SAMIA: Hello, Salaam, Shalom, Namaste, Sat Sri Akal, Aloha, Holah, Ciao, Bonjour, Buna, and Privet! It's really, really good to be with you again. And I know you'll be so happy you have joined us today, because we have a very special guest... And our guest today is Spencer Jones, who is the Prince of Positivity. I'm so excited to have you with us, Spencer. Welcome…

SPENCER: Oh, my goodness. Thank you so much for having me here, Samia. It's such an honor. I love you, your energy, everything you do... I'm just so excited to share this time and energy with you and everybody here.

SAMIA: Yay! All right Spencer. So please jump right in and tell us more about who you are and what you do.

SPENCER: Well, thank you. So as Samia said, I'm Spencer Jones. The people call me the Prince of Positivity. I guess it must be positive in some way, shape, or form. But I love helping people to have a positive, abundant mindset, to help them master their energy sovereignty, so they could shine bright... I personally… we all have this gorgeous light inside of us, that's just aching to shine. And yet, we have these walls and armor up, these things that dim our light… or I should say not dim it but don't allow it to shine as bright as it could out to the world. So I'm on a mission to help people dissolve those walls and remove… it's not just me personally through coaching and that, but we created a whole organization, a whole community around it, where we have a community of people, of experts and coaches, to help people. We have an online academy. We do live events to really help people take down those walls and remove that armor so that they can shine bright, learn how they can vanquish our energy vampires, plug into the infinite energy and shine their true gorgeous light with the world. And it's so amazing when you do that …when you see people do that. And if you can help it, oh my gosh, it's incredible... So that's me in a nutshell. I just love helping people shine their light…

SAMIA: I love it, I love it... And you know, it is so true, you know that analogy or that idea of… we, in so many ways, we literally are energy and we are light. And there are things that can prevent us from shining as brightly, you know, or dim our light as it were... Can you tell me a little bit more about your journey, your story of how you came to be the Prince of Positivity?

SPENCER: Definitely… I was not always the Prince of Positivity... I might have had more of an optimistic view, you know, the cup is half full kind of mindset throughout most of my life, but I let life kind of lead me emotionally on a roller coaster. You know and maybe you've experienced this or the people listening or viewing have where… you're having a great day, you know, you woke up on the right side of bed, things are going like, "Life is amazing! This is great..." And then other days when something's not going well and you're like, life sucks. And it's just… you're struggling, your inner critic is really beating you up. And it was this roller coaster of emotions constantly. Well, before I was a Prince of Positivity, the nickname that my wife gave me… before we met, we went to the same college, we met in college. It was a small university and she saw me walking a lot. And accurately named… the nickname she gave me was "ego man". Because I had this big ego. I was loud, I was obnoxious, I let my ego do a lot of the leading for the majority of my life… 30 plus years… And I'm 36 currently. So for 30... just over 30 years of my life, I let the ego guide me… of saying… "Hey, look at me, I'm awesome. Look what I can do”. And just… I tried to live up to what I thought society wanted to see from me, right. That, oh, I needed to have this amount of money, this kind of car this whatever..., and let that make decisions. Now I became a middle school high school choir director… not necessarily making the big bucks but making an impact with kids. And then... and even though we did really cool things they had… not great intentions behind it right. So yes, while we raised 1000s of dollars for a variety of charities and groups and organizations and causes… that… it was for a different reason. I was… yes, I was able to help. But I was also saying, "Hey, look at me, look what I can do. I'm really awesome”... Well, the issue with that is I let the ego make these choices. And I don't know about you but if you've experienced this… I think most of us have to some degree… that as we go through life and we let our ego make those decisions, it's putting us up on these pedestals... Well, life then will knock out that pedestal from underneath you to a degree. And it did that, right. Life checked me, quote-unquote, and knocked me down a little bit. But me being ego man, I just blew it off... I'm like, I got this. Like, now and I'll come back stronger. Look at this, that was nothing, right. Let's keep going... And I usually doubled down and kept going. And I did that over and over again. Well, just like, if you're going through life, and you're like, Oh, I got the sniffles a little bit, but I'm not gonna take time off for me to feel better, you're going to get sick, right... Well, life kept checking me and I kept ignoring it. And just doubling down and letting my ego drive until it really kicked the pedestal out from underneath me... My ego led me… and I allowed it… to make stupid choices in my life, choices that hurt me. And even more importantly, hurt the people I love and care about… that it …life kicked that pedestal out. And I came crashing down. And as opposed to just the little bit of fall that I had before, it was a total fall. I think of it like a wrecking ball came in and all of the walls, all the armor I built up over the years, because I didn't... I'll be honest, I didn't know who I really was. I was doing personal growth and development at the time. But I never let it sink in. Because I never... I just, I didn't even know who I was. I buried it under so many walls and armor that I didn't even want to take a look. And what happened is, when life took the pedestal out, I came crashing down hard. It obliterated all of the walls, all of the armor, and I literally felt cold... I felt tired, I felt alone. And I wasn't alone. Thankfully, I had my beautiful wife with me and a small handful of friends who were able to help and guide me... And I… but I still felt cold, alone, and tired. So from there I went, Okay, I knew I have their support, I started seeing a therapist, and I was already doing personal growth… But what I realized is, I didn't let it sink in deep enough to the real me. And thankfully I had some tools and strategies that I knew about that I started implementing right away… gratitudes, affirmations, journaling, things like that, to keep going. And the therapist then offered more tools and strategies to help me, and help rebuild from this, this foundation, right... That rock bottom sucks... It's hard-hitting it. But what's great about rock bottom is that's where you can build that strong foundation and build up from there. And so that's what I started to do is I realized, first of all, I literally hated who I was, who I became and said, okay, I don't like that person. Let's, quote-unquote, kill off that person, that old Spencer, ego man, and let's rebuild someone who's in alignment with his energy, with that love. And from there blossomed the Prince of Positivity, I suppose... And where I've been through the fire, I've worked on myself and learned how to create those positive neural pathways and to not have a roller coaster of a day like I used to. I'm like, "Oh, I can I can master my energy sovereignty." So yeah, I also have high days and, and bad days, you know, the peaks and valleys, but they're not as drastic. And they're not as far between. The highs are so incredibly high, but the lows aren't as bad. And I can manage that. And oh my gosh, how incredible this is. And then that allows me to shine my light. And as we go on this journey of life, I realized, oh, I still have a couple of these walls up, or these limiting beliefs, these energy vampires that are holding me back. And like, oh, isn't that interesting? And then I work at dissolving them and letting them go so I can continue to shine bright and impact life. So it's been a really interesting journey. I retired from teaching in the classroom, in the middle school, high school, choir director position I had three years ago… went full-time as an entrepreneur to really make this a worldwide movement. And we've been able to grow this around the world. And we've helped 1000s of people so far, and we're looking forward to helping… a billion, is our big goal… A billion people around the world raise their vibrations to have a positive, abundant mindset and shine their light…

AD HERE

SAMIA: That's amazing. Thank you so much for sharing that journey. And just in that context, you brought up so many, like, nuggets of wisdom that you shared that we could, like, just dig into... And you reminded me... One of the first thoughts when you were talking about how your wife called you the ego man... And then it made me think about the saying, “pride comes before fall”... And, you know, we have, like so many teachings about pride and ego and the role that it plays in terms of the challenges that crop up in our lives and in our relationships... There is actually this story in the Quran… which is, you know, the Holy Scripture for us Muslims… and in this story, it's sort of like, a lot of our listeners may be familiar with the creation story in the Bible… creation of Adam and Eve. Well, the Quran has a variation on that story, and actually adds this character that is sort of like… it's not, it's not a human person, it's like another being, another kind of being. And it's called, well, he has name... His personal name is Iblis. And when God creates Adam and Eve, Iblis is like really jealous of Adam and Eve, his ego kicks in, his pride kicks in. And he is like… Adam and Eve are made out of clay. And that is, like, such a lowly thing. And I've been made out of fire. I'm so much more amazing. And why is God, you know, showing all this favor to Adam and Eve? And out of pride, you know, and jealousy, actually tries to mess up things for Adam and Eve… you know, that, that, that's the part where, you know, they get tempted to eat the forbidden fruit, and so forth... And/but it's… it doesn't just cause the downfall of Adam and Eve in that they do fall in for that temptation. It actually also causes the fall for Iblis, he also gets kicked out of heaven, as it were, or you know wherever it is that they were all hanging out. And in the Muslim version of the creation story, actually this whole temptation thing and this whole pride and ego that led Iblis to sort of get into this whole conundrum is actually considered the first sin that was ever committed, as opposed to Adam and Eve, who fell into temptation. Because first they had this other person, not person, but creature or whatever…

SPENCER: .. being or something that....

SAMIA: …being… you know, like, get all these negative emotions rising up and then being like, "Nope, you know, I'm not, I'm not going to let them be. I'm going to create their downfall..." Actually that ill intention and then him acting on it, that was actually the first problem...

SPENCER: It's amazing how... I've never, I've never heard that variation of it before but I love it and it makes total sense... It's amazing to me how pride of the ego you know… of trying to be like, "Why them, not me?" …right, that judgment style, it comes so naturally to us as humans and as beings, right… People can disagree with me and that, that's beautiful, I love it., but the way I kind of look at it is… we are these energy beings having this human experience. So Adam and Eve are energy beings who get to have this cool experience. And you know, the tempter, however, you know, whoever that is, that energy being, right, but why is pride and egos there? And just to work on letting that go… So like, for me, it's always been… it's been a journey now of… especially since I let my ego guide me for so much of my life… now I'm really mindful of it. And I'm totally taken us on a side tangent that you didn't ask about… But for me, I was so afraid after I hit my rock bottom, my ego was running wild, right. It was just, it was running the show. And I didn't feel like I had any reins or control on it. It was just doing whatever it wanted to do… all the pride and all the ego just running the show... And so for me what happened once I hit my rock bottom is, I was so afraid to step into any big role, to embrace my light even to a degree, and be called the Prince of Positivity, and even then, like, tiptoe into it, because I wasn't sure. Because I was afraid of "Oh crap, well, what if my ego comes back, and I can't control it… I can't... it's like a wild beast that I am not able to tame at all." I was so afraid of that... And what that led me to do is, led me to have people in my life... I have like, three people that I have as checks and balances, I guess, in place… Like, they will… they're there to tell me, "Hey, this is your ego talking, or check that, watch out." And they're like, "Nope, we got you. But step into it, because you're not serving the people you can, you're not helping the leaders that you can, because you're not stepping into your full light,” …because I was so afraid and timid of it. So once I said, alright, I have these people who are willing to help and support me. I have my own personal checks and balances in place to check things. Now let me step into that... And even so much I was telling my wife last night, I went to an event two days ago. And it wasn't anything big. I just, I said a couple of things that were nice and answering questions and whatever. But it was still… it was a little maybe boastful, right. I don't think it came across that way. At least that wasn't the intention behind it. But upon reflection, as I was working out yesterday morning, thinking about that two days ago, I'm like, "Huh, isn't that interesting? I don't… I hope it didn't come across as boastful." But I could see how that was my ego trying to get like, "Oh, let me play a little bit. Let me do this." And like, how cool is it now that I have the awareness that I didn't have before, to go… oh, that happened... Well, now let me be more aware of that and see what can I do or change or adjust if I choose to… which I choose to because I don't want my ego to run any part of it… to adjust for the future. So it's, it's just an interesting journey. And when you have the people or systems in place to help you, then you can fully step into your light. And it's, it's really energizing at that point.

SAMIA: Yes, yes... And thank you so much for highlighting the fear factor that lies… or that can crop up... I think, you know, even I can actually relate to what you're sharing in terms of my own experience, also. I mean... I mean… from sort of different contexts, and for different reasons I had developed, you know, in my life, like this need to sort of feel in power and control. And, you know, like, for me, a lot of that led me to develop an ego, or at least try to act like… there was definitely lots of underlying fear for me, like throughout... But the way I tried to compensate for that was by being like, "No! Me… I'm important. And I am right..." And, you know, I like, tried to puff myself up to compensate for the fear and to try and make myself feel better… but the underlying fear never left... And that's like… when I hit my rock bottom, and my walls came crashing down, the walls I had but up to protect myself, you know, the fear was still there, you know... And so even when I was working my way back up out of the hole, that fear, interestingly, you know... it also like for me manifested in this context that you're sharing Spencer, of my becoming afraid of my own power and being afraid of, you know, misusing my power or my light. Because it was like… it's so interesting that first, you know, like, I tried to, you know, build up that sense of power and... but turns out that the way that my ego was trying to convince me I was powerful, were all really shallow ways... And when you really start to dig in and grow yourself from a more positive place, you also begin to recognize power that you have. And that's not shallow power, you know… It's like, you know, just when you start to recognize how you’re an energy being, you’re a spiritual being, and you have, like, so much positivity, that is, you know, inherently you. And then, you know, you don't want to fall into that same trap of the ego… So it is a very interesting, you know, fear, how, in terms of, you maybe sometimes play small or dim your light, because you're, like, "Oh, no, I don't want to be egoistic, I don't want to be boastful..."

SPENCER: Right, you play it down. And then, yet, so people take it as you're really humble, and you are, but also you're not owning your power. So it's almost like this fine balance of like, Okay, I'm going to own the fact that I'm really good with this thing, or whatever that is, this is my light. And I'm embracing it, I'm sharing it. But I'm not, not trying to boast about it. And so for me, the way I check into it is like, am I saying it as a way of, "Hey, look at me, I'm really cool. And this is me here, look at that." That's the boastful, that's the ego, that pride energy… As opposed to, I'm just sharing my life, this is me, I'm positive, I'm happy. These are the cool things we're doing that can support and help you… As long as it's supporting, loving, you know, it's out of like… I always say, respond with love. If it's in response with love in some way, shape, or form -- great... then, then that's not the ego. And again, I reflect daily. I have, you know, people help as well, and just make sure that those things are in place. But the fear that you mentioned, we all... I think all of us have fear, whether we choose to admit it or not. And it's hard because at points you want to take that leap of faith, you want to say, all right, I'm going to build that confidence and say… fear, I'm done with you. We are going to step over you, we're going to take that leap of faith and go for that. But/and sometimes you have to build yourself up, right, to do that. "I got this. Yeah, well, let's go..." And that's still okay because it helps you take that leap of faith. But… so at times we need to do that. But I would also suggest… folks look at that fear. Why are you afraid of it? And as scary as it is at times to peel the layers away, right, follow that thread down... what is the underlying cause of that fear? Is it… okay, not to be the psychologist or psychotherapist here, but it probably stems from something in your childhood to a degree… not always, but because in our formative years in between, if I remember right, it's between four and seven-eight, that's when our… it's right in there… it's under 10… and it was like 4 to 7, 4 to 8… that our brains started to create all those neural pathways, all those limiting beliefs of things we hear and are told within those couple of years… that's when all of those neural pathways get built for us. So now we can work at changing and adjust them. But as kids, we don't think about it, it just is what that is for us. As teenagers, we're going through hormones and all that we don't usually work on those things. Not many at least. And then as adults, now we have to start… we are more aware, and we start dealing with it. So peel back those layers and say, oh… Like for me, I did not feel worthy... I did not feel enough. And I could see that when I started pulling that thread. And I love my parents. They, they did the best that they could for me, I appreciate that. But they raised me with a lot of guilt. That's how they ran their household was through guilt. And I still struggle with guilt. I've gotten a lot better, but it’s still something I work through. But when I follow that thread, I'm like, oh, I could see at these different points in my life where the actions and things that my parents said to me and how I took it… whether that's how they intended or not, that's how my brain took it at that time… where, oh, I didn't feel worthy because I felt like I had to prove myself over and over again… I must not be enough because I need to show my worth and prove that I'm capable or able to whatever over and over again. And so that built that neural pathway. So that led me my whole life of 30 years, to go… oh I need to prove myself... So then, when I saw that and had that realization, I can look at my ego and go… oh… so that's why I made those decisions, why ego was leading me that way is because I was trying to show, “Oh look, I am worthy. Oh look how much I can make. Oh look at how much of an impact I can do", because I was just trying to, to fill that void, you know, to fire up that neural pathway and fill that void inside. But it was a bottomless pit... It wasn't until I got rid of it, filled it in totally by knowing and fully admitting, embracing that fear, saying… “no, that came from them and at that point in my life”... And so now, you know, I am enough... I am worthy... That's an affirmation I say all the time. And anytime I'm on a podcast or show or anything, I always tell people… because I need to hear it myself and other people need to hear it as well… You are amazing... You are worthy... You are enough just the way you are... And the reason I say that it's true. It's true for everyone. And I need to hear that reminder because I still struggle at times feeling like I'm not worthy, I'm not enough. So I say that to help me heal that and fill that void... Because one… once I did, I was energized beyond belief. I was like, Oh my gosh, I have this clarity. And I could step into my light and not worry. I can be me. And also that bottomless pit, that void I felt inside, that black hole was gone. And it was filled with this bright, beautiful love and I mean… life-changing…

SAMIA: Yes, that's so true. That's so true... You know, I think what Iblis did, what I did, what you did, in terms of when we let our egos rule, was… we were really trying to feel enough, we were trying to feel worthy. And it's just that the way we went around trying to deal with the fear of not being worthy was we tried to compare ourselves to others and put ourselves up in comparison to someone else. And that made things difficult, because the when we compare ourselves to others, you know, I think as much as we may try to put others down so we can, by comparison, feel better… I think there's, you know, a part of us that realizes, that recognizes, that actually other people are awesome, and they have all kinds of amazing strengths and amazing light... And so we're never able to feel fully satisfied with the conclusions of our own ego…

SPENCER: Right? We're never…

SAMIA: ..we continue to be insecure…

SPENCER: Right? Exactly. We were trying to judge others.. and all we do in judging and comparing is saying, I'm.. yeah… we put people on a scale… "I'm better than you are, you are better than I am." And the truth of the matter, the fact is that we are all the same... we are all even. We all make different choices and different things, and some that we agree with morally or not, or whatever… society… but we're all the same... Energetically, we're all the same. Let's be on that same field. And, you know, I made stupid mistakes. I made stupid choices in my life. And am I going to let those define me and give me labels? No, because I'm learning from them. And it's alright. I take those lessons with me. I'm gonna release the guilt, the shame, the worry… all of that stuff with them. And I'm gonna take those lessons and move forward because, you know what, now I'm shining brighter, and I was able to learn and grow through that. So now I can help other people do that as well... So let's, let's drop the whole judgment and comparison. Like, that's one thing I love about our energizer family that we've created is, it's a safe place. It's a place where there's zero judgment. And I mean, let's be honest, we do our best not to judge, right. It's part of what we do to… our bodies do to keep us alive, right... We need to judge, "Oh my gosh, that cheetah running at me very fast. I better move", right. Or, "I'm standing at the edge of a cliff. This could be dangerous”, right, let me be aware. So yes, that stuff's watching out for you. But for a lot of the things in our life that we’re judging, it's not serving us at all. And you're going to be okay. So let's stop judging each other. Let's put each other on the same playing field and be like, "Hey, let's see... I might resonate with you. And if we do, great. If we don't... hey, that's okay. You're still cool... You're still awesome. You're just not my person. And that's okay”.

SAMIA: Yeah, yeah. So in terms of building up our true power… like, focus on yourself. Focus on your own light, and sort of take comfort from that. And not just comfort, but that motivation, the excitement, the trust and faith in yourself, that you are enough and amazing and all that good stuff... And you mentioned again, you know, this idea of energy. And I remember earlier on you also mentioned the idea of energy sovereignty. Tell me more about that…

SPENCER: It's a term that we coined a couple months ago, almost a year ago now, "Energy Sovereignty". So we all know what the energy is, the vibration of everything… energy... And then sovereignty, being the the King, the Queen, the master of your kingdom as it were... So what would happen if you could master your energy, and, and your energy sovereignty, right... So be the master of it… the king, the queen, however you want to look at it. So the way... the way I look at it is we all have this beautiful light inside of us, right, that's shining out to the rest of the world. And we put these walls and armor and stuff that we try to dissolve and work through... But it's also the energy flow in and out, right. I talked earlier about the roller coaster of days I used to have, right. Today was a good day. Yay! Things happened really well. Today was a crap day because there's bad things... I was letting everything and anything be poured into me. The good energy, the bad energy, all of it... and I had no control over it. There was no funnel. It was just in and then I let things go… whether it was good, whether it was bad, whether it was intentional for me or other people were sucking it away… the energy vampires, people places or things stuck in their way. So once I realized, I started really learning and digging into personal growth, positive mindset and really energy management for people. I'm like, I realized... Oh, I know I've been able to master parts of my day, part of my energy, but what if I could be the master of it all, and have this energy sovereignty? So I tried, I tried defining it, right... Let me give you an Oxford dictionary definition of energy sovereignty… And I couldn't. Like, I've tried and tried and I couldn't give a definition because it's something you can't really define with words like that. It's something you experience... So the way I could describe it or define it, is when you have energy sovereignty, when you're the master of it, it feels like you are whole, like you're complete, you're loved, you're energized, you're fulfilled... It's almost like, you're one with God. If you've ever had a point in your life, when you're like, Oh, my gosh, I feel so connected to God, to Source, to Earth, Wind, Fire… whenever you choose to call it... When you feel that connected, that's kind of what energy sovereignty is... It's that feeling of, I'm whole, I'm complete, I'm fulfilled... And so, and it looks like a person who feels loved, who's generous, who's kind, who's happy, who's filled with joy, right... We could be going through a rough time, we still have joy in our hearts. It's not like… it's not false positivity or it's not toxic positivity... everything’s sunshine, rainbows and unicorns... It's not that, right. There's still hardships, there's still struggles that we all go through… but we still feel that joy when we still work through it and see the lessons that we can take away... So energy sovereignty is this feeling of being fulfilled, of wholeness, of completeness, and then just allowing your light to shine. So that's kind of what it is... and we've… we've worked at… we've discovered how to master it, right, master… And it really comes down to the energy flow... How can you curate the energy coming in? Right, so you're surrounding yourself with amazing people, places and things… things that pour love and light into you, filling your cup as it were. And so I like the idea of the cup analogy, like, Okay, let me pour into you. But instead of me pouring from just a cup, my cup is always overflowing because I'm being... I intentionally have things pour into me, not just willy-nilly or random. I'm intentional about the things that pour into me and then where's my energy going... I'm intentional about who gets my energy, where it goes… like being on this podcast is an intentional choice. Now I want to make sure my energy is being poured into you, into here, and to have your energy poured into my cup, right... But then there's also these energy vampires. The people who, you know, you ever be around and all of a sudden, you're just like, Oh, my gosh, I'm so exhausted or I get angry or frustrated or sad when I'm around them, right. They're sucking your energy away... And that's… a lot of times we think of people… but they're organizations, places, things, work… things like that. But also one thing that a lot of people don't realize is an energy vampire are your thoughts... The thoughts we’re thinking, the words you're saying to other people, and to yourself… Because we all talk to ourselves silently or out loud, and all of those things have that energy level... So they could be sucking your energy away… the limiting beliefs you have. Those are energy vampires that are sucking your energy away. Well, let's mitigate that, let's change it... See how we can do that with limiting beliefs, organizations, places, people, things, all of that... so that we can master our energy sovereignty. So now we're not being drained unintentionally... I could still pour into something that drains me but it's an intentional choice at that point. So now, we can be the master and have mastery of our energy sovereignty, feel fulfilled, and then continue to shine, because then that allows us to shine bright and to pour into others to help them shine bright…

SAMIA: Yeah, yeah... you know, what you're saying makes a lot of sense to me. And in fact, you know, one thing that I've been discovering on my own journey is… the more you become master of your own energy... it's like, the energy vampires actually become helpless... You know, and it's.. I'm not saying I'm perfect at it… by no means…

SPENCER: ..no one is... No one is, not even the Dalai Lama... No, no, not perfect…

SAMIA: Not perfect… but it is something for us to recognize in terms of, you know, what is possible, that we can strive for, you know, that you can potentially... We have that potential to reach that state where, you know, we are in fact so much in the state of energy sovereignty that there... that you know, anyone and anything else that has the potential to be an energy vampire, just… I mean, it… you know, they're nonetheless not actually able to... they may want to suck energy off of me, but they can't…

SPENCER: Right…

SAMIA: …but they can't, because I'm in control of my energy…

SPENCER: That’s exactly, exactly… you're in control. And I mean, the hard realization for a lot of people, and this was a hard one for me to really embrace, is the fact that… No, I am already the master of my energy but I'm not mastering it. I'm letting it go everywhere and anywhere and they're sucking it away when I'm allowing it... I'm allowing them to suck my energy away. I'm allowing this whatever to be poured into me or whatever... So I'm already, quote-unquote, the master of it, but now it's me mastering being the master, right. So that now if I have that energy sovereignty they don't have any power over me because I choose not to let them. If they have some power, you know, if they're sucking energy away from me... I'm giving them that power. I'm allowing them to happen. Now maybe I don't want that and that's something I need to work through and improve on. Okay, right, we all have things to work on... I'm not perfect either by any means... I work through it. But then we have that awareness… we can start working through. And that's what we do right, so that's what our community is about, our Academy's about, our events… Like, we just, we love helping people master it and then you pour into it lots of love in life.

SAMIA: Yes. And I love the community aspect that you brought up because whatever I'm able to do on my own, as an individual, it'll always be so limited. And it's so important for us to have that community, that support… because we really, you know, we've been talking about energy vampires but the truth is that, you know, we do feed off each other's energy... We are impacted by each other's energy. So it's not just, oh negative energy impacts us. But it's when you are around positive energy that also impacts us and just makes it easier, you know, for us to be positive, and to be more positive, with more fun and ease, than if you're struggling with things on your own... And it's the same thing with, like, other aspects of, let's say, a positive environment. It's like, why do you want to be in a beautiful place with trees and nature, or you know, beautiful art and things like that? Is that necessary for your happiness? It's not necessary, but it's a whole lot easier…

SPENCER: Right... to be in that beautiful place is a lot easier to absorb that positive energy, the high vibrations…

SAMIA: Yes, because it's like if you're in a place with negative vibration, then you may have to put in more effort to counteract that negativity... I mean, I remember when I was in college, we were doing... I was part of this organization where we went to volunteer, to mentor and do like peer counseling and tutoring for high school students in a part of Los Angeles that's very like, unfortunately, does not have a lot of positive environment. There's a lot of issues with gang violence and you go there and it's like a concrete jungle… you can hardly see a tree anywhere, you know, and there's just... When we were in the school, in the high school, you know you felt like you were in a prison… Like everything was like closed off... There was so much security that they made you, like, go through... You could hear gunshots outside, you know… and that kind of environment. And you know... so when you're there it just creates... there's so many potential, you know, stressors that can be created because of that kind of an environment… Now you can counteract all of that, and be in, you know, in control of your own energy, you can choose to focus on the positive things, you can focus on making things better rather than focusing on what's wrong, etc., etc. But you know... then you have to sort of work at it and, you know, and you have to consciously be aware of how these different things are impacting you. Because I think one of the things we don't realize is when something is negatively impacting us... I remember, this was also back in college, right after 9/11... we had, you know, the... like… there was this event organized that was meant to bring our whole college community together to talk about 9/11... What happened? How do we deal with it? How do we cope with it? And one of the speakers at the event was actually a psychologist from our health center. And she started talking about stress and the symptoms of stress... And until I heard her talk about, oh stress can look like this, and you know, it can feel like that... I didn't even realize I was feeling stressed…

SPENCER: Right…

SAMIA: …those days… I didn't even realize it. And I think so many people out there don't even realize how much stress they're experiencing, and how much stress they're under... And they're just like going through life, going through life, not even realizing… So, yeah... And it's like, if you don't even realize what the problem is, like, when I didn't even realize I was stressed, how could I even begin to implement any kind of effective solution, you know.

SPENCER: Right. You can't... you can't fix or change anything unless you are aware of it. And what that, the speaker did for you is made you aware, Oh, I didn't realize stress could look like this or it embodies itself like this. And I'm like, oh my gosh, I can see now how I was stressed or how I was… how this stress was working its way through me or how I was… whatever, like, how it was affecting you... And that's huge because then you're like, "Oh, okay cool. I'm aware that I'm stressed. Now what do I do about it?" And to tie it back to what you mentioned earlier with community, that's the amazing thing about community because then you are there to support one another... As you said… the environments you're in, like, be intentional about who and what you surround yourself in… now we can’t always have the perfect location, sometimes it is that the harder place, a more negative environment… Okay, then we do the best we can… we still focus on the positives and look at that and then we try to intentially move ourselves into places, whether it's a virtual space or in person space, that has more positive energy. But surrounding yourself with that community… like, our energy Hub Group on Facebook, the free group we have… well, great, now you're surrounded by positivity. We energize your scroll, as it were, by filling it with positivity. So now when you go on Facebook, oh, my gosh, instead of all the negatives and frustration, now it's positives and jokes and things to help you... And then if you need help, you reach out, and you have people pour into you, and you can pour into others. Having that virtually is great. And then, if you can start building that people around you in person even better yet. And so now, we just continue that to grow and making those moves... And it's not a one-night thing, like all right, so tomorrow I'm gonna do this and all of a sudden it's there... It takes time and takes energy... It takes work, right. As you said, it takes work to do it. But the work is worth it because you feel fulfilled, you feel alive, you feel energized... And when you're surrounding yourself with those amazing people, makes it easier to keep shifting, to keep moving, to go through those hard times, to do the hard work… Because it is hard work at times... Usually, it's not necessarily hard as in like physical work to do. It's hard emotionally, spiritually, mentally to go through at times… not always… but then to work through… but then you have a support system and that's.. that makes such a big difference. And/but first you need the awareness and then the tools to do it and the… and then, to do the work. And then, when you have support and are in a positive environment that makes it a lot easier to continue that journey and to accelerate your growth.

SAMIA: Yes, because you know, even when we feel the work is hard… you know, the very idea of hard, that's what it is... it's an idea, it's a perspective. And you know, part of, you know, developing energy sovereignty is, like you were saying, watching our own thoughts, and our own limiting beliefs... And you know, when something is feeling hard to us, there is, there is a... It's not like we're just making it up and that thought or feeling has no basis in reality -- that's not it. But it's about how do you shift into a perspective and into a way of doing things where it's more fun and easy, you know... And so for sure, for sure, having a community to support you in that process, but also model for you, as you were saying Spencer, you know, is part of what allows us to create that shift that we need, and that we are seeking. And we can do it so much more easy …because I think, also, we don't realize that we are such inherently social creatures, you know... We are not meant… we're not designed to function isolated and all by ourselves. And so part of when things feel hard to us, it's because we are not as connected as we can be to our environment, to our relationships... and we need that, we really do... So it's really awesome, I'm so glad that, you know, you have that kind of community going. I know like that's part of what I'm trying to do also in my work is build that sense of community. And like for me, you're so right, like social media especially, can be such an energy vampire. It really can... And it's interesting… like, there's so many studies that show how negatively it impacts people's mental health, especially for our younger people, you know… because again they have less tools, they're still trying to figure things out about life, and how to manage things... And so they get even more easily sucked in.

SPENCER: Right. And it promotes comparison and judgment, like we talked about before…

SAMIA: Exactly, exactly…

SPENCER: …right. And so to create a space on social media that is judgment free, that has that love and support where you can be you and allow yourself to be you without that judgment, it's… that's huge... And it is amazing the studies that come out.. And I know we won't be able to change the studies and that's fine. But I want to create a dent in it and create a space where people, you know, can can go to feel loved, cared about, and even just connect... And even if they don't comment or post anything in the group, they just see the, the other people in their posts and, and feel like they're part of the community... that's huge. And so, it's such an honor to be able to have that space for people.

SAMIA: Yeah... And we absolutely can make a dent in that whole thing... I mean, you know, at this point, my social media feeds, if you look at them, they're so full of... because I consciously, you know, chose to like and engage with, you know, the uplifting, positive content, that now my feed's full of it, thanks to people like you…

SPENCER: ...it's amazing…

SAMIA: ...and just a little bit of my own effort, right…

SPENCER: Right, it's amazing how you curate your feed... I mean the way I kind of describe it is when life is like social media... On social media you can curate your feed. And I've done the same thing. It was full of gossip and anger and hatred… all that stuff before, right, of just the usual feed. But then, I started curating... I started unfriending or not following the things that were filled with gossip and negativity. I started liking and following the things that more resonated with me... The positives, the uplifting things… and was really intentional about, I'm not going to follow this person, I'm going to follow this or do this or… and just curate my feed... So now, my whole feed, almost all of it… and some stuff sneaks in… but almost all of it is positive, it's uplifting, it's people doing incredible things. And that's so amazing... Now when I open up Facebook, or any of my social media apps, I go, oh my gosh, this is it's enlightening, it's invigorating, it's energizing because like I curated my feed. And life has it’s same algorithm... That social media, outside social media, if you focus on something right… they see how long you take and watch a video, whether it's positive or negative, or stay on a post… they see that because they want you to stay on that platform as long as possible... So it says, oh they spent longer on this, I'm gonna... we're gonna show them more of that. So it adjusts their algorithm to keep you on. Well life has the same thing... So if you're focused on negatives and the problems the struggles, the judgments in life, life goes, Okay, and your brain goes, Okay, this is what we want to see. So I'm going to see this more and more and more... And that then you're like, Oh, my gosh, life sucks. It's all filled with anger and hatred and judgment… Or you can go, all right, let me focus on my gratitudes... What are the amazing things, the positives in life, the good things we have going on? And look for those positives -- no matter how small or how big they are, life goes, and your brain goes, "Oh my gosh, we're liking this, this is great. Let's find more of it." So then, it finds more positives, more gratitudes, more incredible things…

SAMIA: Yeah.

SPENCER: ..in your life. And then it brings more to you because… it's not so much that it brings more to you. You're just more aware of it... And then more starts to come your way. And it's a snowball effect... And it's truly amazing.

SAMIA: Yes, indeed... you just reminded me of one of my teachers... His favorite saying… it's… "What you focus on expands..."

SPENCER: Yes!

SAMIA: What you focus on, expands…

SPENCER: So, so true...

SAMIA: Yeah. You know what Spencer, I totally lost track of time talking to you... I've been having so much fun. And I think we might need to bring you back so we can keep talking and wrap up for today... SPENCER: Well, I would love it. This has been an absolute blast. Time flew by for me, and I hope for the listeners as well... And just thank you so much for having me on and talk about stuff I love... just… energy sovereignty, and positivity, everything... And if you want me back, I'd be more than happy to be here. I love our conversation and just I'm so honored. So thank you so much…

SAMIA: Thank you, Spencer... Do you have anything you want to share with people in terms of how they can best get in touch with you? We'll be sure to drop any links that you want to share with the audience in our show notes…

SPENCER: Thank you. Well could I, could I give something away? Can I do that? Is that allowed...? SAMIA: Yeah... SPENCER: I forgot to ask... So hopefully it's okay. So I would love to offer everyone a FREE MEMBERSHIP, if they're interested, to our Personal Growth Academy... So it's an online academy I talked about, where you'll get access, free access… you get like over 10 trainings and courses… Absolutely free, if you want. All about personal growth... So to get that all you have to do is go to jonesinforacademy.com and sign up for “The Apprentice Membership”. So it's jonesin, j-o-n-e-s-i-n-f-o-r-academy... like, you're jones in for more positivity, right. You want more, you're jones in for it... So you're jonesinforacademy.com sign up for the apprentice… would love to do that. And for all of the amazing listeners here, if you after you join us and you say, "Hey, I heard you on the make change fun and easy podcast," let me know and I will throw in an extra training just for you. So this has been such an honor… amazing... I'll leave you with this, and as I said it earlier... Remember that you, yes you, you are amazing, you are worthy, you are enough just the way you are. So keep shining your beautiful light… Thank you.

SAMIA: Thank you so much, Spencer. And yes, everyone... All of you who are listening, please make sure you check the show notes, we'll be sure to drop those links... And thank you so much Spencer for giving us that gift... And I really, really do appreciate everything that you've shared with us… thank you for sharing your time, your positivity your energy. And until we connect next time, I just wish you lots and lots of peace and joy... :)

SPENCER: Thank you, thank you so much. Same to you...