IAM2836 – CEO Transforms People Transforming the Planet

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Transcription:

Lisa Arie 00:00
Facing myself, I would say feel 100% safe inside of yourself because this gives you a clear lens to look and lead through.

Gresham Harkless 00:39
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 Lisa Ari of Vista Caballo Visa. It's awesome to have you on the show.

Lisa Arie 00:48
Oh, thanks so much, Gresh. It's wonderful to be here.

Gresham Harkless 00:51
No problem. Pleasure is definitely all mine. And what I wanted to do was just read a little bit more about Lisa so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. And when Fast Company interviewed her, they dubbed her the CEO Whisperer. Here's the rest of the story. As she works with CEOs and other top performers, the herd becomes more totem than saddle. Evidence of our primal instincts in action as Lisa pursues her mission to transform the people who are transforming the planet. The upside is when you become a better, more advanced human being, you become a better leader. Lisa, are you ready to speak to the I Am CEO community?

Lisa Arie 01:21
I sure am.

Gresham Harkless 01:23
Awesome. Let's do it. So to kick everything off, I wanted to hear a little bit more about what I call your CEO story and what led you to get started with your.

Lisa Arie 01:30
Oh, well, let me get started with my business is that I was sort of carrying on in my very super achieving way in my life and having a great time, not knowing that there was anything to be concerned with except reaching the next milestone, which I was very good at and I loved. And I received a very unexpected moment in one of those days where I was told that I had a terminal disease. And it was a bit of a shock to my system. And it made me really take a step back, Kresh, and realize that I hadn't been living my life. I had been surviving, albeit at a very high level. It may not looked have looked like a survival story from the outside, but it was from the inside. And so it was a series of achievements, Very, very high achievements, and, you know, constantly raising my own marker, really as a. As a way to stave off the fear that was driving me that I didn't know was driving me until it started killing me. So When I got to that moment and was facing my own mortality eyeball to eyeball, I had this realization, as I said, that I wasn't living life, I was surviving it. And so I decided with whatever life was left that was given to me, I would change that, I would transform that and I would start living life fully. Although I didn't really know what that meant because my life was very planned and structured. But I decided to just go for it and sort of follow my nose. And I did. And it led me to build and create this deca Bio led me to a herd of horses who taught me everything I needed to know, everything that was missing from leadership. I wasn't, I wouldn't consider myself a horse person before then. So it was all very sort of serendipitous. Um, and it led me to the truth and it led me to an understanding of how to connect to life in a completely different way, which miraculously seems to have then recalibrated my entire system. And here I am some 25 plus years later, healthy is one of the horses that I live with. And with all of that in my rear view. So that's what caused me to open Vistica Bio. I thought, well, if it worked for me, maybe there are some others that might have that same call. You don't have to face mortality to have that realization that maybe there's something more. Are you fulfilled? Does everything feel harmonious? Do you feel connected on every level? And if you don't, chances are you may be in that sort of achievement trajectory. And I set this to Kabaya up to give you an experience. It's a living simulator so you can feel what it feels like outside of that hamster wheel of going to the next, to the next, to the next to really experiencing life.

Gresham Harkless 04:33
Absolutely. Wow. Obviously, I'm sorry, you know, that you had to experience that, but I sometimes think that sometimes things happen so that it allows you to be able to help out so many different other people. Because it definitely, and I'm sure people that are listening to this are definitely shaking their head at, you know, being those high achieving type people that are driving for the next goal, the next goal, the next goal, and the goal after that, that sometimes we don't get that opportunity to have that space and that opportunity to find out like what our purpose is, what we should be doing, and make sure that everything and all aspects of our life are definitely in alignment. So I definitely appreciate you for obviously being able to heal yourself, but also heal so many other people.

Lisa Arie 05:06
Yeah. Thank you as am I.

Gresham Harkless 05:08
Yes. And I also, I know we talk a little bit offline about, like, I had a friend that talked about horses or even animals can be very, very therapeutic. So I know you touched on it a little bit, but I wanted to hear a little bit more about exactly what you're doing and how exactly that provides the therapy and help for people.

Lisa Arie 05:25
Oh, gosh. Well, I'll do my best to keep that in a nutshell. First, I, you know, I wanted to say Vista Kabaya, it's not a therapy center. You know, there are some amazing therapeutic centers out there that work with horses and they're incredible. They're absolutely incredible. Um, we focus specifically on personal and leadership development. That's my sweet spot. You know, that's, that's who I can help the best, the most. And, but I can give you a little bit of insight about the power of courses and why they can help recalibrate us in such a short space of time. And so what that looks like grash is, first of all, we have energy fields in us and around us. And if anybody wants to know more specifically about that, the Heartmath Institute's got some wonderful research on it. So the, the energy field around our hearts is, is significantly more, is significantly stronger than the energy field around our brain, for example. And the only way that we can get new information into these wonderful human bodies is through our hearts. We can learn it, we can learn it on a cognitive level, but for real new information to come into our bodies, it comes in through our hearts, which is also considered a brain. So there are 40,000 neurons that go from our heart to a specific part of our brain, a part of our brain that's very creative, that is very good at imagination, is very good at consciousness. And that's the type of, that's the part of the brain that a lot of these mindfulness courses are helping us develop now. So when you're with a 1200 pound animal, their energy fields are just a little bit bigger than ours and more powerful than ours. And so when you get in that field, no pun intended, but when you get in that energy field with the horses and your energy connects to their energy because you're in the same space, space, that energy literally can recalibrate the energy around your heart and then it affects your brain. So we've had, we've had some initial research, scientific research done, and it's very, very exciting because it showed that when you are interacting with the horses, you actually activate the delta brainwave in a conscious state. The Delta brainwave is the brainwave that's usually activated when you're a deep restorative sleep. So it's one reason why you look and feel fabulous after you've worked with the horses. Yeah. Because you're actually activating a different brainwave in a conscious state. So that's just a little bit of what happens.

Gresham Harkless 08:07
Oh, nice. Well, I definitely appreciate you for breaking that down. I think that a lot of times we have to get, you know, help in so many different ways. And I think that to be able to kind of break out and understand scientifically exactly like what's happening. But sometimes I know when we were talking about before, we were just talking about dogs, but just animals and how great, you know, they are to be around just how much energy and everything positive that comes from them. That kind of helps us out in sometimes ways we don't even know.

Lisa Arie 08:33
Correct, correct. And it teaches us, you know, empathy. I mean, there's so many different aspects of ourselves that we can learn when we, when we interact with the different species. The other reason I love working with horses is because they're honest. They're a hundred percent honest. So they've got nothing to protect as far as their self identity, their prey animals. So the only thing they have to do is be honest about how they feel and be honest about what they're reading in the environment to stay safe. Now, we don't do that as humans. We have lots of different filters and mechanisms and all kinds of things to help us with our self preservation. And so when you're interacting with another species that is experiencing life in a completely different way, it affords us the opportunity to do the same. And you know, this is what I love about them, is that they ask some very simple questions. You know, are you real? Are you honest? Are you present? And if you are, I'm happy to connect with you and perhaps even let you lead me. And if you're not, I can't really put myself in your hands. And if you really look at that gresh, isn't it the same for us? I mean, one, don't we want to be those type of leaders? The type of leaders that invoke that type of trust that, that exude that type of honesty that are reachable, that you can actually really connect to. And isn't that what people follow? So it's wonderful to develop certain skills as a leader, of course, but what I love about this is it sort of just drops you right into the middle of it. Right. I mean, we all came here, we all came here to sort of do something and get on with it. Right. So for me, if I can get that in. In a couple of hours or a couple of days. Yes, please. Right. If I can touch a part of myself in. In a. In a way where I can, then it recalibrates me in a way that I then embody that and carry that forward with me. And people could feel that through my energy and my presence. I mean, sign me up, which is what I did. I was my first client.

Gresham Harkless 10:42
There you go. Yeah. Now you have so many, many more. So is that usually what happens, or I guess how exactly you work with clients? Do they just have that aha moment or is it something that happens or they can kind of signal that. To. To know. To reach out, to call that and work with you?

Lisa Arie 10:58
Oh, yeah. I mean, I think it's both. I think a lot of people are called here. You know, the people that are listening to this interview, the people that resonate with, they. They get it, you know, and they'll reach out and say, tell me more. And the people that. It doesn't resonate with it. It doesn't resonate with, you know, and that's okay, too. I mean, there's lots of different avenues. Right.

Gresham Harkless 11:18
So.

Lisa Arie 11:18
But the people that know it, feel it, and then they contact us.

Gresham Harkless 11:23
Yeah. And that makes so much sense. And I think that, you know, I would hope, you know, that everybody that's listening definitely wants to be a better leader, and there's different ways that we can go about, you know, trying to achieve that. And just like you said, like, it's. When you break it down like that, it definitely is everything that we want to be as leaders. We want people to follow us. We want to be authentic. We want, you know, people to have that connection with us so that we can lead them. So I think there's a lot of things that we, as leaders definitely, you know, want to take into account. And I appreciate you for doing that with clients and organizations and helping people to do that as well.

Lisa Arie 11:51
You're so welcome. It's my pleasure. Because like I say, we all. We all came here to serve in our unique way. And so, again, what I love is that this is now a simulator that leaders can put themselves into and experience it and feel it. And when they feel it and. And it doesn't, you know, they don't blow up, right? Then they can take it forward. So they can really. They can. They. They find their edge. They feel their edge, and then they experience themselves past their edge, and they love what they experience, then they can take that forward back into their companies. Then their companies can go past their edge and have a greater impact on our world. And as far as my perception right now, we need all the help we can get to get there as quickly as possible. So come on.

Gresham Harkless 12:47
Yeah, absolutely. No, I definitely appreciate that. Just because I think a lot of times we forget that as leaders, when we're leading people, we're empowering people, and we're able to do that. Not only are we affecting our teams and our organizations, but we're affecting the world on a greater level. So that creates that energy that, as we kind of spoke about a little bit, that just, you know, it's kind of like a domino effect throughout the entire world. So I definitely appreciate that, and you might have already touched on this, but I wanted to ask you for what I call your secret sauce. And it could be for your organization or yourself, but what do you feel kind of sets you apart, makes you unique?

Lisa Arie 13:15
I would say that my secret sauce is that I have faced the ultimate edge of the comfort zone. Right.

Gresham Harkless 13:24
I appreciate that. And 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 app, a book, or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

Lisa Arie 13:34
Well, here's my hack. My hack is to ask yourself, what is driving you? That's my hack.

Gresham Harkless 13:41
I appreciate that. And now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget. And this is a word of wisdom or piece of advice, or if you can hop into a time machine, what would you tell your younger business self?

Lisa Arie 13:50
For me, facing myself, I would say feel 100% safe inside of yourself, because this gives you a clear lens to look and lead through.

Gresham Harkless 14:01
Nice. And now I wanted to ask you my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO. And we're hoping to have different, quote, unquote, CEOs on this show. So, Lisa, what does being a CEO mean to you?

Lisa Arie 14:11
Being a CEO means that I have the trust of people and to be very responsible with that trust. It means that I'm in a position to bring a new reality to life and to make sure that it's a reality that causes no harm but brings great benefits to all of life.

Gresham Harkless 14:26
I appreciate that definition, and I appreciate your time even more. What I want to do is pass you to the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional you want to let our readers and listeners know. And then of course how best people can find you and reach out to you to find out about all the awesome things you guys are working on.

Lisa Arie 14:40
I say the only thing additional is just to trust yourself and thank yourself for doing what you're doing. It's not everybody that wants to be a leader, so just celebrate yourself every day. You know, it's really easy as a super achiever to focus on maybe what we're not doing right, but it's equally important to focus on the courage that we have to get up every day and be a leader. And if anyone wants to get in touch with me, I'd love to hear from you. You can reach me@lisavistacabio.com and I'll spell that for you. It's V I s T A C- A B A L L O.com VistaCabayo from the perspective of the horse, I'd love to hear from you.

Gresham Harkless 15:22
Awesome. Well, thank you so much again Lisa and we will have the links and information in that show notes but thank you for empowering us as leaders and giving us so much of your time to learn about how we can be better and of course the work that you do. So I appreciate you again and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.