Teams, Productivity, Leadership and Leaning into “JOMO” in a Digital Era Ft: Shira Lazar

THE EPISODE:
Shira unpacks a variety of themes related to the digital arena… her thoughts on how the media landscape may continue to evolve, how those looking at broadcasting and communications professions may want to consider building their careers, how to keep a finger on the pulse of web3 opportunities related to the industry (how she is paying attention, but not making huge pivots for her company & team just yet), and how to be mindful of productivity & mental health when it comes to business & building teams, especially in this digital era. Shira seeks to help companies navigate the best way forward. She puts an emphasis on EQ & team/community involvement, and her web3 experience helped shape her perspective on how modern communication & leadership styles are keys to success. Shira's antidote for modern anxiety & workplace/entrepreneurial challenges?... “JOMO”

EPISODE RESOURCES
Visit our website for guest info, transcripts, links, and resources for today's show.

GUEST:
Shira Lazar is an Emmy-nominated host, interviewer & content creator covering social media, AI & Web3, and digital wellness. As a leading voice around digital culture & emerging trends, she took the internet by storm with her web-first news brand 'What's Trending' in 2011. Blazing trails in the the creator economy for two decades, she’s spoken at conferences including SXSW, VeeCon, NFTNYC, and NFTLA, was named Fast Company's Most Influential Women in Technology, featured on NFTNow's NFT100 Most Influential, and is a regular contributor on The Huffington Post, Entrepreneur, & has appeared frequently on networks like Bloomber, CNN & Fox discussing Internet culture & digital trends. Shira is the Co-Founder of Peace Inside, a digital wellness agency focused on building customized programs for innovative companies, teams & communities.  

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GUEST QUOTE:
“...the biggest lessons and learning happens when I throw myself into spaces, and learn myself, and then bring it into the work environments that I'm in.”

Transcript

NOTE: This transcript is powered by AI and may not be 100% accurate… also, this episode was filmed with 2 parts, so the timestamps reflect 2 separate recordings (sorry!)…

Ashley Smith (00:01.154)

Hello, everybody. Welcome back to From the Blockchain. I am so excited to be here with you today with today's guest, a leading female voice in digital culture. I'm talking about Shira Lazar. She is an Emmy nominated host, interviewer and content creator covering social media, AI and Web3 and digital wellness. As a leading voice around digital culture and emerging trends, she took the internet by storm with her web-first news brand, What's Trending in 2011.

blazing trails in the creator economy for two decades. She's spoken at conferences, including South by Southwest, VCon, NFT NYC, and NFT LA, was named Fast Company's most influential women in technology, featured on NFT Now's NFT 100 most influential, and is a regular contributor on the Huffington Post, entrepreneur and has, sorry.

and has appeared frequently on networks like Cheddar, Bloomberg TV, CNN, and Fox News channel discussing internet culture and digital trends. Shira is also the co-founder of Peace Inside, a digital wellness agency and collective focused on building customized programs for innovative companies, teams, and communities. Shira, welcome to From the Blockchain.

Shira Lazar (01:15.023)

My God, thank you for that lovely intro. It's so great to be with you and to be connected to a fellow Canadian in Web 3.

Ashley Smith (01:20.17)

I'm so happy to have you here.

Yes. It's so nice. And you know, I will say it's been a surprise. There's more and more Canadians, especially Canadian women, that I've stumbled across over the last couple years, which I think is an interesting theme. But you're based in LA now, is that right? Just around? Yes.

Shira Lazar (01:40.327)

Yes, yes. I am very, I guess, pro-Canada, but I do live in California. Yes, I've been living here for almost two decades.

Ashley Smith (01:49.286)

Yeah. Well, yeah. Well, I guess it makes sense given everything that you do and everything you've been involved in. And certainly it's becoming more and more of a hub. It seems everyone's moving that way, which is really interesting. But why don't we dive a little bit into you and your background before we get into some of our themes of the day? Can you tell us a little bit about your professional journey?

Ashley Smith (02:18.55)

digital landscape and then eventually coming to web three.

Shira Lazar (02:22.431)

Yeah, definitely. Well, it's crazy because I feel like I've been in digital for almost two decades because the minute that I came to LA in 2004 I graduated not to age myself, but at that point I had the decision of whether to move into traditional media, which if I as a broadcaster because my background is in on air hosting producing and broadcasting you would either go to a local news station work your way up different markets or

you would audition and get like that big dream job with MTV or E. And do going to a small town wasn't my thing. And I tried to do the MTV route. And I got close. But I didn't necessarily get that what I thought was the dream job yet. I stumbled into digital through my auditions and building my reel at the time. Remember, this is pre YouTube. So it's not like you would just put your stuff on social media. I would have to create this fake video.

to pitch to agents to represent me in order to go after the jobs. So it was a different time back then, but what was crazy is through that journey of figuring out how I get that dream job, I stumbled into the digital community and started getting asked to host and produce videos for the red carpet and entertainment news for these websites that were popping up.

and I would meet the founders and I always had a knack for digital. I was very early, even like growing up. Thanks to my, thanks to my dad who got us a computer. I was like one of the first friends that got a computer that was on the internet, like all that. Now I look back and I realize in many ways I was an early adopter back then, but I'm meeting all of these entrepreneurs starting these websites who needed video. I realized there was a huge need and became the go-to person in LA for that.

And what I thought was a jumping off point to move into traditional became the niche and became my career. I didn't really know it at the time because I was always trying to get those other jobs. But I think now I've found peace in this knack that I have. It's almost like what the universe is showing you and like the signs and then where you feel good. Like I've always felt really good.

Shira Lazar (04:43.451)

in spaces with innovators and entrepreneurs and disruptors and emerging cultural movements. And those are always spaces where I would say the tech folks are. And so that's really what led me even to Web3. So like this is way back, of course, but then I rode the wave in LA through kind of Web1 to then Web2. And I started my own digital media brand and publisher called Watch Trending. And that even started out as a live streaming

Ashley Smith (04:50.807)

Mm-hmm.

Shira Lazar (05:12.891)

show, we got nominated for an Emmy, we won a ton of awards. And I would say at every part of it, I was kind of first and pioneering. I hate to say that like about myself, because it's weird. But you know what? I am 40 now, so I will own it. You know, I was I was early to reporting about social media culture, using the platforms, which is very meta.

Ashley Smith (05:31.483)

Yes.

Shira Lazar (05:40.095)

But at the time there were tech reporters and this is now, you know, we launched what's trending in 2011. So between 2007 and 2011, I started to report about these emerging spaces and communities popping up on social. And a lot of people at the time, like Mashable, were writing blog posts about it, but no one was doing video about it. And so I started doing that and

Ashley Smith (06:05.975)

Mm-hmm.

Shira Lazar (06:09.063)

was one of the first to cover these things through video, the viral video stars, the creator movement. Before a lot of the morning shows and talk shows even, I would get the exclusive. And then that led to me starting what's trending as a show, then building it from a show into an actual media brand for over the past decade and being thrown into entrepreneurship. And that came with a lot of highs and lows, which led me on a bit of a personal growth journey.

And I actually thought the past few years that I was over digital, I was really burnt out by it. And of course, the universe came calling again. And a few of my friends, the people that I'd been in web two with, you know, from the Kevin roses to the Gary Vaynerchuk and Randy Zuckerberg's and Alexis Ohanian, I saw them start sharing about besides just crypto because crypto had already been, um, been popping up.

Ashley Smith (06:44.302)

Thanks for watching!

Hmph.

Shira Lazar (07:06.503)

In 2008, even before I was at the first ever Puerto Rico conference, I was very close to some spaces and communities there, but I didn't really feel or understand how I could contribute. So I think when I saw this new emergence coming out of even an evolution of the crypto scene with this digital art and more community building, it felt like more of a space that I felt like I could be in and thrive in. So I started getting asked to advise.

I was starting to getting asked to host Twitter spaces because I had been on Twitter since it feels like the beginning. And for some reason stayed consistent on it without realizing it would have a resurgence in many ways. And then I started realizing, oh, there's these NFTs and started collecting myself and also really looking to support projects with female founders and people had a great stories. And I've always been a lover of art.

Ashley Smith (07:48.138)

Yeah.

Shira Lazar (08:02.263)

collecting as much as I could within my resources. So that fit too. And I just saw the response around it and it did remind me of what I saw back in the day in the YouTube early creator movement. And so there was a bit of a light bulb moment and then of course we were in a bull market so everything felt very exciting and busy and the minute I started talking about things, everyone was like, it was ripe for opportunity in terms of my background and where the space was.

Ashley Smith (08:17.078)

Mm-hmm.

Shira Lazar (08:31.271)

And so end of 2021 and 2022 was busy to say the least. And that's what threw me into this space. And and at the time, I had a radio show at Web2 job. And in September of 2022, I left it and said I was going to go in all in because I thought I would regret and I still believe this. I have no regrets, but regret not putting my all into it at the time to see where it could go. I would have always wondered what that would have been like.

Ashley Smith (08:32.447)

Mm-hmm.

Ashley Smith (08:36.991)

Mm-hmm.

Ashley Smith (09:03.762)

I think for someone like yourself from the outside looking at your career, it makes sense, you know, for you to have a really important place in the narrative of what's happening. That I think in and of itself is required. We need people like you sharing stories and amplifying people and helping people understand really what is going on, you know, in those moments. But I do wonder, you know, as you say that and you talk about your...

potential little pivot here. What do you have in the back of your mind related to media and content creation and Web3 in and of itself? Like not so much talking about Web3, but incorporating the technology or opportunities that might come with it with the type of, you know, whether you want to call it career or creativity, like things you want to spend your time doing. What do you see happening there?

Shira Lazar (09:58.991)

Totally. Yeah, there's a difference between being the curator and creator and then being the builder. Of course, though, you realize that when you're the creative, you always, and it's just historic, you get left behind. You're part of the building blocks and the foundation, and yet you're not the one that gets the equity. You're not the one that gets the payout at the ends. But yet you are part of building the ecosystem.

So my hope is, even though it's questionable because of the way we see some of these marketplaces treating creatives, my hope is we're in a time where technologists and creatives can come together to build together. Because if you're gonna try to solve problems around the creator economy or marketing and content and all of that, you can't do it without the people that are part of that.

And that's my hope is that leaders and founders and investors know that. But typically it becomes like there's the business people and then there's the creative people and they stay separate. So my hope is Web3 is this time and space that brings us all together so that we can thrive together and make more money altogether, right? And I do think that decentralization and the blockchain provides a lot of solutions for media and the creator economy.

There's issues, huge issues around tracking and monetization and also being able to allow for monetization between a consumer of the contents, the media brand, and then the content creator. So in the case of a website or a media business, yeah, you have your viewer, reader, you have your writer, producer, and then you have the...

owner. And I think that through smart contracts and if each article or video is a digital asset, kind of all of us can win in that. And you could really see with transparency who's sharing, there's some tokenization possibly around that. You get something when you share, when you're reading, you get something as like the writer of it. It's not just maybe an upfront payment, but consistent residuals. And you could see that whether you're part of the company or not.

Shira Lazar (12:26.027)

And then as the owner of the company, I get an upside too. And it's all in the smart contracts. It's that automated. I think these are things that are there for the taking, but no one's really played around with it yet. Because again, it's like, these are ships and paths that have already been built. And so it's gonna be really hard to move them, right? Like create new models while maintaining current ones.

And that's why it will require in many ways new companies building from the ground up. And I know NFT Now might have some inklings of this. I know Rug Radio too. I know Zellis in a way, well, Zellis is using AI to help you create your content, whether it be from a Twitter spaces or a live stream or longer form piece of content conversation. Different people are trying in different ways through these.

Ashley Smith (12:58.299)

Mm-hmm.

Ashley Smith (13:16.834)

Mm-hmm.

Shira Lazar (13:21.735)

emerging tech tools, but in many instances, it's an accessory or yeah, you're reporting about it versus using it. So yeah, it's very fascinating to me. I talk about this and write about it even for my own company, whatstrending.com. You should check it out. But it is hard to implement because it takes time, patience and resources. And media, unfortunately, right now it doesn't have the time because it's falling apart.

And so as a small business owner, a small media business owner, you think to yourself, do I look ahead and be part of the future? Or do I make sure my employees can eat today? And so that's why as a founder and CEO of that business, I say, okay, let's do what we're doing now what we know makes money. Let's look ahead, let's stay informed.

Ashley Smith (13:53.037)

Yeah.

Ashley Smith (14:09.292)

Right.

Shira Lazar (14:22.775)

And what I do is I dive in, because guess what? I don't need to interrupt their workflows and processes, but I start playing and I go very deep. And then I say, okay, here's what I've learned. And I think that this is when it's time to bring it to you. Whereas what I see from other companies, and this is my rant, what I see from other companies are leaders that see this trend, it's cool.

Ashley Smith (14:23.978)

Mm-hmm.

Ashley Smith (14:40.822)

Mm-hmm.

Shira Lazar (14:51.467)

They have a meeting and they say, oh, there's this decentralization, blockchain stuff. We need to do something, figure it out. And yet they have not even played around with it. They don't get it and the nuances around it. And so I think that for me, even as a smaller business, and I'm excited for the day that I get to skill because I'm playing in spaces and getting my hands dirty and so that I'm more informed when I bring it to my team.

Ashley Smith (15:00.334)

Thanks for watching!

Ashley Smith (15:05.068)

Yeah.

Shira Lazar (15:18.955)

And they're more likely to trust me, but that's also because we're a creator founded company. I'm not just telling them what to do. I've been in their position. I've been on every side of it. So that's what I think about how the blockchain can impact media in many ways.

Ashley Smith (15:30.597)

Ew.

Ashley Smith (15:40.106)

Yeah, I keep thinking about that, you know, 15 or 16 year old young person who would look at someone like you and, you know, maybe the way you had looked at people, role models in traditional media, and a lot of, I'm sure there's many people that look up to you the way you had looked up to others. And think, how do I position myself to have a career path like that and have success and but at the same time, like

trying to keep their finger on the pulse so they aren't necessarily just looking at what you know social media now is becoming more it's not the traditional media but it's certainly the mainstream media right in many ways and so I do encourage folks to at least try to keep their finger on a pulse young people that have time perhaps

I will, I do want to drop and mention your newsletter, the Alpha Weekly. Everyone should be subscribed to Shira's newsletter. Yeah, because you get a lot of little tidbits of what's going on. And I think without overwhelming yourself, it's nice to see the pace of innovation and things that are happening and balance some of the good news stories with the less good news stories that, you know, we've seen.

Shira Lazar (16:39.327)

Yeah!

Ashley Smith (17:00.458)

in our environment the last couple years. So, you know, for that young person that's mostly still dreaming about what they might do and maybe creating some sort of identity online, do you have any additional thoughts beyond what you just mentioned for them, especially keeping sort of technology in the forefront of mind?

Shira Lazar (17:22.166)

Well, it's such an exciting time because while it feels like we're being flooded by so much, there's so much out there, it makes it feel like are there less opportunities or more? I think that there are so many tools and different pathways and options, more than there were. So that's a plus. So congratulations, you're in a beautiful time. You were born in a good time. But I would say first it comes down to what's your why? What's your purpose? What's what?

lights you up, what gets you excited. And then of course there are those things that are worthwhile just pursuing as hobbies and something on the side, and what is worth pursuing as your main thing. But I would start there because that will influence the content that you do, the community you're trying to build, the people that you're trying to partner with. And I also think just grounding yourself

as a person is really important because there's gonna be a lot that you can't control in your career and your life and all of this. And I think the more you understand who you are and have those tools that you've worked on, the more you'll be able to be in a better place when things don't go your way. Right? Or it's a you will hit challenges like, and there will be moments you put your all in, you're not getting the results you want.

But if you know how to take care of yourself, you can create in a sustainable way that works for you and find and align the right people around you in that way too. When you don't know yourself and you're creating a ton and you're trying to reach these goals, I think that, I mean, listen, you can't avoid the life lessons. You know what I mean? You can't avoid those life lessons, but.

Ashley Smith (19:12.694)

Yeah.

Shira Lazar (19:16.403)

the more again you know who you are in your value systems, the more you'll find your community and the right people that will support you in getting to where you wanna go. And I think that you gotta stay curious, stay humble. And yeah, and know with that you'll know when you should say yes or maybe say no because it's not in alignment. But.

I also always say like, no one's going to, sorry to say this, but save you or find your ultimate solution for you. In the end is all on you, so do the work so that you can work on your fire, work on your light. Because no one is gonna light you up more than yourself. And that is just like a real talk.

Ashley Smith (19:54.313)

Mm-hmm.

Ashley Smith (20:10.086)

Mm-hmm.

Shira Lazar (20:11.135)

but yet have the support system when you need to remind it about your awesomeness that they're there for you. So I think finding that balance between what is external and what is internal is super key to success. And I would also say with that, learn when an idea keeps popping up, what is worth pursuing and not pursuing, right? And that you might not get yeses right away, but keep taking the little hints.

as a way to move forward. And you don't need to go from like A to Z in one day or one month or a quarter in a year. Like I would say every day when you wake up, what is the one little step you can take to even go from A to 8.1, then 8.2. And before you know it, you'll have gotten to B.

Ashley Smith (20:54.294)

Mm-hmm.

Shira Lazar (20:58.795)

So that's some of the stuff. It's like, you know, I don't know if that's like deep media, but that is, it's helpful. Let me tell you, these are things I wish I knew, but again, I had to live through life to get there in many ways.

Ashley Smith (20:59.788)

Mm-hmm.

Ashley Smith (21:06.663)

It's wonderful advice. Yeah.

Ashley Smith (21:14.946)

Well, I think there is for young people, we're in a funny time where there are so many opportunities and so many, you know, perceived challenges with AI and different things when people are thinking about what career path and, and I think bringing it back to earth, bringing it down to fundamentals, what do you want to spend your time on and commit to that, you know, is often going to lead you somewhere, even if that requires pivoting along the way because of, you know, external factors. Speaking of, go ahead.

Shira Lazar (21:39.675)

Yeah, I'll say also one thing that's a bit more concrete, Ashley, like, you know, is that a lot, you know, in figuring out partnerships, like relationships are key. Your network is your net worth, as they say. And part of that is not just sucking value from people, but adding value to the communities you're part of and recognizing when you're in learning and mentorship mode.

I think that the biggest thing not to be like, ageist like, oh, when I see young people today, but like there's people that wanna help you, but like receive the support. You don't need to know everything and to be like at the top of your career. Like I think a lot of young people wanna skip and I was there, like skip the learning, skip the young part or skip that chapter. And it's like, no, enjoy the chapter.

Enjoy the people that want to support you. You have like, I think between 20 to 30, like a really beautiful or 18 to like 30 or so a really beautiful time where you're in this like place where people you're reminding people of themselves and they're younger and like there's opportunities that will come in that stage that might not come like in 30 plus. Let me just tell you. So if you try to skip that period of mentorship and learning, I think that you're really missing out.

on a lot. And with that, add value to what people are doing, right? Like tap into all the people you look up to that you want to be like, or you love what they're doing and like support them, whether it be starting with, you know, internships to assisting and then like, I would say, gaining trust, building loyalty. And then a lot of times you're first in line to get that job, let me tell you. So

You could do both build your own personal brand while also helping others. And I think that is the key and you'll end up gaining more in the long run.

Ashley Smith (23:41.474)

That's sound advice. And I think, you know, we're always learning. That's the part I think that, you know, is easy to not imagine as a young person. And maybe just to kind of bring it to web three a little bit and learning. I'd love to know what have been some of your key takeaways over the last couple of years. Anything that surprised you in the quote unquote space or

Shira Lazar (23:46.485)

Yep.

Ashley Smith (24:10.546)

anything you're thinking about more now than you were before.

Shira Lazar (24:15.391)

Um, what surprised me? I mean, I don't even think anything like all, whether it be. Rug pools or weirdos and like scams and trolls. Surprises me anymore. But I think that in the midst of all of that, there's, there's also really awesome people, but that's every industry. Like it's not just web three NFTs. Guess what?

Ashley Smith (24:29.326)

Mm-hmm.

Shira Lazar (24:41.863)

I came up in Hollywood and let me tell you, there's a lot of weird people there and people that will totally pull the rug from under you. So let's not act like Web3 is this new place with like weirdos and guess what? The traditional finance system, like Bernie Madoff, like we've seen bad players across the board in different industries. The question is, what do you wanna focus on and who will you be?

Shira Lazar (25:12.875)

When you show up and lead by example, you find like-minded people.

And so, but if you're going to focus on all the horrific stuff and it's like, it's, we're not going to turn a blind eye, but if that's all you're focusing on and you're just like obsessed with replying and getting after these people, like you're missing a whole group of people creating amazing things and impact and like that are moving the needle.

So that's what I would say glass half full in that way.

Ashley Smith (25:40.298)

Yeah, I've definitely taken...

Ashley Smith (25:46.07)

Yeah, no kidding. I've definitely taken note of the shift in perspective, having spent more time on LinkedIn lately, and really with a learning mindset. You're obviously very tapped in with people, like startup culture, technology culture, entrepreneurial culture, and you work with clients who are likely doing things related to this technology.

What types of conversations are you having right now? What are the problems people are looking to solve? Is there anything that you're finding in particular that's a theme?

Shira Lazar (26:28.006)

Yeah, I mean, definitely, AI is the big thing, the big buzzword. But I think what where we're pulling those large language models from who's the leadership team, leadership team, what are the ethics around these things? How do we make sure it's supporting us as humans versus destroying us? These are all the types of conversations being had.

Ashley Smith (26:33.858)

Mm-hmm.

Shira Lazar (26:52.971)

How do we create more meaningful connections? There is a lack of trust in social media platforms, a feeling of a lack of privacy, that our data is being used. So I think a lot of people are trying to figure out ways to solve these problems. Then also in entertainment and media, we're seeing an uprising of feeling like people aren't being paid enough. The models aren't there to help the.

Industry thrive. This is a long time coming. So I'm also seeing entrepreneurs and companies trying to solve that problem as well and so overall like where I play is definitely around innovation and emerging tech I would say for impact some of the work I'm doing is around even projects are on the LGBTQ community for fundraising or

creating better connections between people using the thing we all love, like possibly, you know, astrology or human design or Myers-Briggs tests, right? Like right now there's algorithms that connect us, but what if it was based on like how we all like connecting and we feel connected, you know, some of us know we connect better with this type of person or that type of person. So figuring out different ways to connect.

So these are the types of things that I'm working on and also the future of well-being as it relates to all of this in the modern world and technology. And so I'm doing that with my company. I'm doing that personally first. Everything starts personally. I could do everything for other companies. But ultimately, the biggest lessons and learning happens when I throw myself into spaces and learn myself and then bring it into the work environments that I'm in.

And so on the wellness side, I started a company a few years ago, Peace Inside, and we did virtual classes during COVID. We then ended up moving into corporate wellness. And then we got hired by an NFT to do wellness in their discord. And then that has led us on a whole other journey. And we did a whole collection with Deepak Chopra and Time Pieces and many other folks in a fundraiser for mental health charities in May for Mental Health Awareness Month. And

Ashley Smith (28:49.698)

Mm-hmm.

Shira Lazar (29:18.231)

Now it's like we're figuring out the next stage of that company as well. Like how do we create more of a structure around these tools in the spaces that we're in so that we are showing results, right? Because in the end companies want to see either what productivity increase, like less people quitting, how do they get their employees more engaged? You know, I think that...

Ashley Smith (29:33.942)

Mm-hmm.

Ashley Smith (29:40.361)

Mm-hmm.

Ashley Smith (29:45.843)

Mm-hmm.

Shira Lazar (29:46.187)

The system is being rebuilt hopefully. And we would love, I personally would love, all of this to be in the foundation of what we're building. So that's what we're trying to bring to companies and teams and the communities that they're serving. We work with them to create customized wellness experiences virtually in IRL. And so those are the things that are top of mind for me definitely.

Ashley Smith (30:09.302)

Mm-hmm.

Ashley Smith (30:14.518)

Wonderful. Sherid, I'm thinking right now I can stop the recording. I know. And then I was thinking in our...

Shira Lazar (30:16.423)

I know. Should we, yeah, and then we'll be like, oh, and then you have, what if you. Okay.

Ashley Smith (30:27.198)

I'm going to stop the recording so you can... So it loads.

Shira Lazar (30:27.607)

there's a delay. I said, and then if you wanted to pick it up in 30 minutes, you could be like, oh, you also have a journal.

2ND RECORDING (same day…)

Ashley Smith (00:01.814)

So speaking of mental health, why don't you tell me a little bit about the journal that you have created based on that campaign?

Shira Lazar (00:08.78)

Yes, so Jomo effect to the campaign, the joy of missing out, an antidote to FOMO, which we all experience, modern day anxiety. So really what led to that campaign, the inspiration was the journal, even though we're starting to promote it after, after that campaign that we did. So the Jomo journal, joy of missing out journal is a daily practice to help cultivate inner joy daily.

And it was created by me and my co-founder of Peace Inside Live, Jordana Reem. And both of us love the practice of daily journaling. It's really been healing and a great way to process life and emotions and all of those things. And so it was always kind of a bucket list thing to just have our own journal. Also through a lot of our own sessions and workshops that we do, a lot of it involves reflections, right? So usually we're like, get that pen and paper out.

or if you have some sort of notebook. So we've always wanted to launch our own journal, which is what we did. And in it, you'll find morning and nighttime prompts, including like asking you, what is one thing that I will choose joy in doing today? What's one thing that I will joyously choose not to do today? Because JoMo is all about joyously choosing out, joyously saying no, and having healthy boundaries with ourselves and others.

and evening prompts that are just a reminder of like what brought you joy today? What did I learn about myself today? What is one inspiring word that describes today? We also have inspiring quotes and this is very much connected to the NFT community, digital art community. We have artists that were part of the Jimmo Effect, 10 of those artists that we feature their art in the actual journal. And each of their art, they were asked

What does joy mean to you? And their art reflects that. And then you also have yourself one page every week where you could draw what joy means to you right now. The past seven days of my joy missing out looks like, and you have a blank space to draw or write or whatever you wanna do. And so we are selling these at peaceinside.live.jomo. Great gift for yourself or others. And also what's cool is companies and events are

Shira Lazar (02:31.707)

hiring us to do these workshops around. We have a workshop to help you go from FOMO to JOMO. And they're buying these in bulk for their teams and their communities. So we're definitely wanting to do more of that and bring JOMO everywhere around the world.

Ashley Smith (02:40.055)

Mm-hmm.

Ashley Smith (02:51.806)

So maybe speak to that a little bit, especially when thinking about folks involved in digital transformation and technology and people who have taken, for example, a special interest in emerging tech. Certainly it's clear to me like burnout is real and not just from a work life balance side but just from always trying to be on trying to trying to stay on top of what is happening today.

Shira Lazar (03:16.536)

Yeah.

Ashley Smith (03:21.058)

the good news, the bad news. Maybe you can speak a little bit to that. Why is it so important to you to be unpacking this stuff?

Shira Lazar (03:29.067)

Yeah, it came from my own journey of the conflict that I had with my own behavior around this stuff. But then also my care to be connected, like my care and curiosity in this modern world to know what was out there, to stay ahead, stay on top of things. And so I was trying to figure out how do I find harmony in that? How do I balance out those needs? Where I really wanted to disconnect and figure out who I was and create space for that being human.

and being my best self, but then I also felt like, yeah, what am I missing? And so how do you rebuild that relationship to better approach it so you can be intentional in your response to it versus reactive? And that's where mindfulness comes into play and having tools in your tool belt that support you when you know you are falling off.

And we each know what that is for each of us, right?

Ashley Smith (04:30.006)

What do you think about them?

Ashley Smith (04:34.23)

What do you think about then for companies and teams? What should they be thinking about? What type of, I don't know, principles are you sharing with them to help them ensure that their workforce is healthy and happy and productive?

Shira Lazar (04:50.731)

Yeah, I mean, this is a very challenging thing. And I think challenges are ripe for solutions, which is exciting, right? Because I think that the hardest thing, and we have an advisor to Peace Inside Live, who Dr. Raghu Apostani, and he owns the Minds Foundation and is like an incredible mental health professional. And we've talked a lot about this. How do you measure success on something so nuanced? And also why, while respecting privacy?

Right? Like, of course, I'm sure you could connect with someone's aura ring and see how they're sleeping and like Apple watch. But like, do you want your company to be doing that? Right? So how do you find that balance where people are, you know, there it's a collaborative effort and people are opting in because it's a relationship you're building with each other to reach results and to create sustainable environments for to thrive.

Right? Because in the end, if we are spending so many hours in the work we're doing, how do we make it the best space it can be? Well, while respecting the fact and understanding that there will be challenges, there will be moments where you have to dive in and there's a lot of work. That's like anything. That's like your relationship with your partner, right? Or your family. Like nothing I think is easy. It's like not about expecting unicorns and rainbows with these spaces we're in.

But it's saying, how do I create a safe space to make sure my team feels heard and seen and to co-create what would be effective for them? Because also, everyone works differently. Everyone takes in information differently and outputs differently. So in this world of scale, how do we still create some customization and understanding around that? So when we work with teams right now,

with leaders and we hear what the problems are. Is it anxiety? Is it that there's a lack of energy? There's a lack of productivity? There's a lot of employees leaving, right, turnover. Like what is that and then how do we start there and then reverse engineer it? And a lot of times that is being in between the HR and the telehealth.

Shira Lazar (07:15.699)

and creating holistic experiences. So you wanna be a bridge to the mental health professionals they hopefully have access to, which also a lot of companies still don't include that in their health insurance. We can't solve every problem necessarily, but these are things that I'm personally thinking about. And so a lot of times it is creating consistent experiences and understanding how employees will take in.

Ashley Smith (07:30.252)

Mm-hmm.

Shira Lazar (07:42.127)

that again, that experience. So when we're working with a company like Spotify, their employees, they've said, they're not into things that seem spiritual or woo woo. They're a bit more pragmatic and cerebral. So how are we building out sessions and with the right facilitators that allow for that? Right, and so we're bringing in people again, weekly, virtually or IRL, and then we're doing surveys and trying to measure that.

Ashley Smith (07:55.105)

Mm-hmm.

Ashley Smith (08:09.175)

Mm-hmm.

Shira Lazar (08:10.711)

response over time. And then I think there's a bit of probably coaching involved too that we've seen people are interested in. And also incentives to show up. How do you do that? So these are all things we're like thinking about as we're building. And then also, you know, events, like there are so many employee appreciation events or retreats, how are you incorporating wellbeing into that in a way that feels like authentic.

Ashley Smith (08:23.618)

Mm-hmm.

Ashley Smith (08:40.208)

Mm-hmm. Mm. Mm-hmm.

Shira Lazar (08:41.319)

and creating a space where you're not just shoving it down people's throats, but it feels like it's meaningful.

Ashley Smith (08:50.082)

I'm curious, do you have any insight with the companies that you've worked with in this manner, what their workforce looks like? Are they, especially now post pandemic, if you want to call it that, are people mostly remote? Are they mostly hybrid? Are they getting back to the office? And how is that impacting their productivity and mental health?

I just keep thinking, I guess, about the value that a lot of people would argue comes with that person to person thing and us all being so digital for the last several years. I'm curious if you have any sort of anecdotes or insights related to that issue.

Shira Lazar (09:34.295)

Yeah, I mean, and I think there's been so many studies coming out to write like there's personal experience and that there's research that is saying what people need and how they possibly want to work. And I think that even from my own experience with my own team, it's a mix. Some people want to continue working from home and some people want to be in person. And so.

Ashley Smith (09:39.662)

Mm-hmm.

Shira Lazar (09:59.359)

You know, you're not gonna please everyone, but how do you create the choice so that people could be as effective as they can within the way they work, right? So some people might be better working in an office. And then of course, it's like, what's your business model? Can you support having an in-person space? And some companies can't depending on where they're at. And they have to be like honest with themselves, but maybe they're, and this is where I do think it's about

Ashley Smith (10:19.946)

Yeah, yeah.

Shira Lazar (10:28.655)

really reaching out to the teams and asking, and then taking that information and leading with that information, versus I think top-down leadership, co-creating these spaces with the teams.

I think that personally is future. But of course, a lot of companies that are public, they have boards, they have shareholders, and it all comes down to productivity and how do we make the most money, get the most out. I do think we're gonna end up leaning into a time and a space where eboda, profitability, you have that, and then you have...

Ashley Smith (10:49.643)

Yeah, I think.

Shira Lazar (11:18.135)

you know, what's employee satisfaction and the satisfaction of this space is just as important. It's like a new way of thinking about how profitable or successful a company is. And I think if that was more public, then that would change the share price probably.

Ashley Smith (11:43.298)

Yeah, it has been interesting to watch the web three ecosystem over the last couple years, especially related to NFTs. It's been more where I spent my time. But I think, you know, as you experience highs and lows recognizing communication styles, especially through digital means, you know, we're not all super well versed in how to communicate well.

not only to get what we want, but to get our point across without being misunderstood and without creating, you know, silliness, like unnecessary silliness. And I think that's part of the challenge for those of us who've spent any time in the space is like it got really immature really fast and kind of in some ways, like for me personally, there were moments where I was like,

my gosh, my energy. I don't know about if I have I don't know if I have the energy for this and I'm sure I'm lacking, you know, in the skills that might be needed to help, you know,

Shira Lazar (12:47.727)

Oh yeah, how do we be focusing on our emotional intelligence, you know, EQ within the spaces? And how do you nurture that?

Ashley Smith (12:56.491)

Mm-hmm.

Shira Lazar (13:00.363)

These are all, I think, part of creating more positive spaces for everyone.

Ashley Smith (13:01.085)

Mm-hmm. Yeah. Do you have any?

Ashley Smith (13:10.302)

Yeah, that's an interesting topic, I think, for companies, because more and more, their teams are working remotely or at least communicating remotely. And in some cases, are becoming more and more publicly identifiable as someone who works for that company. And so I guess communications can lead to success or failure quickly.

Shira Lazar (13:40.159)

I think that personal development, I'm not an expert. I'm just also learning myself. I think when you work on yourself and there's a focus on personal development, not in a narcissistic selfish way, but in a way to better take accountability for your actions and understand how to better, yeah, communicate effectively. That is huge. And that comes from leadership,

Ashley Smith (13:40.302)

So, I mean, you're the expert. I, yeah.

Shira Lazar (14:09.987)

Let's also make sure that everyone is getting access to those tools and skills, right? It shouldn't be something that is like exclusive to a certain group of people. I think that any sort of workforce is better for it when everyone is aligned with that and learning together. And that requires an investment. So I think that a lot of companies like ours

really working hard to figure that out. How do you bring together data, technology, and bring some humanity into it? Because I do think in the end, people have the power to influence other people.

Ashley Smith (15:02.574)

I think, is there anything before we close, because we got to wrap it up, before we tell people how to find you and learn more about your company and your newsletter and all that stuff, are there any closing thoughts on what you're excited about and really from innovation forward perspective? Is there anything that you're hyped about for the end of 2023 or 2024?

Shira Lazar (15:07.573)

Yeah, we're like, we gotta.

Shira Lazar (15:32.643)

Yeah, I mean, kind of everything we spoke about. I am still intrigued by AI. I'm co-creating with AI. I'm excited to see where it lands and how we can be at peace with it while challenging it. And also highlighting diverse leaders who can help us build this next generation of tech in a better way.

Ashley Smith (15:37.718)

Mm-hmm.

Shira Lazar (16:02.371)

That's what I'm excited about. I'm excited about continuing to bring my passion for mental health and wellbeing into the work that I do and see what happens. Of course, I'm excited to bring the Jomo Journal everywhere, get more people's hands on it and see how it impacts you.

Ashley Smith (16:20.299)

Yeah.

That's a great name by the way. Cool.

Shira Lazar (16:24.347)

Thanks, appreciate it. And yeah, and then also we're looking at, you know, IRL events, where we're gonna be. Maybe I'll see you all at Art Basel, right? Like there's so many events coming up and so figuring out, you know, where to go and continuing to connect with people, IRL as much as we can do stuff virtually is still remains like one of the most important things to build relationships.

Ashley Smith (16:33.537)

Mm-hmm.

Ashley Smith (16:51.49)

Do you have maybe a top two or three events that you're excited about that maybe people should have their eyes on? Is Art Basile one of them?

Shira Lazar (16:59.927)

Well, we're going to be doing in LA if you're in LA, a Jomo party at a certain point to launch the journal. So if you subscribe to my newsletter, you'll know first when we're releasing tickets for that. And definitely looking at Art Basil. And, oh, I'll be at Camp Decrypti. Crypt Media is doing an event we're going to be providing meditation and our journals there and our FOMO to Jomo workshop. So those are some, you know, this year.

Ashley Smith (17:04.097)

Mm-hmm.

Ashley Smith (17:07.758)

Mm-hmm.

Shira Lazar (17:29.347)

And yeah, figuring also the next step with what's trending. So we'll see some moves coming because, you know, in a few years, I want to be, you heard it here first, I want to be on some boards. I want to be on your board. Whoever's listening, I'll be on your board. But that's the kind of, I'm going from founder to advisor, hopefully investor, and then consultant and...

Ashley Smith (17:40.406)

Well, you're definitely.

Shira Lazar (17:57.839)

Hopefully board member at a certain point because we need to see more diversity on boards.

Ashley Smith (18:03.486)

100% I can get behind that. And I'm hoping to talk a little bit more about that on this podcast as we move forward. So thanks for bringing that up. Shira, you are a force to be reckoned with. I really appreciate your time. I know you're so busy and you have a lot on the go. So carving out your time for me and our audience, I really appreciate it. We've mentioned the Alpha Weekly newsletter. I'll drop a link in the show notes so people know how to find that. Shira.

What other links should people know about in order to find you and the things you're working on?

Shira Lazar (18:37.043)

Yeah, that's right. I'm at Shira Lazar is where you could find me everywhere. And my links is where you can find also like click into the bio.

Ashley Smith (18:41.584)

Mm-hmm.

Shira Lazar (18:46.743)

And you can see the link to the Alpha Shira Lazar.com slash subscribe as well. But thank you so much, Ashley. I'm a big fan of what you're up to. And I've loved connecting with you. Even during this podcast, it's been fun.

Ashley Smith (18:56.238)

Thank you.

Ashley Smith (19:00.766)

Yes, thank you so much. I'm glad you're here. Everyone, I hope you enjoyed the show and have a wonderful, wonderful day. There you go.