Stay ConnectedThe Ikonns Podcast is hosted by Alex and Mimi Ikonn. We are here to help you create and live your dream life. Join us as we discuss life and business insights with each other and our special guests. Covering topics such as life purpose, building a life that you love, relationships, entrepreneurship, spirituality, health, parenting and much more.
New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.
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Hello our beautiful friends! We are back with another exciting Ask Me Anything episode. This time, we discuss something that most of us don’t want to face – our internet addiction.
Let’s admit this - there is something about new technologies, the Internet and social media that makes us feel connected with the rest of the world. The issue is, if we overdo it, we become addicted and can injure ourselves. In this conversation, we share our tips on how to consume social media mindfully.
Full show notes: https://www.ikonns.com/podcast/61
In today’s ‘Ask Me Anything’ episode, we’re going to answer these 3 fundamental questions:
Are there any boundaries on the Internet?
Nowadays there is an infinite amount of content and, therefore, scrolling has become infinite. The way social media tools are designed, Alex explains, is to get us hooked, because the more time we spend on social media, the more money these social platforms gain, because they capture our attention, and attention equals money. And this is the currency we all play with – attention.
How to use technology and not to be used by it?
Alex’s recommendation is to set limits for yourself. iOS programs like Screen Time help monitor how you consume your gadget and be aware of how you spend your time. You can even set parental control on yourself and set time limits on using different apps with Downtime feature. Alex assures that the best way you do your best work is by not multitasking. He suggests to turn off distracting notifications and do just one thing at a time.
“We have to look at the root cause of why we are addicted to being distracted from our reality” – Alex Ikonn
Alex thinks that a lot of as pass out because of the loneliness in some way or another. In order to change this, we need to follow these steps:
How to consume content in social media?
Mimi believes that we have to be mindful about the fact that social media consumption is like food consumption. We have to become mindful consumers, we have to limit ourselves and care about the quality versus the quantity. Mimi explains that we should come at the first place, and the consumption of social media and content creation come after. The resistance voice make us doing all indulgences that, over a period of time, are going to ruin our lives and will make us be incapable to do things that truly matter.
Both Alex and Mimi believe there is a lot of value that comes with the Internet. Social media in itself isn’t evil, it can be so positive and beneficial. But, in order to create some healthy boundaries, we all need to learn how to curate people and content we consume on a daily basis.
“We need to implement mindful consumption of individuals that inspire us rather than individuals that make us compare ourselves to others” – Mimi Ikonn
Hello our beautiful friends! Today we have another exciting, deep, raw and extremely inspiring episode with Dan Martell, a serial Canadian entrepreneur, SaaS (Software as a service) business coach, investor and incredible human being with life-changing story. Tune in now and discover how from a jail cell and drug addiction Dan was able to rebuild himself, shine the light inside him and become an incredible entrepreneur.
Full show notes: https://www.ikonns.com/podcast/60
APPLY HERE: https://intelligent-change-llc.breezy.hr
Hello our beautiful friends! Today’s episode is a GIANT MUST LISTEN, as we share with you the true journey of Intelligent Change. What started as a passion project, turned into a real successful business that has impacted hundreds of thousands of people. Also, we have some really exciting news to announce – for the first time ever, we will be building the Intelligent Change Team in Los Angeles, California, and we're looking for great people like you to join us.
Full show notes: https://www.ikonns.com/podcast/59
It all started with the Five Minute Journal, our best-selling gratitude journal that has helped over 500,000 people become happier since launching in 2013. We’ve since also created the Productivity Planner and the Five Minute Journal for Kids, and, we are sure, it’s only the beginning.
So, in today’s episode we wanted to take you behind the scenes and share the story of Intelligent Change: how it was created, why it was created, what is the vision of the company, and everything in between. Recently, our company has experienced some changes which, in fact, creates lots of exciting opportunities for you. So, make sure to listen to the end of this episode, if you are potentially open to work with us and Intelligent Change.
This is the journey you’re going to hear:
Also, this episode is a good case study for all of you who are thinking to start their own business. Here are our lessons, observations and some key business advice:
– Whenever you are approaching somebody, don’t come from a place of taking, come from a place of delivering unique value and giving.
– Having free time and just making money for the sake of money gets boring really fast. The intention should be not only to sell and make a profit, but to share and provide value.
– The reality of starting a business is that it’s going to be difficult. And in order to go through the difficulty, you better be interested in what you are doing, because pretty soon you will burn out, and it will consume you.
– The best way to learn is to do.
– Should you ever want to start a business or create a product, or provide any service, the goal has always to be to create things that you genuinely want to create and have in your personal life, because that way you will never ever have to sell it, but to use it, and people will be inspired if this is something they actually need in their lives.
– How big of the impact you can make with the small things if you genuinely and authentically share what works for you.
– To be an entrepreneur means to have freedom of following through your vision and fulfilling that potential. It really comes down to your values and priorities.
– In every business you need two components: you need the vision and you need the integration.
“We are so excited to be in a position of putting together like-minded people and creating something with meaning and purpose from the genuine intention to deliver the value to this world. It’s not about profit, it’s about delivering unique value and different experience to other humans beings, and creating the greater community of like-minded people”
And, finally, BIG NEWS: now that we own 100% of Intelligent Change, what we are going to do in the next year is establishing an office in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, working on Intelligent Change future vision and hiring our next Linchpins to join us on our journey to change lives and make a real difference.
The thing we are looking for isn’t your education, it’s not even your experience, it’s the sparkle of enthusiasm in your eyes. Are you excited about this opportunity? Do you want to be a part of this team that makes a difference? That’s what we value the most. For us, it’s not about micromanaging, it’s about leading and encouraging people to lead in their position, whatever that position may be.
If you are open to learn and become the best you can be – you can apply to all the positions that are available right now.
If you feel you can bring unique value to Intelligent Change, we are open to hear from you - reach out to us and name your position. Also, if you know somebody who will be interested in becoming a part of Intelligent Change, this is a great time to encourage them to apply for the role they have been dreaming about.
Books we’ve mentioned in this episode:
Hello our beautiful friends! We are back with a very interesting topic, as we discuss something we all should talk more about because it is an essential part of our life – aging. Normally, the society doesn’t look positively at aging, but in today’s episode we’re going to discuss how to deal and embrace the fact that we all are going to age, and age gracefully.
Full show notes: https://www.ikonns.com/podcast/58
This episode is inspired by one of the questions you sent us over Ask Us Anything. And the question was, how do we embrace our beauty as we age?
We all consume a lot of social media and are exposed to beautiful, inspiring, successful and young people, and for that reason we couldn’t help but compare ourselves to them and care so much about how we look. It’s been proven statistically that we’re more attracted to younger personalities – even fashion magazines and marketing campaigns put a spotlight on the young models. Somehow, all humans are obsessed with youth.
When we observe people on a public eye, we tend to notice that a lot of them are trying to reverse their aging by getting botox, fillers and a lot of plastic surgery, in a way, that they deny the fact that what is happening with them is real. Mimi believes that’s totally up to us to carry ourselves differently and to spread wisdom as we age to a younger generations. And this message is the following: there is so much beauty beyond the superficial things.
“It’s important to embrace aging with grace and beauty, and not focus on the fine lines, but on what’s inside” – Mimi Ikonn
Mimi walks us through her personal awareness of how she has faced and embraced the fact that she is getting older. This is quite a personal and intimate story, but Mimi believes that you can resonate with her thoughts in one way or another. Mimi is a natural beauty advocate, but she wants to make sure that she has absolutely zero judgment towards people who get plastic surgery, bottom, fillers and anything else done. As her favourite quote goes, the beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Before deciding whether she needed to get fillers in her smile lines or not, Mimi was doing a lot of inner work and asked herself if she really wanted to do it and why she needed that. And the answer was always the same: insecurity. “We, women, think we are not good enough, so we need to do this, because we are not loving ourselves the way we are right now, consequently, we are not perfect”, Mimi explains.
“If you do something with yourself because you are not good enough, not beautiful, not perfect this way, then by doing this you won’t help yourself, because then you’ll need more injections and corrections. It’s quite obsessive” – Mimi Ikonn
Long story short, Mimi accepted herself the way she is. Mimi is all about self-love and taking care of herself. She believes we can take a look at the alternatives that can help us preserve our youth and help us age gracefully. This is there Mimi is leaning toward herself as a woman in her early thirties. Mimi is sure there is no magic pill, and anything that sounds too good to be true is usually too good to be true.
Let’s face the truth: the reality is unavoidable. And it’s better to embrace the aging, because the moment we fight something is the moment we actually suffer. The more we’re going to change ourselves superficially, the more we aren’t going to accept ourselves and will try to change more things. This will end up in a waste of energy and time. Mimi is sure that the choices we make on ourselves are inspired by our self-awareness, will power and belief system.
“Going back to us as humans, the reason we are here is to procreate,'' Alex reminds. This is a deep subconscious code that makes us more valuable. And, in reality, we are still those simple creatures. However, with the awareness, we can go beyond that and decide for ourselves that we aren’t defined only by that. We are at the point of life when we can create our own meaning in life.
“At the end of the day, what will really help you move gracefully through life is these fundamentals of meaning, purpose and delivering value to the world and outside yourself” – Alex Ikonn
The way we can move beyond the superficiality of aging is of understating what is our deeper purpose and what is our deeper meaning as a human being. This is what will light us up inside and give us that grace. When we focus on superficiality, we make it your purpose; and the moment we can move beyond it and create a higher purpose and meaning for ourselves, we will be able to make the choices aligned with our values.
Both Mimi and Alex are sure that there is so much beauty in this world – like spark of the joy that comes through the person’s eyes. This is something we should challenge ourselves to see more: the deeper beauty. The moment we embrace the beauty in ourselves, we will be able to see this beauty in others. “Because what you judge in other people is what you judge in yourself”, Mimi sums up.
Hello our beautiful friends! Today we have a very special guest on the podcast. Jess Lively is a world traveler obsessed with consciousness, neurology, and helping people connect to the guidance within them through her podcast, The Lively Show. Today we go deep and explore the concept of the inner voice, and discover how it can guide us to live our dream lives.
Full show notes: https://www.ikonns.com/podcast/57
Originally from Ohio, Jess started her career when she was fifteen with a jewelry business in Rochester, Michigan. After graduating from the School of Business, she started her own company Jess LC right away, transforming the accessory company into a successful full-time career in Chicago. Then Jess realised her real authentic passion laid elsewhere, and it took her years to find her authentic path.
“While studying at School of Business, I found myself being unhappy. And I realised – if you are not happy now, you probably won’t be happy in 20 years doing the same thing. I wanted to help the other unhappy people struggling to find their path to joyful and happy life.” – Jess Lively
Jess had an American dream come true – she had a beautiful home, two dogs and a husband, but then she let it all go. When Jess and her partner were about to have kids, both of them understood they wanted different lives. Listening to her inner voice, Jess became aware she wanted another life – the one where she could get whatever she wants and go wherever she wants without the financial stress.
“By having the experience of living the life you dreamt about allows you to let it go and move forward” – Jess Lively
After that life transition, Jess realised that the real life force is our heart, and the real life force of the element of consciousness of who we are is intuition and wisdom. Fascinated by the gift of the inner voice, Jess started journaling and having dialogues with her inner voice. “My mind had no other way of having peace other than defining the inner voice in me that had peace”, Jess reveals.
If you want to change something in your life and you feel really uncomfortable for a long period of time, then that is the most golden opportunity to find the inner voice that will lead you to the peace of your mind. How you can achieve it? First, Jess advises, you have to change your perspective from thinking to listening.
“The difference between thinking and listening is that you don’t think of the answer, you listen for it. Your mind should stop for a moment and listen in silence to your inner voice. That’s why the only option to find peace is to go outside your mind” – Jess Lively
Implementing meditation and breathing practices into your life, as well as having deep conversations with yourself and understanding why are you upset about something, will help you to be fully and authentically unafraid to live the life that you dream about.
Tune in now and discover some amazing advice Jess has shared with us in this truly special conversation. We are so excited for you to discover how you can live your best life by allowing yourself to be led by your consciousness.
Here is what else we have talked about:
Hope you enjoyed this week’s episode with Jess Lively, you can find out more about her here:
A book that we mentioned in this episode:
Hello our beautiful friends! Today we are connecting with you through another exciting and powerful ‘Ask Me Anything’ episode, full with important messages and reminders. We take the recorded questions that you’ve submitted on our website and we go deep with our answers. Full show notes: https://www.ikonns.com/podcast/56
In today’s inspiring episode we are talking about wandering, exploring life opportunities and becoming digital nomads with Doone Roisin and Pierre Antoine de Preux, a power couple that travels around the world, connect inspiring people together and work on projects that bring them fulfillment. So, let’s dive into it. Full SHow notes at: https://www.ikonns.com/podcast/55
This episode is a very interesting, unusual and deep experience, as we have a very special guests today, Tata and Marina from Mayan Elders. We have collected the most inspiring and sparkling insights from our conversation – such as facing death, facing fears, connecting to our inner child and living with love and peace. So, let’s get into it.
This episode is full of ancient wisdom and the ultimate trut. No matter who we are, how old we are, death is something we can’t escape – everyone will face it. And the beauty of this subject, the beauty of life is that you need both. Life is so special because death exists. We also talked about gratitude and why this is one of the most important aspects of our lives.
Our friend Lazo Freeman introduced us to Mayan Elders and they came with Tommy, one of their students and translator. Tommy was the conduit in this deep conversation, as we discussed a very uncomfortable topic – death. Our relationship with death is what we learn from our culture, so let’s dive into this mystery and learn some wisdom from other cultures and see the other perspective that we need to value more.
“Open your mind towards other nations and cultures – there is so much wisdom” – Alex Ikonn
Why death is the transformation of spirit?
The Mayan ancestors knew that they had to die. But death for them wasn’t the end, the punishment. The day they died, the body and the spirit were being separated, the spirit was being reincarnated and found another body for another life. And life continued. Mayan Elders believe that the body is born here, it grows here and here it finishes its mission.
From Mayan’s cosmovision, death is one of the very important energies. That’s why they believe that death is nothing more than a physical change, transmutation of the spirit that, once separated from the body, keeps moving on and doesn’t die. For Mayans, the spirit isn’t gone, the spirit is transformed into your light, into your guide, into your starts and will take care of you.
“Today we need to eliminate this fear out of our heads, because not to have doubts means not to be worried, so we will be living in a happy life and will be happy with everything. When we are worried, it makes us sick, and sickness kills us. So, there would be a good life for all humanity if we could eliminate fear and live in peace, harmony and love” – Mayan Elders
Why spirit and body have to walk together?
In Mayan’s culture, death is the duality of life. Everything is double: there exists day and night, there is a woman and man, so there exists death and life. But physical death isn’t the actual death, because often we are alive, but are dead inside. That’s why Mayan Elders teach that spirit and body have to walk together.
We can be alive, but if we aren’t walking together with our soul, then there is a disconnection in duality of our spirit and body. Then there is fear and doubts, sickness and depression. That’s why death is a transformation – it’s the change, the separation.
Why do we fear death?
Religion taught us that after death, our soul goes to a place where it gets purified and cleaned, the paradise. For the Mayan Elders, the paradise is here, in this life, so we have to live in peace and harmony. Inside their cosmovision, gratitude is the answer to how to live this life to the fullest and be connected to our own spirit.
When we are grateful for what we have in our lives, when we are thankful for another breath of life in the morning, for everything that surrounds us, when we show and actually have this respect and gratitude, then we are connected to our spirit.
“When we don’t have all those fears that society or religion want to put over us, we understand that the paradise and hell are right here, on the Earth, and we create them by being connected to or disconnected from our spirit” – Mayan Elders
Why there is a disconnection?
Tommy shared a very interesting example – when we pray, we keep asking for something. And when we have it, we don’t even notice that and don’t show enough respect and appreciation. The reason there is a disconnection is because we have experienced a shocking experience, an accident, a deep suffer or fear.
We surround ourselves with pain, depression, fear, anxiety, sickness, and disconnect from our inner child, losing the perspective of love, harmony and gratitude. That’s why the Mayan Elders believe that, basically, the disconnection comes because of our own disconnection from gratitude. When we manage to do this reconnection, it all comes back.
Where the fear comes from?
Fear is like a shadow for humanity, they believe. We have to search for the root of our fear and our vicious circle. Very often it comes from mother’s womb, when mother had a deep fear or a spiritual disconnection, then this fear comes to the child as well.
We can go to any kind of psychologist and treatments, but if we don’t have this connection, then the fear comes back. The Mayan ancestors have a ceremony of healing and negotiation with the spirit of fear, but the healing itself is in finding and identifying the root of the fear, they believe.
“Gratitude is our tool to solve all the problems” – Alex Ikonn
What are the suggestions for people to reconnect with themselves?
You make a meditation and try to answer why you have some physical or emotional disconnection. You have to start working with your inner child. When your spirit is searching for body, this is the moment when you feel loneliness and a lot of sensitivity, and you feel like you’re crying. It’s important to go deep with yourself, in your thoughts, and come to your inner child and ask him or her to come back.
“We want peace for humanity. The lesson we want to share with this world doesn’t come from books, it comes from our wisdom, knowledge, experience and spirituality” – Mayan Elders
For Mayans, the brain is the nest of the spirit, and heart is the throne of the spirit, and the spirit is God and it moves them. The Mayan communities are walking around the world and delivering the message of peace, unity, equality and love. They don’t speak about God, they speak with him. And Dios – God from Spanish – means ‘Thank you’ in their language.
Right now Mayan Elders are planning to start a crowdfunding project to raise funds for creating a bridge between the Mayan world and the modern world. 22 different tribes will come together and will share their wisdom of life in one book and give it to humanity, to help people understand themselves better and bring all the knowledge that was damaged throughout the time. If you would like to support Mayan Elders, email Tommy directly: harevismusic@gmail.com
Here is what else we have discussed:
Find the books and movies we mentioned in this episode here:
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel Van der Kolk MD
Travelling, building new relationships, getting a new job, giving and honest feedback or speaking in public — all these situations require you to go outside your comfort zone. And here is the dilemma: one part of us wants to stick to our comfort zone, while the other part strives to face challenges, have unique genuine experience and grow. And, as Seth Godin explains this, our lizard brain – the primal part of us – wants us to stay safe and keeps us far away from any changes.
There is a relationship that we need to have with ourselves, Alex believes. And by that he means the understanding that, by nature, we are all designed to seek comfort, because our lizard brain wants us to be safe and not to die. However, with this thinking, we will never actually experience anything in life. And let’s be real: a lot of people prefer to stay in the comfort zone. And the reason some of us don’t get that job promotion, or the reason we aren’t in a relationship with the person of our dreams or we don’t experience what we want to experience in life is simply because we are in a comfort zone.
“The most oldest part of our brain – the lizard brain or the primal brain – protects us from changes and strives for our safety. That’s why it’s so important to be aware of that part of ourselves that wants us to stay safe and survive. We don’t have to deny it, we have to understand it and learn more about it, so that we can be aware of what actually holds us back” – Alex Ikonn
Coming from the background of immigrants moving to Canada, Mimi and Alex started everything from scratch. And all the adversities they have faced allowed them to build strong and beautiful relationships, be here today where they are, do what they love and live the life they have always dreamt about. That’s why the Ikonns family believes – and knows it for sure – the feeling of discomfort is normal. Actually, it is the signal of growth.
“Depending on how you interact on this discomfort,'' Alex explains, “it will go one place or another”. We must be aware that we can’t expect growth without discomfort. So, it’s also about reframing our relationship with what that feeling is. If we give up in power of the resistance voice that holds us back, then how do we expect to grow, prosper and change?
Alex mentions the great example of working out. When we exercise, we build our body by tearing our muscles apart. And the reason we become stronger is that our muscles tissues will then repair and rebuild and become stronger. First we make them uncomfortable, then we tear them apart, and when we work out enough, we then create that growth. So, that’s why Alex is sure that feeling discomfort means getting stronger is the very basic law of nature.
“Life is always changing, pushing you to grow and step into new stages of your life. The moment you shy away from that is the moment you stop growing” – Mimi Ikonn
Have you ever asked yourself the question of why so many people struggle with the idea of how to grow their relationships and careers? The reality is simple: in order to have a better life, we will have to face the challenges and the discomfort, and go through them. And one of the most important things to keep in mind is to always be honest one with another in relationships and face challenges together, and not be afraid to talk through what you think or feel.
The reason so many marriages and friendships fall apart is because with the time the parties just stop talking to each other and they don’t actually want to bring some certain things up. But, here is a great reminder: we will not be able to grow in our relationship unless we will be able to face challenging situations together. When we are able to do emotional work by truly listening, opening up, giving each other enough space, being vulnerable and accepting our own fault, we will defuse the conflict and have that massive opportunity to build a stronger bond.
“So many family relationships, friendships, marriages come to the point then someone just don’t want to face the challenge. Unless both parts are ready to work with this, be honest and open, they cannot experience growth” – Alex Ikonn
Alex believes that life throws us in challenges, because it wants us to teach a lesson. That’s why we also have to be open to the adversity. The moment we bring that awareness of discomfort, it’s really the moment for us to see how we can make the best of it and what we can learn. We are our own habits, we build them every day. So, in any situation of growth, we will face discomfort. By focusing on it and seeing it as a real opportunity, we will build this healthy habit of getting outside our comfort zone and become a little better.
And another kind reminder: the reason we are here is not to hide, is to live.
Here is what else we have talked about:
Books we have mentioned in this episode:
Linchpin - Are you indispensable? by Seth Godin
Do the Work by Steven Pressfield
In today’s episode we dive into the life story of Dennis Malamatinas, a Greek man that has served some of the world’s most iconic brands as CEO of Burger King Corporation, Smirnoff Vodka and Pepsi-Cola Italy, Dennis shares with us business strategies and his life mindset. Join us in this beautiful and inspiring conversation.
Born to Greek parents who emigrated to the jungles in Tanzania, Dennis holds very vivid and picturesque memories about his childhood – the animals, the noises and the nature. In 6 years, he ended up moving back to Greece. However, growing up watching American movies and getting fascinated by the concept of American dream life made Dennis dream big and move to the United States at the age of 17.
It was September of 1972 when Dennis as a teenager had arrived in Chicago with $300 in his back pocket, the cash he earned from working on building sites over the previous two years. He tells us “Greece was too small and I knew that America was my dream. It was tough to make it happen, but I did it”.
Working 16-hours shifts as a kitchen hand in a restaurant, Dennis was determined to make his dream life happen. In fact, one of the first things Dennis learnt about the United States was that the harder he worked, the luckier he got.
“Nowadays, people expect quick success, but you really have to work hard in life. I knew that I had a dream, and I worked for it. I was never jealous for anyone. To me, it was a motivation if I saw somebody who had a Cadillac or owned a beautiful house. I always thought ‘That’s great, how can I do it?’”
Ending up with an MBA from the University of Chicago School of Business, young, ambitious and extremely hardworking Dennis got a position in Procter & Gamble, and soon moved to Switzerland, where he met his beautiful wife.
When his two kids were born, Dennis had to admit that he wasn’t earning enough. All of the sudden, the major corporation Pepsico came forward and doubled his salary, offered him options and a big title. And guess what Dennis Malamatinas did? He accepted the role and moved to Pepsico.
In one year, Dennis was promoted to the CEO of Pepsico Italy. For him, work has always been a combination of two things: performance and people’s skills. “The people I respect are those who are actually great with developing and building teams, and delivering results. In the end, the corporate world is tough and roofless. And if you don’t deliver more than you are expected, you won’t going to make it”, Dennis points out.
Eventually, Dennis ended up being a CEO of Burger & King globally at the age of 41. But, unfortunately had no time for his family. This was the pivotal moment to make a decision to let go of ego and greed. Dennis knew: what his kids needed the most was not money, it was time and love. So, he put his family values as the main priority, resigned from his position and has never regretted this since then.
“Whether it is for life or for business, my strategy is: clarity, focus and priority. I am very clear with my life and with my priorities, and that’s what makes me happy every day. The family and the chance to have a real quality time with my kids was very important to me. In the end, we are not just parents, we are friends, and we are bonded together”.
Dennis Malamatinas’ life and business advice:
Here is what else we have talked about:
Books we have mentioned in this episode:
Show notes https://www.ikonns.com/podcast/51
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