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Audio digitally transcribed by Otter.ai

Introduction 0:00
Welcome to the #PirateBroadcast™, where we interview #interestingpeople doing #interestingthings. Where you can expand your connections, your community, #kindnessiscool and #smilesarefree. Let’s get this party started.

Russ Johns 0:12
It's beautiful day for the #PirateBroadcast™ and welcome. All the gratitude in the world for you being here. If you're listening to this in the future on YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter, just like it, subscribe, do that social thing that makes it easy for us to keep going. And today we have in the house pirate, Sam. Sam. Good morning. And how are you doing today?

Sam Liebowitz 0:38
Good mornin, pirate, Russ, permission to come aboard?

Russ Johns 0:42
Absolutely. Come aboard. Let's go for a ride. Set sail and we'll do something shenanigans out there. Look for some treasure.

Sam Liebowitz 0:53
Alrighty.

Russ Johns 0:54
So Sam, I wanted to talk to you...you're the conscious consultant. And, and I know that covers a lot of ground. But I know you have years experience. You've been around a few days here and there doing a few things like that. So what is driving you and making you excited today? In this day and age right now?

Sam Liebowitz 1:18
What is making me excited today? Oh, jeez, there's just so much. For me, I'm really concerned about the core and the essence of things not not necessarily as much as the the outer stuff. And what I see still over and over again, is people are waking up to what's really important in their life. Because in a way, the silver lining behind all this craziness around us is it's stripped away sort of all this superficial stuff. And now we get to see because we, you know, don't have opportunities to go to restaurants and movie theaters, and nightclubs and all this stuff. Well, what's really important, and people are waking up to the fact that like connection, family, friends, our own personal work, our physical, mental, and emotional and spiritual health, and how important all of these core values are, like it's so in our face these days. Now, not everybody is having an easy time of it. But it just to me, it just feels like more and more people are learning to value, things have more an intrinsic nature than have a superficial nature. And to me, that's golden.

Russ Johns 2:42
That is golden. And we were talking before the show about how precious our time is and how things are changing and evolving. And I just really believe that, for myself, and this is just myself, this has not been the worst year of my life. This has not been tragic. And, you know, I I did lose my dad this year, which was, you know, part of life and I'm very fortunate that I was here with him and able to experience a few years with him his last years and also, I think it really nailed it on the head with we have to think about what is important in our lives, we have to think about what is critical, and really necessary, not what is, you know, the big I want to know more stuff, I want a lot more time, I want to make the time I have an impact, I want to #makeitmatter. And I think that's really part of why these kind of conversations are so important these days, because, you know, if you watch the news, it's not necessarily...it's like, we're falling apart. It's tragic. It's everything's bad. And when you talk to people, it's not necessarily the same story. So you have to wonder how much of an impact is it? How much are we really knowing? What are we hearing? And what are we doing about it? So I know you've been helping a lot of business owners in the past and you continue to do so. What are the challenges of the conversations that you're having? What are the big challenges right now with with people that you talk to?

Sam Liebowitz 4:34
Well, and similar to you, I've actually...my business has grown quite a bit this year. And because I run an internet radio station and live podcasting network, people are recognizing the value of being sort of out there and getting their message out online the same way you do, you know, with your show. So for me it's been very good and I've spoken to a number of business owners, and it's really so industry specific, that certain industries are like doing amazingly well, transportation, anything to do with stuff online, health care, technology, all these industries. If you're in those industries, you're great. And there are a lot of industries that are not doing well, anything in hospitality, travel, entertainment, all these things that now are really shifting. And so the conversations I tend to have with people are about helping them to see that they're not powerless in the situation. And that, actually, if they can open up their mind and be creative and see a different perspective, and see where there is opportunity, even though, yeah, I mean, pivoting your business is not so easy. If you're really attached to the way you've been doing business for the last 10 years, you're gonna have a really hard time moving forward. But if you can just be present to the truth of what is here today, and recognize, like, hey, there's some opportunities here, if you can be different, that then you can transform your business into a better way. I know people who they're, let's say, speakers and trainers, and they're used to working in person and speaking in front of large groups. And now, they can't do that at all. Now, they're doing everything virtually. But they say, Oh, my God, I'm like saving so much time by not having to travel, I'm able to spend time at home with my family, and still get all the work done. And so slowly, people are waking up to some of the good things about this. Again, I'm a people person, I love giving hugs and being in people's presence, so I want to be with people. And at the same time, I do recognize the value of being able to work virtually, I mean, look, we're across the country, and people around the world could be hearing us, I mean, we can have a greater impact, with our voice with our message with what we can offer people, because everybody is online now, because we've been forced, we've been thrown into the deep end of the pool, so to speak.

Russ Johns 7:21
It's amazing, and you bring up a couple of key points that I want to unpack because for myself, I've been teaching podcasting and broadcasting, and I grew up in an advertising environment. And the technology that we have right now allows us, whether it be through your phone, or a podcast or live stream like this, we have the opportunity to make these connections. And it's so amazing to me that we can pick up a phone and broadcast to the world. Coming from a broadcasting background where it took engineers, and it took circuits and services and a truck and a satellite dish and everything else. It took so many people not so long ago, to make a connection like that, and to understand what it takes, and what it is now, to imagine what it will be in the future is an amazing push. And I think if we don't think about how we're going to change and evolve and be resilient. I think that's when people get stuck as they don't know how to change, they don't know where to go. They don't know what to do next. Entrepreneurs are fairly good at thinking through challenges and problems and resolving these things and moving on and making adjustments along the way. And sometimes it takes someone like yourself or other consultants that are out there, seeing the future. We were talking about the future and Adam Toffler....

Sam Liebowitz 9:05
Alvin Toffler. Yeah, the third way.

Russ Johns 9:07
And, you know, there's some things to look forward to, but when you're in it, it doesn't feel like it's as comfortable. Change is not necessarily the first thing people do in their life.

Sam Liebowitz 9:21
One thing I'd love to clarify, and that is that it's not always about knowing what to do next. We tend to be a little bit too caught up with the what do I do next? As opposed to just being present with what is here today. When we have a tendency to focus too much on the past, or we worry about the future and it takes us out of presence. It takes us out of where we are here today. And when we're present to what's here today, life will sort of naturally give us the indications, the signs of life. Where to go, what to follow. If you had told me 15-20 years ago, what I'd be doing today, I would think you're nuts. You're crazy, like get away from me. But you're absolutely right. Like the technology, the way things have developed, it's almost mind blowing. I remember, I one time gave a talk in front of a, it was at a science fiction convention here in New York City, Star Trek convention on behalf of the local chapter of the National Space society, talking about how the future is here today. And now I look back on that talk. And it's like, even more true, you know, a little hard floppy disk was like the little thing Spock used to stick into the console. Now, today, our phones are communicators, you know, I mean, it's incredible how it doesn't necessarily show up exactly the same way. But the technology is moving towards where these visionaries, and I love science fiction. I'm a nerd, okay, I was a nerd. I can take my pulse with my phone. Yeah, think about that. If you have a smartphone, that has the right data that you can have, you can note your pulses, I think it may also even be not necessarily blood pressure. But there's one or two other things too. But I mean, that's mind blowing, how long before our phone can tell us how healthy we are, blood sugar levels, this and that, you know, all these things, it won't be that long. And these advances tend to be disruptive. And they disrupt whole industries. And when there's a disruption of a whole industry, there's a great number of people displaced because they're used to working to the way things were. But when there's a big disruption, there's also great opportunity. Now both exist at the exact same time. And so it's up to us to shift our perspective, to see how is life happening for us and that to us? This is one of the reasons why I wrote my book, Everyday Awakening, is to really help people to see that life does happen for us and that merely by shifting our perspective, and by being more present to what is and understanding that our real power is what's inside of us, not what's on the outside of us that then we can meet any challenge that comes our way. And that we can take advantage of these opportunities, and we can thrive where other people are struggling.

Russ Johns 12:40
Yeah. And in your book, and I want to go into it a little bit deeper. But in like you said in the moment, there are elements, you know, we've seen an explosion in remote medicine, having been able to have more people get comfortable with zoom sessions, the ability to do remote teaching and have the idea of, well, they can use a zoom session, or they can use Microsoft Teams or whatever platform it happens to be. There is an element of excitement about that. And at the same time, I still think as humans we need...there's something to be said about the physical contact, the interaction, you know, like you said, hey, I'm a hugger. You know, it's like, yeah, I want to go up and say hi to people, I want the physical touch, I want to look them in the eye and know that I'm having a good conversation with somebody and it's heartfelt and everything else. And like Howard Kauffman says, growing concern that relying just on zooming will increase isolation out of balance, seeing this with my daughter to finishing her senior year in college, but not being able to physically present has had a detrimental impact. And, you know, I know that you and I are, you know, we're people. And there is something to be said about the physical event, and having people in the same room thatare never going to be replaced on a zoomsession.

Sam Liebowitz 14:25
Absolutely. Absolutely. And what I'm finding a lot of people are saying is look, things are never going back to the way they were before. However, we're going more towards like a hybrid model, where we'll be both in person and zoom. And I agree and being on zoom all day long every day of the week. It can be fatiguing. And I want to be around people too. And at the same time, we do have to be considerate of what's going on and not be reckless. Which means like, okay, you want to see a friend? That's fine. Have you been relatively isolated? Have they been relatively isolated? Yes. All right, you want to get together? Or do you just social distance, or, you know, I live right near Central Park in Manhattan. So I love to meet people in the park and go for a walk, you know, keep to it outdoors. I mean, now, it's a little cold. But there are ways of doing it. And it's again, it's we're feeling kind of fatigued, because we've had to deal with it for a little while. I mean, us as adults, we're dealing with things also very differently than the kids. And to me, my heart really goes out to people, you know, like, he was talking about his daughter who were like, graduating elementary school, junior high school, high school, and they can have the graduation parties and have their friends over, oh, my God, because those are, you know, events that you're never going to repeat again in your life. I mean, us as adults, okay, we put things off a year, two years, and then eventually, we get back together, you know. I have a cousin who they were supposed to get married in May of this year, and then they pushed it off to August, and then they had to push it off again. And then they ended up doing just a little private ceremony for immediate family. And then, you know, next summer, maybe they'll do a get together for everyone. You know, as adults, it's like, what's the big deal, we can wait a year to have a party. It's not worth taking the chance. And it's not always about getting something from someone else. But there are a lot of people out there with no symptoms, who can spread this virus. And it's, I know, for me, personally, I don't want to be responsible for making someone else sick. So it's like, I don't want to bring together a big group of people, where just even one person without symptoms can affect everybody. And because I organize it, I'd really be responsible for several people getting sick, and even if they didn't get sick, but then maybe they live with their parents, or maybe they go to see their elderly parents, and they transmitted to them. And then we know what happens to it. And so it's really about being thoughtful of other people, and being thoughtful of our place as part of the whole. This is not about giving up our individual sovereignty. I want people to just be a little more heart centered, to care a little bit more about themselves first, and then other people, because just think, how would you feel if you were the one responsible for somebody else catching this horrible thing, and then potentially passing away from it? I don't know about you, but I think most people would feel horrible about it. So why wouldn't we try and prevent that?

Russ Johns 18:00
I'm a caregiver for my mother, you know, she's a high risk individual, that the last thing I want to do is go out in public and not be smart about it, you know. If we still have to get groceries or pick up things, there's limited exposure. However, the last thing I'm going to do is create a networking event that exacerbates the situation and makes it even worse, and take risks that we don't necessarily need to take. And it's difficult to have that for a fifth grader, or third grader or somebody that doesn't understand all of these elements of why do I have to do that? Why Mom, you know, it's like, and, and it's really a challenging time. And I don't want to dismiss or diminish any of those elements. Because it's so important for us to understand that. This is a place in history that will be part of history, and how we get through it, how we help each other get through it, and how we move forward, is going to really impact what it is that we do as a humanity on the other side. And I think that's what we have to think about also is what what do we want this to look like on the other side?

Sam Liebowitz 19:23
So I hope and what you just said is really key. It's how do we get through this together? And this to me, I feel is one of the biggest lessons, it's to really move forward in the best way possible. We have to come together as a community, as a people, as a neighborhood, to really come together to work together to solve a problem. And to me, I personally do not think this is the last of a global challenges that we're going to be facing in our lifetime. I think this is the first and that there will be other things that I don't know what they are. I mean, you can make some guesses, like there's going to be some ecological problems for sure. And potentially other kinds of challenges, that the way we're going to get through them, and survive in the most beneficial way, is by coming together by working together by not being divided. This is the thing that concerns me more than anything else about what I see is the division. You know, the world today. And and it's almost like, people are living in two completely different realities side by side. Yet, when two people could be experiencing things completely differently, and believe things completely differently, yet they live next to each other. And that, to me, is crazy. Because if we come together, that's where we have our strength. That's where we can really find those creative solutions and find ways of really working together and doing things that's going to help us to get through this and really thrive on the other side of this.

Russ Johns 21:12
I couldn't agree more. Sam, I couldn't agree more. Is that what prompted you to write your book? I want to go back. I want to talk about your book, I want to talk about what prompted Sam to sit down and write a book, what was the trigger in your mind that said, I want to go through this pain, try this book? Because either you have a voice and you have a message that cannot help be held back or there's a driver for that. And I kind of and you know, what we're talking about has impacted a lot of people and motivated them to do things that they wouldn't normally do. So is that something that prompted you? Or is there other motivations.

Sam Liebowitz 21:59
Well, the thing is, is that this book, Everyday Awakening, is not something I sat down and wrote in the last six months. Actually, I've been writing it for the last six and a half years since I started writing my blog. I started writing my blog, just because I needed content for my newsletter. And I wanted to post something and I follow Seth Godin, who's a wonderful market here. And he was about like writing a blog every single day. And I'm like, Nananana, I can do it just once a week and once or twice a week. But then over time, what happened was a lot. And what I would use my blog for is just kind of, as part of my process to just be present of what was going on in my life. And what was the lesson in it? What did I get out of it? So I didn't necessarily get into the personal stories of what I was going through, but more what was the experience? And what did I learn what was the insight I got from it was the perspective I developed from it. And what happened was over time, people started responding me saying, Oh, my God, Sam, this is I so needed to hear your blog, you know, read what your blog said today. And then I have a neighbor who is a PR woman and she would send it out to her list sometimes. And she would be on my case. And for the last two years, she's like, oh, you got to publish this, these are so good. You got to put it in a book and so I had a different idea I had been working on for my first book, which ended up getting sidelined. And then I decided like this year, I really wanted to come out with a book. But it wasn't until the lockdown happened in March and I said, you know what, I'm not going to live in fear. This is a time for me to invest in myself and invest in something that's really going to support people. And so I hired a professional editor to work with me on the manuscript and pull out the best of the blog posts and organize it, tighten everything up. And I actually wasn't even quite sure how good this was and whether there was some real value with it. Until I had sent the manuscript out to a few people and asked them for a testimonial around it. And some of the people were like people who've been in the the personal development transformational space for decades, decades. And they got back to me and said, Oh my god, I was reading it until two o'clock in the morning. It was wonderful. This is great. I really loved it. Here's my testimonial. And I was very taken aback by it. I was like, Oh, wow. So like there is some real value here. And the reviews have been getting on Amazon and the feedback I've been getting has been so positive that I realized, like there is some really good stuff in here to support people at this time. So I really want to get this out there and just get it into as many hands as possible.

Russ Johns 24:42
Well, we'll share it with all the pirates and make sure that the community is aware that it's some information that needs to be out there, needs to be consumed and enjoyed as much as possible. So I just want to give a shout out to silverfox dj Darleen, good morning, Russ, nice to meet you, Sam, #kindnessiscool and #smilesarefree. So Steven's here, the only future happens in the presence. So, and Marissa says, Hi, Sam consciousness is something I'm into, at this moment, I'd love to chat with you for my bookconversation series.

Sam Liebowitz 25:26
Love to love to, Marisa, thank you so much.

Russ Johns 25:29
Make those connections, make those connections. And before we get off, and I know I could probably talk about this a long time, I want to talk about what you're doing every day, you know, with podcasting, and the network, and, you know, some of the things that are going on in that arena. And what's developing. You know, podcasting is something I've been involved in since 2014. I used to teach it and create lots of podcasts for different people and radio shows, as well. And it's an industry that I'm kind of partial to so. Ya know. And so I'd love to touch base on that before, just so people get a sense of what you're up to.

Sam Liebowitz 26:17
Sure, sure. So every week I do my own show, and we're a live podcasting network, which means we're kind of more like an internet radio station. And it's talk radio dot NYC, that's the only website address. And we've actually grown a lot, we have a lot of shows, and our brand for the network overall, is about inspiring, educating, empowering, and uplifting people. And my show is called, oddly enough, the Conscious Consultant Hour, and I do my show live every Thursday from 12, noon eastern time, to 1pm Eastern time, that would be what was that nine to 10, Pacific time. And, and I bring on all kinds of thought leaders and authors and speakers, healers, teachers, and even all kinds of people to to raise awareness in different aspects of life. A matter of fact, I just had, I was so thrilled to have Dr. John Demartini, who was in the secret on my show last week. So that was wonderful. But there are other shows on the network, too. We have a show that's a history of New York neighborhoods, we have shows on business, entrepreneurship, leadership, employment, spiritual, personal development, all kinds of things. And we have new shows coming on board, we have actually have a show coming on, that's going to be dealing with the topic of suicide, which is a very important topic because it touches many, many lives. So I hope if people go to talkradio.NYC, the schedule is there, the the shows are there, there are archives there as well. So the recordings, and we also stream it live on to Facebook. So that takes a lot of my time these days, because so many people are interested in it now. And it's a wonderful way of getting your message out. And I love the fact that we do our shows live. Because sort of similar to you. It's like as people make comments and post about things we can interact. And I have loyal listeners who listen to me every week, and I can always see there's William. There's Patti, there's Shania. And always give them a shout out. So yeah, people will tune in.

Russ Johns 28:22
Hiett's here. Gabriel's here, once again, gentlemen. Yeah. And Hiett's in the house. And it's really about community. It's really about pulling together an idea and enjoying conversation just like this. And it's a little different than you know, podcasting where you take it and edit it and produce it and put it out there. However, I like the live stream aspect, because you never know where the conversation is going to go. You never know what guest is going to be bringing nuggets of knowledge to the table and having some interesting conversation. So I really appreciate the fact that you join me and let's go check it out. And also, how do people get ahold of you? What's your favorite way of having people reach out to you and you know, and connect with Sam, let them know that you're a pirate and you want to you want to connect?

Sam Liebowitz 29:18
Absolutely, absolutely. best way is through my website, which is the consciousconsultant.com and there's a little contact form there. My email address is Sam@theconsciousconsultant.com. So just reach out to me. If you want to connect to me, you can find me on Facebook, on Instagram on Twitter, LinkedIn, all over the place. Just search me or search for the conscious consultant. You'll find me pretty easily.

Russ Johns 29:51
Yeah. Get off my LinkedIn. Silverfox, all on point and sharing perspectives, opening up new worlds. Well, Sam, it's a pleasure. I would love to learn more about what you're doing and some of the things you have going on and highlighting and sharing you as much as possible. The #PirateBroadcast™ and the pirate community is one that's, you know, based on kindness and generosity and all of the things that are positive in the world. So all the gratitude for you being here today, and thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Sam Liebowitz 30:32
Thank you so much, Russ. I really appreciate you and to all my fellow pirates out there, Ai mateys. Kindness is very cool.

Russ Johns 30:40
Yes. And as always like Sam said, #kindnessiscool and #smilesarefree and you #enjoytheday. Till next time. Sign up on subscribe on my YouTube channel. I'm trying to build my YouTube channel. I'm building my YouTube channel. I'm not trying right, Sam?

Sam Liebowitz 31:02
Right.

Russ Johns 31:03
Perfect. Enjoy the day everyone.

Exit 31:06
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