078 | Sustainable Success: Embodying Spiritual Practice in Business with Nikki Silvestri

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It was such an honor to sit down to speak with Nikki Silvestri of Soil & Shadow this week. From her life as a speaker to CEO and mom, I was inspired to learn about Nikki’s life behind-the-scenes of her business.

Nikki shares what it looks like for her to embody her spiritual practice in her day-to-day activities, as well as what it took to get to where she is now: To have a family, thriving business, and career as a public speaker and change-maker with an environmental, social and economic impact.

Nikki didn’t hesitate to share all of herself in this episode - from what she learned burning-out in the non-profit world, to having challenges with fertility when she was ready to have a baby, to working through her own limiting beliefs around financial success. Nikki shares how she rose above her challenges to create a sustainable and thriving business with a triple bottom line ~ one that is here to see success in terms of planet, people and profits, and how she is helping other companies to do the same.

In this episode we discussed:

• Nikki’s journey of becoming an entrepreneur and starting her business, “Soil & Shadow”

• Behind the scenes, what it looks like for Nikki to be a Mother & CEO

• Climate change, carbon emissions, and sustainable soil and agriculture practices that can reduce the amount of carbon in our atmosphere

• How Earth’s ecosystems mirror our personal relationships

• Nikki’s journey with moving beyond limiting beliefs to do empowering work that is good for people, the planet AND drives profits

• How Nikki embodies her spiritual practice in her business

• Nikki’s challenges with fertility and having her son as well as what needed to shift in her life

• Nikki’s journey with being seen, improvising and becoming a keynote public speaker

• Behind Nikki’s decision to continue running her own business (rather than working for someone else) when becoming a mother

• Nikki’s upcoming projects including Diversity & Inclusion initiatives in the workplace

Stay in Touch with Nikki:

• Website

• Instagram

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Nikki Silvestri is the Founder and CEO of Soil and Shadow, a project development firm designing economic and environmental strategies with human left in.

As the Co-Founder of Live Real and former Executive Director of People's Grocery and Green for All, Nikki has built and strengthened social equity for underrepresented populations in food systems, social services, public health, climate solutions, and economic development. A nationally recognized thought leader, her many honors include being named one of The Root's 100 Most Influential African Americans.

Nikki is a Faculty Member at the Food Business School (she co-designed and taught one of their inaugural courses, "Ethical Leadership in Food Business"). She is the Board Co-Chair of the Business Alliance of Local Living Economies (BALLE), and is an advisory board member of TendLab, a boutique firm unlocking the power of parenthood at work. She is the recipient of numerous awards including ELLE Magazine's "Gold" Award and OxFam America's "Act Local, Think Global" Award.

Nikki began her work in social change through the foster care system in Southern California, where she directed Foster Youth Empowerment Workshops. She has a master's degree in African American Studies from UCLA, and is originally from Los Angeles. She currently lives in Oakland, with her husband and son.

032 | Mindful Men Series: Money & Mindfulness with Spencer Sherman

Lately I’ve been reflecting on what it means to have “enough.” 

Last month I was lucky to sit down with a founding partner of Abacus Wealth Partners, an investment company that focuses on making the world a better place, Spencer Sherman.

I found it really interesting when he shared, “Giving and saving are two ways to tell your body and mind, ‘I have enough.’” 

Mindfulness and meditation have greatly helped me shift my relationship to money.  

I remember even just a few years ago when I had accumulated a large amount of savings, yet my mindset was solely focused on what I didn’t have. Because of that, I didn’t take a moment to reflect on everything around me. Instead I kept pushing myself. 

Now, I do my best to remind myself of what I have, with gratitude. A mantra I use often is, “I have everything I need, and I welcome so much more.”  (Thanks to Gabrielle Bernstein for that one)

Shifting my mindset around money and focusing more on generosity than on scarcity has helped me let go of the need to grasp on to the next prospective client, the bigger house, or next new item for my wardrobe.

And I have to say, it’s been so relaxing to take that pressure off. 

The funny thing is, the more I soften and rest into the trust that I have everything I need, I feel like so much more abundance is coming to me.

I’ve consciously been letting go of the grasping, the feeling of “getting the short end of the stick” and really honoring where I am at and what I have. 

It’s not an easy practice, I know, and sometimes I still get stuck in the mindset of “I don’t have enough.” So that’s why I’m excited to share with you my latest podcast episode all about Money and Mindfulness with Spencer Sherman. 

“The less attached I have been, the more ease I have found with money, the more it comes to me.” ~ Spencer Sherman

A few months ago it became clear to me that I’d like create a “Mindful Men Series”  to honor the perspective of the divine masculine and share the voices of men I see around me honoring their gifts and purpose while giving back to the world. 

After listening to the episode, I’d love to hear, what does enough look like for you? How do you cultivate a feeling of enough?  Let me know in the comments over on instagram. 

I’m also excited to share that this Fall Spencer and I are collaborating in an 8-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program locally in Sebastopol.

Save the date September 5, 6:30 - 9 pm at The dhyana Center for a free orientation to learn about the program.

In this episode we discuss: 

• Discovering your true net worth 
• The best day/worst day of Spencer’s life 
• The missing piece one of his clients discovered to living a joyful life after having “made it” in the financial world
• Meditation and how that has affected Spencer’s relationship to money and how he relates to clients in his business
• The first step to take to bringing more awareness to your finances 
• Abacus’ approach to wealth management and sustainable investing 
• Our upcoming course, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (Save the date for Sept. 5 for a free orientation)
• Spencer's book, The Cure for Money Madness

I hope you enjoy today’s show. It may be just what you need to earn more money, start saving and giving, or maybe to just cultivate more peace of mind.

With love,
Meredith

P.S. Join me this coming Wednesday August 9th for my next webinar, The Art of Feminine Abundance where I’ll be sharing more about my insights on wealth, joy and abundance. Click here to sign up.

Spencer Sherman is a financial expert, public speaker, teacher and author. Spencer has taught classes and spoken to audiences across the U.S., including at Esalen and Kripalu. He has practiced meditation since 1983 and is a qualified teacher of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). He is a founding partner of Abacus Wealth Partners, an investment company that focuses on making the world a better place. Spencer and his wife Janine live in Sebastopol, CA with their 2 children.