Welcome back to working towards our purpose. And today I have episode 41. And the topic of today's episode is going to be energy and kind of a big topic, but I've kind of broken it down and hopefully it will flow cohesively. But before we get into that, I want to talk about a couple things that have been happening. Two things.
One, my friend Michael Shawn, who was a guest on this podcast back when it was an interview show, has opened up his studio that we talked about on that episode and kind of just wanted to talk about it a little bit. I think it's a really cool space. It's intended to be a podcast studio, a place where lessons can happen and people can go and take music lessons. And it's also going to be music studio. And I just wanted to talk about it a little bit because it has opened and it's in North
Haven. And I'll put a link in the show notes so you can get to it if you're interested in recording a podcast or maybe doing some music lessons. But I also want to talk about it because I've also decided to, you know, give it. Give a go at some guitar lessons, and that's where I will be doing them. So I've never given guitar lessons before, but talking to Michael Shawn, he kind of encouraged me.
And, yeah, I think it's something that will align with my values and I'd like to be able to help people in a way and help teach something that I've been doing for a while. And I feel pretty confident in my ability to play guitar. So, you know, the next stage is. Is teaching them, teaching lessons, and, yeah, looking forward to that. I think that's an exciting new thing for me. So if you're interested, you can contact me.
But. But, yeah, I just wanted to also just give the studio a shout out because it's officially opened and I'm really excited about that. Um, and then the second thing that I wanted to talk about was my business Relished Roots, which I don't think I really have talked about on here very much. So I did want to discuss that a bit. And Relish Roots is a business that I have started with my friend and business partner, Sam we, who is a
farmer. And the both of us kind of got into pickling things and fermenting things, and he's been doing it far longer than me. Um, but it was kind of this thing that we both are. One of the things that we both kind of gravitated towards and saw that we liked both doing It. So at the end of last year we kind of had this idea to turn it
into a business. And we were part of a food business entrepreneurship sort of cohort where we went through like a three month program to establish the roots, I guess, if you will, of the business. And, and yeah, we, we're still in the licensing phase of it and we're still trying to, trying to be, you know, properly licensed so that we could sell legally. But we've made a lot of progress and we've been making stuff in our kitchens and testing stuff and gotten good feedback on the products.
And our goal is to get to a farmer's market by the end of the year. And yeah, it's another really exciting like adventure and venture for me. And it's my first business where I'm working with somebody else, which has been super rewarding and just like fun. Like it's been, it's been a really nice thing that we can, we can do together and put our energies into and create something that hopefully serves somebody else and somebody else can enjoy. So more, more
on that maybe in the future. But I did just want to talk about it. We, we got together the other night and, and, and made some, some of our chummy tummy we call it, which is like kind of a non spicy kimchi, like bok choy and some other veggies. And yeah, it was just a lot of fun. Sam actually grew the bok choy, so we were able to harvest it from his garden, which is kind of a really cool thing to be able to take something from the ground that he grew and then turn it into something that
is a product of ours that we can sell. Um, so yeah, we're, we're really all about like local produce, local agriculture. We want to support local farms. We want to
minimize food waste. That was kind of one of the ideas of early on of this business is to take seconds from farms that otherwise would just go to compost to be able to use products or use produce that maybe doesn't look as nice because we're processing it and you know, chopping it up anyways to ferment to help turn that food that maybe wouldn't have went to somebody now into a product that people can consume. Um, so yeah, I just want to touch on those two
things. They've kind of been top of mind for me and I think they kind of a little bit go with the topic of today. Um, and, and yeah, the topic today that I want to discuss is energy. And it is a really big topic And I've tried to break it down in a way that makes it a little bit more palatable. But I think for me, like, the beginning of the energy discussion came from a book that I read probably, like, five years or so ago now.
I read this before I quit my corporate job, and it's called the Celestine Prophecy. I'll also link that in the show notes. But it's kind of a story that has just many different kind of concepts in it. And one of the big takeaways for me was the idea of energy and how everything is energy and how you can see the world in terms of energy. And, yeah, it kind of just shifted my perspective, I think, on not only, like, myself, but, like, also others around me and, like,
how I make decisions and, like. And, yeah, so, you know, without. Without rambling too much. I think I want to get into these. These three little topics that I have that kind of show what I mean by energy, because it's such a broad term. So. So first off, I think people. People have energy, right? Like, I don't know if you've ever had a conversation with somebody, and maybe it was, like, a great conversation and you walked away and you just felt,
like, energized after it. You were, like, excited or, you know, you felt better after talking to somebody. That's happened to me, you know, multiple times. And the opposite can also happen. Like, sometimes you have a conversation with somebody and you can feel kind of drained or lacking of energy after you have the conversation. And. And, yeah, I think people, you know, sometimes you can notice that. Maybe sometimes you don't notice it and it's more subconscious,
but people definitely have energy and give off energy. It's like, you know, if you walk past somebody on the street and they're smiling and, like, you can tell they're just, like, in a great mood and they say good morning or something to you, like, that is palpable, and you can. You can feel that, and it can increase your energy. You know, you can take that in and, you know, now you start smiling yourself because that
guy was so happy or that girl was so happy. But, yeah, I think it also reminds me of this story that back when I was working in my corporate job as an engineer, I was at Pratt and Whitney, and we had this. I guess it was like a warehouse where we kept, like, our parts, or my group specifically had our parts in this warehouse. And I. I used to have to go there sometimes, and it was a very depressing place that I
think there was, like, a handful of people that work there. But it was basically just like this, like, empty warehouse with just things in it that, like, the government owned. And like, they had a little office section that was, like, really outdated. And I remember just going there. It was like, kind of down this. This also made it worse. It was down this, like, cul de sac that was, like, also abandoned. And I remember, like, the. The cul de sac itself, like the turnaround in the.
In the road was just like, full of weeds and stuff. And the place almost seemed abandoned. But then you go inside and there's like, a couple people, you know, on computers and stuff. And I really did not like going there because it was just so depressing, like I said. But there was this one guy there that worked there. And I found that, like, he ended up being the guy that would, like, help me when I. When I needed to go there and get stuff done. And he just
always had such a positive attitude. And he was always, like, excited to see me. And he was usually in a good mood. But if he wasn't in a good mood, he was, like, really sort of transparent and just like, I don't know, like a real person. And I really, like, enjoyed seeing him and visiting him when I was there. And it just. I remember thinking, like, at the time, had this, like, one person really changed the whole environment, the
energy of the office and the building itself. Because if he wasn't there, like, everybody else was kind of just like bumming around and, you know, didn't want to be there and stuff. And. Yeah, it just. It's interesting how much you can affect a place. Like one person can affect a place. And it just made me think about how, like, if he wasn't there, the place would have been terrible place to go to. But because he was there, I actually started enjoying going to visit him and going to see him.
So people definitely have energies. And it's interesting how that can affect other people. Cause we're all kind of affecting each other each and every day when we're interacting or just walking by somebody. And then the second thing that I wanted to talk about in terms of energy is getting energy through the things that you do. And, you know, I said that you can perhaps get positive energy from somebody. But, you know, in my experience, I've also been able to get energy from
things that I do, specifically music. Like, music has always been something that has been beneficial for me. It's. It's given me so many things that, you know, I always talk about music. But I think as I looked at like, what music was for me, like, growing up and, you know, in my young, 20, younger 20s and stuff like that, when I didn't really have words to express my emotions and, you know, I wasn't really in tune with my emotions
as much. I always know that, like, when I wasn't feeling good, I would go pick up my guitar, and if I came up with something or created something or even I just played it for a while, I would feel better. And I didn't really have, like, language to describe that, but really, I think what music was doing for me was it was helping me increase my energy. It was helping me increase my positive energy. Maybe I was, like, worrying about something or stressing about something or, you know,
just sad. And picking up a guitar could help make me feel better, could help increase my energy levels. So, I mean, I think that the things that we do can also affect our energy. Like, I'm thinking about, like, how the things that I'm investing into myself, you know, me and. And Sam's business relish roots, like, doing that. We were, you know, up pretty late the other night doing it, and we were both tired. But doing something that we
enjoy was giving us energy. Like, it was giving me energy. I guess I can only speak for myself, but, you know, I. I'm doing something that is giving something to me back. And in that regard, I think choosing the things that you do can help give you energy and can help you go further in the things that you
are doing. So I'm really trying to find those specific things that give me energy back so that way I can keep doing those things and make them sustainable and make them something that I not only enjoy to do, but also it's like a reciprocating sort of thing. And this podcast is another thing. Like, you know, it's work. It's. It's. I'm planning it out, thinking in these concepts, really trying to
articulate my thoughts, and it's work. But it also makes me feel good that I'm creating something that I think is a positive thing. And it. Yeah, it makes. It makes me feel good. It makes me feel like I'm getting energy from doing this thing. And I think creation in general
can kind of do that thing. I don't know if that's like a sweeping statement, but I think anytime you kind of create something, whether it's art or poetry, whatever, whatever you're creating, I think when you do create something, it kind of does have that reciprocation of you're getting something back from it. Also, so, yeah, and then the kind of third thing to kind of wrap
all these together is noticing your own energy. And I think after I read that book, the Celestine Prophecy, I really started to pay attention to my own energy levels and just kind of noticing, like, that we as humans go through different stages of energy levels. Like, sometimes you have a lower energy level, sometimes you have a higher energy level. And that could just mean, like, maybe you're tired or maybe you're not feeling good, or, you know, I
notice, like, the term hangry. Like, if you're. If you're hungry and you're not feeding yourself, you can get annoyed at things. You can, like, have a short temper and, you know, energy gives you food, or, sorry, food gives you energy. So it makes sense that because you're lacking the energy, you then don't have enough energy to, like, have patience with somebody. So. So, yeah, I mean, I think it affects kind of everything that we do.
But noticing, for me, noticing energy levels have been really helpful because it helps me kind of define, like, where I'm at. And if I'm at a place where I'm, like, not feeling good, I can check in with myself and be like, okay, I'm at a lower energy level right now. And then that helps me get. Helps me give. It helps me make a decision about what to do with that. So I can either continue on at a lower energy level and I'm probably going
to get annoyed at things. I'm probably going to not be able to be as efficient or, you know, not work as well. And sometimes you have to do that. But if you have the opportunity to, you can try to change your energy level and try to increase your energy level. And I think I try to do that when I notice it at a lower state. Um, so, you know, like I said before, things like going and playing my guitar, that. That can help me if I'm
hungry, you know, go eat. Maybe you need to take a nap. Maybe you're starting to get sick and you need some rest or a big one for me is just going out in nature, like, going for a walk. Going for a walk and looking at the beauty that's outside can help me increase my energy level. And. And yeah, I think that having that sort of context to describe myself or how I'm feeling or moving through the world, I think has been really helpful in
maybe making it not so, like, personalized. Like, instead of being at a lower energy level and being like, oh, why can't I get anything done right now? I can't seem to focus, you know, I can't get this thing done. What's wrong with me? Instead of going to that thought, which I used to do, I could now be like, well, okay, maybe I'm at a lower energy state right now, so I need to get myself to a higher energy state if I want to get this thing done. And it gives
you some ownership back. It doesn't just feel like, oh, I'm in a bad mood. There's nothing that I can do about it. It's like, I'm in a bad mood. I'm in a lower energy state. I can do something to increase that before I try to finish this thing that I'm working on. Um, so it's been really helpful for me to be able to look at myself like that and then to also, you know, like I said, if there's people around me, like, to. To. To notice just how my energy is being affected. Um,
and then. And then, yeah, just another story that kind of comes to mind quickly is when I was quitting my job a couple weeks ago, there was a. A frustrating conversation, I think that I. That I was. Had. That I had. And I noticed, like, I was getting. I would. So I had this call, and then I was, like, going to do something with. With someone, and I wanted to be in a good mood for that thing.
And I noticed I was in a bad mood, and I could kind of, like, feel all this, like, negative energy built up inside of me. And I was driving in while I was in the passenger in a car, and I was realizing. Realizing that, like, all this energy, negative. Negative energy was coming off of me, and I was like, I think I need to just, like, shake it off. Like, literally. And I literally did that and like, shook myself a little bit. And. And then I kind of felt better after that.
So that's even like, maybe another level of, like, how energy affects us. But it was interesting that, like, I kind of had that intuition to do that, and then I did it, and then I was able to let that go, let that negative conversation go. And I felt like I released some of that negative energy.
So, yeah, that was kind of another way to talk about sensing our own energy levels and trying to get them to a better place so that we can, you know, be good to the people around us and good to ourselves. So, yeah, I think, you know, the talk of energy is. It's very kind of abstract and hopefully breaking it down in these three different topics. The people around you, the things that you do, and then noticing your own Energy. Hopefully that makes sense. Hopefully, maybe it resonates.
But yeah, I guess I would challenge you to maybe notice your energy today and see if you can see in terms of energy today and see if it does anything, see if it helps, you know, see what you notice. And yeah, I think the last thing that I want to say in conclusion for this episode is that what you put in, what you put your energy into grows. And, and I think I really try to remember that as I'm going through my day to day and, you know, life
that what you put your energy into expands. So, you know, these things that I'm talking about that I'm excited about starting guitar lessons and, and relish roots. Like, I'm putting my energy into those things and they're expanding, they're becoming real. They're becoming things that I can do and create for other people and benefit and serve people. But you can also put your energy into negative things. And we definitely don't have a shortage of negative things that are happening
to us all the time. And focusing on negative things, in my experience, has been not helpful. And you can't always avoid negative things. But I think that thinking about, like, where you want to put your energy has also been something that's been really helpful for me. Like, where do I want to put this energy that I have? And just thinking of it in terms of that when I'm going to make decisions or to think about what I'm going to do. And, and yeah, I just, I just want to say that
what you put your energy into expands. And yeah, that's, that's my episode today about energy. Hopefully it made sense, as always. Hopefully I'm getting a little bit better at these. But yeah, I'll put all the links for the things that I discussed today in the show notes and I will see you on another episode real soon. Take care. I hope you have a great day. Sam.