The Alchemize Podcast
JW joins The Alchemize Podcast to talk about how he found success by focusing on what was important in life - feeling free. He tells the story of how, after selling his second company, he hit a low point in his life where he didn't feel comfortable in his own skin and felt alone. JW shares how he ended up creating feel-free, a healthy productivity enhancer, and alcohol alternative, and discovered a way to enjoy kava and other plants in their natural form to find a new way to feel good and focused.
Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 You know, for me it's, it was, um, the biggest change in my life was realizing that, you know, it's, it's not about, you know, monetary things. I mean, it's important, money's important, but that shouldn't be the only thing that you're focused on in life, you know? Now. I mean, we're having incredible success with, with feel free. I mean, it's just exploding the, the growth of it.
Speaker 1 00:00:29 Yeah. What's up everybody? Your life? Alchemist. Your dragon. Welcome to Alchemized Life. I'm your host, Justin David Carl. This is a show where I seek out and share expertise, wisdom, and thought leadership in all domains with the mission of empowering and inspiring you to proactively design and truly live a life worth living. We're all in this together, and when we do the work together, we go so much farther, so much faster, and have so much more fun. Without further ado, let's dig into this episode and Alchemize life.
Speaker 2 00:01:20 Jw, welcome to the show. So wonderful to have you on. You are the creator of this incredible product that I've recently tried, and honestly, I can say that I haven't tried anything like it, maybe ever. And it's called Feel Free, and your company is Botanic Tonics. And I'm really, really excited to jump into your story about, you know, how you came to create this product, why you created it, what's in it, what it does, you know, for me personally, for other, uh, people in general, what people can expect, and really kind of cover all the different aspects of your journey to creating this product for people. So to kind of, so thank you so much for jumping on with me here.
Speaker 0 00:02:15 Yeah, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 00:02:17 Awesome. Now, do you go by JW or?
Speaker 0 00:02:21 Yes. Jw.
Speaker 2 00:02:22 Wonderful. So I'd love to kind of start with your origin story. I know through my own research that you found success in business and you had, you know, reaching for that, that that golden purse. And really when you got there, realized that you still didn't quite have what you're looking for. So I'd love to kind of know, you know, what you did for work. You know, maybe if, if school was a important part of your story. And then I definitely want to cover your journey to sobriety because Okay. You share that with me. I'm, uh, now seven or eight years sober. I've, I've lost track, but, uh,
Speaker 0 00:03:13 That's when it gets good when you forgotten how many years it is
Speaker 2 00:03:17 <laugh>. Yeah. Great. So I'll pass that over to you.
Speaker 0 00:03:20 Okay. So to answer your question specifically about school, school wasn't my thing. Yeah. I very easily got bored with school and spent most of my time acting up and didn't make it very far. So that led me to going out and working in the whole fields. Uh, I grew up originally from Dallas. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and, um, you know, that was a, a major occupation there. So, and it, and it provided really good money for someone that's, you know, right outta high school. So, uh, and I had a lot of friends that were, you know, their families were in that business. Yeah. So I started out, uh, working in the field at the lowest position and started working my way up, was able to kind of figure the game out fairly quickly and, uh, wound up starting my own company, uh, exploration company had, you know, way above average early success.
Speaker 2 00:04:23 Help me understand the timeline. So when you first got into the business of, uh, the oil fields, how long until you started your own exploration company?
Speaker 0 00:04:34 So I got out of, uh, high school in 1980 mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And, um, I went right straight into the oil fields and within three and a half, four years I'd started my own company. Wow. Which is extremely fast considering, you know, I started out with no knowledge of the business and I started out literally at the lowest positions you could have.
Speaker 2 00:04:57 Yeah. Now, what drove you to find that success so rapidly?
Speaker 0 00:05:04 I saw the lifestyle that people that were in that industry, you know, men that, uh, were running companies and, you know, it's kind of the J r u, you know, type thing. And I, and I liked that, you know, um, having lots of material things and mm-hmm. <affirmative> parting really hard and all that. So that lifestyle was attractive to me. And, you know, it drove me to work a little bit harder than the next guy. And I just, you know, I put, you know, all my effort into that and, uh, was able to, uh, you know, figure out how to, uh, advance.
Speaker 2 00:05:48 Yeah. So, other than hard work, were there any key things that you did or characteristics that you had that really empowered you to excel in such a short period of time?
Speaker 0 00:06:01 So the early success really was caused by just being aware of what was going on. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, um, you know, I would, uh, I worked for a, a drilling contractor and we worked for a number of different, you know, companies. And I noticed that this one company was, we would drill wells that were, that were good, but they would plug them. And I noticed that they were doing this, and, and the reason they were doing it is they were taking partners in to drill wells, and then they would plug them and get rid of the partners and then come back around and open 'em back up <laugh>. Uh, so they were basically pulling a scam. Yeah. And I figured out what they were doing. And in between the time that they had drilled the well and were going back in, I got in and leased the property and basically beat 'em at their, at their game. Hmm. So, as opposed to Wildcatting, my first few wells were, you know, wells that I'd already already knew what the results were gonna be. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and that then launched, you know, my first company.
Speaker 2 00:07:15 Yeah. So basically because of your awareness, you saw the gaps where you essentially could create your own business and find success pretty quickly. Yes. Versus having to, you know, start from scratch and figure it out. You'd already seen the opportunity and you had the initiative to start your own business and the entrepreneurial spirit to just go after it.
Speaker 0 00:07:45 Right, right, right. And then that, you know, led to, you know, I had sufficient cash flow, then that led to growing more and more wells and, you know, having more, more success and actually buying, you know, existing fields and, uh, built that company up and, and sold it. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, uh, and then built another company up and sold it. Uh, you know, the, the oil and gas business is very cyclical mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you know, based on commodity prices. Yep. So I've, you know, I figured out that it's not a business that you've fallen in love with your business. It's about, you know, honoring the cycles and knowing when to get in and when to get out. Uh, and I actually, I learned that from older, uh, guys that have been in the business for a long time. I, you know, they were drinking buddies of mine mm-hmm. <affirmative> and I, you know, listened to what they had to say and was able to learn from them. You know, that, um, you need to know when to get in, get out.
Speaker 2 00:08:49 Yeah. So, I wanna highlight that for the audience cuz I found in my own business success that having mentors in the field is one of the fastest ways to up-level your own success by having like, mentors who are, you know, years ahead of you and leagues ahead of you in terms of success. Would you say that was the case with your mentors? A k a drinking buddies?
Speaker 0 00:09:18 Yeah. You know, it's, um, you know, history repeats itself, so you can either go out and learn all those lessons the hard way yourself, <laugh>, or you can listen to people that are older that have gone through cycles and, you know, and guys also that, you know, have lost everything. Yeah. Uh, you know, and, and, and learn from them and try not to make the same mistakes.
Speaker 2 00:09:42 Yeah. I think that's really awesome that you were able to, you know, get some role models within the business and avoid a lot of the costly and timely mistakes, as well as find some pretty massive success at such an early age. I mean, you built two companies, sold two companies by the time you had finished, uh, selling the second company. What age were you?
Speaker 0 00:10:08 I was about probably 32, 33.
Speaker 2 00:10:11 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:10:12 You know, and had, had, you know, a hundred times what I thought, you know, success was, you know, the other side of my mentors where they were all, you know, extreme partiers mm-hmm. <affirmative> more so alcohol than anything else. And I developed a, uh, you know, uh, more and more of a taste for alcohol as time went on.
Speaker 2 00:10:36 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:10:38 As, as a lot, as a lot of people do.
Speaker 2 00:10:40 Yeah. Is that pretty common within the business of oil and gas? That like people work hard and play hard? Is that kind of status?
Speaker 0 00:10:50 Maybe not so much today, but definitely back then that was in, you know, it was pretty wild west.
Speaker 2 00:10:57 Yeah. Awesome. So, okay, you've sold your second company and, you know, I assume you have the house, the cars, maybe multiple houses. When did it start to dawn on you? And maybe it wasn't after the second company, maybe it was even later. When did it start to dawn on you that there was more to life than success in the oil business?
Speaker 0 00:11:23 You know, it, um, I think it was, um, you know, it happened over a period of time, but specifically, and this is, you know, by the time that my alcohol consumption had really ramped itself up, because when I sold, I had a lot more time on my hands.
Speaker 2 00:11:40 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:11:41 And that led to, you know, even more playing than, than work. And I remember we had a, uh, a fundraiser for Obama mm-hmm. <affirmative> at the house and, you know, had probably 250, 300 people there. And I remember what
Speaker 2 00:11:59 Year was
Speaker 0 00:12:00 This? Uh, this would've been, God, I don't even remember exactly when it was <laugh>, uh, his first term and Yeah. Be before his first term mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And, you know, I'm sitting here and I'm in a, you know, 15,000 square foot house and, you know, have the Japanese gardeners and have the boats and the planes and all this stuff. And I was sitting in the bedroom by myself mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and, uh, I just was totally miserable or totally felt totally alone.
Speaker 2 00:12:34 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:12:35 And I think a lot of it was that I'd never really developed any personal relationships to speak of mm-hmm. <affirmative>, I mean, everybody that I interacted with was more of a more transactional as opposed to, you know, personal mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And then, you know, my, my alcohol consumption had gotten the point where, you know, a lot of people just didn't wanna be around me. Yeah. Uh, because of, you know, my, uh, my actions.
Speaker 2 00:12:59 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:13:00 So, you know, that led to an intervention. And, uh, I went off to treatment. Uh, I went to a 90 day inpatient treatment in Atlanta, Georgia. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And, um, that was a big pivotal point in my life as far as, um, you know, realizing that what I had considered success or what I thought was success, um, really wasn't, and that there was more to life than that. And it, um, I made a big pivot right after that.
Speaker 2 00:13:35 May I ask about the intervention?
Speaker 0 00:13:38 Yeah, it was, it was, you know, basically everyone around me, you know, saying that, uh, you know, you're gonna kill yourself or somebody else and or somebody else if you don't do something. And we're, we're all gonna, you know, we're all gonna exit if you don't get your act together.
Speaker 2 00:13:57 Yeah. Did you take it well the first time? Or was there multiple
Speaker 0 00:14:03 Attempts? No, no. You know, at that point I, even though it was as bad as it was, I was still under the mindset that I can figure out how to control this.
Speaker 2 00:14:12 Hmm.
Speaker 0 00:14:13 Because I was, you know, I'd been successful in other areas of my life, and I just, I kept thinking that, you know, I'll figure out a way to master this also. And Yeah. You know, that's, that's the insanity.
Speaker 2 00:14:26 I understand you completely, because when I was addicted to alcohol and Adderall and marijuana, I worked in the Hollywood nightlife business for about eight years. Yeah. And obviously parting kind of goes with the territory, but I remember having the exact same thoughts during that time was like, I have this under control, you know, I can control this. I'm just deciding to do this.
Speaker 0 00:14:59 Yeah. And, you know, and it was, it was tougher for me because I was, you know, uh, a functioning alcoholic. I, you know, and I was a binge drinker. I wasn't someone that, you know, that would drink all the time, but when I went off on a binge, I went off on a binge.
Speaker 2 00:15:17 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:15:18 Um, you know, there were other drugs along the way, um, especially earlier on, but, um, they, they kind of came and went on their own. Yeah. Uh, but alcohol, you know, I, I tell people, I remember the very first, I still remember the very first drink of alcohol I ever had. I remember that. Say that story. I remember that feeling. I remember exactly what it was where I was at. Um, I fell in love.
Speaker 2 00:15:44 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:15:45 I mean, it was, it was what made me feel comfortable in my own skin.
Speaker 2 00:15:52 Yeah. What age was that?
Speaker 0 00:15:55 That would've been, uh, I was 15.
Speaker 2 00:15:58 Oh, wow.
Speaker 0 00:15:59 Yep.
Speaker 2 00:16:00 So probably just barely in high school.
Speaker 0 00:16:02 Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:16:03 Yeah. And that's a super challenging time to not feel comfortable in your own skin. So,
Speaker 0 00:16:10 Yeah. You know, I'd grown up in a family that was extremely distant. They, you know, there was not, there was not any, you know, I love you or any of that kind of stuff. And I just, I think that's part of why I never really developed early on, never developed any personal relationships, is it just, you know, just didn't know how.
Speaker 2 00:16:29 Yeah. And at the time of the intervention, were you married?
Speaker 0 00:16:35 Yes.
Speaker 2 00:16:36 And may I ask if you're still married?
Speaker 0 00:16:38 Still married, yes.
Speaker 2 00:16:40 Wonderful. Um,
Speaker 0 00:16:41 She, uh, stuck through, stuck with me through all of it, uh, which is amazing, you know, because I went and got sober. I came back, I had, I had other issues. <laugh>,
Speaker 2 00:16:54 <laugh>. Weird. No, you didn't solve all your problems just by getting
Speaker 0 00:16:57 Sober. No, no, no. And that's really what started me on the, the quest for creating, you know, to feel free was, you know, when I got out of treatment, my life was a lot better, but I didn't, uh, I still didn't know how to have personal relationships. Yeah. And I didn't feel comfortable in social settings with, with, you know, any more than a couple people.
Speaker 2 00:17:26 Yeah. So tell tell us about the journey to creating Feel Free and your company Botanic Tectonics.
Speaker 0 00:17:35 So, um, I came back, uh, I was sober and I've been sober ever since. Uh, but I just
Speaker 2 00:17:44 Approximately how many years now?
Speaker 0 00:17:46 So I've been sober for 12 years. Nice. Congratulations. Yeah. And, you know, I, I just felt awkward all the time. I didn't feel comfortable in my own skin mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And I started trying to figure out, you know, is there something out there that can give me, you know, what I'm looking for, but not something that, you know, is going to inebriate you, uh, or limit limits you. And I tried, you know, all the stuff that was, uh, on the market, you know, the, the euphoric, the legal stuff, and it didn't really do anything at all for me. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And then I tried some of the illegal stuff and, you know, and, and that stuff did too much for me. Yeah. Uh, you know, and I just didn't really, not, it did too much. I just didn't like the way it made me feel. I mean, I would try, you know, one time and it's like, you know, I don't like this.
Speaker 0 00:18:43 It's not what I'm, what I'm after. So, yeah. I, you know, had remembered, um, 30 some years ago, had done a trip to Vanuatu mm-hmm. <affirmative>, uh, in, uh, between Fiche and New Zealand mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and we had had a, uh, kava ceremony there. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, uh, you know, at a, I guess there was 10 or 12 of us in a hut sitting up all night long drinking kava and just, you know, watching the, the sunrise and, and howling at the sun. Hmm. But I remembered that. And then when I exited the oil and gas business and got back into the next business, it actually FinTech mm-hmm. <affirmative> in, uh, Southeast Asia. And while I was living there, um, I was introduced to the other active ingredient, which isum mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And, um, neither one of those by themselves really gave me the experience I was looking for. And, um, I got the idea of trying to start mixing, uh, different things.
Speaker 0 00:19:50 And I actually, not just these two plants, but other plants mm-hmm. <affirmative>, I did my re I'm a, I I love to do research mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So I really researched on, you know, different societies around the world and what, you know, substances they use for, uh, similar to what we would we use alcohol for. And it's interesting because you have, you have Kana in South Africa, you have Coca and Central and South America. You haveum in Southeast Asia, you have kava in the Pacific Island. And then the fifth one is an outlier. It's alcohol. Yeah. Uh, and the reason it's an outlier is all those other ones for thousands of years have been used by their native populations in their native form. They don't, they don't mess with 'em. Alcohol is highly processed. Yeah. And that's where the problems come from. Just like we take coca leaves, which again, people in their natives, you know, countries will chew their entire life and have no issues, and we make cocaine outta it. And that's a much different experience, and that usually doesn't end well. So what I figured out was, if you can take these plants in their native form and mix them that, you know, you can, you can do all kinds of things. And so I went through, I set up a informal lab in my house, and I spent two years experimenting on myself. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, uh, basically logging and trying different percentages, different plants, different strains, until I found one that was that feeling. I had the first drink alcohol I ever had.
Speaker 2 00:21:39 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:21:41 And, and that's, that's feel free.
Speaker 2 00:21:43 Hey, there, just a few words about the incredible show sponsors for today's episode. And then we'll dig right back in. Today's show is brought to you by Veg Nutrition Live better. So I'm actually a Veg Elite athlete, and before I joined the team, I spent months doing my due diligence to make sure that the company was vision, mission, and value aligned with me, my values, my mission, my vision, and my lifestyle. I got to know the owners super well. I even got to know the person who formulates all the products, and they passed with flying colors. So I couldn't be more excited to represent a company that I feel so aligned with. And I want to tell you about two of my favorite products. The first is the veg pre-workout. So when I first went vegan, or mostly vegan, the last thing for me to go fully vegan was finding a vegan pre-workout that gave me the focus, the energy, and the power that I was looking for.
Speaker 2 00:22:58 And I can tell you, this is the best pre-workout that I've ever had. It gives me incredible focus and energy. And what's probably the best is it leaves me with no crash after I take it, which is great. And the flavors are so freaking good. There's literally peach, mango, and a patriot pop that tastes like, you know, the firecracker popsicles, cherry, lemon, lime flavor. They're literally so good that I can dry scoop 'em. And they just released a watermelon flavor for just in time for summer, and it's incredible. So that's the first product. The second product is arguably also my favorite. And that's the Plant protein comes in three incredible flavors. Chocolate, peanut butter, vanilla ice cream, and cold brew coffee. Yep. You heard me. Cold brew coffee flavor. It tastes incredible. All three flavors. 25 grams of protein, fully organic, incredible ingredients, heavy metal tested. And it is my go-to post-workout, make sure that I'm recovering and refueling and giving my muscles the protein that they need to rebuild for that next workout. So go to veg nutrition.com/dragon and try their full line of supplements, and you'll get 15% off, or you can just use Dragon at checkout and you'll get 15% off. So that's veg nutrition.com/dragon to get 15% off Veg nutrition live better. Yeah. So let's chat real quick about what Kava and Crao actually is. So how would you define kava?
Speaker 0 00:25:04 Kava is the, uh, root of a pepper plant that grows in, uh, certain Pacific Islands. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, uh, it's been used for over 3000 years. And they use it just like they use, uh, we use alcohol, they use it for relaxation and ceremonies and just, you know, just a, it's kind of a social lubrication.
Speaker 2 00:25:27 And when they use it, I assume they do minimal processing.
Speaker 0 00:25:32 Yeah. What they do is they basically make a tea out of it. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, so they grind it up mm-hmm. <affirmative>, and they make a tea out of it, which, um, actually, if you go way back in time, the way that it was processed was they had, um, the children chew it and then spit it into a container, and they consumed it that way.
Speaker 2 00:25:59 How interesting.
Speaker 0 00:26:00 So the enzymes helped break it down.
Speaker 2 00:26:03 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:26:04 And that was the, that's the very traditional way of, of preparing it.
Speaker 2 00:26:10 Now, I'm just totally curious, uh, I'd never heard that before. As the children were chewing it, did it give any sort of effect to them?
Speaker 0 00:26:20 Oh, yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's, it, you know, it's anybody that's had kava nose, it has a bit of a novacane effect to it. So, um, the Cabo Lactone do. Yeah. So when you're, you know, when it hits the, the, your mouth <laugh>, uh, it's gonna, it's gonna numb your mouth out.
Speaker 2 00:26:39 Yeah. And then what about kind of the calming, euphoric effects? Were the children experiencing that as their
Speaker 0 00:26:47 I'm sure that they were to some degree, because some of that's, you know, getting into the blood system.
Speaker 2 00:26:51 Yeah. Which is also super interesting to me because the other week I actually asked my, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law about their children, because I noticed they were letting them have a little bit of their Thai iced tea. And I was like, you're letting your kids have caffeine. Like, aren't they gonna bounce off the walls? And their comment to me was like, they already have so much energy that like, it doesn't really do anything
Speaker 0 00:27:18 <laugh>.
Speaker 2 00:27:18 And I'm, I'm wondering if it was, it, it's like, you know, kids for the most oftentimes, at least at certain ages, are pretty freaking relaxed and outgoing already.
Speaker 0 00:27:28 Right,
Speaker 2 00:27:29 Right. So I wonder how much of effect it had. It's a really fascinating story. I, I was not aware of that. So in terms of the processing, they grind it up. They don't like mix anything into it. They don't cut anything No. Out of it. No. Okay. And then tell us, uh, aboutum. Cause
Speaker 0 00:27:45 Soum is, uh, it's a tree grows in Southeast Asia. Uh, it's in the, uh, coffee family mm-hmm. <affirmative>, uh, and they harvest the leaves off of it and also make a tea out of it. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Uh, and it's mainly used, uh, in native societies for stamina. Uh, so Interesting. It's mainly used by people that are working, you know, out in the fields 12 hours a day, seven days a week, uh, to not only endure that work, but to also actually enjoy it.
Speaker 2 00:28:18 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:28:18 It's the best natural painkiller, you know, supposedly that there is mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, it's just a wonderful, you know, and it provides energy also. It's just a wonderful plant.
Speaker 2 00:28:30 Yeah. And I'm just gonna make a note for the audience. If you Google create 'em, there is a ton of like, bad press on it, because from my understanding, similar to like what the US society does to cocaine or coca leaves, it's highly processed, it's singled down to, you know, just a few molecules and just like, processed food is terrible for us. Right. Like processed,
Speaker 0 00:28:57 Processed anything.
Speaker 2 00:28:59 Processed anything. I mean, nature has designed edible things for us in a holistic, synergistic way
Speaker 0 00:29:09 That Well, so here's the, here's the thing behind it. And it's, it's, you, you're, you're dead on. It's exactly the same process. So when they, when they create prum extracts, they used either CO2 or solvents to extract two OIDs out of 50 some OIDs.
Speaker 2 00:29:27 Oh,
Speaker 0 00:29:28 Geez. Uh, and then they're able to concentrate that. So you're able, just like cocaine, you're able to get a lot more of that in your system. You couldn't physically do it if you were taking in the whole plant. Yeah. Cause of all, all the fiber and everything else. And there's what, you know, there's, we don't fully understand what those other 40 some alkaloids, you know, they're doing other things too. Yeah. Uh, so, you know, the, the problem is, is that 99% of the stuff that's on the market is either a high concentration extract or synthetic
30 Minute Mark
Speaker 2 00:30:00 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:30:01 And that stuff, you know, you can ingest enough of it that it can become an issue.
Speaker 2 00:30:07 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:30:07 So, uh, when you Google and you see all that negative press, that's what you're, that's what you're seeing.
Speaker 2 00:30:14 Yeah. You know, I've been experimenting and doing my own testing with the, the feel free religiously, you know, for the last several weeks. And just to speak about it from my own experience for a little bit, based on some of the things that you said, it puts me into this really incredible, and I, I usually just do half a shot puts me into this incredible state of focused flow and productivity with like a few dashes of euphoria.
Speaker 0 00:30:50 Yeah. What's what's interesting is, is that, you know, I created it for social lubrication.
Speaker 2 00:30:57 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:30:58 That's not really what most people are using it for. And it's actually not what I'm using it for anymore.
Speaker 2 00:31:05 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:31:05 For the most part, there's something, because neither one of these plants by themselves will do it. There's something about these two strains and the percentages that I put together mm-hmm. <affirmative> that create an in incredible, uh, ability to, to turn off the noise in your head and focus.
Speaker 2 00:31:24 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:31:25 And, you know, we have a lot of professional athletes, amateur athletes, high level businessmen that are using this, you know, during the day to, you know, to enhance their productivity.
Speaker 2 00:31:40 Yeah. So my current favorite way to take it is right before I start my workout. And I'm one of those people who's obsessive about working out. So I work out, you know, six to seven days a week and it's so incredible cuz I won't even really feel like putting it in a hard workout. And then I'll take half a shot 20, 30 minutes later, like, I am so ready to just happily put in the work for, to create like an incredible workout. And I feel like I've <laugh>. It's just a, it's really amazing. And, you know, then I'm able to take that same energy cuz I'm one of those people who works out in the morning and then it's still ready to like, rock with me through the workday. And I'm just able to get a ton done and have fun doing it and, you know, push myself in the gym and push myself in work and really just have a super joyful attitude and energy around it. Um, and, and <laugh>, you know, I'll, I'll take it before I go rollerblading with my friends. And it's like incredible, like being out on roller blades in nature and it's not like I'm drunk and I've like, you know, fallen over and can't like, keep my balance or anything. It's like, I'm just like in this incredible flow state.
Speaker 0 00:33:12 So that's, that's the thing That's nice. And that's what I, you know, was looking for, um, you know, alcohol is very effective too. It makes you feel wonderful, but it's extremely hard to regulate it. You tip over that and you become inebriated <laugh>. Yep. And now you can't drive a car or you think you can, but you shouldn't be. Yeah. And you might say something to somebody you wish you hadn't said <laugh> or, you know, even worse, the thing about this is, is that you won't experience that. Yeah. Because you're not gonna consume that much of it because you don't, you don't want to consume that much of it. Yeah. And it's, you know, you're gonna not, you know, you're, you're gonna remember everything that you said <laugh>. Yep. But you're gonna have a great time. I mean, you, you're still gonna get that level of social lubrication that you got with alcohol, but you don't have all the, you know, the, the BS that comes with it and the even better, you're gonna wake up the next day and feel fine.
Speaker 2 00:34:13 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:34:14 You're not gonna have a hangover.
Speaker 2 00:34:16 It definitely makes me like, I'm a pretty social person already, but it makes me like even more social. And I would say now at the gym, I'm even friendlier to people than normal. Um, and I'm already super friendly, but it's just like I have no qualms about striking up a conversation with someone I've never met at, you know, at the gym before.
Speaker 0 00:34:36 So, so one thing that's interesting about that is very early on, uh, I was introduced to Paul Czech
Speaker 2 00:34:44 Oh
Speaker 0 00:34:45 Yeah. A health, you know, uh, guru down in, uh, north of San Diego. Yep. And, uh, I took it down and, and, um, we tried it together and, you know, 30 minutes into it, I said, well, what do you think? And he said, it's a heart opener. And that's,
Speaker 2 00:35:03 And I, and I was so grateful that you're talking about this, literally one of my questions on my notes Yeah. Is, is it a heart chakra opener? Because it makes me feel so loving towards my wife that it's incredible to the point where she has noticed.
Speaker 0 00:35:22 Yeah, no, it's, it's, uh, and when he said that, I kind of cringed, but I'm like, that's kind of a hippie-dippy <laugh> term. And I, and I didn't really, I didn't really connect the dots and believe what he was saying, and I just kind of moved on. But what I've seen now over time, uh, is that that's probably a very accurate, uh, description of it. Yep. I'll give you an example. I, I had a lady call me from Austin and she had ordered a product and tried it and she goes, you know, I like it. Uh, but she said, what I'm calling you about is she said, I gave some to my husband, I didn't tell him what it was. And she said, about 45 minutes later, she said, my two little girls come in and said, you know, what's, what's going on with daddy? And she said, what do you mean? She said, what he is in here, he is not on his phone, he's playing with us. He's giggling. And she went on to say, she said, you know, you've brought my husband back. He said, my husband had become kind of a workaholic asshole.
Speaker 2 00:36:23 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:36:24 And she said he's back who he was when I met him.
Speaker 2 00:36:28 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:36:29 And it's just, you know, she was almost in tears and I was almost in tears. I mean, it's like that's what it, you know, it's really about it. And, and I've thought about it even more. I think what's happening is, is uh, the reason it's able to open your heart is it's because it gets you out of your head. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And when I say gets you outta your head, you know, for most of us I think, I know I do. I have all this BS that's going on in my head all the time, all these thoughts. Crazy, you know, just Yeah. Just noise. And it's hard to really focus on anything, let alone somebody else. Yeah. When all that's going on inside your head and this turns that off.
Speaker 2 00:37:15 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:37:16 And when it turns it off, then whoever you're with, you're able really to open up and, and, and focus on them and open your heart up to them because you're not stuck up in your head.
Speaker 2 00:37:30 Yeah. I really agree with you. I think it brings a sense of presence to one's life and self and those that are in it, especially those who are physically around us. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, because even with my cat, I'm more loving with my cat, which is hilarious. I'm like, I'm not even joking. And when I'm out like rollerblading with my friends, I express my gratitude towards them and our time together. Not in like a, like the, you know, we all know the super drunk person who's like, oh, I love you so much. It's not like that. It's like clear-headed. Like, I'm just so grateful for their friendship and our time together. And similar thing with my wife, I'm just so grateful for her partnership in my life and the life that we share together. And when I have, you know, just a half shot of feel free, it just helps me realize just how much abundance is in my life and how much abundance I share with the people in my life.
Speaker 0 00:38:43 No, that's fantastic.
Speaker 2 00:38:45 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:38:46 I've, I've, you know, had lots of people call me and tell me about, you know, their experiences and, and you know, I've had couples call me that, you know, talk about they have a feel free, you know, afternoon together, they'll go to the beach. Yeah. They'll, you know, they'll have their feel free and they just really, they're able to turn all the other stuff in their life off and really just, you know, enjoy each other and Yeah. And that's, as you know, with everything that's going on, that's harder to, harder for us to do.
Speaker 2 00:39:17 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:39:17 Uh, especially when we're, you know, spending so much time on our phones.
Speaker 2 00:39:21 Yeah. Yeah. So I have some questions about several different things that I would like to cover.
Speaker 0 00:39:29 Okay.
Speaker 2 00:39:30 One thing is things that you can and cannot stack it with or pair it with. Okay. Because I've been do, I've been doing some of my own testing mm-hmm. <affirmative> and some things have been great and some things have not been great. And I just, you know, through my own, you know, scientific, uh, life alchemist research, wanted to share kind of what I've found has been awesome and what I've, I've found to kind of like avoid <laugh>.
Speaker 0 00:40:01 Okay.
Speaker 2 00:40:02 Um, and then I'm just curious cuz you probably know way more than me. So for me, you know, all I love to have it with my pre-workout mix, which, you know, has caffeine in it and also have keto esters and essential amino acids all right. Before my workout. And it's incredible. Absolutely.
Speaker 0 00:40:24 Yeah. That's a, that's that's a great combination.
Speaker 2 00:40:27 Yeah. Then I've tried to have CBD d oil and it makes me feel super nauseous if I mix the two of 'em and that could be an individual effect. Yeah. But I'm just curious cuz you know, I want people to understand, you know, the kind of like guidelines dos and don'ts because Yeah. You know, it is, it is a plant that we need to respect, I think.
Speaker 0 00:40:52 Oh, definitely. I mean it's, it's something that you need to, you know, use in moderation.
Speaker 2 00:40:57 Yep.
Speaker 0 00:40:57 And you need to be careful, you know, what you're mixing it with. One of the main things that you need to be careful about mixing with is alcohol.
Speaker 2 00:41:04 Yeah. For me and you, that's not a problem cause you
Speaker 0 00:41:07 Don't drink. Yeah. But it, it, it amplifies whatever you have, you know, with it.
Speaker 2 00:41:12 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:41:13 The good news is, is that, you know, the hundreds and hundreds of people that I've talked to that are still consuming alcohol or, and over consuming it in some cases, uh, report that that either cut way back and, you know, whereas they would've gone out and done 10 cocktails or five cocktails, they may not have just a glass of wine.
Speaker 2 00:41:35 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:41:36 Or they just don't do any at all. They just don't feel like it, it, it, uh, for most people it seems to totally take the appetite for alcohol away. Yeah. But what I wouldn't do is I wouldn't go, I wouldn't do it and go out and have a lot of alcohol. Yeah. Because, um, it's just not a good combination.
Speaker 2 00:41:56 Hey there just a few words about the incredible show sponsors for today's episode and then we'll dig right back in. This show is brought to you by Feel Free from Botanics. This product is unlike anything I've ever had before. No joke. It's made with Karu and other ancient plants and just half a shot gives me this incredible sense of focused flow and productivity and I love to take just half a shot right before I work out. I take it with my pre-workout and it takes my workouts to the next level. It is seriously unlike anything I've ever had. It's also an incredible productivity tool for any big work projects that you have or long periods of time where you just need to be super focused, inflow state and get a lot of shit done. So if you want to give this a shot, you can go to botanic tonics.com and use Code Dragon at checkout to get 40% off your first order.
Speaker 2 00:43:08 No joke. 40% off with Code Dragon. That's feel free from botanic tonics.com coded dragon. Feel free. Feel good. Yeah. Now I'm curious, have any of your people that you've spoken to had, uh, reported interactions with cbd? So I don't, like, I don't smoke marijuana, but I'll have like C B D before I go to sleep and it's fine if I have it right before I go to sleep. Cause I usually don't have feel free, you know, much after like, you know, I kind of like make sure I don't have any after 12 or three, somewhere in between. This is kind of like my personal and cutoff. And so if I have it right before I go to sleep, it's totally fine. But I've tried to take it in the middle of the day, like have, you know, have kava and then have a little bit of C B D and it just like made me super nauseous.
Speaker 0 00:44:00 I've not heard anybody else report that, you know, and I've experimented with C B D also mm-hmm. <affirmative> and I haven't noticed that myself. But, um, you know,
Speaker 2 00:44:10 And I'm fully aware it
Speaker 0 00:44:12 Could be could it could
Speaker 2 00:44:13 Individual to
Speaker 0 00:44:13 Me certain, you know, certain, you know, personal chemistry that's, that's causing that.
Speaker 2 00:44:18 Yeah. Are there any things that people really should avoid having it with or any things that people should definitely, you know, try stacking it with? I, I'm just curious cuz I think similar to you, I just love kind of exploring these, these
Speaker 0 00:44:36 Yeah. The, the, the ketones ERs is a, is a great thing to add it with mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you know, what I, what I would say is that you should try it by itself. Yep. Because in most cases what I, you know, people are reporting to me is they don't really want anything else when they do it. Yeah. And I'm always defaulting too, less is better
Speaker 2 00:44:58 <laugh> I think that's something you learn as you get older. I'm still,
Speaker 0 00:45:01 I'm, if you don't need stuff, you know, don't, you know, there's no reason to be taking it. So. Yeah. You know what, what I would say is that the dosage of it's important, I wouldn't do more than a half a shot at a time.
Speaker 2 00:45:16 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:45:16 Uh, we do have people that are doing that and it's not gonna physically hurt you, but that's really not the best, you know, application for it.
Speaker 2 00:45:26 So if you have half a shot, how many hours before you could take another half shot in your, you know, experience in kind of, uh, talking to lots of different
Speaker 0 00:45:37 Customers. So I know myself, my personal consumption, I will do that second half about a hour, hour and a half after the first half. Mm-hmm.
Speaker 2 00:45:47 <affirmative>. Now did you build up to that or like for someone like that's
Speaker 0 00:45:53 <laugh> that's what's interesting is when I started this, I did a full bottle every time that I consumed it. Yeah. Cause I was really going more for the euphoric side of it.
Speaker 2 00:46:04 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:46:05 And the more you take, the more euphoric it is. Yeah. So, but what I realized was that if I drop that back, I like what you said at the very beginning, now I get this incredible productivity enhancement, plus I still get these, you know, little feelings of euphoria Yeah. Just kind of waves coming in and out. Yep. And I actually enjoy that better than just a full on, you know, rush euphoria. It's just, to me it's a better experience.
Speaker 2 00:46:35 Yeah. I've, uh, I've experimented with having how much, almost as much as a bottle and a half and in a day mm-hmm. <affirmative> and honestly I've just found for, for whatever reason, that's too much for me. Yeah. About, oh, half a bottle to three, four to a full throughout the entire day is like my sweet spot where I get into that flow state. I'm really, you know, focused. I'm really, you know, feeling those bursts of euphoria. But it's not like, so in, it's not like crazy intense for anyone who's ever done like m d mdm Ma or you know, Molly. It's not like wildly intense like that. It's just like, wow, this feels like I feel euphoric but not like to the point where you can't focus and get work done or get a great work workout in or interact with people.
Speaker 0 00:47:28 Right.
Speaker 2 00:47:31 So, you know, for those who haven't tried it, definitely, you know, start with less and you know, kind of determine your own dosage protocol. And then a follow up question for you j w is what about taking days off? You know, is it important to, you know, not have it every day? Or can you take it every day? What is your
Speaker 0 00:47:54 So most people that I know, uh, are daily consumers, it's kinda like coffee. Yeah. Um, you know, the next question that people usually ask is, is, is it addictive <laugh>? Yeah. And my response to that is in, in my experience and the research that I've done is that anything that makes you feel good is addictive.
Speaker 2 00:48:15 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:48:16 Whether that be sugar, caffeine. Yep. You know, alcohol, whatever, whatever it is, it's food has Yeah. Food, what, you know, whatever. Yep. It's just because, you know, you, it's that reward system that you, that you set up. Yeah. That's not really the question you should ask. Yeah. The question you should ask is, if I do this on a regular basis, is it gonna hurt me?
Speaker 2 00:48:39 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:48:41 And uh, what I can tell you with this is that, you know, we have done a lot of, uh, internal work on, you know, uh, monitoring blood chemistry and then, you know, we have these partnerships with the University of Southern California and the University of Texas where we're the official tonic of ut uh, UT Athletics and USC athletics. Yeah. They did all their own testing. Uh, we're not seeing any change in blood chemistry. So no elevated liver enzymes, no elevated blood sugar, any of that. Uh, even at consuming higher levels than what you and I have been talking about.
Speaker 2 00:49:18 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:49:19 Now when you cycle off of it, you're gonna have the same feelings that you had if you cycle off of it, if you're a daily caffeine user and you go off of it, you're gonna, you know, you're not gonna feel that good. Yeah. Because you know, your body is changing the chemistry Yeah. And your mind's gonna go, I want that. Yeah. But it's not gonna, it's not going to put you in the hospital or it's not gonna, you know, it's gonna be uncomfortable, but it's not like it's the end of the world.
Speaker 2 00:49:47 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:49:48 And that's, you know, that's with anything I think, I mean, try, you know, when I talk about that, some people are like, well, you know, I, they're all, well I don't know what caffeine withdrawal is cuz I've never gotten off of it. And I'm like, well, once you try, once you go four or five days without doing any of it and see how you feel
Speaker 2 00:50:07 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:50:07 You're, you're not gonna feel great
Speaker 2 00:50:09 <laugh>. Yeah. I've, uh, you know, to share a little bit of my own story around caffeine, I feel like caffeine is, is one of the drugs that I'm really, you know, in, in my own opinion addicted to. I, for the most part, don't take days off. I don't drink coffee, but I do do drink matcha and then there's organic coffee being extract in my pre-workout. So for me, the few times that I have taken a break from coffee are when I went on a vision quest where I was mm-hmm. <affirmative> in the woods for 96 hours straight completely, you know, sober water only, like not a, like a hallucinatory vision quest with, you know, some sort of plant medicine, but like just fasting in nature with water mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And that's when the few times in the last few years, I've done that twice in the last, uh, I wanna say five years that I haven't had caffeine, but there, there I'm in like a container, so it's like, it's okay if I'm feeling tired or not that great. Right. Because I'm there to like meditate and go within. But I, uh, I'm not so good at like taking a day off of caffeine. And I know for me, in my own healing journey, that's definitely something I need to explore.
Speaker 0 00:51:30 Well, the, the, the thing of it is if used in moderate ca um, you know, uh, coffee or a caffeine is, is a wonderful, you know, uh, thing if it's used in moderation, I mean it, it's very effective.
Speaker 2 00:51:42 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:51:42 And, and it's something that you can take on a daily basis. It's taken in moderation and you're not going to physically harm yourself.
Speaker 2 00:51:49 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:51:50 You know, but if you take it, you know, in excess, it can start causing issues just like anything else
Speaker 2 00:51:57 Came. Oh, yeah. Too much caffeine. And like my anxiety shoots through the roof and I,
Speaker 0 00:52:03 Well one thing I I've found out, because I used to do caffeine, I would start the moment I woke up and I would consume it all day long up until the time I went to bed. And it's not, I'm not one of them people that, you know, I could go right to sleep. But, uh, what I found when I started using feel free is that, you know, I don't really have a desire for that much caffeine anymore. Yeah. Uh, I'll drink a little bit in the mornings, but I don't really, you know, require any after that and just, you know, it's not, I just don't really have the appetite for
Speaker 2 00:52:39 It. Yeah. So one super interesting thing for me that I've noticed related to the feel free use for me is I'm suddenly sleeping way more than normal or, or normal for me. Yeah. So I'm one of those people who normally is only in bed like physically in bed for six to seven hours.
Speaker 0 00:53:03 Yeah. That's, that's me. Exactly. I mean, I, I historically would only sleep at a maximum six hours a
Speaker 2 00:53:11 Night. Yeah. Like, I might be in bed for eight, but I'm really only sleeping for
Speaker 0 00:53:15 Six. Yeah. And I sleep now easy eight hours.
Speaker 2 00:53:19 Yeah. I'm in bed physically for eight to 10 hours and I'm sleeping for seven and and a half to nine. Plus
Speaker 0 00:53:26 What's, what's even more interesting is, is that, you know, some of our professional athletes that are, you know, really serious about, you know, monitoring this, you know, that have the A rings and all that, they're reporting that
Speaker 2 00:53:39 They got the aura ring Yeah. And the whoop. Yeah. So I track everything
Speaker 0 00:53:43 They're reporting that, you know, they're getting a lot better quality sleep too, that they're sleeping deeper than what they were before. The other fascinating thing, which is something that I noticed very early on, you know, I don't really, and I know we all have 'em every night and all that, but I don't really remember having dreams to speak up mm-hmm. <affirmative>, but I now have extremely vivid dreams. Yeah. And I, and I remember them.
Speaker 2 00:54:11 Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:54:11 Uh, which to me is just a, you know, kinda icing on the cake. I mean, it's dreams are fascinating and, and I'm not the only one that's reported that we've had a lot of people that reported vivid dreams.
Speaker 2 00:54:22 Yeah. For me personally, it's been amazing to just sleep more. Like I've always kind of wondered to myself, I feel like with as much exercise and mental work I do every day mm-hmm. <affirmative> that I should be sleeping more and well, I've tried so many different things to try to, you know, sleep longer, sleep more, have deeper sleep. And since I started using the Feel Free, I'm now consistently, you know, in bed for eight to 10 hours.
Speaker 0 00:54:54 I, I think what it is is that, uh, it raises your metabolism
Speaker 2 00:54:59 Mm-hmm. <affirmative>.
Speaker 0 00:55:00 So I think you're, you're exerting more throughout the day,
Speaker 2 00:55:05 So I'm just more tired
Speaker 0 00:55:06 And, and I think, you know, when you, when you go down, you go down, I mean your, your, your body, you know, senses that it needs, you know, it needs the extra rest.
Speaker 2 00:55:15 Yeah. It's been great for me. I mean, I, I've loved it. It's just like my, you know, aura ring and whoop scores are just like <laugh> going up some, like the recovery scores are just so much higher. I'm getting like a hundred percent sleep attainment on my, on my whoop. Which is really amazing for me because as someone who normally only sleeps like six hours, I would almost never get even close to a hundred percent or even much above, you know, 75%. And now I'm, you know, I, I'm looking at my sleep scores for the last week and <laugh> and they're like all around like 9700%, et cetera. So
Speaker 0 00:55:56 It's, yeah. You know, I've never really thought a whole lot about it. Uh, you know, and actually there was a, a period of time when I thought, you know, if you sleep less, you know, it's actually showing it you're more productive. But in talking to a lot of the professional athlete, you know, it's important to get, you know, more quality sleep. You know, we have a, one of the form, one of the current Olympians is using this and doing some pretty extensive testing. And I mean, that's one of the main things that, that he said that, you know, he feels like is the benefit is that he's able to get nine hours of really good sleep a night. Yeah. And he can see the difference between when he gets that versus when he doesn't as far as his performance and, you know, these guys are to the point that their actor minuscule increases in performance.
Speaker 2 00:56:47 Yeah. Less than a percent could be the difference between, uh Right. The silver golden bronze
Speaker 0 00:56:54 <laugh>. Exactly. So they're very, you know, cognizant of, you know, trying to find those additional, you know, edges and, uh, you know, he's actually, he's a, he's a runner and he's, and he said, you know, I can, my, my times are faster.
Speaker 2 00:57:10 Hey, there just a few words about the incredible show sponsors for today's episode, and then we'll dig right back in. Today's show is brought to you by Fit Rich Vegan. If you're ready to get in the best shape of your life, double your income and 10 x your savings investments, then this is the coaching program for you. But wait a minute, dragon, isn't this your coaching program? Heck yeah, it is. I spent the last eight years mastering my fitness and my finances, and I've built an incredible coaching program with an incredible team to help you get the body of your dreams and finally achieve that level of financial success that you've been seeking. So if you wanna find out if you're a good fit for the program, go to fit rich vegan.com and book your free consultation today. Or you can just DM me on Instagram with the words Fit rich Vegan and we can chat about if it's gonna be a good fit for you.
Speaker 2 00:58:14 I'm committed to empowering people to actually achieve their fitness and financial goals. I spent the last 20 years trying to figure this out on my own, and what I realized is the key to doing it is not doing it alone. You have to have coaches, you have to have mentors, and you have to be a part of masterminds. And that's exactly what Fitch Rich Fegan has. It has coaches, mentors, and it is a mastermind. So again, if you're ready to book your free consultation today, go to fit rich vegan.com or drop me a DM on Instagram. Yeah. I mean, for me, I just feel better throughout the day when I'm sleeping, you know, nine or 10 hours versus six or seven. I just feel like I have more sustained, just really reliable, strong energy versus, you know, when I'm sleeping, like six or less was pretty common for me. You just feel weary. You know, you hit that point, point in the day where you're like, oh, I just don't have enough steam in the engine. So that's,
Speaker 0 00:59:26 Especially as you get older. Yeah, that's what I found <laugh>. And you hit that, you hit about two o'clock in the afternoon and you're like, I'm, I'm mentally not only physically, but mentally I'm just, you know, exhausted.
Speaker 2 00:59:38 Yeah. So continue on the sleep, because this is super fascinating to me. Normally, you know, I'll go through these cycles where I wake up between three and 5:00 AM for like three to six months at a time just without fail and now on the feel. And I was in one of those cycles before I discovered the feel free and now I'm consistently staying asleep till like five or six and you know, I'm gonna bed early. I go to bed between seven and nine every night, and now I'm, you know, really not getting outta bed until, you know, at the absolute earliest like four 30, but more around between five and six. And it's just been absolutely incredible for me.
1 Hour Mark
Speaker 0 01:00:18 That's great. That's
Speaker 2 01:00:19 Great. Yeah. So, speeding of sleep. Is there any certain ti like I've never tried taking it after three o'clock. I just haven't had a time where I could, you know, exper I, I shouldn't say haven't, I haven't ventured to try taking it after three because I've kind of had that mindset of like any, like I'm one of those people, I don't have caffeine after like 11, 12 at the absolute latest. And usually I only have one or two doses of caffeine, you know, one in the morning about 30 to 60 minutes after I wake up. And then one more, you know, uh, you know, about a hundred milligrams of, of caffeine in my pre-workout before I work out. But I always work out in the morning and then no caffeine for the rest of the day. And so I've been like a little weary or wary of, of try and feel free later in the day. So I'm just curious if you have any insights?
Speaker 0 01:01:17 I think, uh, for most people what, what I've heard is they try to, to not do it, um, you know, for three hours prior to when they go to bed.
Speaker 2 01:01:27 Okay.
Speaker 0 01:01:28 There are some exceptions to that. I mean, we've got a few people that, that do kinda like micro amounts of it right before they go to sleep.
Speaker 2 01:01:36 Oh, interesting. Like, uh, just like a sip or something.
Speaker 0 01:01:40 Yeah, yeah. And I've tried that myself. I didn't have any problem going to sleep.
Speaker 2 01:01:46 Yeah.
Speaker 0 01:01:47 But you know, from, I would say, you know, out of the thousands of people that have contacted me, most of 'em, you know, say that if they take it any closer to bedtime than than three hours that they can have problems going to sleep. Yeah.
Speaker 2 01:02:02 It definitely feels like super energizing to me. And I've also noticed it suppresses my appetite. So Yeah. Like if I have it before I'm going to eat, I've noticed I just eat way less, which is really interesting to me.
Speaker 0 01:02:18 Yeah. I think again because it's speeding and metabolism up, you just don't have the appetite that you normally would.
Speaker 2 01:02:25 Yeah. Well, I'm gonna put just, you know, we've, we haven't mentioned it yet, but you set up myself and my audience with an awesome discount code, um, my nickname Dragon. So it's really easy for people to remember. So I'll put this podcast episode up@alchemizedlife.com slash feel free, and people like will have all the show notes there, a link to the product so people can give it a shot, and then they can use Coded Dragon it, check out for 40% off. But, uh, you know, I wanted to just ask you a couple more things before we wrap this up.
Speaker 0 01:03:04 Okay.
Speaker 2 01:03:05 How, how would you explain the taste to people? Because, you know, I've seen some people love the taste. Some people don't love the taste. Um, I
Speaker 0 01:03:13 Think for most people it's an acquired taste. Yeah.
Speaker 2 01:03:16 Similar coffee,
Speaker 0 01:03:18 What alcohol is for most people when they first try it. Yeah. It's a strong taste. The base ingredients are very bitter. Yeah. Uh, so it's, it's extremely hard to, to get around that. Yeah. You know, the beauty of it being in a shot form is, you know, like a shot of, you know, like most health shots, they don't taste that great. That's true. You know, you shoot it down and you chase it with some water and go on about your business.
Speaker 2 01:03:44 Yep. And what else is in it besides, uh, the kava and the crayon?
Speaker 0 01:03:49 So it's, it's, uh, it's mainly Cava. It's 10 parts, uh, cava to one partum.
Speaker 2 01:03:56 Okay.
Speaker 0 01:03:57 Uh, and then in addition to that, there's, um, pineapple juice. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> and some Stevia, some natural Stevia.
Speaker 2 01:04:05 Okay.
Speaker 0 01:04:06 And, uh, we also, uh, use natural flavors. Now a lot of people ask about that because that's a whole, you know, black box area, but the natural flavors we're using are a hundred percent natural. They're not, by law, you're allowed to do 20% synthetics and natural flavors. Mm. The version that we're using is not, it doesn't have any synthetics in it.
Speaker 2 01:04:31 It's good to know. And then, you know, kind of some of my last questions as, as we wrap up, you know, how many calories are in a whole bottle. Like, I'm one of those people, like, you know, I'm very into my fitness. I, I track everything I consume, so I've always kind of wondered, like in a whole bottle how many calories are
Speaker 0 01:04:49 In the bottle. Yeah. It's, it's like 10 calories for the whole bottle.
Speaker 2 01:04:52 Oh, that's great. Yeah.
Speaker 0 01:04:53 Awesome. And there's about a gram and a half of sugar that's coming from, uh, the pineapple juice.
Speaker 2 01:05:00 Oh. And I also think I heard in another interview, there's a little bit of, uh, coconut oil in
Speaker 0 01:05:07 It. We actually, uh, removed that, uh,
Speaker 2 01:05:11 Oh, interesting.
Speaker 0 01:05:11 Because, uh, what I discovered was that there's a number of people out there that, uh, that are allergic to coconuts.
Speaker 2 01:05:20 Ah.
Speaker 0 01:05:21 So we, you know, it really wasn't, um, adding that much mm-hmm. <affirmative>, so we decided to remove it.
Speaker 2 01:05:29 Interesting. So on that note, would you recommend for the people who actually have, uh, like, you know, are fine with coconut, like mixing it with a little bit of like mc t or
Speaker 0 01:05:42 Anything like that? MCT oil? Uh, my thought in originally doing it was it would increase the bioavailability of it.
Speaker 2 01:05:50 Yeah.
Speaker 0 01:05:51 To be honest with you, I can't tell the difference between it, you know, with it and without it Yeah. For myself. Yeah. Uh, but I do know that, you know, m c t oil, you know, does increase by availability of, of, you know, different substances. And it may be, it may be helping them, and that's why I put it in to begin with.
Speaker 2 01:06:11 Yeah.
Speaker 0 01:06:11 So if, if you've got, you know, if somebody wants to stack that, that's, you know, it's probably something interesting to try.
Speaker 2 01:06:19 Yeah. Great. Um, is Botanic tonics coming out with any other super unique products in the near future?
Speaker 0 01:06:28 So I do have, uh, some other formulas that I've put together
Speaker 2 01:06:32 Mm-hmm. <affirmative>,
Speaker 0 01:06:33 We're gonna, we won't be launching anything, you know, new in the next six months or so, but later in the year, we probably will launch, uh, the next version.
Speaker 2 01:06:43 Awesome.
Speaker 0 01:06:44 Completely different function.
Speaker 2 01:06:45 Great. Can you give us a hint at like, what it will do in comparison to the current? Uh, feel free.
Speaker 0 01:06:50 The next one's more focused on sleep.
Speaker 2 01:06:53 Oh, great.
Speaker 0 01:06:54 Yeah.
Speaker 2 01:06:55 Yeah. I, I feel like sleep is the wonder drug, like getting a good night's sleep is life changing.
Speaker 0 01:07:02 Well, what I've, what I've realized is that there's a lot of people out there struggling to be able to sleep and to have something natural that you can take, you know, 30 minutes or an hour before you go to bed and, and go to bed
Speaker 2 01:07:17 Yeah.
Speaker 0 01:07:17 Is something that, you know, a lot of people are looking for.
Speaker 2 01:07:21 Yep. That's great. Well, I'm excited to try that when it comes out. Before we wrap this up, kind of the last encompassing question, you know, the show being called Alchemized Life. I'm curious, are there any other, obviously, you know, this product has alchemized your life, but are there any other things that in your life journey that you would want to share with the audience that have been particularly important, you know, to your journey in Alchemizing your life? I mean, obviously I think the intervention in, in getting sober was a big one, but is there anything else you'd like to share?
Speaker 0 01:07:58 Yeah. You know, for me it's, it was, um, the biggest change in my life was realizing that, you know, it's, it's not about, you know, monetary things. I mean, it's important, money's important, but that shouldn't be be the only thing that you're focused on in life, you know, now. I mean, we're having incredible success with, with feel free. I mean, it's just exploding the, the growth of it. But, you know, what really drives me and makes me feel good is when I get calls, like I mentioned earlier from the lady in Austin that talks about her husband.
Speaker 2 01:08:37 Yep.
Speaker 0 01:08:38 I also had, um, a lady call me that, uh, has a 19 year old, uh, autistic son. And she said that, uh, she gave him some, and she said for the first time ever, he was able to go out by himself.
Speaker 2 01:08:53 Wow.
Speaker 0 01:08:53 And when she asked him, this was what really drove me to thinking about the noise in your head, you know, because the autistic is that they're more sensitive almost. Yep. They're too sensitive. What he said was that it, it, it allowed him to not have that sensitivity. It turned it down.
Speaker 2 01:09:11 Yeah.
Speaker 0 01:09:12 But it didn't dum him out, which he said, you know, she said, I have a hard time getting to take his medications because he feels like it, it it dumbs him.
Speaker 2 01:09:23 Yeah.
Speaker 0 01:09:23 You know, I'm not advocating this by any means that that's <laugh>, but I just thought, you know, it was interesting. And, and I mean, she was, she literally was in tears when she was talking about this. Yeah. And she was asking me if I had had any other mothers report this or anybody else report it. And, um, I said that I hadn't. But, um, you know, we're setting up to start doing some clinical studies. Yeah. And one of 'em I would like to do is, is a, is around that to see if it's, um, you know, if it's something that actually does work.
Speaker 2 01:10:01 Yeah. Well, I'm really fascinated, or, or, or eager to see what the, the studies show, because like I mentioned, I don't think I've ever had anything like it quite like it, at least not in the, that I can remember. And it, it's a very special, unique formula of plants and it's really powerful and it's really wonderful and it's a great addition to really anyone's life as long as they use it in moderation. And I think half a shot is more than enough for anybody. So, you know, any last words that you want to share with the audience before we, uh, close this down?
Speaker 0 01:10:40 No, I just, uh, I appreciate you, uh, letting me come on and talk about it. And, uh, you know, my hope is that, uh, it provides something positive for, you know, more and more people.
Speaker 2 01:10:53 Wonderful. Awesome. Jay, thank you so much. All right.
Speaker 0 01:10:58 Thank you.
Speaker 1 01:11:01 Thanks for tuning in. And remember, literally everything can be used as an opportunity to learn, to heal, to grow, and to transform. So whatever is going on in your life, choose to consciously and proactively harness that energy and use it to alchemize your life to the next level. If you enjoyed the show, please share it with a friend. We're on your favorite social media, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform. As always, you can find me at Justin David Carl on Instagram and all the socials, as well as@alchemizedlife.com on the web. Until the next time, sending you lots of energy and plenty of Dragon magic.
