Sam Liebowitz, known as The Conscious Consultant, is a mentor, coach, speaker, healer and serial entrepreneur. He has been in business since 1993 and has owned several successful businesses. His current ventures include The Conscious Consultant, Talking Alternative Broadcasting, and Double Diamond Wellness. Sam has lectured in several venues in New York City, including being a featured speaker at TEDxUpperWestSide in 2016.
- CEO Hack: Sitting back and taking a breath
- CEO Nugget: When making big decisions, look to the inside of where that decision is coming from
- CEO Defined: Chief Energy Officer
Website: https://www.theconsciousconsultant.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/consciousconsultant/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConsciousConsultant
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Samwyz175/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/consultantconscious/
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Transcription
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[00:00:02.20] – Intro
Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.
[00:00:30.10] – Gresham Harkless
Hello. Hello. Hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast, and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Sam Liebowitz known as The Conscious Consultant. Sam, it's awesome to have you on the show.
[00:00:39.79] – Sam Liebowitz
Thank you so much for inviting me to your show. I really appreciate it.
[00:00:42.79] – Gresham Harkless
No problem. Definitely appreciate you for taking some time out. Before we jump into the show, I wanted to read a little bit more about Sam so you can hear about all the awesome things that he's doing. And Sam, known as the conscious consultant, is a mentor, coach, speaker, healer, and serial entrepreneur. He's been in business since nineteen ninety-three and has owned several successful businesses. His current ventures include the conscious consultant, taking alter-talking alternative broadcasting, and double diamond wellness. Sam has been has lectured in several venues in New York City, including being featured as a speaker at TEDx Upper West Side in twenty sixteen. Sam, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?
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[00:01:16.00] – Sam Liebowitz
Absolutely. Let's rock and roll.
[00:01:17.50] – Gresham Harkless
Let's make it happen. So to kick everything off, I guess, I wanted to rewind the clock and hear a little bit more about how everything got started. Could you take us through your CEO story, and we'll let you get started with the businesses?
[00:01:28.79] – Sam Liebowitz
Well, if you want me to go back to ninety-three, that could take a little while. But just briefly, you know, I started off in corporate like everybody else. I was working in, financial institutions for the first nine years, financial institutions and, trade associations. And I just kind of had that entrepreneurial itch. I mean, you know, when I was a kid, I used to, deliver newspapers to, like, the local bars and get tips from the bartenders. So, you know, I was kinda used to getting paid based on the effort I put in. And so working at corporations, I just noticed that I was putting in a lot of effort more than the guy in the cubicle next to me. But because he'd been working there two years longer, his paycheck was larger than mine. So I was like, something about this just doesn't feel right.
And, I wanted to kinda become a computer consultant. My career was in IT. And, I was a member of this volunteer organization, and, I was talking to one of the guys in it. And he said, oh, do you know John, the guy who does our newsletter? He's a computer, so I don't mind to talk to him. So I talked to him. I started working with him part-time for probably a year. It took a while before a big enough project came along, and then a big enough project came along. And he said, hey, Sam. I can give you this project if you wanna leave your job. I'm like, yeah. I am ready. And I jumped ship, and I haven't looked back since.
[00:02:38.69] – Gresham Harkless
Nice. I love that, and especially, like, kinda, like, the entrepreneurship entrepreneurial, DNA, it sounds like you had as well too, and being able to kinda fulfil that. And I think that so many times we forget of, kinda, like, the process that it takes to kinda get to launching a business or getting started, but I think that you wanna make sure it sounds like you have, like, your ducks in a row and things in place so that when that opportunity does present itself, you're actually ready to kinda, sprint and take advantage of it.
[00:02:59.80] – Sam Liebowitz
Yeah. One thing that's very important to keep in mind is that sometimes it's a great opportunity and you love it and you wanna dig into it, but it's not going to replace a full-time income right away. So you need that sort of transition period. You need to kinda save up some money. You need to be prepared. Otherwise, you can end up short, and it could be really bad. Now in today's economy, a lot of people are kinda being forced out of. You know, people are I mean, I heard it's, like, over twenty-something million people filed for unemployment in the last four weeks, And at the time we recorded this, and it's just that, you know, people aren't gonna have a choice. We're moving more into an entrepreneurial economy. These big corporations are laying people off. They're not coming back, and it doesn't matter what level of management you are, how high or low you are on the rung. You have the potential to fall victim to that. And one of the things I love about being an entrepreneur is nobody can fire me. And the clients I don't like to work with, I can fire them.
[00:03:54.59] – Gresham Harkless
Yeah. It makes so much sense, and, and I think it's it's so important to kinda be aware of that. And also, as you said, you know, so eloquently aware of the times that we're living in and times that we live in and what can happen and what has and is happening now, and how, you know, we can kind of I don't wanna say arm ourselves, but just be as prepared as we can be for what's happening. Because I think that's a lot of times what can create a lot of the frustration is when you're not aware of what's going on around you.
[00:04:18.80] – Sam Liebowitz
Right. Exactly. I mean, that's one of the key things. And regardless of the kind of business you're running, being aware of not just your competition, but the environment and what kinds of changes are taking place. And so many people I know now are having to completely retool their businesses to become a virtual business, and be able to work online. Even though I had to do with my own podcasting network, The Talking Alternative, I had to do some work to get it up and running. I was able to do it relatively quickly because I'd already put some things in place, to be able to move in that direction.
And it still was a bit of a challenge, and I still had to, you know, work really hard for three or four days to make sure the technical stuff was working right, but we didn't miss a beat. We did not stop broadcasting for a single day. And I'm although things haven't been completely smooth and there have been challenges, I've been able to meet those challenges. And that's one thing. It's like you never know when you're gonna get hit with something unusual. And this year, you know, it was COVID. Back in two thousand eight, two thousand nine, it was the real estate bubble. Back, you know, the two thousand, it was the dot com book bust. So you always have to kinda keep an eye on what's happening around you.
[00:05:30.69] – Gresham Harkless
Yeah. Absolutely. And I think that kind of being able to train that muscle as well too because I think if you have that expectation that, you know, things will happen as they always do, but you know that you have to get and become that solution-oriented person, even though it may not be the same solution, the same thing, you understand that you know, you know how to look forward and you know how to take action when you need to to get to where you want to or get to a better place than maybe you were initially.
[00:05:52.00] – Sam Liebowitz
Right. And it's just staying flexible. It's really flexible in today's environment. And I don't just mean, like, this month, but I mean, in the last two, three years, we've had to become more and society and everything is like we're getting hit with it all the time. And, actually, I'm finding that it's the smaller, more entrepreneurial organizations that are better able to meet that challenge because when you have a very large organization with a lot of infrastructure to sort of turn that ship, you know, they say it takes, I forget how long, like, a huge amount of time to turn an aircraft carrier. Like, it takes days. Mhmm. But if you're a small speedboat, you can turn on a dime. So flexibility, I don't know necessarily what it takes for an individual organization, but always keeping that in mind for your department, for your organization, for your business of how to build in potential flexibility so that you can change and you can turn on a dime when something happens.
[00:06:52.89] – Gresham Harkless
Yeah. Absolutely. It's not if it is. It's basically when especially with technology and things like that. So, I wanted to drill down a little bit deeper and hear a little bit more about the conscious consultant. Can you take us through exactly what you're doing there and how you serve the clients you work with?
[00:07:06.39] – Sam Liebowitz
So, my personal brand, which is the conscious consultant, is something that I've been working with now for about thirteen years. And, really, what it is is it's a marriage of sort of my, and I'll be very, front and blunt, my spiritual leanings, my studies in personal development, spirituality, shamanism, and everything. And I sort of made a very conscious decision. I had been a small business consultant before. You know, I've been an IT consultant. I've been all kinds of consultants. And it just didn't light me up anymore. And to be honest and authentic to where I was in my life, I said, you know what? Where I am now, this is where I am. I'm more concerned about people's consciousness. Now a person does not have to be spiritual for me to work with them. As a matter of fact, what I found was over the years, I actually end up working a lot with people whose regular solutions aren't working for them. They get stuck. They're levelling off. They hit a roadblock, and they just don't know where to move forward.
And they they don't meditate. They don't do yoga. They're not in any of this crazy stuff, but they're at least open. They're open to trying something different. And what I do is I kinda take all of this esoteric knowledge that I've accumulated over my life, and I can translate it into very plain, simple language and concepts that are very practical and grounded that people can use to change their whole perspective and to change the way they operate in whatever system or situation they find themselves in so that they can actually feel more empowered, thrive, and grow and understand that everything they need is actually within them. They just have to turn the lights on a little bit, and that's what I help I help. I help people turn the lights on inside to feel more empowered. And so as an outgrowth of that, the opportunity came from me to take over talking alternative broadcasting by the founder who ended up, believe it or not, becoming a Buddhist monk, and he now meditates in the forests in Malaysia and Thailand all the time.
So I took over the business from him, so he was able to become a monk. My wife is a psychotherapist, so we started this wellness centre together. He was also an acupuncturist, so we made this sort of general wellness centre out of his acupuncture practice. And so I've been developing this live podcasting network, talk radio dot n y c, where, again, it's about educating, uplifting, and inspiring people around the world. And the wellness centre also, it's about helping people to understand they're much more resilient and much stronger than they ever thought they were. So all the things I do kind of fall under the umbrella of the conscious consultant. It's all about supporting people, helping people to thrive, and and helping people to see if there's a better way to exist in this world that not just helps them personally, but financially, in with their family, with their relationships. It's a holistic way of being. And when you get better at one, it affects everything.
[00:10:00.70] – Gresham Harkless
Nice. I absolutely love that. And I think that you know, obviously, we were talking on a lot more of a, I guess, a very, tactical standpoint earlier, but I love how that bleeds through those same kinda principles that you talked about on how to be flexible, how to understand, like, some of the things that you need to solve. Some of the issues that we have are not necessarily external. They're within us. And I think that I love how, obviously, you know, it has kind of like that common thread in everything you do, but it kinda manifests itself in different modalities, for lack of a better term, or in different ways in different companies and organizations. Because I think when you have that strong kind of awareness and, I guess, theme or mission or vision, it starts to manifest itself entirely throughout your life and everything that you're starting and doing as well too.
[00:10:38.79] – Sam Liebowitz
Right. It doesn't matter what level you're at. It doesn't matter what size organization you're working with. We're constantly having to make decisions day in and day out. And if we're not congruent, if we're not in alignment completely within ourselves and with what we're working on, then those decisions we make probably aren't gonna be the best decisions. But when we do become congruent, when we really know ourselves on a deep level and we see our patterns and we see where we're coming from, then we can make much better decisions. And then those decisions really affect everything else that's going on from very practical day-to-day things like what vendors should you use or who should you hire or what market should you enter to things like how do you show up when you come home at the end of the day and you've had a really long-ruling day, Or how are you taking care of yourself or not taking care of yourself in any given situation?
Like, today, it's it it it's amazing how we have this ability now. We're no longer commuting to work, right, because of the shutdown. So we have the opportunity to actually take better care of ourselves at home. We're not eating out as much. Now we may be used to going to a gym to exercise, so we may have to exercise a little more self-discipline, but we can now exercise from home. And you know what? It's nobody's responsibility but our own. And it really all just comes up to us, and now we can really see ourselves in a very stark naked way because we are spending so much time with ourselves and our families.
[00:12:05.10] – Gresham Harkless
Yeah. Absolutely. There's no, there's no kind of filter or anything for that. You know, you're seeing yourself and the people around you, definitely in the kinda like the truest form in our businesses and organizations as well. So, you might have already touched on this, but I want to ask you for what I call your secret sauce. And it could be for yourself or for your business, but what do you feel kinda sets you apart and makes you unique?
[00:12:24.10] – Sam Liebowitz
So what makes me unique is I'm really I'm about taking sort of ancient wisdom and bringing it into modern times. You know? So often we think that, you know, success principles and and how to really thrive in life is something new and different today. But the truth is things that people have been talking about for thousands and thousands of years still apply today. And so my particular lens and filter that I look through things, one of them, just as an example, is this idea of the four elements of earth, air, fire, and water and how they show up in our lives. And that's basically fire in mind. Earth is the body. Water is the heart, and air is the spirit. And when we consider when we look through through this particular lens, we can see where we need to draw upon one body. Where is their spirit?
[00:13:22.10] – Gresham Harkless
Absolutely love that. So I wanted to switch gears a little bit, and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an Apple book or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?
[00:13:32.70] – Sam Liebowitz
So the most basic one that I think everyone needs to pay attention to more, including myself, is our breath. It's just taking the time to breathe, especially when we're under so much pressure and we need to make, you know, really careful decisions are just sitting back and taking a breath.
[00:13:52.39] – Gresham Harkless
I definitely, love and appreciate that. So I want to ask you now for what I call a CEO nugget. So that could be like a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. Or if you were to hop into a time machine, what would you tell your younger business?
[00:14:03.39] – Sam Liebowitz
I would probably tell myself when you're making big decisions to really look in turn inside to where that decision is coming from.
[00:14:14.70] – Gresham Harkless
Absolutely. And that awareness and that information is definitely phenomenal. So I definitely love that, nugget. So I want to ask you now my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. We're hoping to have different quote-unquote CEOs on the show. So, Sam, what does being a CEO mean to you?
[00:14:29.79] – Sam Liebowitz
Well, in my book, the CEO is the chief energy officer. The CEO sets the energy for the organization no matter how large or small it is. Everything comes from the leader. And if your energy is incongruent, it's gonna manifest. I've seen it in organizations many times where the CEO is not in alignment. They may say he or she says one thing, but inside, they're really feeling something else, and it sends a confusing message, and then people will follow it in a very confusing way. So think about where is your energy. Where is it in alignment? Where is it out of alignment and why? And then you can really turn it around and be that chief energy officer.
[00:15:12.00] – Gresham Harkless
Truly appreciate that, and I appreciate your time even more. What I wanted to do is pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional you want to let our readers and listeners know, and, of course, how best they can get a hold of you and find out about all the awesome things you're working on.
[00:15:24.00] – Sam Liebowitz
If anybody wishes to find out more about me, my website is the conscious consultant dot com. That's all one word. The conscious consultant dot com. And my email address is Sam at the conscious consultant dot com. And, at this point, I'm even letting people reach out to me on my phone. You can call me at six four six 04:08 six one three two just because I am looking to be more in service, and I'm looking to help people to really weather what we're in and thrive regardless of the challenges we're facing.
[00:15:58.70] – Gresham Harkless
Awesome. Thank you so much again, Sam. We will have the links and information in the show notes, but I definitely appreciate that reminder as well too of how we can look, to be of service and how there's an opportunity at hand for all of us to really be of service and sometimes even understand and shift exactly what that is and what that looks like and and truly provide value in people's lives. So I appreciate you providing value for us, and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.
[00:16:22.29] – Outro
Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.
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