Shift-Starters

Scientist & entrepreneur Komal Dadlani is starting some powerful shifts in science and education. While studying biochemistry in the University of Chile, Komal recognized the lack of scientific instruments in laboratories. So, in 2013, despite having had no prior knowledge of entrepreneurship and business start-ups at the time, Komal courageously took on the challenge of co-founding and becoming CEO of Lab4U, a company that develops technologies that transform mobile devices into scientific instruments. Lab4U is designed to supplement the gaps in science and education and allows its 120,000 users around the world to have a lab in their pockets. Komal, guided by her desire to serve humanity, is committed to democratizing science and revolutionizing education by helping students become more inquisitive about the world. She has received numerous accolades in recognition of her work, including the Cartier Women's Initiative Award.

In today's episode, Komal and I discuss the gaps in science & education in Chile and Latin America and how those inequalities inspired her to start Lab4U. We describe the beauty of science and how we can all don lab coats and be scientists of our lives and explain why, as a society, we need to grow our "threshold" of science. We also highlight the importance of integrating spirituality, science, and business and how revolutionizing science and education can impact society and alleviate suffering in the world.

"Good intentions are not enough to solve the world's problems - we need a real understanding of science to change them." - Komal Dadlani

This week on Shift-Starters:

• The impetus behind Lab4U
• The science & education inequalities in Chile and Latin America
• The beauty of science and what defines a scientist
• Life as a series of data points and why a PhD is an entrepreneurial venture
• Bringing the scientific mindset into education and entrepreneurship
• The power of inquiry-based learning and the importance of helping students inquire about the world
• The fundamental philosophy of coaching
• Science as an approach to life and the long-term vision of Lab4U
• Exploring epistemology and the philosophy of science
• Transforming education to reduce social pain and the importance of civic & scientific literacy
• The lessons Komal realized about being a woman entrepreneur in a male-dominated world
• My past life in the tech industry and the perspective that's missing in start-up culture
• The place of spirituality in science and business
• The tension between science and religion and how the two can work in symbiosis

Resources Mentioned:

• The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
• The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership: A New Paradigm for Sustainable Success by Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman, and Kaley Warner Klemp

Related Content:

• Leave it Better Than You Came with Sophia Wood

Connect with Komal Dadlani:

• Lab4U
• Lab4U on LinkedIn
• Lab4U on Instagram
• Lab4U on Facebook
• Lab4U on Twitter
• Komal Dadlani on LinkedIn
• Komal Dadlani on Instagram
• Komal Dadlani on Twitter
• EMAIL: [email protected] / [email protected]

Let's Start Some Shift!

Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Shift-Starters with Erin Baker. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

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Where in your work do you hold yourself back, discounting your knowledge and experience, thinking that everybody knows what you already know? Do you often think that the wisdom you possess is simply obvious, so you hold yourself back from sharing it with your clients, peers, and the wider world? These thoughts occur to many of us so frequently that they prevent us from sharing our gifts, talents, and wisdom with the world. We tell ourselves we don't have anything worthy to say or teach. We never put up the coaching programs or workshops we said we would because everyone already knows what we have to share with the world.

In this episode, I reveal the curse that many high-achievers, top-performers, and lifelong learners suffer from - and how you can move through it. I describe our tendency to undervalue our knowledge and expertise and explain how this tendency prevents us from working with others and creating valuable content. I also discuss the importance of taking risks in testing whether the knowledge you possess is simply common and underscore the power of asking "why?"

"Remind yourself that you have so much more to give to this world than you are giving yourself credit for." - Erin Baker

This week on Shift-Starters:

• A clapping experiment and the curse of knowledge
• The curse of knowledge and how it can impede entrepreneurs and leaders from creating and sharing our gifts with the world
• How we undervalue our knowledge and what our experience tells us
• How the curse of knowledge affects me in my everyday life
• A strategy for getting past the curse of knowledge
• Testing how obvious your knowledge and experience are
• Pulling an idea and creating social media content, workshops, or courses around your knowledge and ways of being
• The value of surrounding yourself with beginners

Let's Start Some Shift!

Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Shift-Starters with Erin Baker. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify

Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help me reach more Shift Starters, like you.

Join me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. For more exclusive content, information, and to request your FREE 7 Questions for Tackling Fear workbook, visit our website.

Executive & Leadership Coach ClaireYvonne Naisbitt was already creating some great shifts in her life when I first met her. After 20 years of being a senior leader in the oil & gas industry, ClaireYvonne decided that she wanted to do something completely different in her life. So, she left her corporate job and went on a journey of deep work and self-exploration where she contemplated femininity, duality, and the "ands" of the world. Today, ClaireYvonne - an award-winning mentor - is dedicated to helping others navigate through the transitions and shifts in their lives through her business, BrightCatalyst.

In this episode, ClaireYvonne and I discuss how we can turn the loud concert in our heads into birdsong. We share what leaving her corporate job taught her about trusting our path, even if we don't fully understand it. We discuss the importance of cultivating a space where we can listen to the subtle wisdom of our heart and body. We also underscore the role of nature in healing, the importance of bringing more femininity into the world, and highlight how creativity and happiness come whenever we reconnect deeply with ourselves.

"Nature is a big bomb for the soul. It helps us descend into a place of calm, where the live band in our minds becomes birdsong." - ClaireYvonne Naisbitt

This week on Shift Starters:

• What drove ClaireYvonne to leave the oil & gas industry to do something different in her life
• What the transition from working in a big corporation to starting a business was like for ClaireYvonne
• ClaireYvonne's 9-month soulbbatical and how it helped her tap into her creative side
• Deciding to take it slow in life and switching from scarcity to an abundance mindset
• Joy creation and the power of being in the moment
• Cultivating a space in our lives where we can listen to the heart and body
• What it means to reconnect with our bodies to make decisions
• The healing power of nature and exercises to help us reconnect with the wisdom of our body
• One of the most difficult challenges in Western society
• The importance of balancing femininity and masculinity in the world
• The role of nature in helping us access our highest consciousness
• The relationship between leadership and happiness

Related Content:

• The Secret to Liberating a Billion Souls: Trust AND Surrender with Shelley Paxton

Connect with ClaireYvonne Naisbitt:

• BrightCatalyst
• BrightCatalyst on Facebook
• ClaireYvonne Naisbitt on LinkedIn

Let's Start Some Shift!

Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Shift Starters with Erin Baker. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify

Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help me reach more Shift Starters, like you.

Join me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. For more exclusive content, information, and to request your FREE 7 Questions for Tackling Fear workbook, visit our website.

Before she founded the Global Legacy Institute, Angela Tennison decided to follow and support a person who ran for the presidency: Barack Obama. When he was elected, Angela soon found herself in the White House serving as an aide and became the first African-American woman to serve as the White House Usher, a role where Angela had the opportunity to manage staff, logistics, and operations. After seven years of service in the White House, Angela spent the last part of her political career as the first and only Leadership Development Director at the US Department of Education. Today, as the founder and CEO of the Global Legacy Institute, Angela develops and coaches leaders, helping them leave powerful legacies in the world. Beyond her work at the Institute, Angela is on a bigger mission to have courageous conversations on systemic racism.

In this episode, Angela and I discuss what it takes to move the needle of racism and bridge our biggest divides in society. We discuss her journey and how searching for purpose helped Angela know she was on the right path. We define what it means to be courageous and highlight why it's okay to not know every step of the way in life's journey. We also discuss how you can participate in a movement and the impact of having deep conversations on systemic racism.

"Having human moments with others and sharing our humanity is what's going to shift the conversations, the systems, and what's really possible." - Angela Tennison

This week on Shift-Starters:

• Angela's journey into the White House and what kept her going
• Encountering the fear of "What if I don't?"
• How being in service to something great served Angela
• The Samurai game and how we often fill the blanks of our self-worth
• Responding to the call of service and how the killing of George Floyd impacted Angela and her mission
• The map is not the territory and why it's okay to not know every step of a big mission to start some shift
• Confronting impostor syndrome and the importance of trusting your voice and what you have to say
• How service to a cause can serve ourselves while serving our mission
• The power of conversations in moving the needle on systemic racism
• What it means to play your part in a mission or a movement
• The 50% rule and why I seek other leaders who I don't agree with all the time
• What courage means and its role in doing work

Related Content:

• What if I can't?
• What does it really mean to *do* you? With Erin Hatzikostas

Connect with Angela Tennison:

• The Global Legacy Institute
• Angela Tennison
• Angela Tennison on LinkedIn
• Angela Tennison on Instagram
• Angela Tennison on Facebook
• Angela Tennison on Twitter
• Email: [email protected]

Let's Start Some Shift!

Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Shift-Starters with Erin Baker. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify

Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help me reach more Shift Starters, like you.

Join me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. For more exclusive content, information, and to request your FREE 7 Questions for Tackling Fear workbook, visit our website.

Where in your life have you decided you simply can't? And in this area of your journey, have you ever stopped to think what can happen if you asked yourself, "What if it's possible?" Because that's exactly what started some shifts in the life of Tim Snell, Head of Performance at the London tech start-up Modulous. Asking "what if'' questions took Tim on a journey that led him to a path of healing and self-discovery that opened his heart. Today, in addition to working on projects and initiatives at Modulous, Tim is also a Certified International Leadership & Performance Coach and SOMA Breath Advanced Instructor who leads his clients into places they never imagined they could achieve.

In this episode, Tim and I discuss how the story of a young boy inspired him to embark on a spiritual journey and discover what's possible. We describe how Tim had lost his hearing at age four and how he later questioned the diagnosis about his hearing loss. We explain what shifts started happening as a result of Tim's deep exploration within. We also discuss the memoir Tim is currently writing, the challenges of the writing process, and the reason writers should never hike alone.

"The process of 'what if' is about opening yourself up to a different reality. It's also about working through other real blocks inside you." - Tim Snell

This week on Shift-Starters:

• Tim's journey of self-discovery and learning why he lost his hearing at a young age
• How Tim was treated differently after losing his hearing
• Turning to spiritual explorations to find answers
• The story of a boy who healed himself through meditative practices
• What Tim learned about his hearing loss when he went to a retreat in Peru
• Going deep into one's personal shadows and re-learning how to listen
• Discovering the blocks that prevented Tim from hearing
• How it's easy for us to blame other people for our problems and the importance of ownership
• Integrating our challenging experiences into ourselves
• The circumstances that inspired Tim to write his book
• The value of telling stories to help others
• Common misconceptions about writing and the writing process
• Why people should seek a community of writers

Resources Mentioned:

• Soulbbatical: A Corporate Rebel's Guide to Finding Your Best Life by Shelley Paxton

Connect with Tim Snell:

• Tim Snell Website
• Tim Snell on LinkedIn
• Tim Snell on Instagram
• Tim Snell on Facebook
• Tim Snell on YouTube
• Email: [email protected]

Let's Start Some Shift!

Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Shift-Starters with Erin Baker. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify

Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help me reach more Shift Starters, like you.

Join me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. For more exclusive content, information, and to request your FREE 7 Questions for Tackling Fear workbook, visit our website.

Whenever you hesitate to take a leap of faith into something you dream of, what sort of questions pop into your mind? Are they around the lines of "What if I can't start a business," "What if I can't write a great book," or "What if I don't earn enough income?" We tend to go down the rabbit hole of such doubts, preventing us from starting some shifts. But there are better questions that we can ask ourselves. And, like consulting a compass that guides us through life's journey, asking ourselves better questions can shift our mindset and approach towards different actions we want to take.

In this episode, I share two better questions you can ask yourself in your shift-starting. I discuss some of my coaching principles and why I do them. I reveal some of the most common questions I hear from people who are about to embark on new journeys, whether it's starting a business, writing a book, or creating a podcast. I also describe what happens when we shift our mindset from "What if I can't?" to "What if I don't?" and explain how we can change the energy of fear by asking powerful questions.

"When we ask ourselves 'What if I can't,' we shut down possibility and creativity. When we ask 'Can I?' we open up so much more in the world and take risks." - Erin Baker

This week on Shift-Starters:

• My coaching principles and why I don't give my clients answers
• The biggest fear clients face when they're starting new projects
• Better questions to ask yourself before starting some shifts in your life
• The top regrets of the dying and how we can shift from "What if I can't?" to "What if I don't?"
• The impact of asking "Can I?"
• How we can allow ourselves to take risks and try new things
• Why finding answers aren't everything and the value of curiosity
• Finding an incredible question to live into

Let's Start Some Shift!

Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Shift-Starters with Erin Baker. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify

Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help me reach more Shift Starters, like you.

Join me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. For more exclusive content, information, and to request your FREE 7 Questions for Tackling Fear workbook, visit my website.

Erin Hatzikostas spent over 20 years in the corporate world, including becoming the CEO of a large healthcare company at age 42, where she oversaw more than 1,000 people, tripled company earnings, and increased employee engagement and company culture scores exponentially. In 2018, she decided to leave. Erin knew she was put into this world for something bigger. Her mission is to rewrite the workplace to make it more authentic. With that epiphany in her heart, Erin founded b Authentic Inc., through which she helps people find and grow the careers (and lives) that they love - without compromise.

In this episode, Erin and I define what it takes to truly be authentic. We explain how authenticity is so much more than being unfiltered and describe how you can cultivate it. We discuss what prompted Erin to create b Authentic Inc. and describe her journey writing her new book, You do You(ish). We also underscore the importance of putting on a lab coat and being a scientist of authenticity, experimenting with life, continuously designing our life path as we go, and starting some shifts.

"Authenticity is more than just being yourself. It is less about you and more about connecting with others." - Erin Hatzikostas

This week on Shift-Starters:

• The meaning of authenticity and why it's more nuanced than just being yourself
• How being authentic can make people listen to you more
• What authenticity isn't about and the power of (re)designing our lives
• Why the "find your true self" trope in the personal development space can be problematic
• The reason Erin created a movement around authenticity
• The 50% Rule and Erin's writing process for You Do You(ish)
• Why Erin cut 20,000 words of You Do You(ish)
• Life as data points and the value of experimentation

Resources Mentioned:

• Why You Don't Have to Compromise Your Career | Erin Hatzikostas |TEDxFarmingdale

Connect with Erin Hatzikostas:

• b Authentic Inc
• b Cause Podcast
• b Authentic Inc on Facebook
• b Cause Podcast on Twitter
• Erin Hatzikostas on LinkedIn
• Erin Hatzikostas on Instagram
• Erin Hatzikostas on Facebook
• Erin Hatzikostas on Twitter
• Book: You Do You(ish): Unleash Your Authentic Superpowers to Get the Career You Deserve by Erin Hatzikostas

Let's Start Some Shift!

Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Shift-Starters with Erin Baker. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify

Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help me reach more Shift Starters, like you.

Join me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. For more exclusive content, information, and to request your FREE 7 Questions for Tackling Fear workbook, visit our website.

Shaped by her early experiences in community activism, Andrea Lee-Zucker is an artist, writer, and impact investor passionate about living her values in every area of her life. She is a transformational and shift coach and the Washington, DC Co-Ambassador of Nexus, a movement striving to unite next-gen philanthropists, impact investors, and social entrepreneurs to create promising global solutions for our generation. Andrea is also the co-founder of Antigravity Ventures, a member of the board for The Conrad Challenge, and serves on the US board of IsraAID. When she's not busy writing, painting, and advocating for change, Andrea can often be found enjoying the company of her husband and three children.

Andrea joins me today to discuss why she believes we are the building blocks of peace. She explains what shift coaching is and what inspired her to add shift coaching to her change-making palette. She shares her experience with impostor syndrome and how it guided her to find purpose. We discuss why she initially found meditation difficult to integrate into her daily life and how it has helped her find inner peace and reconnect with her values and true self. We also discuss how finding your inner peace and pushing out of your comfort zone creates a ripple of impact and how your Ripple of Impact and Return on Investment can actually be one.

"All of us in the world have someplace in the harmony that we help create." - Andrea Lee-Zucker

This week on Shift-Starters:

• What "shift coaching" is and how Andrea got started as a shift coach
• Andrea's experience with impostor syndrome
• Why meditation was one of the hardest practices for Andrea to integrate into her life
• How Andrea uses repetitive mantras to maintain inner peace and reconnect with her values and true self
• How leaning into art and creativity helped Andrea overcome the need for approval and praise from others
• How finding your inner peace causes a ripple effect for those around you
• Reconnecting and loving your infant self
• Creating the physical and emotional environment for things to unfold
• Why Andrea believes we are the building blocks of peace and the harmony we create in the world
• Andrea's work as an impact investor
• How pushing out of your comfort zone creates ROI (Ripple of Impact)
• How more diversity often creates better outcomes

Connect with Andrea Lee-Zucker:

• Andrea Lee-Zucker's Website
• Andrea Lee-Zucker on LinkedIn
• Andrea Lee-Zucker on Instagram

Let's Start Some Shift!

Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Shift-Starters with Erin Baker. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify

Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help me reach more Shift Starters, like you.

Join me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. For more exclusive content, information, and to request your FREE 7 Questions for Tackling Fear workbook, visit our website.

Sophia Wood is passionate about wildlife conservation and harnessing the power of technology to empower communities to conserve and sustainably manage their land. She is the CEO of Friends of Wallacea, a for-profit eco-tourism company that partners with rural and indigenous communities to develop wildlife tourism and incentivize the conservation of global biodiversity hotspots. She is also a member of the Amazon Investor Coalition, a Venture Partner with Magma Partners, and the Ecuador Country Manager of Operation Wallacea where she is responsible for overseeing every aspect of the logistics, operations, and management of the Operation Wallacea Ecuador site.

Sophia joins me today to share her passion for conserving the wildlife and Amazon rainforest. We discuss how she launched her tourism business mere weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic took the world by storm and the challenges she faced along the way. She shares how working in the Amazon rainforest has helped her learn to become comfortable with the unknown, what regenerative tourism is, and why the motto: "Leave it better than you came" is the driving force behind Friends of Wallacea. She also explains how she discovered the Amazon Investor Coalition and how they are helping investors, philanthropists, governments, and nonprofits connect and collaborate to 'ensure the forest is worth more standing than cut down.'

"The idea behind 'regenerative tourism' is that not only is it sustainable, but regenerate is to leave it better than you came." - Sophia Wood

This week on Shift-Starters:

• Asking for what you want versus asking for what you think you can get
• How Sophia launched her tourism business shortly before the COVID pandemic struck and the challenges she faced along the way
• Why Sophia loves working in the Amazon rainforest for 3 months every year, despite the rainy weather, and how it has helped her learn to be comfortable with the unknown
• What ecotourism is and the mission of Friends of Wallacea
• How Friends of Wallacea's tourism operations helps indigenous communities while promoting wildlife conservation and regeneration
• The role Sophia plays in the Amazon Investor Coalition
• The legacy Sophia hopes to leave behind

Connect with Sophia Wood:

• Friends of Wallacea
• Amazon Investor Coalition
• Book: The Woodpecker's Red Head
• Friends of Wallacea on LinkedIn
• Friends of Wallacea on Instagram
• Friends of Wallacea on Facebook
• Friends of Wallacea on Twitter
• Sophia Wood on Medium
• Sophia Wood on LinkedIn
• Sophia Wood on Twitter

Let's Start Some Shift!

Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Shift-Starters with Erin Baker. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify

Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help me reach more Shift Starters, like you.

Join me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. For more exclusive content, information, and to request your FREE 7 Questions for Tackling Fear workbook, visit our website.

One of my favorite songs is from the second act of Hamilton called "Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story?" It just gets me in the gut every time I listen to it. Not just because I'm a fan of musicals: it's also because I resisted telling my story for so many years. Despite having the platform to share my knowledge and wisdom in psychology, leadership, and personal development, I was reluctant to share the experience that made me... me. I didn't believe I was someone who had a story to tell, nor that I was qualified to tell one.

Fortunately, life stepped in and taught me the magic of storytelling.

In this episode, I share a deeply personal story about my gender identity. I then discuss the power of storytelling and how it impacts both the storyteller and the listener. I explain how we sometimes avoid stepping into our truth just so we can satisfy society's expectations of us. I also describe how you can pick up some wisdom you may have overlooked from your life experience and how you can use it to connect with humanity.

"The first person who'll convince you that your story matters is you." - Erin Baker

This week on Shift-Starters:

• Why I used to hesitate about sharing my story with the world
• How creating an authentic, inclusive, and equitable world starts with working on our own authenticity
• A childhood conundrum and how I knew I was different
• My experience with getting bullied in middle school and high school
• How we sometimes fear discovering our own truth
• My college years and stepping out of society's box
• Discovering and embracing the non-binary identity
• Claiming my connection to my body and how I decided to get surgery
• The fear of "what if…" versus the fear of "what if I don't…" and the importance of choosing yourself
• How getting surgery changed my life
• What "affective forecasting" means and how being in my truth brought me closer to people
• How being your most authentic self can be the most powerful thing you can do for your mission
• Creating a timeline of your life and recollecting the wisdom of your experiences
• The magic and power of storytelling

Let's Start Some Shift!

Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Shift-Starters with Erin Baker. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

Apple Podcasts | TuneIn | GooglePlay | Stitcher | Spotify

Be sure to share your favorite episodes on social media to help me reach more Shift-Starters, like you.

Join me on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. For more exclusive content, information, and to request your FREE 7 Questions for Tackling Fear workbook, visit our website.