Alisha Leytem
Hello, hello, hello and welcome to Dream Power Radio. This is a place where we talk about dreams, both daytime and nighttime dreams. Now you can use them to make the internal shift to a life you love and rediscover the truth of who you really are. We focus on the individual on this program, but today we're going to make a shift and talk about businesses.
You'll see why in a minute. Now, it all relates to what we talk about regularly on Dream Power Radio. It's important whether you run a business with employees or are an employee in a business. You see, in the old way of thinking, most businesses were run in an authoritarian fashion. Company made the rules.
The boss was the undisputed leader, and if you didn't like the way things were run, you had one choice go along or get fired. A lot of companies still run this way, and usually the workers stay because they feel their job options are limited and they need the money, or perhaps the money is good, and the worker likes what she's doing and puts up with the satisfaction she has just for those reason.
All that does is paper over the resentments she or any other employee for that matter, has with their workplaces. However, there are companies out there who've come to see that happy employees are productive employees. They realize that success is more about analytics and business strategies, and many of them have turned to my guest wellness consultant, Alicia Leytem for.
Alicia works with companies to advise them on how to create workforces. They're healthy and specifically tailored to the wellbeing of the organization. She's the author of the book, the Six Gold Keys to Wellbeing, A Guide to Unlocking a Happy and Healthy Life, and she hosts the Unlock Your Wellbeing podcast.
Welcome to Dream Power Radio. Alicia, thank you so much, Debbie. That was a great introduction. Oh, well, I hope it does explain what you do. But Alicia, I want to ask you this. Do you think that most companies breed an unhealthy work atmosphere? Yes, but it's improving. It's improving. They're, they're wanting to make changes.
Okay. the last three years of the pandemic has ushered in the need to. Improve the, the workforce wellbeing. And they're really starting to make those changes internally. But it takes time and a lot of education because it, it, it requires the individual, it requires the leaders, right? The employees, the person to improve themselves, but then also internally within the workforce of how systems are run and how people are working and what the culture is like.
And those things take time to improve. So it. Starting to get better because of the last few years that people are really starting to understand the, the vital, need for, improvement. Well, do you think that the, in that way the pandemic was a blessing because they, they had to work away from the office and some of them come back and some of them haven't and they see what a difference that that makes.
I. It was all these issues were already there. But the pandemic helped us see that we can't brush them under the rug anymore. And that mental health and wellbeing is, isn't something that can just. Not be a priority. So it did help people understand as they're working at home, like they're, they're alone and having to face themselves for the first time and maybe their whole lives.
Right. And so really understanding and seeing that within, yeah, I think that that, that helped. Yeah. So, so being home brought up a lot of issues for the individuals that they never really had to deal with before then. Absolutely. Yeah. That makes quite a difference. , so that gets me back to the question though.
Why do you think is the most important reason why people feel unhappy at work? Hmm, that's a great question. I think that people are, for a very long time, have separated their work from their personal life. And that they're two completely separate things, right? I put on my work hat, I go to work, this is who I am there, and then I turn it off and I go home.
But what we're seeing and understanding is that there isn't these separate. It's, it's integration. And when you are able to be your true self, your true authentic self in all aspects of your life at home and at work, so bringing your true self into the workforce, into the people that you work with, into how you show up and just being you, you're going to feel.
You're living your purpose because you're not putting on a facade anymore. And so I think when you feel better, you're able to show up better. You're able to feel better at work, right? And so doing that, that work yourself, of improving your own wellbeing and feeling really good and doing what it is that you can yourself, that's going to help you feel better.
In the workforce, but also your environment does shape how you, how you feel too. And so that's why I mentioned before the workforces, right? They need to make sure that they're creating a, an environment that people can thrive in and so that they can feel better in as well. So when you go into a company and you work with them, do you work mostly with the company executives or with the employees?
It has shifted to both. Executives are a little slower to come around to this, right. , but.
You've got it. It's hard to change and they have so much going on already that it feels like to them, it still feels like, oh, it's one more thing I have to do. But what will unlock the truth for them is seeing that when they actually make this a priority, it will. It will help them to take more off of their plate.
It will help everything to work better. It'll help everyone to feel better. So yeah, I have been working more, with executives, but to be honest, a lot of middle managers, because they're kind of right there in the middle, like if we can help them understand this, then their teams, their employees will benefit from it.
And then the executives will also see the changes that they're having and it will impact them too. So it's a really good ripple to, to begin with, , the middle manager. very important point to make there. , so I am a dream life coach. I deal a lot with dreams and, and dreams cannot be possible without having a good night's sleep.
You also believe that that sleep has something to do with a worker's satisfaction. So tell me a bit about that. Absolutely. So I developed my own framework to wellbeing, overworking with people. For over a decade, and which is the title of my book, the Six Gold Keys to Wellbeing. And my first key in the book is The Key of Sleep, and I've had so many people thank me for making the key of sleep be being the first key because they tend to, , Not see sleep as, as important as that vital.
And the reason it is the first one is because I can give you all of these other keys to improving your wellbeing. But if you weren't well vested, if you don't feel, like you're going into this deep sleep, you're not going to be able to have the energy literally and figuratively to do the other things to help you dive into your truth, right?
So I think. So fundamental for everyone to prioritize your sleep. And I also believe that sleep is, a spiritual practice. And so when you prioritize it, it's a spiritual practice to, um, putting yourself first. And making this a self-care, ritual for you that spills out and benefits everyone around you.
So when you can make that a priority, even if you just do one of the six keys that I share in my framework, you're going to see a ripple of positivity and change in so many other areas of your life. So do you have any advice for people on how to get a good night's sleep? Yes, I do. I have a lot. So the first thing that comes up a lot with, , clients is, helping them understand that getting a good night's sleep is about preparing for a good night's sleep.
So you have to get ready for a night of sleep. So what, what does this mean? This means that a lot of people, , after a long day of work, having a lot going on, you know, at work, coming to home. Trying to get everything done in the home and then just trying to shut off the brain and go right to sleep and then wondering why they're tossing and turning at night, not actually getting into the deep sleep and waking up feeling unrested.
So what you want to do is focus on closing out the day, is what I call it. So reflecting on the day to put it away. This is actually a mindfulness exercise that I have in this chapter. So reviewing your day and highlighting and looking. The things that went well, the things that you're grateful for, the things that maybe didn't go so well that you can learn from and take them as lessons and giving yourself that chance to say, you know what?
The day is now done. I've done my best. And I let go of the rest. And so actively closing down the day, giving yourself the chance to shut it down mentally will help you to turn off the brain. So journaling that down the process that I just mentioned, you can write it down, you can go through it in your mind as well.
but then also shutting down the day physically. So doing something in your physical body to help you relax, I really love, offering, suggesting, some kind of stretching. Nighttime yoga is really powerful for helping you get into your body and like release the stress of the day. And then also taking a hot up some salt bath is really powerful for helping you prepare for a good night.
Very interesting because those are not too dissimilar to advice, I give people on how to get into a dreaming mind. Cause you do have to relax in many different ways to do that. Do you get into dreams at all? Oh yeah. Absolutely. I think that they're really powerful for helping you, , process and under understand yourself.
Understand situations that are happening in your life. I mean, one, one of the main reasons that sleep is so important is because it helps you to process the day and make sense of things and make connections. And sometimes, the way I understand it is dreams help you to do that for you. So when you wake up and remember your dream, you, I always like to ask myself.
That was a weird dream or what was that? What's it trying to teach me? What is it telling me? What am I supposed to learn from this dream about myself and my life right now? Because it's always a reflection of your, of your subconscious. Oh, absolutely. Because workplaces can be very competitive, and people sort of compete with each other.
And part of that is feeling like I've got to burn the candle at both ends and get as much in and take my work home with me. How do you get people who have that kind of mindset change that mindset? The first thought that comes to mind for me is, Ariana Huffington. She came out a few years ago and talked specifically about this.
So her story is she was working the candles at both end for years and years and years, so much that she was only sleeping about three or four hours a night on average. And you know, like you just mentioned, this can be a very like, , a bragging thing like look. You know, important I am because I don't sleep and I'm working all the time.
And so for her, one day she was working, and she was so exhausted from not sleeping time after time that she, just fell on her desk and broke her nose. And it was a really big wake up call for her that actually, all the things that she's doing that she thinks are productive and place of sleep is giving her the exact opposite that she wants.
And so sleep is product. Okay. So the more that you can understand that sleeping is giving you the energy to have , the energy that you need for the next day, that actually helps you to unlock solutions and creativity and get into the state that you desire, then when you're in that good state, you can actually get more done in less time.
So I think that helping leaders understand. Sleep is productive, number one. But number two, when you, are in an aligned, healthy, beautiful state, you don't actually have to put in as much time of work as you think you do. So it's got benefits that people would not be aware of if you didn't make them aware of it, which is a wonderful thing and a wonderful way to end this segment.
We are talking all about wellness in the workplace with Alicia Leytem, and we'll be right back.
Yes. Welcome back to Dream Power Radio. I'm your host, Debbie Spector Weisman, and we're talking about wellness in the workplace with Alicia Layton. Well, Alicia, you talked about sleep being one of your six keys to wellbeing. Can you briefly tell us about the other five keys? Yes, I would love to. So the second key is the key of nutrition.
So this is really in, in my, perspective. I teach that the brain is, or the, the stomach is the second brain. Okay? So when you have a healthy gut, based on the foods that you're eating, you're going to have a healthier brain. So that's the second key. The third key is the key of movement, making sure that you're moving your body.
When you move your body in one area and when you move your body, you're moving energy in all areas of your life. Uh, the fourth is the key of nature. Uh, this is so important. So connecting with nature to help you ground and stay rooted and connected to, um, all that is in the world, which is what you are a part of.
It helps you to have compassion for yourself and for others, which is really important as leaders. And the fifth key is the key of mindfulness. So knowing how to be where you are, how to be present, how to be, , centered and aligned. And the six is the key of intention. And so for me, I love to help people understand of getting to the root of everything that they're doing and asking yourself, what's my intention?
What is my intention for showing up for work today? What's my intention for this meeting? What's my, how do I want to feel today? And how do I want to feel in my life? Living with intention will help you live a life of wellbeing for. Yeah. And I think that all of those added up also helps deal with probably one of the biggest things affecting people at work, which is stress.
want to talk a bit about that? Yeah, absolutely. So that is really, , the backbone of this book is, is giving you tools to manage the stresses of, of everyday life and of work life, right. , Stress isn't necessarily bad, but too much stress all of the time is bad because this is when you're living from a state of constant fight or flight and when you're living in a constant fight or flight state, this can create and cause disease and other issues that, we don't.
And so knowing how to actively relax, knowing how to have daily routines and habits that help you to manage a healthy amount of stress is going to help you improve your wellbeing. And for me, the definition of wellbeing is feeling good, feeling good physically, feeling good mentally, and feeling good spiritually.
And so the keys help you, create a solid foundation. To managing, all of the, the stresses of everyday life, but also to step into your truth and your power and live a beautiful life that you desire. Yes. And like you said, it's not just having keys to having a good, workplace environment, but these are things that people can use just to improve their life overall.
Exactly. For sure. For me, the book. Is really about self-leadership. Right. When you're able to lead yourself, meaning you're able to take care of yourself using these keys, then you're able more equipped to lead others. And so it really always starts with you. In fact, the first quote in the book that I use is, is a quote by Rumi.
Yesterday I was clever, and I wanted to. To change the world today, I am wise, so I am changing myself. So understanding that as you change yourself, you're able to create a ripple of changing others around you. Okay. So one, one of the keys that you talked about, which I think is so important, is intention and getting grounded and getting focused.
what are some of the ways that people can help themselves get to that state? One of the best ways is every morning asking yourself what your intention is for the. How do I want to feel today? And this helps you to get more, , empowered in your emotional state. And so you get to choose how you want to feel.
How do I want to feel today? How do I want to show up today? So you can journal this out. You can. I love having, I have a deck of cards that have beautiful, just a single word. And so I'll pull a card of that and maybe the card says, Right, my intention, and then that helps me to get in alignment of, you know, what my intention today is just to be in the energy of love and to show up in the energy of love.
So asking yourself that before you start your day or even before you have an important meeting, like me hopping onto this podcast, for example, I. Tuned in and connected with myself. What's my intention here? Well, my intention is to help our listeners, whoever needs to hear, something from the message from today.
And I hope that I can share from that, that that place. So that's how you can bring the energy of intention into your day-to-day. Yeah. Can you just imagine if everybody had that intention of love and came into their workplace with the intention of love? You know, what would happen in that, in that place, in that office?
Exactly. That's what we're really trying to do here. Right? Think about how the world would change if everyone showed up in that way. Right. And, do you find, did you find that when you got into this, that , you were finding resistance from, , company executives to getting along with this?
You know, I, I, I do. Yes, but I think you'd be surprised at how many are open to it. And the initial resistance is there. But once they, once, if their heart is open just a little bit to hearing anything, then they are, it connects with them and they're so much more open to receiving all of it. , so it's the initial resistance at first, but if there's just a little bit of, of, of openness there, then they are very much more open than I think you would imagine, which gives me, , a lot of.
That things are improving and that we're all headed in a better, beautiful direction. Yeah. Well, I would think that there, there's just, you know, monetary benefits to the, if, if you're. Employees are, are happy and they're eating well and they're sleeping well, they're not going to take as many sick days.
They're not going to have, , office, inter-office disputes and, and kind of nastiness going on. And so I would think that, that it would really be, you know, just a financial benefit. So I'm wondering, are there any statistics that show that a wellbeing organization is good for a company's bottom? Oh, so many.
There's so, so, so many. The research in the last few years has shown how, financially beneficial it is when your employees are healthy and happy. I mean, just, just like you mentioned, your, your bang on sick days are less, less often. , They feel better when they show up, and so they're able to actually be more productive.
There are less arguments among one another. They're able to come up with more creative solutions and be focused on as solution oriented instead of the obstacles. Yeah, there's, there's endless amounts to the benefits of having a well workforce. And also, it's just the right thing to do because we spend a third of our life at.
And if we want to enjoy our lives and create more than just why making money. We want to help people live beautiful lives. And so it's also just the right thing to do, to have an environment that people enjoy working in and raising, you know, the energy of, of love, like we mentioned. Right? Like that, that old expression, you know, if, if you love what you do, it's not work.
You're just being, I, I've known I'm sort of messed that up, but you know, the attention of that is, right. Exactly. Exactly. Well, you know, I'd love to have examples, , when I talk about people in, in their system. So do you have any examples of, of a company that you've worked with and, and how your advice has turned them around?
Yeah. let's see. We just finished up with a large financial company in the Midwest, of teaching them and helping them with the framework of my sixth gold keys to, well, and one person who went through it, she had completely changed around her health, and so what she had had experienced when she was working at home throughout the day since the pandemic, she started working at home more.
She was sitting at her computer and literally not getting up from the computer. For 14 hours a day and day after day after day, and one day she couldn't feel her foot anymore and ended up being rushed to the er and she learned that this was actually because she wasn't having any blood circulation.
And so going through. It sounds so simple. It's like, well, yeah, get up. You know, move, take care of yourself. But sometimes going through and learning these tools of self-leadership and learning that you're actually worth taking care of yourself, and as you do, you're able to get more done, and it's just as important to take care of you as it is to do your work.
This changes everything. And so she's completely changed around her health. She's lost like 50 pounds; her blood pressure has gone down. She's just improved, her entire self. And she is able to enjoy her work again and not feel like a slave to it. And this has created a ripple of, other people doing the same just on her small team alone.
And so she's incredibly grateful of really the mindset shifts that can happen as a result of, of this. Yeah, it really comes down to something, , that I'm a big advocate of, which is greater self-awareness. course she's sitting there all day long and just concentrating on work and thinking, yeah, again, that whole thing, I've got to do my work.
I've got to show the boss that I can do it. Or you know, I, I'd have to show whoever it is that I can do it, but not thinking that I need to do this for me. And as a result, sitting there and sitting there and sitting there and just not even being aware that she's doing that. So I could see how it create incredible shifts in, in mindset.
Right. By doing this, is there any particular type of a company that, has come to you for advice?
There are a wide. Um, I find that. It really is just, it just takes one person in HR or on a, on a, their own team who knows and feels that it's time to work on their wellbeing, either as a team or, culturally. And so I find that it's, it's the person, right? And not necessarily the industry, because we are just all people.
As long as there's just that one person. , it's been a wide variety of them who reach out to me and say, hey, we, we could use your help. What can we do here? How'd you get interested in doing this? Kind of. I know I asked myself the same thing because I did not start off in this, in this industry. I initially, , over a decade ago started off , just as a, as a yoga teacher, meditation teacher, a certified wellness coach.
I was hosting spiritual wellness retreats for women all over the country. And then, my husband, he was in the corporate world because I never was and. I ended up coaching some of his, , his coworkers, his boss at one point, and I kind of got into it that way. And then at the beginning of the pandemic, I remember, , everyone just freaking out March 2020.
And I said, you know what? I need to offer some meditations for everyone too. Stay calm. And so I just offered them to. Some companies that my husband was, consulting and working with since he had just started his company, , which is a leadership consulting firm. And so it really just began and grew from there organically.
I really feel like the universe just like pulled me out of what I was doing and said, you need to take this work and bring it here, and this is what you're going to do now. So, that's really how it, it came to be. Oh, that's wonderful. Well, Alicia, is there a final thought you'd like to leave for our audience?
I think, , I, it comes back to my quote of the roomy quote yesterday. I was clever and I wanted to change the world. Today I am why? So I am changing myself. I think that if you are in, if, if our listeners are in an organization that is not prioritizing workforce wellbeing and you feeling helpless, just know.
Self-leadership, changing yourself is going to change things around you, whether the outside is doing that themselves or not. So you have the power to improve your day-to-day yourself and what it is that you're doing. And on the backend, if you are a leader of someone who has, some kind of authority or a connection to bringing in this work and you know that this is what you need to do to change things, culture in your workforce.
Then be that person to raise your hand and say, hey, I think it's time that we do something and, that we really are serious about prioritizing our, our workforce and our culture. Because if we don't do it now, we're, we're going to be so far behind, and I think we all deserve this. So be that person who can stand up and, bring that to the table.
I just, like I mentioned, is only going to take one person who is really the advocate for that. And you can be that person. And Alicia, how can people find out more about you and your work? We can head to my website, alicialeytem.com. , it's a l i s h a l e y t e m. I'm also really active on LinkedIn, so you can connect with me on my personal page.
Alicia, Liam, or you can follow our company page. Alicia. Liam Wellbeing Consulting. Wonderful. Well, thank you so much, Alicia, for being on Dream Power Radio today. Thank you so much for having me. Hey, we've been speaking about creating a healthy work environment with Wellness coach and author Alicia Leytem.
I hope you've enjoyed today's program. If so, please hit that subscribe button so you don't miss out on any future episodes. Until next time, this is Debbie Spector Weisman saying, sweet dreams everybody.
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