Sex Up Your Brand

How can people’s perception of you inspire your business? Sharon Zehavi is the CEO of Sex Up Your Brand, where they help brands grow and increase market share by controlling brand perception and using methods of strategic consumer seduction. In this episode, we chat about the meaning behind her brand, self-empowerment, and why asking yourself what makes you happy and taking action is so important.

🎙️Talking Points:

(5:00) How to stay true to your authentic self

(9:03) Empowering yourself

(17:45) Dealing with failure and change

(28:25) Co-founding 360 Start-Up Partners

🔗Resources and Links:

• “Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru”: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5151716/

🔗Connect with Sharon:

• Website: https://sexupyourbrand.com 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sexupyourbrand 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-zehavi-486a6511
• 360 Start-Up Partners: https://www.360startuppartners.com/
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sharon_zehavi   

🔗Connect with Tom:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/therealtomfinn
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/therealtomfinn/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@therealtomfinn
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealtomfinn/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/therealtomfinn
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/therealtomfinn‍
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@therealtomfinn

Tom Finn:

Hey there, hey there, welcome to the Talent Empowerment Podcast. We're here to help you love your job. We unpack the tools and tactics of successful humans to guide you towards your own career empowerment. I am your purpose-driven little host, Tom Finn. And on the show today, we have Sharon Zehavi. Sharon, welcome to the show.

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Sharon Zehavi:

Thank you so much, Tom.

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Tom Finn:

Sharon is high energy. You are gonna love hearing from her today. And if you don't know a little bit about her background, she's an award-winning speaker and international branding and marketing specialist. She is All Things Strategy and the creator of Sex Up Your Brand, supporting small business owners to gain exposure and grow their outreach using organic strategies. She's also the co-founder of 360 Startup Partners. helping early stage startups with their investor and user acquisition, which is very cool. But her true passion lies in helping business owners grow their brands and fulfill their passion. Let's start with an easy one, Sharon. I love the name of your company, Sex Up Your Brand. Where did it come from?

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Sharon Zehavi:

That's a very good question. Sex Up Your Brand came from a very interesting story, actually. I used to own a studio and I hired a coach to help me figure out how I can kind of work a little bit less in the business and grow it a little further and turn it into more like a consulting business. And we were working through things. He was giving me some advice, some structure and so on. And then I guess I got really comfortable with him. So I asked him a question that really bothered me. I asked him when I first met you, did you feel like I was flirting with you? And he was like, what? No. And he was like, why are you asking? And I'm like, like two or three different people in the last while have said to me things like, like stop it, like dial it down. You're too much. Or the reason why people are not taking you seriously is because you're too much out there and you're so flirty. And I was like, should I dial it down? Because I'm not. I'm not trying to be flirty, I'm just talking. And he's like, absolutely not. He's like, don't you ever dial down who you are for anybody ever. And I was like, yeah, but I mean, what if I'm threatening or they feel uncomfortable or they don't wanna work with me? And they're like, then they shouldn't work with you. These are not your people. And that beautiful moment where somebody finally gave me this permission. to just be who I was, like confident and loud and sassy and in your face. I was, there was so much relief in me where I'm like, yes, just be. That sounds so much easier than trying to be something I'm not. And so we kind of decided that instead of, you know, kind of coming up with a whole new angle, I just lean into that. perception that people had about me that I'm too much, that I'm too loud, that I'm too sexy, and I just went for sex up your brand. And you can imagine that some people were like, Oh, well, you know, you're going to attract the wrong kind of attention with that name. But I got to tell you this before I had sex up your brand, I used to go to events and I had guys flirting with me all the time instead of talking about business. not taking me seriously, acting like I was the secretary and they're the boss, and I was tired of it. With Sex Up Your Brand, when I just put it in their face like that on my business card or just put it like, this is my website, this is my company, all of these douchebags are so threatened by it, they just run away, and I'm left with all the strong people. the men who are not threatened by powerful women, and all the cool women who are excited to work with powerful women. So owning who you are can kind of help you with this like natural selection, where you get to work with those you really want to work with.

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Tom Finn:

That is way better than I thought the story was gonna be. I mean, that is so much deeper and has so many more levels than the way that I was thinking about it. And the fact that you lived this and then you owned it, and then you changed it into exactly what you wanted. All right, so I got a question for you. So you're going through this process. A lot of people personally don't become themselves. It takes a long time for some. The way that I heard the story is, hey look, I was myself, I had a coach, I had some people give me some feedback that maybe I should change myself. Coach said, nope, never change yourself, which by the way, kudos to that human that did a great job because that is the right advice. And then I just kept being myself. Was there ever a moment there, like a long period of time where you didn't feel like yourself?

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Sharon Zehavi:

Oh my gosh. I mean, I don't know if this is something a lot of guys can relate to, but I think as a woman, you are constantly hearing what you shouldn't be doing. And the crazy thing is, it could be the thing that you just started doing because you were told to stop the other thing you were doing before. It's like you never get it right. There's always something you're doing wrong. And this is from the most shallow of things, like, you know... Oh, you should talk more, you should talk less actually. And, but it's always you should do something. You should be louder, you should be more quiet, you should be taller, you should be shorter, you should be fatter, you should be skinnier. You should be more confident, you should be less confident. It's very threatening. So when you grow up like that in this constant environment, then no matter what you do is wrong, you constantly doubt yourself and who you are and what you like and who you should be. So I would say for most of my life, I was just not sure what it is that I'm supposed to be. And I'm such a people person and I'm such a chameleon. I adjust easily, but it took me a while to question, why should I? Why should I adjust? Just because I can. I mean, there were... Like, for most of my life I thought I was very, very ugly. Very ugly. Because I was told that I was not very attractive. And therefore I should just give up and stick to the fact that I'm somewhat smart and somewhat funny. And I'm like, sure. I'll stick to that because that's all I have to hold on to. And then when I started getting attention as if I was pretty, I was almost like, wait, what? So maybe I could be pretty. So I kind of... felt a little bit more comfortable, you know, doing my hair, doing my makeup, dressed up the way I like, feel all powerful. And then even from friends and family, I would hear things like, what is this? This is too much. This is not okay. Why are you doing this? And I'm like, oh God, I got it wrong again. Right? And I feel like most women can relate to this. We always get this kind of feedback from somebody, people who care about us sometimes. encouraging us not to be who we are. And then no wonder most people don't know who they are when they try to build their own brand, because all they have to rely on are things that they've heard from other people about them. Instead of just realizing, maybe I am loud, maybe I am just direct, and maybe that's fine. Because instead of worry about all the people that we, they're not gonna like it. That's too bad for them. They're probably not ready for you. You can think about all the people who are excited to see you in your full bloom and be like, yes, that sounds so real and authentic. And that's what we really like. We like people who are real and authentic and who they are and they don't think about what other people think all the time because that's what that's who we want to be. We want to be around people like that because we also don't want to think about what other people think about us all the time. It's very liberating, actually.

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Tom Finn:

Usually I interrupt people and I stop them halfway through that dialogue. That was fantastic And I think you are speaking to so many women that are facing this type of challenge as a guy I have never thought about it that way and You're right. You're sort of opening my mind here to say look this whole scenario around Female empowerment needs to be that we find our own voice. We don't listen to others and we really lean into what matters to us as people. Is that the right way to think about this?

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Sharon Zehavi:

Absolutely. And this can be your drive with everything that you do in life. The way you put yourself out there, the way you build your business, the way you choose who you want to work with. Every decision that you make needs to come from a real understanding of who you are, what are your values, and who are the people you want to spend time with. And you can't figure it out unless you let go of who you are. Just like be that person without having to think. You know, oh yeah, maybe I'm not like that, maybe I should be more like this. You shouldn't be nothing more than just you. That's probably the best and also the easiest.

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Tom Finn:

Okay, so let's unpack this psychology here, Sharon. So if I'm a woman and I'm listening to this, I'm thinking, okay, I've heard some of this before, or I felt some of these feelings before, how do I actually figure out what my purpose is? Because that's what you're saying. What's my purpose? What's my vision? What do I stand for? What are my value systems? And that creates me, but I don't even know where to start. So how do you even start that conversation with yourself?

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Sharon Zehavi:

It's a very good question and it's hard because it depends on how much baggage you're already carrying and how many other people thoughts you are carrying with you all the time. But sometimes it comes to like the simplest of questions. Just questions like, you know, what actually makes you happy? And pay attention to what you're answering and ask yourself, what do I really want? And pay attention to your answer because I can ask myself what I really want and... The first five or six answers are actually what I feel like I should want. But it takes time until I recognize the difference. Right? Like, what do I want? I don't know. I want a bigger house and like a nice backyard and like, you know, I want, I really want like a nice red car and I want, no, that's not what I want. It's not what I want, but I need to remember what I want. Sometimes it's about even remembering what you used to want when you were a kid, what you were really excited about. The reason why we see people in their like 60s and they're suddenly changing careers and you're like, what's wrong with that person? They lost their mind. They're not, they did not lose their mind. They just, they kept their mind locked up for 40 years, trying to convince themselves that what they wanted when they were young is not feasible, is not who they are, it's not gonna make money, it's not gonna be good. And then... they choose something else and they break out of it later, too late sometimes, and they go, no, you know what, I'm going to be an actress. You're like, that 60-year-old woman is going to be an actress? Really? You should have done it when you were 20. Maybe she should have, but she was stuck in this box of what she should have done, and by, you know, because she heard it from other people, or she told it to herself, she couldn't believe in what she wanted and what her abilities were. And so... Realizing what you really want might be just a question of just like asking yourself but really, really listening. What do you want? Forget about what people think you should do or what should make you happy. What would make you happy? That's all.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, I love the way you did that. And the key here for those that are listening is to unpack the first few superficial components that are gonna naturally come to your brain. Don't beat yourself up over it. They're gonna naturally be there. It's okay. Just keep going. So it's not the house, it's not the yard, it's not the street, the cul-de-sac, the school system. That's all the stuff that was pre-wired or you were told over and over and over and over again that you were supposed to have, right? Get rid of that. then start to think about what really matters to me, who is this person that I look at in the mirror, and what do I wanna be remembered for? That's the way I think about it is, when I'm on my deathbed, you know, and I've gotta sort of stare that in the face, what do I wanna leave behind me? A trail of tears and broken promises, or, you know, a trail that I carved out for other people to find their way? Right. And for me, that's what it is, but for somebody else, it's going to be completely different.

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Sharon Zehavi:

And we lose our pathway really easily because we see other people and we feel like we should be wanting that and we should be as happy and we should be as successful. And all of those things are just making us more miserable. And I see it all the time. You know, thanks to social media, we are under the illusion that everybody's doing so much better than us all the time. And it's always making me laugh when people are like, well, you know, I should be like this person. And I'm always thinking... That person took the time to post something to show you how happy they are. So how happy could they possibly be if they really needed your like to confirm that they're happy? I mean, honestly, when I'm enjoying my moments, like thoroughly, my phone is not in my hand. I am not taking pictures. I am not taking videos. I am living the moment. The mildly entertaining moments, I have my phone in my hand and I'm like, that's mildly entertaining. Some people might enjoy it as well. But if I'm so busy and wondering how I can convince other people in my success and in my happiness, I'm not that successful and I'm not that happy. So I always tell people, if you look through social media, please do it with a little bit of perspective. It's not reality. It's just perception.

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Tom Finn:

You know, there's a fine gentleman out there by the name of Tony Robbins, used to go by the name Anthony Robbins. And he's got a great movie that we can put in the show notes. And basically in this movie, he describes that he wrote down the person he wanted to be and that he designed Tony Robbins from the ground up to be... this persona, this person that he always wanted to be. And then he just started behaving in that way, right? He started eating the right foods, exercising the right way, treating people the right way, communicating with excellence, being empathetic. He built himself from Anthony to Tony, right? And he thought about it, it was a part of his process. He built the process. and he became the person we know globally as Tony Robbins. Right? But he didn't start there.

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Sharon Zehavi:

Like this is not even surprising to me. We are our worst enemy. We put these obstacles in front of us all the time about what we can't do and what's holding us back and how this doesn't make sense. And it's ridiculous. It's nonsense. You know, one of the gifts that I feel my parents gave me, even though, you know, if I go to a therapist, I probably have a lot of things to say about them and all the things they did wrong. The one thing they probably did right is that they always made me feel like It's possible whatever it is. I wanted maybe it's because they were both creative people But I would always come up with some ridiculous idea about something and they would go. Okay Let's see how we can do that Rather than what most people do which is no no, it's complicated. It's long. I'm not sure it's gonna work You might fail and it doesn't even matter what it is It can be a goal that I really wanted to achieve or it could be a really silly costume I wanted to make for Halloween. And my parents were like, we can't buy that so let's figure out how we can make it. So that's that kind of mindset of, yeah it is possible. It's just a question of how we're gonna make it happen. If you can practice that with everything that you want from the smallest of things to the biggest of goals you have. I think it will break a lot of the barriers we all carry all the time of what's not possible. Because the truth is, very little is not possible.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, then it just comes down to confidence, right? Sharon, like you've gotta have the confidence in yourself to say, I'm okay to push the barrier here, I'm okay to try something new and experiment, and I'm also okay if it fails. That's the hardest part, I think, for people.

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Sharon Zehavi:

Well, I mean, nothing really fails until it's like the end of the story. And who knows when is the end of the story? And I always say that to people. I work with a lot of people that kind of look at some moments in their lives as like this like one moment that's going to change everything. And I'm like, you don't know that. You don't know that this moment is going to change everything. Maybe your story is a whole novel. This is just a chapter. And maybe it's supposed to fail. So the next chapter is even more epic. You have no idea what the story is yet. So you can't treat it as this like, this is what I need, this must happen, this is the thing. I don't wanna fail because if it fails, then I lost all of my dreams and all of my options. That's never the case. If anything, the more you try, those times you get a no and you fail, they're just, they're not important. Nothing changed, you remain where you were before. But those moments you get a yes, They make a difference and you move forward and then there's going to be another opportunity and another opportunity. That confidence you speak about, this is just knowing that no matter what's going to happen, you're going to get to where you're supposed to get. Maybe not now, maybe not next week, maybe not next month, but you're on that way. And if you're confident you're going to get there, then nothing in the way is going to disturb you, really.

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Tom Finn:

I totally agree. And I think this word failure should be removed from our vocabulary because what you're saying is you learn, right? If it might not be the outcome you predicted, that's what failure is, right, by the way. It means that's not the outcome I predicted. So I believe that it failed, right? So if it's a company that you start and it doesn't work or a marriage that you're in that starts and doesn't work or whatever, the point is, It's not about failure. It's about understanding that you're learning. And if you're smart and confident and growing and have a growth mindset, you will take that learning and accelerate your, your life, right? In a really, really fast way. Um, that can be differentiating. And like you said, it could be a chapter. It doesn't, it's not the end of your book.

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Sharon Zehavi:

Yeah, exactly. I think with that kind of mindset, nothing seems that bad. And I can tell you many of times where I felt like something in my life was clearly a bad thing. Like, clearly. You can't argue that. That's the thing that happened. It shouldn't have happened. It was horrible. It was a mistake. And nothing good would ever come out of it. But if I think about it, I can tell you a lot of good things that came out of it. Whether if it's the... people I met because of that or new opportunities that happened because of that or even just internal realizations of who I was and what I wanted and what I need to do to connect with my purpose. If that's the outcome, then even the crappiest situations are a good thing.

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Tom Finn:

How do you deal with crappy situations now? Because we can talk about values and development and growth mindset and all those things, but stuff still happens. Come on, Sharon. Life isn't perfect, so how do you deal with it now?

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Sharon Zehavi:

So I'm gonna give you a real honest answer. And I'm not gonna give you this like fake answer of like, you know, you just have to brave through and be positive and remind yourself that everything is possible.

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Tom Finn:

You have to breathe and meditate.

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Sharon Zehavi:

I'm not gonna say any of that. Yeah.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, I love that one too.

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Sharon Zehavi:

You meditate every morning, you know, the universe will just provide, okay? The truth is this, when something really crappy happens, first of all, I get pissed, okay? So I get upset and I get annoyed. I try, unlike before, not to get it out on other people. I try to... get it out somewhere else on an email or a phone call or something. I just try to, I just vent out the frustration. Once the frustration is out of the way, usually I try to fix things because I'm a control freak. So I go, no, it's not actually this bad. It's actually fine. Look at this being fine. And then when I realized there's little I can do and I moved to acceptance, then I let go and when I let go. This is something that I need to listen to after this. But it's every time this way. After I get frustrated and I get angry and I try to fix things, when I let go of my resistance of how this should be different, good things happen. Things fall into place better without me trying to actively put them in place. And every time it happens, I'm always aware of it because I'm like, Look, look, look. You stopped, you stopped fighting it and it sort of became okay. And you didn't have to do anything. And I have to remind myself that because people like me who get angry and frustrated and try to control the situation, that's all we want. We want control. And it's really frustrating when we can't control things. And unfortunately, the only thing we really can control is how we react to things and not any situation. So I can even tell you, like there was one time I was supposed to be speaking in this event. It was supposed to be in a specific day so I can promote everything. They gave me the wrong slot. It was in the wrong day. I couldn't promote my stuff. I'm like, hold on, hold on. Everything is wrong. And I'm making phone calls at night. I'm like, because it's tomorrow. And I'm like calling and I'm like, no, this cannot be it. This is everything that I worked on. It must change. And then at some point around 2.30, maybe three in the morning. I was like, you know what? It is what it is. Tomorrow's gonna be fine. I'm gonna make the most out of it, just like I always do. And I'm tired. I have no energy to fight this. And. 15 minutes after I said that and truly relaxed, not some kind of like, no, it's fine, it's fine, it's fine. Truly relaxed. I got a message saying, it's fine, we pushed you to the Friday, it's okay, you can do it on Friday. And I was like, what? Look at that, me manifesting some kind of a connection with the universe. But I don't know, that's how I deal with crappy situations. And trust me, I've gone through a bunch of crappy situations. So this is not some thin like... advice about what it's like when you don't get the coffee you wanted in the morning. This can be about really crappy situations.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, I'm with you. I think the tool in my toolbox is along the same path, but I try to think about what the other person is feeling and what the other person's challenges are. So let's say a deal that you really wanted in business doesn't come to fruition. I try to think about, well, what was their perspective of me, of the company, of the situation, of the, you know, what are they dealing with that has caused them not to want to move forward, right? Usually it's self-preservation. So in business, a lot of times things fall through because if the deal is bad and it doesn't create value, then okay. Another one though, if you're creating value could be that the person has a self-preservation issue, meaning they're in a role, they don't want to take a risk, they're scared, they have a whole bunch of baggage personally that flows into the way they do business. and they just can't get over themselves, right? It's all self-preservation. I don't wanna lose my job. What if my boss gets upset? What if I, what if this doesn't work? What if it fails, right? This failure thing that I'm a failure, I could get fired. Now I've lost my house, that perfect lawn that I have, that cul-de-sac that I live on, my perfect partner. It's all gone because I made that one error, right? That's how people actually think, Sharon, right? Like, and so I try to put myself... in the shoes of those other folks and think, huh, they're probably feeling this thinking that, struggling with this, right? Whatever it might be. So that's how I deal with the challenging situations. And then good cocktails, good, strong, good old fashioned cocktails in the evening for me is a pro move with, as long as you're of legal drinking age, of course, and limit your consumption.

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Sharon Zehavi:

He's so responsible. I love that. Thank you.

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Tom Finn:

I have to put my pierce in there.

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Sharon Zehavi:

No, but I actually love this advice because I always tell people to be, just give people the benefit of the doubt because you don't know what they might be thinking. You don't know what it might be going through. And a lot of the time we take things super personally and it's very rarely personally. Like it's, they usually make decisions based on their problems and their obstacles and their concerns and their fears, not because they didn't like you. or because they are trying to hurt you or upset you.

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Tom Finn:

Thank you.

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Sharon Zehavi:

That's rarely the case. So just realizing that other things are happening around the world besides you, I think it helps you realize that you know, you gotta control everything and you just need to be a little bit more forgiving.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, well, I love me some me. So, you know, I'm focused on me all the time. I'm just kidding. You know, it's so what are you talking about?

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Sharon Zehavi:

It's your job to be focused on you, but it's also my job to be focused on me and everybody else's job to be focused on themselves Which is why it's okay being selfish Just remember that other people are not thinking about you as much as you are thinking about you. That's all

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, well said. And I think that can actually provide some calm in people's brains when they're feeling anxious about things. That, oh my gosh, my shirt wasn't right. My hair wasn't right. We don't care about your shirt or your hair. We care about your soul, about the way you present yourself, how you treat other people, how you show up, how you deliver. That's what others really care about, not the hair or the shirt or. you know, what we're doing and thinking that day. It's really how you show up for others. So I wanna talk a little bit about some of the work you do in startup land because this is not something that I know a lot about when I have spent some time researching you, right? So this is really cool. So 360 startup partners, talk to me about what you're doing in startup land there.

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Sharon Zehavi:

Okay, well, we usually work with early stage startups that they're looking to fundraise. And what we help them do is we help them build the foundation for successful fundraising, which can be a lot more complicated than a lot of founders realize, because most founders, you know, they're driven by their idea. They think it's going to be an amazing idea. It's going to make a big difference and other people must recognize it and therefore they'll get money. They'll get investments. The problem is they're is a lot more, there's a lot more to it that you really need to be able to demonstrate really quickly in front of possible investors so that not only  they’re interested in the idea-

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Tom Finn:

So they’re not only there to use the idea, but…

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Sharon Zehavi:

But they can see the feasibility, they can, you can address their concerns about, you know, if it's going to be successful, how is it going to be successful, prove to them that you have something that can work against the competition, or that you have the right team on board and so on. So. Because a lot of startups are not aware of all this kind of stuff, they usually struggle so much in getting this early stage investment. So 360 partners, we just collected all of our partners of the consultants and experts and advisors that have anything to do with all the gaps that most startups have because most startups know how to develop their idea. That's probably why it was their idea, because they have an idea of how they're going to develop it. but they don't know how to work through the marketing, how to work through the sales or branding or even the financial side of things and how to make this environment of fundraising something that an investor can recognize as an opportunity rather than a risk. So our team just comes in and helps those startups to make a big difference. And we usually work with impact driven startups. So it's also pretty rewarding to see them make a difference.

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Tom Finn:

Well, you know, I wish you were around or I knew you when I was starting my company six years ago because I would have taken a completely different approach to fundraising. I, you know, we, we read all of these articles, newsreels, what have you about the next startup that got 20 million, 50 million, 100 million. And it just feels like as founders, oh my gosh, like it's out there. I just, all I do is I show up and I say, I've got this really cool idea and everybody throws money at me. And I can tell you after about 250 VC calls that I've had over the last five years, that's not the way it works.

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Sharon Zehavi:

Nope.

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Tom Finn:

You have to be very strategic, you have to have your pitch deck down, you've got to have your pitch down. And they're coming to the call to say no. That's what they're coming with. They're coming with the idea of no. Why? Because there's millions of startups every year. and only a handful get funded. So they're looking for a needle in a haystack, right?

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Sharon Zehavi:

But honestly, Tom, that's like that with any conversation you have. Most people come into a conversation with a mindset of a no. You don't even recognize it, but we, as people, we don't like change. We don't want things to be different. We want things to be comfortable and regular and predictable. So our brain is constantly busy telling us what is a red flag, right? why we shouldn't make a decision, why we shouldn't make a change, why we shouldn't move forward. And you hear that voice in your head, we think it's the voice of logic. It's not the voice of logic. This is the voice of our primitive brain being freaked out about change. So it's telling you, don't make that decision, don't spend that money. We just needed one reason to say no, and here it is. That's the reason. Here's a no. So a really good pitch, and no matter what it is you're pitching and what it is you're asking for, needs to address all those reasons why people would say no really early in the conversation. Because that's the default of how our brain works, to just find a reason to say no. No, I don't want to do this. No, I don't want to go out. No, I don't want to eat this. No, no, no. There's very few people who are in a mindset of yes, and they're usually weird like me, where I'm just like, tell me more. That sounds like fun.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, and that probably comes from your parents who gave you that mindset of have an open mind, let's figure it out, let's say yes first, and then we'll figure it out next, right? I mean, that's just built into your DNA and then your development as well. When you think about the world and from your perspective, like what would you wanna change? What would be something if you had your magic wand that you would just change it?

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Sharon Zehavi:

Oh my god, I don't know where to start. Are you kidding me? How many times can I use this wand? Because I think I'm gonna have to make a list here.

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Tom Finn:

Give me the first three things that come to mind and we'll give you three wishes.

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Sharon Zehavi:

Oh, thank you. Um, I don't know. I mean, when you first said that, I guess because everything we are talking about right now, but what I would really want to do is help people realize how much good is in them and how much they can do for others. Just like this, with my wand. Really quickly, without having to go to a therapist for 10 years, you know. Something where they really recognize that... Everything is possible, but not just for themselves, but for others. I think if we're more giving and we are more focused on helping others build their possibilities and their dreams, everything around us will become easier. What we want will come to us. And it's not because of some kind of a universal magic thing and it's not about manifestation. It's just because you surround yourself with this giving energy. There is no other way. The reason most people don't get what they want is because they don't give anything. They just hold back. And they think that everybody's trying to scam them and hurt them and offend them and they're always in defense mode. How would you recognize an opportunity if you're defensive all the time? So that's one thing I would love to change because I truly believe that if we are more open and caring and giving, we can fix a lot of the crap we have right now in the world.

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Tom Finn:

That is so well stated. I absolutely love your answer, but you have two more wishes.

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Sharon Zehavi:

I knew you were going to say that.

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Tom Finn:

So let's go to number two.

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Sharon Zehavi:

Um, number two. I think I would love for people to recognize that we are not the driving force in this world that we need to learn to live in harmony with other things that are not people. Okay. Because every other species seem to knew that with no problem living in harmony with the environment and other species around them. And yet we are constantly trying to find a way. to ruin that harmony. Almost like we're supposed to be living differently than how nature wanted us to live. And so we're like, oh, we found a solution. We didn't find a solution. We created a problem, which we now need to find another solution for. And I kind of wish that we were all, like all of us, all of us as people, we kind of knew how to take a few steps back and recognizing that our hunt for power and money is not the center of the world. And the world is gonna run after we die and that money and that power will go to nothing and we won't care because we'll be dead anyway. So I think maybe this is something to do with recognizing how little we are and how we should be living in harmony with everything else, not just with people. So which is kind of like related to my first thing, but extended.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, yeah, you're on a theme here. The first theme was understand yourself and believe in yourself and have confidence in yourself. And the second theme is externally have empathy in the world around you and lift up other species. Don't be overly dominant, lift up other species so that, so that there's a lasting effect of, of a globe that has some real challenges, uh, in terms of climate change for sure.

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Sharon Zehavi:

I'm so spiritual and I didn't even know it. Look at that.

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Tom Finn:

All right, you're gonna stay on the same track for wish number three or we go in a different direction?

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Sharon Zehavi:

I don't know, I think you're gonna have to tickle my brain in a different direction for it to start going in a different direction.

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Tom Finn:

You say world peace and it's the trifecta. I mean, you've hit them all. Or you can go.

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Sharon Zehavi:

I feel like with what I said before, I feel it will lead to world peace, if we're a little bit more understanding and giving towards each other.

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Tom Finn:

For sure. I think one solves world peace if everybody's starting to feel better about themselves. And if you're taking care of the planet and you feel better about the longevity in your neck of the woods and in others, you're probably feeling pretty good about world peace at that point too.

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Sharon Zehavi:

I feel like if we were busy a little bit more finding what makes us the same rather than what makes us different than other people or other species or whatever, then I think everything will be better. I'm talking about world peace and I'm talking about world hunger and I'm talking about all those things. If we recognize that there is more that makes us the same rather than makes us different, I think a lot of our problems will be solved. But the problem is... Those who really want power and those who really want money don't want us to be very connected. They want us to be separated and they want us to thrive over hating each other because they can control us better. I mean, it sounds like some kind of a, you know, like I'm exaggerating maybe, but it's not. This is just the common situation. And you can see that in most countries, there's always a reason why that other group is not as good as you. And it doesn't matter which country you're talking about.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, that's totally true. So I think that's your third wish. I define it as this. Wish one, no self. Wish two, no environment. And wish three, no others.

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Sharon Zehavi:

I should print this on a t-shirt. I feel like it would be really good.

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Tom Finn:

Well, we recorded it so you can, uh, you can just play it back and it'll be right there for you and then you can print it on a t-shirt if you forget, um, this has been absolutely fantastic, Sharon, you have a fantastic company. I love your energy. I love that you named your company, sex up your brand. I love that you're loud. I love that you're authentically yourself. And I think you bring a lot of noise and a lot of fun to the table. for other women and men to look up to. And I thank you for all that you're doing.

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Sharon Zehavi:

Thanks Tom and thank you for having me here. This was such a pleasure.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, absolute pleasure. And for those of you listening, we hope it was an absolute pleasure for you as well. Thanks for tuning in. We hope you've unpacked a few tips and tricks to either love your job or yourself or others or the environment. And get ready to dive back into all things happiness on the next episode.