Wellness 3.0

In our final episode of Season 1, we wanted to leave you with some inspiration from the best memories and the most actionable insights that we’ve learned from our incredible guests over the past few months. We look back at some of the most impactful conversations that Amy’s had to help us pave the way for a more socially well, deeply connected world.  At Fabriq, we are on a mission to empower people to make meaningful connections everyday. This means looking closely at our society’s social health, fighting the disconnection epidemic, and finding ways that bring us all closer together. We really need this to thrive. We hope you enjoyed the first season of Wellness 3.0, and have taken on a few of the weekly challenges from our guests to improve your social wellness. We can’t wait to share what we have in store for Season 2!

This week our guest is Debra Fine, author, speaker, and guru of all things small talk. Debra began her career as a highly analytical engineer, an occupation that allowed her to maintain her natural shyness and avoid situations that required social interactions. But, seeing how others’ speaking abilities allowed them to flourish, Debra decided she was tired of being shy, and decided to research strategies for starting conversations, keeping them going, remembering names, practicing “active listening”, exiting with grace, and generally making a positive impression on she’s speaking to. All of her discoveries and strategies made their way into her book, The Fine Art of Small Talk, a handy tool for anyone from business executives, PTA parents, students facing post-college interviews, or singles trying to make love connections.  Tune in to learn how you can have what Debra calls “better” small talk, especially the moments that can get really awkward, like when you want to leave a conversation or change the subject gracefully. And, learn to recognize queues from other people when they’re trying to do the same thing. We also get into how to be a better networker, and do it in a way that’s actually enjoyable and doesn’t feel like work. For those that are around teenagers a lot, she has some awesome tips to ask better questions to get them talking to you. Above all else, Debra teaches us why we should take the risk of meeting new people. Whether it’s a party, a networking event, or just entertaining friends and family, we all engage in small talk. Here on Wellness 3.0 we talk a lot about how to connect with others on a deeper level, but it’s also important to improve your ability to connect with others on a surface level, too.

This episode’s guest is Mark Shapiro, the man behind the Are You Being Real? Podcast. Mark’s a TedX speaker, life coach, avid voice memo sender, and social media experimenter. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to wish every single one of your Facebook friends a personalized happy birthday message every single day? What if you had 3,000 Facebook friends? That’s exactly what Mark has been doing for almost three years. He’s on a mission to figure out how we can deepen our social connections using social media - which in many cases can seem like an oxymoron - as well as examine relationship building fundamentals, and empower people to prioritize the things that matter — authentic living and genuine support and connection. This episode is full of tips and challenges to help you build stronger relationships starting today. With all the technology and tools that are available in this day and age, the time has never been better for a major innovation to social connection. Technology and social media are on our side, but it’s up to us to not let it block us from connecting.

This episode’s guest is a highly accomplished leader in the health and well-being space. Tyler Norris is a social entrepreneur, a trusted advisor, and a community healer. He’s CEO of Well Being Trust,  an independent, national foundation dedicated to advancing mental, societal, and spiritual well-being in the United States. All of Tyler’s work has centered on three important themes. First, building healthy communities so that healthy people can flourish and reach their full potential. Second, supporting community collaborations that revitalize democracy, drive equitable wealth, and effectively address complex population health. And third, advancing both public and private sector policies that generate total wealth, which is much more than money.  Listen on to find out how Tyler is working to advance policy that will pay for whole-person care, and how he’s gained traction in the healthcare industry. We’ll talk about why healthy communities grow healthy people, plus what it means to be a healthy community. We’ll learn about the many vital conditions for wellness, including living wages, lifelong learning, and civic duty. Find out how radio DJs are encouraging people to talk openly about their mental health, and finally, learn how Tyler’s early struggles, getting into trouble as a teenager led to his passion for community building.  Well-being is multi-faceted, requiring a set of vital conditions in the community, integrative whole-person care, and a collection of wellness practices for your mind, body, spirit, and relationships. At the root of our well-being, Tyler describes four key aspects: sense of purpose, belonging, awe, and generosity. While focusing on improving any of these areas will increase our overall health and well-being, at the end of the day, we need a healthy group, community, and greater society to help us grow into the healthiest, happiest humans we can be.   

This episode features guest Chad Littlefield, the Co-founder and Chief Experience Officer of We and Me, Inc., where he’s on a mission to create conversations that matter. Forbes has called him a global expert on asking questions that build connection and trust in teams. Most recently, Chad and his business partner Will Wise launched their new book Ask Powerful Questions: Create Conversations That Matter. In his interview, get to know a few things about Chad including how his passion for connecting people started back as a kid watching Robin Williams. Chad clues us in on the keys to asking powerful questions, like how to start them. Chad and Amy talk about the true meaning of intention and how Chad views intention as the foundation for all meaningful conversations. Find out what it takes to strike up a conversation with somebody on a bus or a plane, and importantly, learn how not to feel uncomfortable afterward. (Hint, it all starts with intention!) This episode’s full of practical tips that will help you get connecting right away.  Connection is our natural instinct, and asking powerful questions is within our natural curiosity. Get curious and get connecting after this interview with Chad Littlefield. For more tools you can start using right away to connect, visit WeAnd.Me to get Chad’s Connection Toolkit, books, conversation cards, and more!  

This week’s guest is Jeff Howard, a somatic psychotherapist based out of Boulder, Colorado with a practice called Three Leaves Counseling. Somatic therapy is a body-centered therapy that looks at the connection of mind and body and uses a combination of talk and physical therapy for holistic healing. Jeff is also a popular men’s group facilitator, writer, musician, and father who values honesty, humility, and growth. Jeff is fascinated by people and the reasons that we behave the way we do, and it’s that fascination that inspires and challenges him to work in counseling, lead men’s groups, lean into discomfort, and take continual risks to be more vulnerable and alive, while actively working to find ways for more of himself to be in the world. Listen on to find out what led Jeff to get started with men’s groups in the first place and learn what exactly happens in these mysterious bi-weekly meetings. They’ll talk about why having a manageable dose of anxiety and discomfort can actually benefit us all, the importance of using “I” statements, and finally, for those wanting to create your own group, you’ll hear details about what it takes to create one that’s effective, intentional, and valuable for everybody involved. There’s a lot we can learn from Jeff Howard’s work with men’s groups — the beauty in gathering in groups, with the space and the intention to connect, the magic in slowing down, and the growth in leaning into discomfort and a little bit of anxiety. We hope this episode inspires you to go out and start your own social groups. If you have any questions for Jeff, reach out to him through his website ThreeLeavesCounseling.com, and keep an eye out for Jeff to launch the Whole Man Collective later this summer!

Today’s guest is Jason Shepherd, a master community builder in Denver, CO who has become a good friend of Amy’s over the years. Jason is an investor, an entrepreneur, and a partner at Atlas Real Estate Group. Jason is driven by a strong purpose to create vibrant, connected, and equitable communities and is interested in how property owners can take on a more active role in connecting people in the communities that they live and work in. To do this, Jason started a wellness-based social club called Archipelago, and most recently, launched a new marketplace technology called venUse. It’s Jason’s goal to lead efforts in reimagining how the world interacts with real estate and how it plays a role in how we gather, and he’s all about creating meaningful community spaces. In this episode, find out how Jason has done a complete 180 from where he was 10 years ago, how a trip to Tulum changed everything for him, how Archipelago was formed, and how its members pushed to decriminalize psilocybin in Denver through Initiative 300. You’ll learn about the magic of breathwork that changed both of their lives, and finally, Jason will tell us about his life scoreboard that starts with two questions: “What have I created?” and “Who have I served?” Meaningful communities must rise from the ground up. That’s what makes Archipelago such an awesome social club. Creating the space for intention and connection makes community gatherings all that much more special — and a beautiful, aesthetically pleasing setting doesn’t hurt either. Hopefully, this episode inspires you to step out of your comfort zone in order to find that much-needed sense of connection, belonging, and community.

Today’s guest is Shaylyn Romney Garrett, a woman who has dedicated all of 2019 to reconnecting — you’ll hear a lot about her journey in this episode. Shaylyn has spent her whole life studying, experimenting with, being fascinated and frightened by community, yet she thinks she has less community than anyone else. On her blog, Project Reconnect, Shaylyn takes on a new challenge every month to bring her back to community, connection, and relationship. Listen on to find out about Shaylyn’s monthly reconnection challenges, including what’s been the hardest, what holds us back from hosting people in our homes, how meeting your neighbors can make all the difference, the dark side of our individualistic culture and the cultural norms that keep us from connecting. Cultural norms like individualism, busyness, perfection, and privacy keep us from connecting. There are consequences on a societal level for only seeking connection when you need to connect, and Shaylyn challenges us to seek connection not selfishly, but because others might need to connect too. Shaylyn talks about how the solution to loneliness can be found in reaching out and caring for our neighbors, and that community, connection, and social wellness are essential to be happy, healthy, and thriving.

Aaron Kahlow has become a close friend of Amy’s over the last few years, ever since they first met when he was working at Conscious Company Media. Aaron has over 20 years of experience as a founder and CEO, building and growing 5 companies and organizations. Over the past 5 to 10  years or so, he’s dedicated his life and work to using the skills from his business background to help further the consciousness and mindfulness movements, and truly help people find greater connection in their lives. Aaron is paving the way for people to have more access to modern mindfulness and a life that leads us to our greatest human need — feeling deeply connected. Listen on to figure out how you can host your own gatherings that bring people together and bring out the most connection between people, what’s wrong with the term self-care, how we can emanate the most joy as human beings and attract others around us, what makes complete strangers the best listeners, and finally, one of the most powerful questions that you can ask someone. Connection is the name of the game, according to Aaron Kahlow. Everything he values and everything he does lead him towards a life full of deep connections. Take a few tips from him and you’ll be on your way to feeling connected, happy, and healthy in no time. You just might have to spend a little time sitting in a circle sharing your heart out.

On this episode, Amy interviews Casper ter Kuile, a man with a very cool job title — the Director of Possibility at The On Being Project. Casper is also the co-creator of How We Gather, a millennial-led spiritual startup collaboration between Harvard Divinity School, the Fetzer Institute, and On Being. Although Casper grew up disconnected from and actively avoiding religion, today, he holds masters degrees in both divinity and public policy at Harvard and remains a Ministry Innovation Fellow at Harvard Divinity School, so he knows a thing or two about the purpose of religion.   On top of all that, Casper co-hosts his own podcast, Harry Potter and the Sacred Text, where he explores deeper meanings and themes through a closer reading of Harry Potter passages.  Casper is on a mission to build a world full of joyful belonging by connecting people and co-creating projects that help us live lives of greater connection, meaning, and depth. Listen on to find out how “community washing” might be the new “greenwashing,” the power of rituals and why Casper thinks we are ritual starved, the concept of being, belonging, and becoming (plus, some Beyonce!), and how secular groups like SoulCycle, CrossFit, Daybreaker, recovery centers, sanctuaries, and even house concerts are replacing the old paradigm of religious affiliation. This episode’s an extra fun and informative one, that reflects the vibrant and insightful personality of Casper ter Kuile. Full of history, religion, personal stories, and family traditions, you’ll walk away with a new understanding of what it means to be, belong, and become the person you want to be, notwithstanding, a little ode to Beyonce.

In this episode, Amy calls up a mentor, personal friend, and a fierce woman in leadership, Sue Heilbronner. She’s a speaker, a startup CEO, an investor, a professor at CU Boulder, a conscious leadership coach, and the co-creator of both Leadership Camp, as well as MergeLane, an accelerator for startups that have at least one female in leadership. Sue also mentors startups through the Techstars accelerator program in Boulder. She also teaches Conscious Leadership Camp, which you’ll learn more about in this episode. Over the years, Amy has learned firsthand that Sue is deeply committed to showing up authentically, practicing conscious leadership, and taking 100% responsibility for who she is, what she says, and how she shows up for people. Listen on to find out about Sue’s poker-playing mom in Vegas, what it means to really walk the talk, what it means to have “random time” set aside in your calendar for people, and the conscious leadership fundamentals, including taking 100% responsibility — no more no less — and how we can really own our parts at all times with people. As humans, we crave real, intimate conversations and connections. It starts with authentic relating, showing up, and always owning your part. A true coach, this interview with Sue Heilbronner will teach you a thing or two about self-awareness, the personas we all carry, and what we can do to truly connect with the people we care about.

In this episode, Amy chats with Arielle Ford, the “Cupid of Consciousness” and the fairy godmother of love. Arielle is a figurehead in the personal growth and contemporary spirituality movement. She’s a celebrated love and relationship expert, author, speaker, and is co-creator and host of Evolving Wisdom’s Art of Love series. Her mission is to help women find love, keep love, and be loved. Arielle is a gifted writer and author of 11 books, including the international bestseller The Soulmate Secret. Listen to this episode to find out what it means to be a pleasure puppy, how to use the law of attraction to manifest a tribe, ways to strengthen your romantic relationships, and practice Wabi-Sabi love. As it turns out, we can use the law of attraction to connect with more than just our soulmate and romantic partner. It’s called manifesting, people, and it just may help you find your people. Not surprisingly, this love expert encourages us to spread more love and compassion in our day to day lives. Last week’s episode was all about random acts of kyndness, and this week we’re taking it a step further: anonymous acts of love.

Justin Kruger is the founder of Project Helping, a non-profit based out of Denver, Colorado that improves mental wellness through what he has dubbed kyndfulness, or a daily practice of volunteering, intentional acts of kindness, and gratitude. Practicing kyndfulness brings awareness to the impact that serving your community can have on others and on your own mental state. Justin has gone on to found Kyndhub, an online community that similarly encourages people to do kind things for one another, and Kyndkit, a service that delivers volunteer experiences right to your door. Through Project Helping and Kyndhub, Justin has done a great deal to give back to the community of Denver, with over 1,000 volunteer events in the past 5 years, and both companies help foster volunteerism worldwide. In this episode, you’ll learn how a third date led Justin to his very first volunteer experience, how his path took him from professional golf to a corporate career to founding a nonprofit. Justin talks about how he uses volunteering as therapy and his treatment for anxiety and depression and explains why he thinks volunteering truly saved his life. If you’re already asking yourself, “How can I give back?”, “Where can I help?” and “When can I start contributing?” you’ll find out how to use Justin’s platforms to find volunteering experiences in your area that are easy to jump right into. Amy and Justin will even give some advice to their younger selves, so stay 'til the end. Hopefully, this episode will remind you of the importance and benefits of giving back to others and inspire you to give back to our community and in doing so, contribute to society right away. Please note that the volunteer experiences that Amy mentions in the episode have passed since interviewed Justin Kruger. To look for more upcoming volunteer events near you, visit ProjectHelping.org or join Kyndhub today. You can also get your Kyndkit in the mail, and reach out to Justin and his team at ProjectHelping.org to bring volunteering events to your community!

In today’s episode, Amy digs deep with Dr. Rachel Carlton Abrams, voted the “Best Doctor” in Santa Cruz County for 9 years running. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Stanford University, Rachel received her MD from UC San Francisco and a master’s degree in holistic health from UC Berkeley. Board certified in family medicine and integrative medicine, she refers to herself lovingly in this episode as an “integrative weirdo doctor.” At her award-winning integrative medicine clinic in Santa Cruz, Dr. Abrams treats many of the world’s most influential people. Rachel is happily married to her fellow author and husband Doug Abrams and the mother of three fabulous young adults. Listen on to find out how Rachel thinks we’re in a cultural crisis and why relationships and connection are the answer. You’ll also learn a bit of neuroscience that explains how all living beings have a connection to each other and a connection to nature. We’ll talk about her new books BodyWise and Eight Dates, with guides to essential conversations on topics like money, sex, family, and dreams, and finally, we’ll learn what in the world “naked Shabbat” is.   You’ll finish this episode feeling inspired to connect deeply with yourself, with others, and with the earth. As humans, social relationships are integral to our social health and holistic wellness, and we may just be in a cultural crisis. Let’s discuss how the human animal has evolved and how we can stay well in our modern tech-centric society.

In today’s episode, Amy hops on the phone with Scott Kriens, a highly successful entrepreneur, the co-founder of 1440 Multiversity with his wife Joanie, and, we’re lucky to say, one of Fabriq’s investors. After losing his father in 2004, Scott began to think long and hard about the question “What really matters?” At his core, Scott is a learner and a builder, committed to finding new ways to tie the world around us to that which is real and powerful within us. Moving beyond having more of suffering less, 1440 helps people and groups interested in finding their own unique connection to meaning, so they too can answer the question “What really matters?” Listen on as we talk about how Scott and Amy first met barefoot in a muddy monsoon, what Scott thinks pathological collaboration is, how a blind date to Kenny Loggins led to 1440, and why being selfish is a good thing! At the end of the day, what really matters in life is our relationship — with ourselves, with those we love, and with our community. Building meaningful connections begins with being authentic. Scott has been practicing what he preaches since developing his leadership skills as the former CEO of tech giant Juniper Networks and continues to learn and grow to this day, always doing the hard work of working on yourself.

In this episode, we’re connecting with Joan Blades, the creator of Living Room Conversations. Joan is on a mission to rebuild respectful discourse across ideas, cultures, and party lines, while embracing our shared human values because when we care about each other, we find ways to meet each others’ core needs regardless of our beliefs. As co-founder of MomsRising.org and MoveOn.org, Joan has given people the space to come together and promote their shared values. She’s a nature lover, artist, and mom, and a true believer in the power of people respectfully coming together to connect over difficult conversations. Listen on to find out six ways to have impactful conversations with people in your community, three core value questions that will help everyone get connected within minutes of sitting down together, and what Joan is working on, to be released later this year, called MisMatch, a program that brings together junior high and high school students across the country for powerful conversations. Don’t miss out on this inspiring conversation and opportunity for personal growth! We all know that communication is essential to creating meaningful connections with others, so how do we have the difficult discussions that bring us closer? Joan’s format for effective conversation relies on recognizing what we have in common, what brings us together as people. Whether you’re having a discussion with your partner, your grandparents, or your arch-nemesis, remember that we can all find common ground and connectedness.

In the first Wellness 3.0 interview, Amy connects with Melody Warnick, a journalist who set out to find out how to fall in love with and feel at home in the places where we already live. Author of This Is Where You Belong: Finding Home Wherever You Are, Melody interviewed long-time residents who are thriving in their cities to learn what keeps them where they are. She took the best ideas back to her new hometown of Blacksburg, Virginia, and began a series of “Love Where You Live” experiments to feel a better sense of belonging in her own community. Listen to find out which experiments worked best, how nature and contribution matter a lot more than you might think, and how to make friends in a new city as an adult. Feeling like you belong in any place, new or old, can be tough without the right mindset and the right people in your court. This episode will give you some practical tips on how to make new friends with whom you can share experiences in your city and how to engage with your community. Soon enough, you may just be calling this place home — and mean it.

What is Social Wellness? In the very first episode of Wellness 3.0, Amy Baglan, CEO & Co-Founder of Fabriq and MeetMindful, dives into her background, the meaning of “meaningful connection”, the social disconnection epidemic, and what she believes is the emerging third wave of health & wellness — something we like to call social wellness. “These days, most people find it easier to lock eyes with a screen than with another person, yet we are innately social beings. So what happened? And what can we do about it?” On the Wellness 3.0 podcast, we’re on a mission to answer that question through a weekly show that explores why we as humans have become more comfortable with locking eyes with our devices than with other human beings. In this episode, Amy takes us back to 1948 when the World Health Organization defined health a bit differently than it does today. Hint: It used to include social wellbeing! She’ll also discuss: What led her to investigate meaningful connections and start Fabriq The epidemic of disconnection, loneliness, and social isolation and how it’s detrimental to our health Why the third wave of health & wellness has everything to do with our social ties, social health, and community The importance of deepening existing relationships, building strong support systems, and interacting with your community Each week on Wellness 3.0 we’ll invite guests to help us dig deeper into the many areas of social wellness. We’ll play connectivity games, give you weekly challenges and activities to improve your social wellbeing and discuss everything from volunteerism to making new friends as an adult, to finding a sense of purpose and belonging in our community. Join us every week as we ditch disconnection and shift to social wellness.