Where is your favorite place to visit in the world and why?
My heart seems to reside on the west coast of Mexico and Latin America, as I have spent much of the last two and a half years exploring it.
Who do you want to meet?
Johann Hari, hands down, my favorite author
Who did you want to meet why?
Pythagoras, so many reasons. Mostly because there are no original writing left of his but he inspired so many things that we covet today, ironically asceticism but also his study of the soul. He gave the west the acceptance (sort of) of reincarnation as a concept. It just seems to make sense to me that we have remnants of past lives influencing this one.
How does your work fulfill you, your purpose in life?
I have attempted to amplify the voices of people doing the good work of sharing ways to expand consciousness. Marketing has at times been “soul-less” but I have been lucky enough to collaborate and work with some amazing people sharing their gifts of alternative healing in many areas and hope to continue to do so.
What are you reading right now?
Re-reading, “The Body Keeps the Score” by Bessel A Van Der Kolk and “Chasing the Scream” by Johann Hari because of their content and structure. I also casually refer back to “Existential Kink” by Caroline Elliot and “Unbound” by Kasia Urbaniak because my bestie and I love to chat about the concepts.
What are you watching?
I just finished “Lost” because I was in the desert and it was too hot to go outside and realized I no longer want to watch things that increase my blood pressure artificially. If I could recommend one required documentary for all humans it would be “The Century of Self” by Adam Curtis so you can look inside the machine of marketing and free yourself from it.
When are you most in flow, productive and energized?
I think most clearly on walks. I tend to write and work in solitude but only after I have moved my body and seen by other humans, I can drop in.
Do you meditate or practice mindfulness? If so, how?
I meditate each morning and really love to listen to Joe Dispenza meditations and Yoga Nidra at night. I have found my mind to trick me into thinking it is the boss but my body has more intelligence that my mind can even “think” of (hahahaha) so anything where I return home to the body and enjoy it is my path to “mindfulness”.
Who taught you how to hustle?
My mom, she was raised by a mother who never worked so she didn’t have an example but still created her own business where she was adored. This world lost her 14 years ago and at her wake, there were over 200 people who passed thru that my sister and I had no idea about. She was a property manager for a few communities and the number of people who grieved her was astonishing to us. She touched so many people’s lives in a deep way. She had to work but she shared herself and her incredible heart with so many people. To me, that is success- the number of people you share your heart with.
What keeps you up at night?
You can ask any of my past partners - I fall asleep standing up, very early. I feel very lucky that I have learned to be objective about issues big and small. I think they are lessons rather than issues including the big ones - climate change, consumerism, human stupidity - they will all teach us eventually even though they are uncomfortable truths.
Do you exercise? If so, how?
Maybe too much. I was a professional dancer and ran a yoga studio early in life. I was an aerialist, runner, weightlifter - just about anything I can do to move is my favorite thing to do. Now I dance, walk, do yoga and weightlift, but I appreciate the small curves I have so I try to allow them to remain.
What communities inspire you?
Psychedelic Societies around the world. I love resource sharing communities where people exchange things outside the money system-Agorism. I do not oppose capitalism entirely but it tends to limit the mind and the creative nature of humans.
Are you more Hustle or more Zen, lately? I have been pretty Zen the past few years but the Hustle is returning after a period of rest and reflection.
What would you do if you did not do your existing work/business?
My work allows me to be location independent but someday, I will settle back down and teach dance an movement again. I have too much to explore still in the world to settle back into teaching which is most rewarding when you get to have a homebase and consistent in-person community.
How do you define a good work / life balance, and how important do you think it is?
My main goal is “pillow bounce”. I lay my head down on the pillow and look forward to waking to begin again the next morning in my waking life. The times in my life where I long for sleep and the recoiling into dreamland have been dark times. Don’t get me wrong- I love sleep but if it is the reward in my life- something is off.
Are you married, partnership, have kids? How have relationships impacted your balance?
Complicated question- I have only in recent years when marriage has been mangled by society- discovered I wanted it. I had a complicated upbringing and saw marriage as a trap. I have been in relationships that reflected that. Now after psychedelic exploration, healing and five years of sobriety- I want to pursue marriage. I have had some wonderful partners and some pretty shitty ones. I understand why both had to take place. I am looking forward to finding someone to walk home with- in the words of Rumi. I have a feeling I had a lot of children in past lives so I do not have any in this one. I like to borrow them and I oddly hope to be a grandmother as I skipped the motherhood part.
What’s some advice you would give to new or struggling entrepreneurs/hustlers that seem out of balance?
Find mentors, expand past what you perceive possible because there is so much more than your limited perspective can envision. I worked for a Rabbi/ Real Estate Developer/ Psychedelic Exploring/ dad years ago. He had such a bizarre path to his success that I realized there was no one way. My dance teacher Nancy Lyons quoted Joseph Cambell best: “Follow Your Bliss” and I would add- it does not look like anyone else’s.
What advice would you tell your younger self?
You controlling little anger monster- chill the f’ out. You can’t control what you think you can and when you let go, things fall into place.
What is one issue you are out to change in the world?
Understanding grief and it’s relationship to addiction. I am writing a book on the topic and interviewing people from other cultures on their grief practices because ours are sh*t in the western modern world. An afternoon of starring at a coffin or ern then going back to life as usual is not a grief practice. There is so much more to understand and appreciate about death that we have missed entirely. Mostly, the reverence for life.
What is your favorite quote, mantra, motto?
Follow your Bliss by Joseph Campbell and or “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” I have no idea who said this first but they were a smarty pants!
Your last 2¢ (ideas, insights, quote)?
Go the f’ outside more!
Kimberly Adams, the founder of LYT Marketing, began her career in wellness and zigzagged through commercial real estate development, marketing in tech, and psychedelics and dabbled in the arts along the way. She is now exploring longevity and the world of grief as they relate to the quality of our lives. She holds a B.A. in Transpersonal, Existential, and Humanistic Psychology and a B.A. in Dance from Sonoma State University, where she also explored peak performance through a licensure in Biofeedback.
Originally from Los Angeles, CA, Kimberly is a global citizen exploring the Americas, with Europe and Southeast Asia next on the list. You can connect with her on LinkedIn and see some of her work at lytmarketing.co or follow her adventures @plant.consort on Instagram.
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