“It is imperative that we create healthy habits for ourselves and for our families early on.”
I had the pleasure of interviewing Anna Lozano and Lindy Sood. With parallel journeys, shared values, and an insatiable drive to create something beautiful, meaningful and impactful, Anna & Lindy joined forces to create what they believed to be lacking in the marketplace — consciously curated tools for the mindful family. With an electric spark of energy and a creative intuitive nudge, Love Powered Co™ was born.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! What is your backstory?
To provide a little bit of an introduction, we are Lindy Sood & Anna Lozano — friends, soul sisters, and mom entrepreneurs on a mission! We have huge hearts and huge visions, and a deep desire to create a positive impact while we are here on this beautiful earth.
Having seen and felt the profound positive impact of learning the art & skill of self-love and mindfulness, we can only imagine what it would be like if our future leaders (our children), got a head start on understanding the importance of positive self-talk, and living without judgment in the present moment.
Our Mission at Love Powered Co™ is to power the next generation of mindful leaders (our littles!). To fuel them with positive self-talk, confidence, self-love and self-worth. To empower them, so that they may take the torch, lead with love, and light the way for others.
Mindfulness is not new. I AM Affirmations are not new. Self-discovery and personal development are not new. However, these concepts and genres of thought, are still very niche. And when it comes to tools for parents to practice with their children? They are not only few and far between, but they are not easy to find, and they aren’t exactly beautiful creations you want to get your hands on. It’s proven that the world will be a better, more loving place if we become more present, mindful, empathetic and lead with love.
We envision a mainstream shift, with millions of families around the world practicing positive I AM affirmations daily, connecting on a deeper level and raising the level of self-worth and self- confidence in our children, and ourselves. And instead of just wishing for things to be different, we decided to create something that could/would and does support the change we want to see in the world.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
Hmmmm…great question, and hard for us to choose just one! Starting our heart-led business together, taking an intuitive nudge and a creative spark and turning it into a profitable venture has been a journey of interesting accounts one after the other — a passage rich with lessons and growth every step of the way. One of our favorite memories was when we first introduced Love Powered to the world. We decided to launch our business with Kickstarter, a crowdfunding campaign, and so we were selling our concept before a physical product was actually made and available to ship out. During this time, we were extremely active in marketing our idea on a global scale, and had our hands in a lot of different pots. Due to creating so much excitement around our brand, yet not having more than a prototype to showcase, we were selected as one of the featured companies for the Marilyn Denis Show 10 Days of Giveaways during the holiday season (think Oprah’s favorite things in Canada!) — we had our overseas manufacturer rush production and air freight 100 units for the studio audience which arrived the day before the show taped! It was a whirlwind, but we made it happen, the audience went crazy over it, and our sales went through the roof! I have goosebumps remembering it now!
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now?
We are! From the onset, our dream was to expand Love Powered Co, continually introducing consciously curated products for the mindful family, and we are thrilled to announce that Love Powered Teens and Love Powered Femme will be introduced to the world for this year’s holiday season! That said, we are in the midst of all the fun stuff involved in creating and launching a new product — copy, design, manufacturing, marketing, photo shoots, video campaigns, etc. We can’t wait to show you what we have been working on!
Between work and personal life, the average adult spends nearly 11 hours looking at a screen per day. How does our increasing screen time affect our mental, physical, and emotional health?
This is a very hot topic right now, and although there is still much debate, more and more research shows that there is a direct correlation between increased screen time and lower levels of happiness and overall wellbeing….especially in our youth. Jean Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University, argues that teens are at the “brink of a mental-health crisis” — and she believes it can be linked to growing up with their noses pressed against a screen. For us, this is very troubling and an area of concern that we believe must be addressed in every household.
Can you share your top five ways people can improve mental wellness and create a healthy relationship with technology?
Technology is not going anywhere, and it is imperative that we create healthy habits for ourselves and for our families early on. As parents, and thinking of the wellbeing of everyone within our households, our top 5 tips to create healthy relationships with technology are:
- Lead by example:
Our little wide-eyed-wonders, our children, our sponges, are watching our every move and imitating our every action. If we want our kids to learn healthy habits when it comes to technology, we need to show the way, leading by example. For example, we don’t want our kids to come home and immediately engage in screen time? Then we set the precedent by not coming home and immediately engaging in screen time. It seems simple, and it is…yet it is the most effective thing we can do. - Set boundaries:
Set specific boundaries for our households, stick to it, and hold one another accountable. No screen time during meals, before bed, or other times when the family has real, in the moment engagement with each other. Write the rules down and have them visible so everyone can be reminded of them! - Limit Social Media:
Social media has so many wonderful advantages. Daily inspiration boosts, connecting with long lost friends and family, and pure entertainment fun, we can get a lot out of our online social engagements. However, there is a dark side to the social media world that we need to be aware of, and limit our intake of. The comparison game. The heavy focus on ‘likes’. The false interactions. Our practice is to limit the intake all together, and when we are on social, to only engage with positive people, accounts and interactions. - Make Real Memories:
Leave the smartphone, iPad, and all other devices at home, take the family out, and make real memories. Not to capture that perfect insta shot. Not to post for later. Not to showcase to the world. But real, loving, happy memories that will stay with all us all forever. These real heart-to-heart engagements are what builds trust and confidence within the home, and it’s up to us as parents to create space for them as much as possible. - Establish a Mindful Practice in the Home:
Mindfulness is simply being aware of what’s happening in the present moment. When we are in tune with our senses, without judgment, we take ourselves away from the worry of the past, and the apprehension of the future. We are awakened to our present experience, which can instantly infuse us with peace and calm. Doing I AM affirmations together, a daily yoga practice or engaging in a mindful nature walk can remove us from the chaos associated with our technology-linked lives, creating stronger connections with each other, and instilling peace in our minds and hearts.
51% of Americans say they primarily use their smartphone for calls. With the number of robocalls increasing, what are ways people can limit interruptions from spam calls?
Most mobile providers provide us with protection, and there are many apps available to the public, designed to block fraudulent calls from reaching us. The only other suggestion we have is to block robocall numbers one by one.
Between social media distractions, messaging apps, and the fact that Americans receive 45.9 push notifications each day, Americans check their phones 80 times per day. How can people, especially younger generations, create a healthier relationship with social media?
No doubt about it, we are living in a chaotic world. One based on a foundation of social likes, instant gratification and an ever-growing addiction to our screens.
- Be selective about who you follow and engage with:
Some people’s feeds may lead you to the comparison game, may make you feel left out, or simply put, may anger you or create negative emotions within you. Unfollow! This is your life! If something is not serving you for the betterment of you, your friends or your family, let it go. - Keep social out of the bedroom:
This is your sanctuary. Your space to feel calm, peace and at ease. A place where you can be mindful, pensive and creative. Your space. Keep social out of it. - Think before you post:
Is this serving you? Is it serving someone else? What will be the result of my actions? Imagine shouting your opinion into a microphone in the middle of Times Square. Would you plan out what you were going to say? Of course you would! It should be no different with social media engagements. - Foster and Strengthen Real Bonds:
Call your friends
Invite them for walks
Go to a movie with a group
Play a favorite sport with a team that motivates you
Leave the screen at home!
Creating real, in-the-moment experiences with our friends and family leads to stronger relationships, builds trust and infuses us with confidence and a feeling of self-worthiness
80% of smartphone users check their phones before they brush their teeth in the morning. What effect does starting the day this way have on people? Is there a better morning routine you suggest?
The best thing we ever decided to do, was to leave our screens downstairs (out of sight and out of mind) before we go to bed. It has allowed us to turn in at night without concern about what’s happening at the other end of the screen, and wake up refreshed and ready to start the day, without the distraction of our devices. The world isn’t going to end if you wake up and have 30 minutes to yourself and your family before jumping back into the chaos.
Can you please give us your favorite life lesson quote?
“I AM — The two most powerful words, for what you put after them shapes your reality” — unknown
We live by these words each and every day. Positive self-talk and self-love is everything, and in our opinion, determines how you show up in this world. Learning how to speak kindly to yourself and to love yourself fully, is the most powerful and important thing one can do.
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?
We would continue on doing exactly what we are doing. Our Mission at Love Powered Co™ is to power the next generation of mindful leaders (our littles!). To fuel them with positive self-talk, confidence, self-love and self-worth. To empower them, so that they may take the torch, lead with love, and light the way for others
What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?
We would absolutely love to connect! Find us here:
www.lovepoweredco.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovepoweredco/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/lovepoweredmovement/
Thank you for this interview. It was very insightful!
This interview is part of an interview series by Dan Pannasch, Product Manager of RoboKiller, the robocall blocking app that gets even with spammers. You can check it out at robokiller.com.
Originally published at medium.com