Speaking of business, badass, and inner-balance — today’s guest has it all. Ariel Garten is a neuroscientist, innovator, mother, and an entrepreneur who’s driving purpose is to empower and help others overcome mental obstacles in order to live healthy, happy lives and help them reach their maximum potential.
Ariel is the founder of InteraXon — the makers of Muse, the meditation headband. And they’re a Canadian company! Muse is an award-winning, wearable technology that assists and trains meditation and mindfulness. Muse takes the guesswork out of meditation. It’s used by thousands of people daily, with over five million meditation sessions to-date.
Ariel was an incredible guest. Not only was she articulate and understanding of the ecosystem of entrepreneurship, but she was incredibly insightful as to the tools that we have available to us to help us accelerate our capacity to think, gain clarity, and have big-picture thoughts as it pertains to entrepreneurism. What made her so perfect for the Entrepology podcast was that we digressed from these big-picture ideas to then look at what it means to be a mother, to have balance — and how we throw all of these things together and still continue to create incredible businesses and solutions in the world.
Key Takeaways:
[1:57] About our guest and topics today.
[3:35] Welcoming Ariel Garten to the podcast!
[3:56] About Ariel’s journey as an entrepreneur and what Muse is all about.
[6:30] Did Ariel meditate before Muse?
[7:01] What is Muse? How does it work?
[9:45] How are people leveraging Muse long-term?
[11:04] The benefits of pairing acupuncture with Muse.
[13:37] Does meditation really change people’s lives profoundly?
[17:37] Is it the time we spend meditating or the consistency that is more important?
[20:06] How meditation has changed the way Ariel operates as an entrepreneur.
[22:46] Does Ariel see a difference in benefits between the genders in using Muse?
[23:43] Can kids use the Muse? And reflecting on meditation and motherhood.
[29:31] How Ariel is balancing being an entrepreneur, mother, and running a company.
[31:08] Has being a parent made Ariel a better entrepreneur?
[32:02] Key decisions that have helped Ariel balance life and work.
[34:09] How did Ariel’s transition to a more relaxed state of mind (i.e. not feeling the need to be overachieving constantly)?
[38:36] What does Ariel want her legacy to be?
[41:23] Ariel’s KPIs!
[45:56] Where to find Ariel and Muse online.
Muse
Steve Mann (inventor of the wearable computer)
Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!: Adventures of a Curious Character,
by Richard P. Feynman
More About Ariel Garten
Ariel Garten is a neuroscientist, innovator, mother, and entrepreneur whose driving purpose is to empower and help others overcome mental obstacles in order to live healthy, happy lives and reach their maximum potential. Garten is the Founder of InteraXon, the makers of Muse: the brain sensing headband. Muse is the award-winning wearable technology that assists and trains meditation and mindfulness. Muse takes the guesswork out of meditation by giving you real-time feedback of your brain so you see what’s going on in your mind while you meditate, therefore allowing you learn how to truly achieve a deep state of focus and increase mindfulness. Hundreds of thousands of people use Muse daily, with over five million meditations sessions with Muse to date.
Ariel has always been creative in multiple fields, spanning both the arts and the sciences. Before founding InteraXon, Ariel was not only trained as a neuroscientist and psychotherapist but also started her own international clothing line while she worked in labs researching Parkinson’s disease and hippocampal neurogenesis. Her entrepreneurial head combined with her fascination with the brain and curiosity to find tangible ways to improve it lead her to join forces with two of her friends where they founded a Silicon-Valley-backed startup that allowed people to control computers with their minds, the technology that led to Muse. These days, Ariel can be found at home playing with her two-year-old or on stage across the world speaking about happiness, meditation, understanding mental health, or telling her own innovation story, consistently giving her audiences the tools they need to help them become their best selves.
Ariel is determined to help as many people as possible undo the knots in their heads and ultimately to help people understand their brains better in order to lead their best lives, free of all the limiting beliefs that stand in their way. Ariel’s journey is an inspiration — a crazy technology company that has been amazingly successful. She’s never let her negative thoughts get in the way and her mission is to be able to empower others to do the same!
Connect with my Guest:
Website: ChooseMuse
Social Media: Instagram: @ariels_musings Twitter: @ariel_garten, and Facebook.
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CALL TO ACTION
You don’t need Muse to start meditating today (though it sure is helpful!) If you’re new to meditating or have never meditated, try meditating for a small amount each day. Start with 3 minutes, then go to 5, then go to 10. Like Ariel said, even 10 minutes a day consistently has profound effects. And remember to share your commitment on the Entrepology Podcast Facebook page! Because when you are accountable, you are helpable.