The Meditation Expert: The KEY To Becoming A More MINDFUL Person

Do you remember how stigmatized it was? No one talked about it. Could you. imagine telling your boss you were. struggling with your mental health? People did have so many misconceptions. about meditation. They thought it was. either religious or connected to the. counterculture or sit for hours and. hours in an uncomfortable position. And. we just wanted to let people know that. that is not true. You can literally. start with one mindful Before we jump. into this episode, I'd like to invite. you to join this community to hear more. interviews that will help you become. happier, healthier, and more healed. All.

I want you to do is click on the. subscribe button. I love your support. It's incredible to see all your. comments, and we're just getting. started. I can't wait to go on this. journey with you. Thank you so much for. subscribing. It means the world to me. The best-selling author and host The. number one health and wellness podcast. with Jay Shetty. Hey everyone, welcome back to On. Purpose, the number one health podcast. in the world thanks to each and every. one of you that come back every week to. become happier, healthier, and more. healed. Thank you so much for tuning in.

It means the world to me that our. community is growing every single day. It's amazing. So many of you listening. to multiple episodes a week, even more. than the new ones that come out. And it. honestly, honestly means the world to. me. Thank you so much. Today's guest is. a very special friend, someone that I've. known for 5 years now. Maybe even a bit. longer. We've been in each other's orbit. for longer than that for sure. And I. can't believe we haven't had this. conversation on the podcast before. So. please join me in welcoming Michael. Acton Smith, the co-founder and.

co-executive chairman of Calm, the. leading mental wellness brand with the. number one app for sleep, meditation, and relaxation. Calm has grown to over. 150 million downloads and was Apple's. 2017 App of the Year and is the world's. first mental health unicorn. Michael is. fascinated by neuroscience, flow states, and mental fitness, and is passionate. about spreading meditation as a simple. but valuable skill around the world. Please welcome to the show my friend and.

incredible human, Michael Acton Smith. Michael, thank you so much for being. here. So happy to be here. Thank you, Jay. I. know. I can't believe it's taken this. long and we were both remembering I I. think it was probably like 7 years ago, 6 7 years ago where you had a lot of. your friends and people in your. community saying you had to meet me and. I had everyone in my community saying I. had to meet you and then we had a lunch. at my first apartment in LA in 2018 and. we were just talking about that and it's. so wonderful that I feel so grateful to.

be the Chief Purpose Officer at Calm and. that came from the relationship we built. up and I always say that to people when. people see partnerships like this, I. always say to people it actually came. from just a partnership and a friendship. behind the scenes with one person and. it's evolved into this incredible thing. I love the Calm family and I'm so. grateful to be a part of it. Oh, well, the feeling is very mutual. You know, I. think building a partnership that has. foundations in friendship and years of. getting to know each other, I think. makes it much much stronger. So, your.

impact at Calm has been phenomenal. The. Daily Jay is is just brilliant. I would honestly say it's the content. I'm most proud of that I create because. the team that I work with in order to. curate and research and build what we. do, we have so much fun. I want to give. big shout out to Ben, big shout out to. Chris. We have just Great team. You you've developed such a phenomenal. team who's so conscious and thoughtful. and innovative and creative and not. scared to push the boundaries too and. it's an amazing balance to have that. where everyone's so thoughtful yet so.

innovative and I think that that's it's. been amazing. I was just talking about. it. Last year I went to the Calm. retreat. I didn't I didn't I missed this. year's but I went last year and what I. was really moved by is everyone who's. part of your team has a Calm story. So, for everyone who doesn't know what I'm. talking about, I was doing a Q&A with. David the CEO on stage and we were doing. this Q&A and people would stand up and. ask me questions, but they would share. their Calm story. And everyone who. worked there had this really emotional,

really powerful personal story of how. Calm has helped their family or their. friends or them. And I was nearly in. tears like a couple of times because. some of those stories were really. emotional. It's so meaningful to be in a. company where, as you say, everyone has. a story, a reason, a purpose for being. there. It's so much more than a a 9-to-5. job, and you can feel that. And and. obviously you felt that when you came. And when you're surrounded by hundreds. of the Calm team, it's very very. special. You were such a a big hit. You. know, a year on, people still talk about.

it. You were doing selfies and chatting. long long into the night, meeting every. single person and and listening to those. stories. So, thank you for that. No, of course. And Michael, I want to. dive in now with you because, you know, what I think what you've done for the. world through Calm is truly remarkable. Like, I think it's it's historic. It it. truly is. You know, I think it's really. interesting because today. technology has become the way to serve. humanity. Mhm. And therefore, we don't. often. think about cultural shifts in the same.

way because they're through technology. It almost feels a bit robotic or a bit. more kind of organized. And so, we don't. realize just how powerful these things. are because we see numbers, but we don't. see the deep transformation. But Calm. has helped and transformed so many. people's lives. When you set out to. popularize meditation, did you ever. imagine that it would have the impact it. has today? No. No, it's it's been an. extraordinary journey. Alex Chew and I. set the company up a little over a.

decade ago. And we were living in Soho. Um you know Soho, London? Love Soho. Obviously, it's not the most calm place. in the world. It's full of all the best. restaurants and bars, incredible energy. and and passion. And um we lived in a. house, and we'd play video games at at. night talking about business and ideas. and I remember Alex saying to me he'd. heard about this domain name that was. available, calm.com, and we pressed. pause and I was like, "Wow, say that. again, calm.com." And I got goosebumps. and.

just thought, "What an incredible word, what an incredible brand we could. potentially build." We felt that the. world could have been cuz we lived in. Soho, but we felt the world needed more. calm and it was just getting more. anxious, more stressed, and so that was. the the starting point. And as I say, it's been a. one extraordinary journey. How was that available? Well, it wasn't. available at GoDaddy for $10, sadly. It was owned by a a chap in Sheffield, in England, and it was offered to us for. about a million pounds, I think, and.

both of us were like, "No, that's a. ludicrous amount of money. We could never afford that." And about a. year later, he came back to us and we. were able to get it for a much lower. amount. Still quite expensive. I was. going to use the money to put a deposit. down on a house. And we decided to buy a domain name with. it instead, which my parents thought was. a rather strange move. But we just. thought there was magic in in that word. and uh. we felt Alex had been meditating for for. many, many years. He was um a teenager. who was very interested in um.

consciousness and meditation and breath. work. And so he was a little more into. this that than I was and he brought me. along. But I felt that we could build almost. like the the Nike of the mind. Could we. take mental health? Could we take. meditation and mindfulness and simplify. make it more accessible, sprinkle in a. little bit of magic and and joy, and. bring it to to billions of people. Because these practices have been around. for thousands of years. Pretty much.

every culture and and religion has. something similar. But it wasn't clicking, it wasn't. resonating with society, and there was. so much unnecessary suffering, there was. so many issues, and we felt this could. be a very very powerful area to explore. So, that was the the little acorn that. Calm blossomed into. Yeah, have you. meditated today, Michael? Did you. meditate this morning? What did you. meditate today or. I I take some days I I'm not able to to. do the daily Calm for 10 minutes and. instead I take three mindful breaths.

before I leave the the door. So, um that. was what I did this morning. Yeah, that's beautiful. No, and it's I think. that's what's really interesting about. the way Calm's approach to meditation. and I saw this obviously from an outside. point of view until we we joined forces, but when I was observing what Calm was. doing, I was really really admiring it. because I felt it took such a. broad-minded view to meditation, which I. actually think meditation is as a. practice. So, even though you're saying. you've simplified it and made it more. accessible, which I agree Calm has, I.

actually think that is how meditation. should be and and is in reality when you. even look thousands of years ago. It was. far more easy and accessible, but it. wasn't this thing. And it's almost like. as things come into the modern world. when they're older, we just kind of put. this tag on them as being vintage or. mystical or unknown. But the truth is. that it was a part of society, it was a. part of the way kids were raised and. what they were taught at school. And so, what even gave you the perspective to. say we feel that.

we're going to take this broad-minded. view to meditation. Like you started. with like sleep tales and stories. And. when I saw that I was like this is. genius because so much meditation, especially of the past in my tradition. too, from my monk time is storytelling. Like so many meditations are based on. stories. And I think that the modern day. became about like being still and being. silent. And but you had this really. broad-minded view. How did that evolve. and where did that come from? Yes, so.

there were two big step changes in the. early days where we saw a big big. increase in in usage and audience. The. first was when we introduced the daily. calm. You know, Tamara was our first. teacher. She she was just phenomenal. She is she is so good. But before that, we just were encouraging people to to. meditate, listen to the same content. every single day. That's hard. People are busy sitting down and. it just wasn't connecting with people.

And the beauty of the daily calm is that. it's different every day and humans like. variety. And they like storytelling, as you say. And Tamara would leave everyone with a. beautiful quote. It would be memorable. People actually. started, instead of thinking of it as a. chore every morning, people would look. forward to it. They talk about what they. learned in the daily calm and they'd. share it in the daily calm community. And so these ripples started to to grow. So that was a a big early shift. And. secondly, the sleep stories.

You know, we we were looking at the the. data and we realized that a lot of. people were using Tamara's beautiful. voice to fall asleep at night. And we. were like, "No, no, no. That's not what. That's not what you're supposed to do.". So we thought, "What if we could create. stories? We could take the bedtime story. that's been around for forever, sprinkle. a little magic on it, and create the. sleep story." And so people think, "Oh, they're boring tales. They'll bore you. to sleep." But it's not like that at. all. There's a lovely curve of interest. where you start in an engaging way. Your.

mind is probably worrying away with a. lot of other things and you're intrigued. about this story. And then we mix in music and sound. effects and the voice gently gets. softer, the pacing between the words get. longer, until before you know it, you're. fast asleep. And sleep has been such a. big issue. So many people knock. themselves out with alcohol or sleeping. pills. And this is just a delightful, joyful, simple way of of drifting off. every night. And it's now actually the. biggest part of the app because. meditation again is is not.

straightforward. Everyone goes to sleep. every night, 8 billion people. That's a. pretty big market to to look after. Absolutely, absolutely. And it's such a. important part of our life to solve, right? Like I think you know the. importance of sleep. When was it when. did you find that not only of course 8. billion people are going to sleep, but. when did you find that like you looked. at the studies on how important sleep is. for our health and well-being? Like how. early did you kind of realize that was. an issue you wanted to solve? So, Matthew Walker's book Why We Sleep came.

out a few years ago and I think society. had a big awakening, excuse the pun, at that point around sleep because. before then. there was this view in society that, you. know, "Well, I'll sleep when I'm dead.". The lack of sleep you got was almost a. badge of honor in the workplace. And I. think very importantly that has changed. People get it now. It's not just part of. your health and wellness, it's a. foundation. So, we were a little bit. before Matthew Walker's book came out. We just felt a sense that there was. something really really key here. And.

and then one of the the big elevations. there was bringing in talent and and. celebrities. For years we'd been trying. to get Hollywood interested in recording. some content within Calm. We were. knocking on doors and no one would. answer. And uh. eventually um. Guy and Ashton from Sound Ventures, they. were one of our early investors, they. introduced us to Matthew McConaughey. And he used Calm for one of his. charities in Texas. And we said, "Matthew, would you record a sleep story. for us?" And he said, "Sure thing.".

Great voice. Oh, he's got such a good. voice. Very very popular. Um so, some of. the earliest talent we had on the app. was Anna Acton, my sister, Stephen Fry, Jerome Flynn from Game of Thrones. So, um the talent coming onto Calm suddenly. made. this practice and talking about your. mental health and meditating and. mindfulness, it popularized it. It made. it almost cool. And so, that really. helped the growth accelerate. dramatically. No, it's fantastic. And I.

again, I was watching all of that from. the sidelines at the time and just. thinking how genius it was because. to me as well, it was making meditation. accessible and relevant as we've already. said, but it was putting it into a. language and a voice that people could. understand, could relate to, could. connect to, could see as entertainment. almost. Entertainment is a a really good. example. It seems strange to talk about. this beautiful ancient practice as as.

entertainment. And mental health is a. very serious subject. But as we know, if you want to connect. with people, if you want to get their. attention, make something joyful, make. something entertaining. The The fastest. way to connect with another human being. is is through a smile. And so, we thought, could we. not take ourselves too seriously? Could. we have a little bit of fun with this? And we did. And so, several examples over the last 2 years, you know, we. we have a brilliant person working with. our PR team, Peter, who came up with the.

idea of creating Baba Land around the. time of La La Land, the film. And he. said, "What if we created a movie 8. hours long of sheep grazing in a field?". And it was very calming and peaceful. And we did our premiere with red carpet. in London and had sheep walk down and we. got so much publicity and attention for. it. People loved it. Then when GDPR came out, do you remember. the legislation? Uh very very serious and dare I say a. little bit boring. We got someone to. read it as a sleep story. And we got.

loads of PR for it. I'm falling asleep. to GDPR. So, we did a lot of these kind. of quirky, unusual little ideas. And. that PR, again, made people go, "Wow, maybe I'll check this out. Maybe this. isn't so weird and and woo-woo. And this. could be for me." Yeah, it's I mean, I I. love it and it's so genius, but at the. same time, like you said, there there. can be the view and I've definitely. talked about this before. Like there can. be the view that it's like, "Well, this. is such an ancient sacred practice and. like how can you make it so, you know,

how can you make it so silly or so one. would say silly or clever or genius or. or how can you make it so frivolous?". And it's really interesting because that. perspective, I think, has of course. validity and there's there's great. thought behind that, but I think what. I've gained or learned over time is that. people starting their journey of. meditation, meeting people where they're. at, meeting people where they're. starting with their struggle, with their. challenge, is so much more compassionate.

and loving and kind than it is to force. someone to adopt a practice that they. may never adopt or may think is so alien. to them that they'd never have a chance. And I've always said that to people, like real It's not a technique, it's. actually compassion and empathy where. it's like, "I understand where you are. I understand that." And I think about. myself in that way where as a young kid. growing up in London, the amount of. times I laughed or was making fun of.

someone trying to get me to meditate. when I was younger because it was just. bizarre. It's like, "I just want to go. and drink and have a good time." Like I. don't want to think about meditation, but maybe if Calm had been around when I. was younger, then it would have been an. easy place to start for me and that. would have been the beginning of my. journey. And of course Calm has evolved. so much since. But yeah, how have you. kind of tackled that opinion because I'm. sure you've faced that so much? Very much so. In the early days, when. we'd go to parties and tell people we. were building a a meditation app, we'd. get one of two reactions. One is that.

they'd back away from us and make any. excuse to go and talk to someone else. Um the second was that they'd be like, "Oh, I've heard of that. I've tried it, but I can't do it, you know, I'm my mind. is far too too busy." And it has been. extraordinary how that has shifted over. the last decade. Again, this is. connected to mental health. Do you. remember how stigmatized it was? No one. talked about it. Could you imagine. telling your boss you were struggling. with your mental health years ago? It It. wouldn't have been a good move. And And. for most organizations now, that has.

changed dramatically. I think it was because people did have. so many misconceptions about meditation. There were so many myths associated with. it. I think they thought it was either. religious or connected to the. counterculture. They thought they might have to dress up. in robes or go to a different country or. sit for hours and hours in an. uncomfortable position. And we just. wanted to let people know that that is. not true. You can literally start with. one mindful breath. If you don't have. time to to meditate for a minute or 10. or or longer, literally start with one.

conscious mindful breath and then build. your practice from there. Yeah. No, and. I And I think that. I'm hoping that And I mean, we know it. from the fact of the amount of people. that have taken up to it and it's been. the beginning of their meditation. practice and and just where it's gone. from them as well. But for you, what's. it been like. building the business of it? Because. that's. you know, obviously it's been over 10. years now. And I'm guessing that it's. really interesting when you're building. a meditation business, it doesn't mean. you're not immune to burnout and stress.

and pressure. And that includes the. team, includes you, includes There's so. many things that come up in business. that don't help you be mindful or on the. contrary, where mindfulness can really. help as well. So, talk to us about that. balance. Yes, so Alex and I love. business. You know, we love startups, taking crazy ideas and putting them out. in into the world. So, this has been. such a a joy to to work on. But even though we we practice what we. preach and and we've learned a huge.

amount from from Calm in this journey, we're not immune. And And during the. pandemic, we both really struggled. We. were running the company over Zoom. We. were on Zoom for 10, 12 hours, sometimes. more, every single day. And we were. based in Europe, the team was over in in. the US, so there was time zone. challenges as well. And we just started to feel it. We felt. it in our bodies, you know, we weren't. moving around as much. We felt it in our minds. We were just.

tired and stressed and exhausted. So. that was a a very, very challenging time. and and we're both in a much sharper, more energized place now. But that was a. a very tricky part of the the journey. And it was one of the reasons why we. both decided to take a new role and. bring David in as as the CEO, who is. absolutely brilliant. We bought his. company, Ripple. One of the reasons was we wanted to move. more into health care. You know, health. care in the US. is a $4 trillion industry and a very.

small proportion of that is spent on. mental health and that is changing. rapidly. And so Ripple was a health care company, so that helped. But we also just wanted. to get back, both of us, to to what we. love most, which is the the zero-to-one. phase. That messy, chaotic, creative, wonderful part where you're building. something that that has never existed in. the world before. And we weren't able to. do that when we were on Zoom for 12 12. hours a day. We were doing, you know, 2026 financial planning and.

feedback with team members and it was it. was not lighting us up. We could do it. We can run hundreds of people company, but. I think in life you have to focus deeply. on what you are really, really good at. So a few sleepless nights before handing. over the the reins to David as CEO, but. I can honestly say it's been one of the. best things I've ever done and I think. Alex feels the same. So we are both now co-chairmen, so we're. still involved very deeply in a new way, but because we love business and.

creativity so much, we're now running. Calm Studios in London, which is fully. connected to Calm, but it's where we can. dream up the future. Where is the puck. going? What is the future of mental. health? And what is the future products. and services of calm? So, that's what. we're deeply involved in at the moment. I mean, that's so exciting and it's such. a beautiful example as well of just how. detachment works even in business and. knowing when it's okay to let go of. something to create more space for. something else. And it's interesting cuz. you can talk about that, but to do it in. a practical sense when you're building,

you know, the first mental health. unicorn and building one of the biggest. mental health and sleep apps in the. world to then go, "Actually, we don't. want to work on this part anymore. We. have We believe in it. We care about it, but we actually want to focus on the. future again." And that, you know, you've made it sound seamless, but I can. imagine that's very challenging because, you know, I think we get attached to. roles, we get attached to titles, we get. attached to journeys. And we talked a. lot about this when when I was coming on. with you.

And and it was the same for me where I. had a lot of people in my business and. my world saying to me like, "Jay, you. should start your own app. And why would. you partner with a calm? And why would. you partner with anyone?" And you know, we had other apps that were reaching out. to us. And I saw all of that. I think we. talked about this very openly. And I. said, "I saw that if I went down that. path, it would have been egotistic. I. would have done it for my ego, not for. what I actually want for the world." And. what I saw you doing was so. aligned with what I'd want to do for the. world. I was like, "Well, wouldn't I.

join forces? Like, isn't that what my. meditation practice would want me to do. where collaboration would be better than. competition if you're trying to achieve. the same goal for society?" And so, it's. really interesting how for me at least, I'm always looking for how am I still. acting out of the same old mindset. even though I've been meditating for. years. Am I still pulled by that? Or am. I able to be self-aware and say, "Okay.". And that was, you know, one of the. biggest reasons why I came on at calm.

because I was like, "This is a mission I. believe in. Obviously, I'm friends with. the team. Love getting to know David. now. He's fantastic. And I'm like, okay, I want to work for. the world with people that I love and. care about, for people that I want to. serve and help, as opposed to live for. my ego. And I'm guessing there's a bit. of that and when you go, yeah, I'm not. going to be CEO anymore, even though I. built this thing from scratch, but I'm. going to start again. I'm guessing. there's a bit of detachment there. Would. you Is that accurate or How would you. put that in your words? Very, very, very accurate. And I think.

what you're saying is is about focus as. well. We can't do everything in life. You know, you, like us, get asked to do. a lot of different things and you have. to get good at saying no and know what. is the elements that really light you. up. What are the areas where you can. have the biggest impact and I think. focus is so important for anyone. listening wanting to build something. new. Figure out what that is. And don't be worried if you're not quite. sure what that is. Take your time to. find it. You know, I use this phrase. when you want to create something new.

Take a step back. Often, if if you have. the chance, not everyone has the luxury, but if you have the chance, go away on. your own for a few days. Clear your. head. Get into a new space, a new. environment. And then marinate yourself. in the the areas that you're intrigued. about. And what starts to happen is you. start connecting dots that you might not. have seen before. You know, watch. documentaries related to what you're. thinking about. Read books and. autobiographies. Chat to people who are. expert in this area. And suddenly the. light starts to become brighter and it.

becomes clearer what you need to do. Now, that often doesn't happen, you. know, over a few days. It can take. weeks, sometimes years. Every time I've. started up a new company or a business, there's been a huge amount of work. before day one. Just thinking and. planning. And then you just have this. very strong foundation that you can. build your skyscraper on top of. Calm. was was that case. From the very early. days, we did a lot of research and a lot. of thinking, but our mission was to make. the world happier and healthier and it. stayed exactly the same over this last. decade. You know, I I love hearing that.

because and I love your advice on. stepping back, you know, to kind of. really understand what you're trying to. do and I love the idea of you saying. that it could take years. I I think the. challenge has become that today because. we're living in a world where there's so. many successes and there's so many more. success stories in our generation. that people are scared to start because. they're scared if it won't be big enough. or it won't be like when I start. creating content, I wasn't even aware. that it could get a million views. Like. I didn't think about that. I was happy.

with 100 views or 1,000 views at one. point because I didn't have a false. marker. In the same way with business, like I don't think most companies that. today have a billion-dollar valuation or. even billion in revenue, like they. didn't start with knowing that that. would be the case. It maybe at one point. it became a strategic plan or a focus to. get there, but that's not how they felt. on day one and it's almost like not. having that pressure was better because. then you were able to pivot and shift. and change and not stay so tied and I.

think today we're I mean Calm was always. meant to be a meditation app, I guess, and now it's so much more. It's a sleep. app. It's got, you know, like you were. just saying now, like there's now the. daily move, right? There's so much more. happening on the app that's not. meditation. And that comes from being. open and curious and so how do you. encourage people because I think there's. so many people listening right now and. they may be like Mike, can I want to. start the next app or Jay, I want to. start the next podcast or I want to. build this? Like you've given some.

really great insight, but. I personally feel there's too much. pressure for what you build to be big. and that's actually what ruins it. Yes, very, very good point. So we live in. this culture where it just looks like. there's overnight successes everywhere. We're surrounded by people who are who. are smashing it and the reality is every. one of those people have been on a. journey and they've spent a long time. getting to that point. So, first of all, do the deep work, as I just mentioned, do your research, there's no shortcuts, and then. patience is incredibly important. Accept.

and understand that you're going on a. journey and you're not going to crack it. and be on front of magazines, you know, in the first week or year, maybe not. even in the first decade. But, if you. believe deeply in what you're doing, if. it, you know, is is deeply ingrained and. you've done that that foundation work, then you'll put one foot in front of the. other and and you'll get there. eventually. And it's often said that compounding is. the eighth wonder of the world in. financial terms. It's true in.

self-development and building a business. and and growing ourselves. It doesn't. happen overnight and so, being aware of. that and being ready for that uh long. journey, I think is very, very. important. Yeah, and I think that. time that it takes to to master. something so that it becomes. world-worthy almost to to speak. It's. almost like a law of the universe that. when you've put in that much time and. energy and effort and diligence,

it's likely to succeed, but it's just. that the patience that it takes to put. in that 10 years of mastery or whatever. it may be for a different skill. Like. you just kept saying it, there's no. shortcuts, there's no easy way through. that. And I think one of the other. challenges is people will see success. around them and hear about a story or a. type of business and then go and build. it. Like a good example is there are now. thousands and thousands of meditation. and mindfulness and and sleep apps and. Headspace and Calm and a handful of. others were were there first. The.

problem is, if you're building something. because you're seeing it everywhere in. society, you're going to be too late. You know, I often talk about the analogy. of of surfing, when you're trying to. catch that wave, if you're hearing about something in. society, the wave is already broken and. those surfers are are far off into the. sunset. That's why you've got to do that work up. front and figure out which wave is. building. in the distance. What's coming closer. and closer. You also don't want to be. too early because you'll freeze to death. before the sun comes up and before that. wave ever gets to you. So timing is so.

crucial. But when you catch that wave, when you're ready, it's an extraordinary. thing. And then as I say, the. compounding takes place and we were very. fortunate with our timing and it was. tricky in the early days because as I. say, no one was really mental health or. mindfulness. It took about half a decade. before we were able to raise our series. A investment. But again, we had that. very deep conviction that this was. eventually going to happen. We just. needed that patience and we were.

building day by day, step by step and. then then whoosh. It's been holding onto the rocket ship. ever since. So would you say that that process. because I love what you're saying there. and I think. it reminds me of something that Rick. Rubin was saying when he was here and. you know, he was he was talking about. from a music point of view but creating. art and and even with you I you are. you're a great business person and you. know, that's such a you've you've built. companies before this as well like you. have a successful track record but at. the same time whenever I talk to you and. this is I think why we get along as well.

is because you you're an artist at heart. and and you're a creative at heart I. feel at least and. what I'm hearing is that there's it's. almost like you have to be so like when. you talk about surfing I'm I'm terrible. at surfing. I've only tried it once but. Me too by the way. Yeah, yeah, I was I. was going to ask you. I was like you. surf like a pro right now. But when you. think about surfing and you think about. it it's being so aligned with nature and. being so aware and you're so present and. conscious about the air and the wind and. the wave and as as you're describing it.

it's almost like you've got to be so in. tune. to really know when to catch that wave. You're almost talking about it as if. it's an intuitive art. Like there's some. Can you expand on that for us? Because. that's really beautiful and I think we. almost talk about it through all the. externals. Like, where's the industry. going and where's this and that does. work, for sure, but I think what you're. saying is actually far more of an artist. conversation and a Yes, so surfing is a. very mindful activity. You know, you're. out there in nature and balance is.

important. So, so many different. connections with with meditation and and. mindfulness and I feel that analog works. with with business as well. You can. analyze stuff until you're blue in the. face and look at every chart and. projection and. and sometimes you just have to step back. and and feel into it. What's the. intuition? What is your gut instinct. telling you about this opportunity? I. listen very carefully to my mind and my. body at 4:00 a.m. in the morning. That's. a great signal. When I'm waking up and.

it and it alerts me to opportunity and. trouble, as well. I've built many. businesses that haven't worked and even. though. I may have been winning awards and I've. been written about positively in the. press, I'll wake up every night at at. 4:00 a.m. and my body will be saying, uh-uh, this isn't working. Listen to me. And I you can ignore that voice for for. only so long. So, I think business is. this just beautiful mix of data and. analysis very, very important, but when.

you combine it with magic and creativity. and intuition, the center of that Venn. diagram, I think, is where the the the. biggest, most exciting opportunities are. built. Yeah. What are some of the. learnings that are coming out of Calm. Studios? I'm fascinated now. As soon as. you mentioned that, I was like, oh, that's amazing. I want to know what's. happening there. Like, yeah, what are. some of the key learnings or the key. kind of curiosities that have already. stemmed from that work? Well, next time you're in Soho, you must. come and visit. Yeah, I have to. And it's a tiny space. You wouldn't think this is, you know, Calm. That's the best, though.

It's very scrappy. We're a barely a. one-pizza team. There's Sam and Annis. and Steve and me, and Alex. And we're. just having an absolute blast. So, we. we've been thinking very carefully, as I. say, about this marinating process and. thinking deeply. We've been exploring a. lot of different ideas. Psychadelics is. such a fascinating area, and I think we. could talk about that for hours and. hours. I won't. But, but you know, that that could. hold a huge amount of promise for how we.

treat and support people with mental. health. You know, there's still a lot of. research and science that needs to take. place, but there's very early positive. signs. So, we explored the idea could. Calm step in and and work here. And I. think that may be something for the. future. We've looked at going offline. Calm has. 100 million downloads, but not that much. presence in the physical world. And. there's nothing quite like looking in. someone's eyes or being in the same. space with them. So, how can Calm show.

up there? Could it be physical products? Could it be. events and parties and creating. communities around the world in in. different cities? Could it be a resort. one day, you know, the most relaxing. Calm resort in in the world? So, we've. explored that a little bit. But, where. we've kind of settled and where we're. going deep at the moment is an area that. has really caught the attention over the. last year, which is artificial. intelligence. Now, obviously AI has been. around for decades. You know, we've.

we've had the the deep learning. revolution over a decade ago. Chat GPT. caught the attention last December. So, everyone's buzzing about it now, but. we've been thinking about this for for. quite a bit longer. And asking the question, how can these. incredibly powerful silicon brains. support our beautiful and fragile human. brains? How can AI help humanity? So, many, many different ways we're. we're tackling that. Could AI be an.

amplifier an augment mental health. professionals? Could it help onboard. patients? Could it provide support 24/7. when you're not with a human therapist? The average time it takes to see a. therapist in in the US is about 6 or 7. weeks. When you need support, that's way. too long. Um so could there be an. intermediate step? And if you think of. mental health as falling on a spectrum, apps like Calm are fantastic at the the. healthier end. Um but as you move into. the sort of amber and orange and and.

middle end, uh therapy becomes more. valuable. But there's a big gap between. an app like Calm, which is very. proactive, and seeing a human therapist. Could AI play a role in that center. point? Um so there's many different uh. paths we're exploring there. I'm very curious to know what your. thoughts are of of AI cuz I imagine. you've had many many conversations on. this. I think we have a similar approach. to things where. I try not to get lost in. the kind of. negative news that stems around any new.

discovery because I think we kind of do. it constantly and sometimes I find we. make it harder to find usefulness and. solutions through new technology that's. happening anyway as opposed to we get so. distracted by like, "Well, these are the. issues and this is what's going wrong. and this is where it's going to destroy. humanity, etc." and and I think that. those kind of headlines kind of steal. the show and they distract us from. saying, "Well, actually this is. happening anyway, whether you like it or.

not. It already exists. How can we now make sure that as humans. we are benefited by it and that it helps. us and supports us by analyzing the. potential challenges and coming up with. solutions rather than going, "Oh god, it's it's the same thing we did with the. internet." I'm sure it was the same. thing that was done with TVs back in the. day. It was the same thing we did with. social media and it's kind of tiring cuz. we're kind of still having those same. conversations when I'm like look, no. one's going to stop using social media,

no one's going to stop using their. phones. Let's stop talking about that as. the ultimate solution to helping people. with this. And the same with AI. People. are using ChatGPT already and like you. said AI's been around. So, I think when. I think about AI, I personally think. about it in a similar way to you're. saying. So, I've always wanted the idea. of people to have a coach in their. pocket. Mhm. So, if people were able to. get not only reminders, which is what. our phones do already, but they're. reminders that you have to put in. But,

I've always had this feeling of like if. your body could notify your coach of. what you need without you knowing it. And then your coach could then prescribe. you with there is content food. recommendations, diet recommendations, supplement recommendations. It would make it so much more seamless. and easy because I think for so many of. us, we don't actually know how we feel. And unless you're looking at data and. unless you're looking at what's actually. happening in the body. So, to give you. an example, for me a couple of years. ago, I was feeling fatigue and low.

energy. And I couldn't figure it out because I. thought I was sleeping well, I thought I. was eating well, and I thought I was. working out. So, I was doing all the. right stuff. And it was only when I got. my vitamin D levels checked where I. realized that my vitamin D level was at. a 10. Supposedly healthy is around 60. and like great is around 100 and I'm at. 10. And I'm living my current level of. lifestyle just 2 3 years ago. And. without that piece of data, I wouldn't. know what the problem was. And I would. have diagnosed the problem as well, maybe there's something going wrong up.

here. Maybe I'm not working out enough. Maybe I'm not eating enough greens. And. you just make stuff up. And so, I think. a data level approach that AI could help. measure, but then AI could help find. solutions for to me is very exciting. because I think when humans are left to. diagnose their own issues, I think we. cause more issues and cause more stress. And stressing about stress is we both. know is not healthy. So, I love the gaps. that AI can fill. So, I've been testing. a NutriSense glucose monitor just.

because I've been fascinated by glucose. levels and how keeping steady glucose. levels is healthier for us. And so, I. had the monitor in me for a couple of. weeks. I'm going to put the new one in. soon. And while I was testing it, I. could see where if I ate like and I was. eating I was back in London, so I was. back for my sister's wedding in London. I literally got back 2 days ago. And. when I'm back in London, I'm eating much. unhealthier than when I'm in LA. And I. still went out and find found a no-sugar. cereal, gluten-free, whatever. I was. trying to be really healthy. And I had.

it and it still spiked my glucose into. the bad levels. And I was thinking I. would never have known that because. eating it I felt fine. And so, I think. if AI could help us monitor, measure, and then navigate solutions, which. includes meditations, which includes. sleep monitors, whatever it may be. I I. think it's incredible what could happen, especially make it affordable. Yes. And. that's what I get excited about is. making it affordable, which Calm has. always been at the forefront of that. Like making things affordable and. accessible. Well, I love what you're. saying because it's it's very similar to.

what we're thinking at at Calm Studios. You know, one of the questions we've. asked ourselves is could we build the. world's greatest health coach? What. would that be? And as you say it, you. know, having a human coach is the best, the gold standard, but that is not cheap. and and not widely distributed. So, having a coach in your pocket 24/7 that. you can chat to whenever you want, nudging you, motivating you, inspiring. you. And here's the interesting thing, the AI will get to know you better than. yourself. It will see your health kit. data. It will ask how you're feeling.

every day, and then start making. fascinating inferences and and. connections, and surprising you on a on. a day-to-day basis. So, you know, I. think it was Socrates that said many. many years ago, "Know thyself." And AI. can help you really know yourself. But that's only one part of the puzzle, and I think one of the problems with AI. at the moment is it's very logic-driven. One of the foundation models we've been. so impressed with is what Inflection. have built, Pi. I don't know if you've. had a chance to check out Pi. It's. beautiful. If If GPT-4 is IQ, Pi is more.

EQ. It's uh It's like chatting to a. really thoughtful friend. It asks you. questions. It keeps the conversation. flowing. It's very compassionate and. empathetic, and that's the essence that. we want to capture with what we're. doing. And the other thing to say here is that. interface is so crucial. You know, GPT-3. was released, I think, in about 2020, but it didn't capture the imagination. It was only when the wrapper of chat. came about that people suddenly were. able to to connect with it and talk.

about it and make it more accessible and. simple, kind of like we did with with. meditation back in the day. So, we're. asking ourselves, having a great AI. health coach is one step, but what do we. build around it? Could we create. something that is set in a universe. array of characters? Could there be. storytelling? Could there be music and. and magic? Could we add a gamified. element? You know, look at Duolingo and. what they've done. to make learning a language fun and. enjoyable. And as we said at the. beginning, if you can make anything fun.

and entertaining, that's how you cut. through the noise and and get people to. pay attention. So, I think that's one of. the big shifts we're thinking about at. Calm Studios, and and we think for this. next evolution of of Calm. Because 100. million downloads is great, but there. are 8 billion people in the world. There's a lot more people we want to. connect with and reach. These are the. kind of conversations that I love, too, because because it's it's so exciting. trying to figure out. And And by the. way, I I want to remind everyone that. look, you know, Michael said it earlier, too. If you can get a physical coach, if. you can get out in nature, if you can.

get out there and, you know, play. pickleball, which I'm doing a lot of. right now. Like, whatever it is, like, those things are never ever not going to. help, right? Being outdoors in nature, like, listening to nature sounds for. real, but like calm, you know, I I use. nature sounds on calm all the time. I'm. not always in a space where I can access. nature sounds. Like I can't always be in. a rainforest or ever. And and being able. to have it digitally is helpful. And I. think that's what we're saying here. where it's like if you can do things.

physically, of course do them. Don't. don't stop doing them. Like it's. important to talk to a real friend. It's. important to talk to a real human, but. for everyone who's struggling or those. things are not immediately accessible, that's where I think why we've seen such. a rise in the digital world because we. are looking for alternatives and we are. looking for. support. And I've definitely found that. the collective approach of of data and. human has been really powerful for me. personally. Like I've found in my own.

personal mental health journey, I still. need to talk to my best friend three. times a week, which I don't stop doing. But at the same time I do need to. measure the quality of my sleep, my. glucose, my vitamin D levels, whatever. it may be because they're equally. affecting how I feel on a daily basis. Yeah. No, that's that's well put. I. think. I think the key is awareness and. understanding. And this is what. developing a mindfulness practice does. Attention is the most valuable resource.

in the 21st century, but our attention. is dragged in so many different. directions. It's so easy to go through. life like a a marionette on on the the. strings of the the puppet master not. being consciously aware of what's going. on. But if you can catch yourself, if you. can build a a practice and know where. your attention is going, you can put it. where you want. So you can spend time in. the digital world and on social media. and watching Netflix and all these. things that that do bring value to our. life, but you catch yourself and don't.

overdo them and suddenly find yourself 3. hours later after using TikTok. And so I. think having that sense of of control, knowing what's going on in your mind, knowing where you're consciously putting. your attention and how you're feeling. and striking that right balance is is a. superpower in our modern society. Yeah, and I think what we're trying to. do here, which I think is key, is trying. to create alternatives for. viewers or listeners on the platform. that we're on anyway. Yes. Like often like people will often. ask me, "Well Jay, you're making social. media content." And I'm saying, "Yes,

because we're going to be on social. media anyway. So why not give people. another option to have something that. hopefully is educational, entertaining, and insightful that can benefit their. life." And so same way as you're saying, I love the idea of looking at you know, I mean AI is already able to, but. especially with the EQ version you're. saying there with Pi, like AI is able to. write. movie scripts and TV show scripts and. conversation scripts. And it's going to. be able to It is already able to, but.

going to be able to do so many things in. an entertaining way to find a way that. people can almost go on a unique journey. that was tailor-made for them. Like I always get asked when I coach. clients, everyone's like, "So what's. your program?" And I'm like, "The. program's unique for every client. because you can't take everyone on the. same program." The fact that you could. have a tailor-made unique program for. you and visuals and universes and. experiences could be created is quite. crazy and phenomenal to think about. Like right now we're just used to.

suggested for you. Mhm. But imagine suggested for you in. the metaverse and suggested for you. landscapes, places to visit, people to. know. It's quite remarkable to think how. how personalized it could get. Yeah, we. think it's it's going to be very, very. exciting combining all these things to. together. So yeah, we're having a lot of. fun at at Calm Studios. And I just want. to jump back to something you said on on. social media because social media gets a. really bad rap in our society. And.

there's a lot of people that are very. stressed about it and it does cause a. lot of anxiety and polarization in. society. But, there's a lot of joy in social. media as well. Again, when you when you. take to it consciously, you know, I've. met some wonderful friends through. social media, incredible business. opportunities have have flowed from it. It can be really joyful and. entertaining. But again, it's about. using it for you instead of against you, being very aware of how you're using it, dipping in and out. Um if you're on.

social media mindlessly scrolling late. at night before you go to bed, that's. that's not ideal. If you dip in and out. every now and then, that I think is a a. much more powerful way of doing it. And. you can apply this to most things in. life. You know, stop, pause, take a deep. breath, and think, is this helping me? Is this serving me? And uh that fraction. of a a second can completely transform. and and change your life. I guess that's it though, Michael. Like. you just hit the nail on the head there. and that is. the ultimate.

human skill of being conscious. It's. almost like being selective about where. you are, why you're there, and how you. want to interact with this person, app, technology, space. But being conscious. seems to be. the ultimate lesson. Because like you. just said, that doesn't just apply to. social media, applies to everything. How. do we help people develop that? Because. that's that's how I feel like I, you. know, I often talk about it with people.

as well, this idea that envy has always. existed, social media's just amplified. it. Mhm. Ego has always existed, social media's. just put a magnifying glass on it. The. desire for competition and status and. status and all of these pursuits that we. have, they've always been there. Like I. remember at school, it was what's what. trainer you wore to school or sneaker. you wore to school made you the cool. kid. Now you just post your latest. sneakers on Instagram, it's the same.

thing. And so. it's just amplified it and it's exposed. you to far more people's trainers, right? Like the idea that back in the. day if there were 20 kids in the class. and there's 20 kids in the playground, you know, I had Hi-Tecs on cuz my. parents didn't buy me Nikes. And then so. it's like I had Hi-Tecs, that person had. Adidas or Adidas, that person had Nike. or Nikes. And and that was the. competition, whereas now you can see 3. million kids' shoes and now you feel. 2 million and 97.

on the list as opposed to 23rd. And so. the exposure's gone high, the scale has. increased, but the problem has still. remained the same that we don't know who. we are, we don't know where our. self-worth and our confidence comes. from, and we're not conscious about our. choices. Like that is the root, at least. in my. opinion. How have you thought about. answering that question for people? Because that is the real problem. It's. the fundamental question, isn't it? And. it's what we're trying to achieve. through Calm, it's it's what you're.

doing with your work. You know, Sam. Harris talks about it as waking up. Um. it is becoming more aware and more. conscious. So developing a a mindfulness. practice helps. You know, one of the. things that that I think has been very. useful from doing it is this idea. in life of responding instead of. reacting to stimulus. Stuff happens. constantly throughout the the day. And if you, instead of from the. amygdala, reacting, someone cuts you off. in traffic and you honk your horn and.

suddenly you're miserable and angry all. day, if you pause for a fraction of a. second and think more thoughtfully and. respond, it it changes everything. You. can still get angry and honk your horn, but you're you're more aware you're. doing it. I think this is really. important in interpersonal relationships. as well. So many triggers and and little. things that can cause arguments and and. stress with our partner, but I think. pausing and thinking before responding. is so so valuable. So that's that's one. step. But there isn't an easy answer.

Human beings are complex things and even. though we know what we should do, even. though everyone loves the idea of being. more mindful and meditating, one of the. challenges very few people sit down and. do it and build it into a healthy habit. every single day. And so this is why. what we're doing at Calm is a. is a lifelong journey, you know, decades. of work ahead of us. I agree with you. and I think it's also just a really. would love for everyone to step back and.

look at. their decisions. and choices thus far in life and ask. themselves why they chose those things. and what was their value behind that. choice. Mhm. And almost kind of go. backwards as far as you can and figure. out what made you do something. And most people will track it back to. parents, society, or hopefully some of the things will be. things that they really value.

And it's almost like how can you edit. everything to be living your life based. on what you really value so that there's. as little noise and as little. distraction from the outside world or. forces, you're saying responding to. something's happening as opposed to this. is who I want to be. Yeah. And this is. how I want to live my life. And that's. not an easy practice. And I'm not saying. that. that will solve everyone's problems, but. I know that we've you've talked about. Calm in health care which I fully agree. with and I love that direction. I was. really passionate about that happening.

How hard has it been to talk about Calm. in schools or Calm for kids or where's. that conversation? Because I know that. that's something we've talked about. before and I think we've both been. passionate about it. How hard is that to. make happen? Well, again, that's a a. long journey, but it's it's shifted a. lot in the last decade. I remember some. of the early conversations we had where. we wanted to bring calm into schools. We. got quite a bit of pushback. I think. again, people thought this was a bit. weird and and religious. And teachers.

have been opening up to it and it is now. in, you know, thousands of schools. around the world start their day with. with silence or or short meditations, which is so valuable. You know, I I use. this quite a lot, but if you want to. change the world, as we do at Calm, start with the youngest generation. And. the Dalai Lama said, "If we could teach. meditation to every 7-year-old in the. world, we could eradicate violence in a. generation." Pretty profound and not. easy to do. So, um that is shifting. The. problem is kids are not particularly.

excited about meditation and. mindfulness. They've got a lot of lot of. other exciting things going on. So, you. have to, as you were saying earlier, bring it to them and shape it in a way. that resonates with them. And often. entertainment can do that. So, we just. did a a wonderful partnership with. Disney. And so, Disney Princess is. helping kids fall asleep and and learn. about meditation. We've worked with. Peppa Pig and Moshi Monsters and a whole. bunch of others. So, that's been a very. powerful step in the right direction. And sleep has has been very valuable for.

kids. So, rather than trying to get them. to sit down and. be still for a minute, which is hard. enough for adults, almost impossible for. kids, when they're going to bed, sleep. stories is a very mindful way, a very. gentle way for them to learn about this. practice. Yeah, I love that. I'm so glad. that you're talking about it that way. because I agree, you know, you know, anyone who's listening is going right. now, they're going, "I can't get my kid. to sit still.". And so, I think, you know, I love the. idea of the Disney collaboration is. fantastic. And I I think more of that is. so needed. These innovative ideas of how.

meditation and mindfulness can be. presented to kids because that that's. literally all it is. And I just, you. know, this is a really great. conversation to make that point that. please understand that when you're. trying to make things more accessible, more entertaining, more. practical for people, that's the only. way it's going to work. Because if we. keep forcing people to. do things in what we assume is the. purest way, uh it it may never ever be like you're. saying, like a kid, when are they ever. How many kids are actually going to sit. down and just breathe?

Meet people where they are, understand. what's going on in the world, and then. try and create and frame something that. that works for them. You know, for. anyone listening who is thinking about, you know, their big idea, what their. purpose in life is going to be, one. thing that I found very helpful is take. something that is already successful, whether it's today or or in in decades. past, and then put a twist on it, a. tweak. And if you look at some of the. biggest successes of all time, that that. kind of is what's going on. It's a. pattern that human beings have done.

again and again and again, but with a. little tweak, so it's familiar, but it's. got that newness and uniqueness. And if. you can find that, uh that no one else. has done before, as I say, lean into it, do your research, be patient, and and. you can have a phenomenal success. Love. it. Michael, thank you so much for. today. This has been so This has gone in. so many different directions than what. we planned, but it's been so fun talking. to you. And I'm so glad that we've I'm hoping. that anyone who's listening and watching. you've gained a bit more insight into. how you can kind of tune into that voice.

that you've got within you to be. creative, to be reflective, to be. introspective, and you found that. you found just a bit of clarity on the. direction that you need to take. internally. towards creating something that can help. the world. And you can hear how. it can be a business, it can be an app, it can be a product, it can be a. service, it can be anything you want it. to be, but. you've got to be just that that timing. piece. I want you to go back and listen. to that, because I thought that was so. powerful of if you're really. aware of the problem and you're aware of.

the people you want to serve, then you'll find. the potential solution. But that. requires stillness. It requires sitting. with. that community and that problem. I. think, just to jump in here, I think you. said something so important, listening. to that inner voice. And what we're very. good at at human beings at doing is. distracting ourselves, as we said. earlier. There's so many distractions, and we mask what we really need to hear. with alcohol and drugs and Netflix and a.

a ton of other things. How often. are we really truly in solitude and. alone and listening to ourselves? And I. I would encourage anyone listening to do. to try and carve out time to do that. If. you can, as we said earlier, go away for. a few days on your own, fantastic. If. you can't do that, a really valuable. practice is first thing in the morning, before you turn your phone on, sit with. a blank sheet of paper. You know, do the. the artist's way and just scribble and. think. And it's amazing when you have.

that stillness, what starts to bubble up. and the things you really need to hear. only emerge in that silence. That's beautiful. Michael, if there is. there anything you want to add, anything. I haven't asked you that's on your heart. or mind or Oh my goodness, we could talk for hours, Jay, but I but. I think this was This was a pretty good. pretty good conversation. I loved this. Thank you. so do I. No, I loved it, too, because we. totally got lost in a in a real. conversation, and that's always the best. ones. But, everyone who doesn't already, make sure that you uh follow Michael. Michael, where should people find you? If they want to follow you and follow.

your work, where would you like them to. go? I'm @acton on Twitter. I'm Michael. Acton on Instagram. I'm not as active on. social media as I I used to be, but I. dip in and out every now and then. And. yeah, just come and check out Calm and. and join our community. Absolutely. Thank you, everyone who's been listening. and watching. I hope that you're going. to share on social media your takeaways, your insights, something that you're. playing or practicing with as well. Share them with us. Tag both me and. Michael. Let us know, because I'd love. to see what ideas come from this. I'd. love to know that this sparked some. creativity for you or brought out some.

genius from within you or maybe just. even made you take some time for. yourself. And of course you can go and. listen to the daily Jay on calm or the. daily calm on calm or any of the. incredible programs that we have on the. platform. Come and join us and. find an easy accessible and fun and. playful way of practicing mindfulness. and meditation in your life every single. day. Thanks everyone and thank you so. much Michael. This was wonderful. Thank. you so much. Thank you. If you love this. episode, you'll enjoy my interview with.

Dr. Julie Smith on unblocking negative. emotions and how to embrace difficult. feelings. You've just got to be. motivated every day and if you're not, then what are you doing? And and. actually humans don't work that way. Motivation, you have to treat it like. any other emotion. Some days it will be. there, some days it won't.