asset, an asset is something that can carry value.
1:05:54
SPEAKER_00: And and so, what is value?
1:05:55
SPEAKER_00: Value is a medium of transformation.
1:05:58
SPEAKER_00: So, how am I?
1:06:00
SPEAKER_00: capturing that consistently so that I don't have to be worried that I'm not capturing it like in this massive quantity in this one moment.
1:06:12
SPEAKER_00: So that those small consistent moments, those small assets, sorry, those small assets add up.
1:06:21
SPEAKER_00: So like I've you know that's what plugins are for me.
1:06:24
SPEAKER_00: That's what uh you know content, YouTube.
1:06:28
SPEAKER_00: Like I don't I don't like the word content.
1:06:30
SPEAKER_00: I don't like the word creator in these times.
1:06:33
SPEAKER_00: Because for me it's like man all the content is is once we decided to press record on a recorded medium.
1:06:40
SPEAKER_00: But the content is running whether the recording is on or off.
1:06:44
SPEAKER_00: Like I am the I am the content.
1:06:47
SPEAKER_00: I'm the living content.
1:06:49
SPEAKER_00: There is no like you know now we're creating content.
1:06:53
SPEAKER_00: It's like nah we now we're recording it but it was always there.
1:06:58
SPEAKER_00: And even if we don't record it it's still being recorded on my consciousness somewhere you know so therefore I'm uh I'm I had a lot of therefore today.
1:07:09
SPEAKER_02: Um that's my new favorite word I'm coding um so therefore you know that's what it is I yes I like this and like I just had the visualization of like because yeah you're right like we we all have to make money and there is a bridge that we kind of have to connect here but it's like we can have we we've talked about this previously on the podcast where it's like you can't expect your business to meet all of your needs your creative needs your financial needs your needs for depth your needs for transformation your needs for connection like there's so many different facets of being human and just like what we need.
1:07:46
SPEAKER_02: But like the visualization that I have is like you have one big like Ferris wheel where you go into the rabbit and like that's kind of like your career or just like how you make money, let's say.
1:07:56
SPEAKER_02: And so it's like you allow yourself to go into the the rabbit hole of your career and then you share what you're learning whether it's like you're working in corporate and you're training people like that are newer to the team or something like that.
1:08:07
SPEAKER_02: Like you're imparting your wisdom on things you're training clients, you're training customers, whatever.
1:08:12
SPEAKER_02: And it's like, and so then that kind of feeds that career rabbit hole but then we can have numerous other Ferris wheels, mini Ferris wheels that maybe don't make us money, but like they still allow us to get that energy of like going into a rabbit hole and then sharing how it's transformed us.
1:08:29
SPEAKER_02: Like these transformations I feel like the word transformation we we feel like it has to feel transformative like on a huge level of like fireworks and like wow I have transformed so much.
1:08:42
SPEAKER_02: But it's like every day the decisions that we're making and the rabbit holes that we're getting into are transforming us in little ways.
1:08:51
SPEAKER_02: And I feel like we've talked about this earlier this season with our interview with Kaylee with EMDR where it's like you're going into maybe like this healing healing rabbit hole of like maybe you're trying to reparent your inner child or just like think about those things and it's like and you expect the transformation after like a therapy session to be fireworks.
1:09:11
SPEAKER_02: But it's like no, those transformations are happening but like you don't feel them as intensely as maybe you would your career these little ones you might feel subconsciously or you only might see in hindsight.
1:09:24
SPEAKER_02: So I feel like it's good to remember that like transformation doesn't happen only on the big Ferris wheel on like how we make money it happens in all of these micro moments too yeah yeah can we talk about um how we make money because I think that's like an important bridge connector um and I guess with yeah with the like you know how do I how do I take this thing or or what is the thing that makes money versus the thing that I just do um I think like I've always been a coach like when I was 10 years old there was a kid in my class who uh a lot of girls liked him and so he would consult with me as to how to make a decision.
1:10:22
SPEAKER_00: Um and uh so I've always been a consultant in that regard of how do I choose my niche um and even when I was in corporate the thing that got me the most excited was when I got a team and I was like oh I get to coach these people and like you know transform them.
1:10:45
SPEAKER_00: And then it was like all right now I'm like working for myself I immediately wanted to start coaching people and it's like oh you gotta like do something else first.
1:10:55
SPEAKER_00: All of that I bring that back to say if I were to just like sit down in a room and not do anything for 10 years whether I wanted to or not my body would transform my physical being would transform.
1:11:09
SPEAKER_00: So a lot of us you know we're lucky and you know we might not see the transformation for a while it might just seem like yo I'm ever I'm everlasting um but you know naturally the body's always gonna be transforming.
1:11:25
SPEAKER_00: So using that as like the base principle is like okay every day I wake up I'm a new person.
1:11:32
SPEAKER_00: Like the there's parts of me that went to sleep that did not come back and then there's parts of me that have woken up that I'm happier here today.
1:11:40
SPEAKER_00: And that is like the first level and then you go all the way up to the level um here's the thing that I'll be doing my entire existence but at each point that I'm doing it it might manifest in a different way based off of where I'm at at that particular time.
1:12:01
SPEAKER_01: Wow I am uh excited to listen to this recording and go back and uh dissect everything you've said especially what you said about God and us being reflections uh reflecting little elements of God to each other versions were so powerful.
1:12:16
SPEAKER_01: Um I really am having one of those experiences in my life right now so I appreciate that language.
1:12:22
SPEAKER_01: Um as we kind of wind down I'm curious what what are your breadcrumbs right now?
1:12:28
SPEAKER_00: Like I know you mentioned AI earlier what is sparking your curiosity right now what are you kind of diving into um everything that we've discussed is what I'm diving into because I've it I've it's just kind of like my inner world now I'm like okay people want to talk about this stuff cool because this is all I like to talk about so um just talking about what we've talked about you know um and open sourcing I guess uh a lot of that experience that I've had uh and as you're you know saying about the God thing it's like what if like God was like an open source concept and you know you get to like just have your branch and like you can modify based off of your configuration but like the the core code or whatever is just like accessible um to everybody.
1:13:20
SPEAKER_00: I mean naturally it is so yeah that that's like what I'm interested in right now is like um exploring these conversations further um I've got several books on the short term horizon um the the memoir that we mentioned the corporate dropout um and then also another memoir that's more spiritually oriented called Brainwashed in the blood of Jesus that kind of captures my spiritual journey which believe it or not is uh separate than the entrepreneurial one um but it was really like the uh I'm in like a very interesting place because it's like stories that I couldn't that I once upon a time I couldn't tell or I couldn't share.
1:14:06
SPEAKER_00: It's like now I'm sharing them and it's just a complete 180.
1:14:10
SPEAKER_00: So it's given me that uh inner polarity of like yo you've really come 180 degrees in your inner inner being because at one point in time you're can completely constricted in your ability to do this and now you're completely open.
1:14:27
SPEAKER_02: So um treasuring and and you know cherishing these moments and I thank you for sharing all of that like truly like you coming on and like sharing your journey your inner workings like the curiosities that you're diving into the connections that you've made like how you see things like I'm really excited for more people to get to hear not only this conversation but like to read your books and to consume I don't even want to say your content because you don't like content can consume consume your essence in the works of art that you're putting out into the world your contributions safe word okay but no like seriously Amari thank you so much for for coming on for sharing all of this like it's been really really cool to be able to go into like the depths of these things especially like on this podcast we do like to combine like the strategy of business like with the energetics of business and it's really fun when we can go really deep into like the energetics and the humanness and like the soulness of like who we are and why we do things.
1:15:50
SPEAKER_02: And sometimes like it might feel untangible intangible but like this is the essence of everything.
1:16:01
SPEAKER_02: It's the essence of us so like I feel like the the more conversations that we can have like this there's going to be a deeper resonance for people that's truly going to motivate them from the inside out.
1:16:10
SPEAKER_02: And so I I really do just thank you for coming on and for sharing all of the things that you've learned.
1:16:16
SPEAKER_02: It's been a really really awesome conversation and before we let you go will you just let people know like where they can connect with you where they can learn more about you where they can snag your memoirs or like the the books that you have coming out like where can we get on the wait list?
1:16:32
SPEAKER_02: Yeah so omariharbin.com that's my website been working on it for a while it's really simple but that's that's the um the launch pad for everything else okay cool so yeah we will go ahead and we will put the link to that in the show notes do you hang out on social media at all or not really?
1:16:51
SPEAKER_02: I mean I'm I'm on there but like uh it's not guaranteed that I'll talk back to you so I don't want to set that expectation and we're gonna redirect any social media links back over to the website so go to the link but you can follow me on Instagram Omari Happen people do it anyway so okay we will go ahead and we will put that link in the show notes too but um I think that we're ready to close this one down.
1:17:19
SPEAKER_02: She feel complete feel good okay cool so we're ready to close this episode down remember friends that you have the power to create whatever the fuck you want follow the nudge ask questions and let curiosity guide the way we'll see you in the next episode