Simplify Your Vegan Journey w/Consciously Carly

In this special episode, your host Connor Dickie takes a unique twist as he sits down with none other than the inspiring host of "Consciously Clueless," Conscious Carly. Together, they embark on a deep dive into the world of veganism and mindfulness.

Connor and Conscious Carly are no strangers to the podcasting world, but today, they put themselves in the spotlight, turning the microphone on each other. They share their personal journeys into veganism, unraveling the stories and experiences that fueled their commitment to plant-based living. From ethical considerations to environmental impact and health benefits, these two passionate advocates lay it all out on the table.

But that's not all! Connor and Conscious Carly spill the beans on their exciting collaborative Vegan Guide, a passion project for them. Get a sneak peek into the guide's contents, including expert insights, favorite recipes, and essential tips for navigating the vegan world, whether you're a novice or a seasoned plant-based pro.

Download the FREE Vegan Guide: HERE

Support Carly 

Consciously Clueless Podcast

Consciously Carly Website

Transcript

[00:16] Connor: Hey everyone and welcome back to the Who's Judging Podcast. It's your host Connor, and we are finally back. Yes, it feel is good to say we are finally back and we are going to get the ball rolling with none other than Conscious. Carly hey there.

[00:34] Carly: My name is Carly and I am the host of Consciously Clueless. This is the podcast where you come to because you want to learn how to live a healthier life, how to live more sustainably, how to take your everyday actions and make them work for you and the planet. I usually ask a question of my guests when they're on. So Connor, I'm going to put you on the spot. If you had to put yourself on a spectrum from Clueless to Conscious, the title of the podcast, where are you right now in this moment? No judgment because your face just got a little worried.

[01:12] Connor: Well, hopefully no judgment, but I mean, probably towards the middle. I'd say closer to Clueless, though, to be honest.

[01:20] Carly: Is that a today thing? Is that where you're at in general thing?

[01:25] Connor: I think it's in general, but I think we're moving in the right direction. So that's good.

[01:30] Carly: That is good. That is good. Moving towards consciousness, right?

[01:33] Connor: Yes. And see maybe we'll get further today.

[01:36] Carly: Yeah, let's see what we can do here in the next like 45 minutes.

[01:40] Connor: Yeah, big boost.

[01:43] Carly: All right, well, we have connected and been connected for a while and have actually worked on a project together. It's so cool how the internet can be a wild place, but it can also be a very cool place to connect with vegans and environmentalists and the like. So tell me a little bit about what you do and your organization.

[02:06] Connor: Yeah, so we started Vindi last year. So far the original goal was for the podcast, for a blog and then like a YouTube channel for shorter videos and shorter topics than a podcast. And so we had it going pretty far until the other two backed out. So we're just kind of going through. So I've re kind of vamped the blog website for where I'm the author instead of the partner and then YouTube. I have a few videos recorded with the other partner and then I'll just have to start making shorter ones, which shouldn't be hard because some topics just you can't go on for 45 minutes sometimes or it's easier people receive it better as shorter.

[02:42] Carly: Totally.

[02:43] Connor: Yeah. And so I'm hopefully going to get that up by the end of the year. The blog should be soon because I think I'm just kind of repurposed some of the podcast episodes into blogs as well and that's an easier start in. And then from there I think we have merch up and then I think products. I've collected a lot of plastic, so I'm going to try to make beads and stuff out of that for jewelry and stuff. It's really more mission driven. So we have water bottles and stuff reusable and I keep them pretty close to Cost because I want people to buy them too.

[03:16] Carly: So let me try and summarize or maybe you can do that for me. Right, it's your company, but you're really driven by your mission, which I know is on your website. So all of the things you're doing are because of a commitment to the earth and to the animals, correct?

[03:35] Connor: Yes, definitely trying to do everything I can more for the animals. Earth secondary, but very important as well. And so I think especially nowadays with the internet, as you mentioned, media is a very important and very impactful way to do it and it's also not as capital intensive and so you can get it started there. Hopefully we build off of that.

[03:57] Carly: So where did your vegan journey begin? Because to be sitting here and on a podcast and creating this organization that took a starting place. So where was that for you?

[04:12] Connor: Right. I've always thought of myself as a huge animal lover. And so I think it was around 2013 ish or 2014 it was when it really started hitting. Like, I couldn't separate the meal from the animal. And so that was getting really hard. And I started following some more, like, the vegan pages, and that helped a lot and gave me more information and just kind of a lot of them are very kind of sad or impactful videos and stuff they post. So that's hard. And so I went vegetarian first because I lived with my family at that time and so it's hard to go straight in and also I didn't really know how to tell them. Yeah. So I went vegetarian for almost a year, which is also hard. Right in the middle of high know pressure, normal things. Yeah. And so then we went to Chicago, had a nice pizza with the family and then when we got back around June is of the next year, I went vegan. And ever since, other than a few mistakes at the beginning, because you realize there are a lot more things than you think you can eat.

[05:21] Carly: Oh my gosh. There's milk powder in the most outrageous places.

[05:26] Connor: Yes. Fungions. Fungions killed me. I love fungions. So we got the Costco box that had doritos and lay's and things and so I knew which ones I couldn't have, I thought. And then I ate all the funions and then I checked and I was like, whey powder. After you eat the whole box of them.

[05:45] Carly: Yes, no, totally have been there. You hear that funions. You're ******** up lives.

[05:51] Connor: Right, see, but oreos surprise on the.

[05:53] Carly: Good side, a true surprise on the good side, and a go to of mine, I will admit, probably too much of my food pyramid, but.

[06:07] Connor: We try our best.

[06:08] Carly: We do our best. Yes, we do our best. So I think it is really fascinating to think about having awareness. Maybe I'm just thinking of my own experience. But going vegan as a high schooler and making that decision young, not only with still living with your family, but it's also just a time where, I don't know, you're questioning everything and nothing makes sense and what is the world, right? So how was that as a teenager to make that decision? What did your friends and family think?

[06:42] Connor: It's a little interesting. Thankfully my family was super supportive from the beginning and my mom, the wearing one, looked into it a lot more, wanted to make sure that the proteins and the vitamins and everything was there. So that's helpful because I think that's a mistake or overlooked. Sometimes when people go vegan, if they don't really know how to eat vegan, they don't know how to replace the vitamins and stuff. So sometimes they fall back. So that helped. Friends have been better than you would think. I guess you always get the jokes every once in a while, but as long as they're friends, you know, it's not bad intentions. So that's good. The only thing that got me was, I think in the beginning, the first few years, I think my best friend told more people I was vegan than I told I was vegan. It's like, come on, man.

[07:28] Carly: Oh, why is that so classic? Oh, my friend's vegan. He can't have that. And you're like, I didn't but didn't bring that up.

[07:35] Connor: But it's like even worse. It's not even like restaurants. Sometimes it's just like we hang out with someone new and they're like, he's vegan. I'm like, what does this have to do with anything?

[07:42] Carly: Oh, wow. You should just wear a tag with it on there.

[07:46] Connor: Yeah, I was the trophy. I was the vegan friend. I think maybe it made him felt cool or special.

[07:54] Carly: Real tokenized.

[07:56] Connor: Yeah. So during high school, definitely an interesting time because especially a lot of people aren't really thoughtful. They don't really care how you feel sometimes. So I think one of the biggest things I did was senior year, we had to do a persuasive speech and one of the topics was eating less meat. And I was like, you know what, **** it. So that was when I was just like, we're going to do it. And so I did it. And people don't care enough. But I think I knew my class well enough that they didn't make fun of me for it. But yeah, some of the lines don't really hit the same for them. Like comparing the dog to the pig.

[08:37] Carly: Right. That cognitive dissonance is strong, man.

[08:40] Connor: Yeah, because I think what I use was like, if the pig was your dog, would you eat it dog? And they're always like, yeah, I totally would.

[08:53] Carly: That's disturbing.

[08:54] Connor: Yeah, but it was fun overall. It was a very easy speech to write, so that was good.

[09:00] Carly: What a sensibility to come out of high school with I'm curious, too, as presenting male in this world and in the veganism world, toxic masculinity and all of that is so interesting to me. And the intersection with veganism can sometimes be wild. Have you had any of those experiences?

[09:23] Connor: I don't think I've run into any yet where it's like, oh, you don't eat meat, you're not a man sometimes. That's one of the few jokes that throw from my friends, which is fine because it's just funny. They know bad intentions. But from there, I think that happens a lot more on the internet, because I think people just well, I know people just don't care on the Internet, and they say things they wouldn't really tell you in real life for it.

[09:47] Carly: And there's probably also a bit of a generation shift, too, right, where yeah.

[09:52] Connor: Like, the older generation doesn't vibe.

[09:57] Carly: Yeah, and that's like a big generalization, obviously. But just in general, the idea of one veganism and two toxic masculinity, two, we're not there, but we've moved along on those two trains in society.

[10:16] Connor: Yeah, I think we're shifting it.

[10:18] Carly: Yeah.

[10:18] Connor: So my parents totally understand. I think the older generations, they've just been doing it longer, so it's more of the norm.

[10:26] Carly: Totally.

[10:26] Connor: But my parents, when I'm home, they'll eat vegan, so a lot of the times it's vegan. Sometimes my dad can't get over the cheese, so he just shreds the cheese over the vegan meal. But that's a lot closer. A lot closer.

[10:37] Carly: Oh, absolutely. Do you have any other success stories in your life or people that were like, oh, my gosh, you're the reason, you're the reason, bro.

[10:47] Connor: I was very close. My cousin who lives down in San Diego as well, I think he was vegetarian for over a year, but he, you know, still relapse closer. He's closer. He still eats a lot less than he would. He always has, like, vegan products over when I come over and stuff. So very good progress. Still proud of him.

[11:07] Carly: Yeah, absolutely. I had a great conversation with a guest the other day that when I first went vegan, I was like, oh, my gosh, the world is opened up to me. Everything was a lie. Everyone listened to me. This is insane. And if people didn't want to listen to me bark at them for some reason, I was upset by that. Obviously not a very helpful response, but I think just realizing the way I talk about it and the way things come across to different types of people has been helpful in having those conversations.

[11:47] Connor: Yeah, that's for sure. And I had to know your audience.

[11:51] Carly: Yeah, sorry. I lost myself in my own train of thought. But with that guest that I had on the podcast, they just made this point about how when you live in that way, where it's like all or nothing, you're just not allowing space for anyone to try. Right. Like, no one wants to try if there's no allowance of failure. And it's so funny because I needed that. But then as soon as I kind of was learning all about this, I forgot that. But yeah, it's an important thing to stick in your mind when you're frustrated, when your friends that are like, oh, I don't feel good, and you're like, I know what could help.

[12:34] Connor: Right? You can't always be the hero. Jump in, Connor. I suppose that was interesting because I was thinking about bringing up you wrote the Angry Vegan Face for the guide. And so that's basically what you were just talking about. I didn't know if you wanted to just talk a little bit about how you kind of ways you think helped that or what you did to get through that.

[12:58] Carly: Sure, absolutely. Before we get there, should we talk about the guide?

[13:02] Connor: Sure.

[13:03] Carly: Have we done that yet?

[13:05] Connor: I think we mentioned it.

[13:06] Carly: Mentioned it?

[13:07] Connor: We didn't go through or anything.

[13:08] Carly: Yeah, we didn't go to and then I'll let you take the helm on that one. And I'll go into my angry vegan phase.

[13:16] Connor: So yeah, we put together the vegan guide. It's called, I think, Simplify your vegan journey. We just wanted to put together a free guide. You don't have to pay nothing like that. They're not even going to be ads on it. The only thing I did was put two placements in for our first two interviews. So just kind of make it easier for people looking to go vegan, people that are vegan and need help, or people kind of making the transition. And so we put the main reasons for it, like for the animals, for the environment, for humanity. We put a lot of different things in, like yours, the angry vegan phase. We put Q and A's that I asked around for. We have different tips for cutting out the foods, the meat and then the eggs and dairy, I think. Separate section. And then cutting out even the non food items, which is harder to do, especially because you might already have some big items like a car with leather seats that you can't just kind of get rid of over. Right?

[14:10] Carly: Yeah.

[14:11] Connor: And so it's just kind of letting them know there in that section too. That's fine. Like if you have a leather seated car, you're still vegan. Next time you buy a car, you don't buy one's. Leather seats, preferably.

[14:22] Carly: Yeah, which totally harkens back to that idea, right, of like if we don't allow for this to be a spectrum and for people to explore it and to do what they can, then everyone's going to be like, well, **** you, I can't buy a new car tomorrow.

[14:37] Connor: Right. And I think the other huge one is maybe if they're playing sports. Like baseball is very leather heavy. Or especially medications, like a lot of medications are animal tested and you can't go around that because it's required even for the companies, it's required and there's just an option for you to be like, you know, I'm going to stop taking my meds. It's probably not the best thing to do, right? So we put that in there. I put five or so five or six of my favorite recipes in there.

[15:05] Carly: Both they're good.

[15:06] Connor: Dinner and dessert. So those are good. Yeah, just basically a guide that could help them out free. We put a summarized version in, in case they don't want to read through 30 pages. But of course you have to read the full version to get all the pictures. That's the bonus for reading through the other one.

[15:23] Carly: Yeah, always lots of good pictures. It is a really great guide and I appreciate that you were so committed to really making it expansive and really being like, if this thing is going to go out, it's going to be as much information as we can. And not like, I mean, 30 pages, but not in an overwhelming way even. But just as much as like, let's touch on all the things that come up. Let's have seeds planted for all those things that might come up so they can hearken back to it.

[15:59] Connor: Of course, yes, it sounds like a lot when you say 30 pages, and that is a lot. But it also comes down to there's so many different things that most sections are only maybe a page and a page or a page and a half, which is not a whole lot. And the good thing is it is an interactive table of content, so you don't have to scroll through 30 pages. You can click where you want to go and maybe you don't feel like reading for the animals today and you just want to read for the environment. People are going to read through it all the time and that actually might.

[16:27] Carly: Be like a good tip. I'm a believer in doing what you can. And sometimes I don't know about you, but I'll get really into something and then I'm really into it and learning all about it and blah, blah, blah, go all the way in and sometimes that's good, but sometimes that can get really overwhelming. Like if this is all new information to you, maybe you don't need to read 30 pages and be worried that you're like a terrible person because you're not. But sometimes when you learn new things and ways you could be better, the first kind of instinct is to be like, oh, I'm ******, I should have been doing this. And so that is a good tip. Almost just like even whether it's that guide or something else in this kind of realm, you don't have to do it all at once, right.

[17:18] Connor: Sections at a time, let yourself process. But yeah, it's a whole lot of information then a lot of tips that we could provide. Big questions. I think you saw there's a misconception section that has a few in there. So hopefully it helps. The goal here is just to make if we make one person vegan and they make one person vegan, it's a domino.

[17:39] Carly: Yeah. It's a really great resource for consciously clueless listeners. It'll be available to download when you're listening to this.

[17:47] Connor: Yes. At the same time the podcast goes out 13th.

[17:52] Carly: It's going to be really exciting because I think people really are interested in veganism in general. Like when I do polls on my stories, there is a lot of interest, but there's also just a lot of misunderstanding and a lot of fear because there are some ****** vegan accounts that make you feel terrible. Let's be honest.

[18:12] Connor: Yes, judgment is a hard part.

[18:15] Carly: Yes.

[18:16] Connor: Maybe some people get stuck in that angry phase permanently and I think some do.

[18:22] Carly: That's a good way to put it.

[18:24] Connor: Yeah. And so that's why I wanted to start who's Judging? The podcast, too, is because I just want to put out there that we don't all judge. It's like who's judging? Just come learn. We're not here to judge you and hopefully that helps out.

[18:39] Carly: Sorry, go.

[18:40] Connor: Just like as you were saying, a lot of people are scared of judgment because they have been judged.

[18:46] Carly: Yeah. And that was one of the other reasons I created this podcast is I went vegan and then I got interested in environmentalism and so I kind of dove into sustainability and everything and I thought that I had to keep all my trash in a jar for the year or whatever else. I was just like, this is I don't know, I guess what I'm finding isn't accessible. So I was like, maybe I'll just start a podcast and have conversations about it that feel a little bit less like judgment. So I'm glad we connected.

[19:18] Connor: Right. There we go. You responded to the tweet when I asked for guests, I think, right? I think and then we went from there.

[19:28] Carly: I want to say I'm not even on Twitter. Whatever. No anymore.

[19:35] Connor: Okay.

[19:35] Carly: No, I was I'm just going to say I deleted it and then now.

[19:39] Connor: I don't even got it.

[19:40] Carly: Remember? That sounds like a possibility.

[19:43] Connor: I think that's what happened. And then I think it was just because you have the whole consciousness aspect on yours that I was like, you know what? I think the guide could use that. I don't know anything about it, I'm consciously clueless.

[19:56] Carly: Well, I really appreciated it because I loved the idea and I loved of you asking for me to bring that perspective, which going back to that kind of consciousness, that mindfulness. That was the conversation about the angry vegan phase, right, yes. To go back to your question, I've talked about this at nauseam on my podcast and listeners are rolling their eyes at this point, but there often is it's a fact. I think there's an angry call it what you want, but there's some sort of reckoning you do when you learn a really new big thing. Like, I remember going to college and learning some things that my privilege allowed me to ignore for a really long time and then I'm like, Well, I'm ******. I'm ****** that these sexual assault numbers are so high. I'm ******. That XYZ, right? So there's this reckoning that happens when you learn things you become passionate about. So I don't think it's a bad thing, but if you get but you.

[20:56] Connor: Have to get through it.

[20:57] Carly: Yeah. If you get stuck in just being really ****** off, you're going to be unhealthy and you're not going to be very effective.

[21:04] Connor: Yeah, sounds right.

[21:06] Carly: Yeah. And again, it's not a judgment because I think that's a natural response to learning big things about the world. It's just that's where for me, the mindfulness piece comes in. Like, am I checking in with my mental health and my own mindfulness practices? So I'm not stuck in that and I can check myself a little quicker.

[21:25] Connor: Right. I think it's also just really hard when you are super passionate about something and the people around you don't seem to care at all. And I think that's an aspect too. But as you're saying, it's like being in that phase is not going to get them to care about it anymore.

[21:40] Carly: Right.

[21:41] Connor: You're going to push them further.

[21:42] Carly: So how do you handle that situation? Like, if you have people around you that are just not feeling the vibe?

[21:50] Connor: I think I have a few methods. The first one that I use a lot is I just don't bring up vegan topics a lot around people. They know I'm vegan, I know they know I'm vegan, that's it. So one of the events I went to recently with one of my friends who we've been to quite together a lot because he had his wedding, so we had the baby shower, everything for that. And so they started asking me questions when we were sitting at the tables and so I'm totally fine answering, but typically I'm not the one to bring it up. So if they ask, I'll go in. Or I just try to think about how I was before, kind of yeah, I think that's a way to do it. I also just kind of read the room. Like you can tell if someone's asking and wants to know more if they're asking, kind of just to make fun of you, hear it and be like, I don't care.

[22:36] Carly: Yeah, they're like setting you up to be a punchline.

[22:39] Connor: Yeah, I think it's easy to tell. So when they're genuinely curious, I answer their questions. Go, yeah, I was going to say I think it was actually helpful because one of the previous episodes was on do animals have feelings? And different things like that. And that was one of the questions that they asked me is did I feel that animals, like our dogs and everything had the same feelings towards us that we had towards them. And so I made an episode of it. I was like, that's a pretty good topic, I guess.

[23:10] Carly: Yeah.

[23:11] Connor: So I went into that with different animals dogs, pigs, cows, because I don't think people know how intelligent animals are.

[23:18] Carly: That's something I say all the time when I'm with a friend or someone's like, oh, look at this pig video. I'm like, do you know how smart they are? Stuff like that. Not trying to be too pushy, but just be like, oh, my gosh, yeah. Do you know that they're smarter than dogs?

[23:33] Connor: Yeah, but it's like nobody ever teaches you that.

[23:35] Carly: Isn't it wild how, like, systematic it is, right, to learn these certain things? Where did you grow up? Can I ask?

[23:44] Connor: San Diego.

[23:46] Carly: It is San Diego. Okay. So I think that is part of it, too. I'm just throwing this out there. You please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm in Minnesota, in the Midwest, like, in the woods, an hour from so, like, veganism is a different conversation than it is in Diego?

[24:02] Connor: Most likely.

[24:03] Carly: Yeah, right. Like, that's a safe assumption. I would say so. It's so interesting to think about that kind of sensibility of even having the language at an earlier age to know what that is or anything like that. It's so interesting. Yeah. The sociologist in me from way back when is like, oh, that would be so interesting to run numbers regionally on the age people become bet there's. I bet there's something there, too.

[24:32] Connor: Yeah, I would assume California, southern California probably would have some pretty young numbers there.

[24:37] Carly: Yeah, isn't that interesting?

[24:40] Connor: Yeah, I think we're more open for those kind of conversations here. I would think a lot of people would even say they support the cause but wouldn't go vegan themselves.

[24:48] Carly: Totally.

[24:49] Connor: Which is one of the frustrating things. But at least they are willing to listen to it and hear about it. Just a step.

[24:57] Carly: So if someone says to you, wow, dude, you seem to really be passionate about this vegan thing, what's your goal here? What do you want to do? Why do you care so much? What's your elevator speech?

[25:15] Connor: I think what I've always said is I just want to make one person vegan. Like, if I make one person vegan because of this thing, that's more than I would have if I didn't start this. So obviously I want 100,000 people to go vegan because of this. But if I make one, that's still a bigger impact than if I didn't do it. So that's what I'd probably say, make one person vegan. Then if they become passionate about it, go there. But also, even people like my coworkers and stuff, I have multiple coworkers that listen to every episode that comes out, so it still informs them and maybe loosens their feelings about it. But yeah.

[25:49] Carly: Yes, totally. I think that's a really good way to see it, loosens the grips of the societal norms that we were taught in that area, right, where you're like, Well, I trust Connor. I trust people, your friends that listen because they're like, I don't know. She's not a total *******. I think she probably has something good to say about this. Someone stopped me in my local co op the other day to tell me that they're trying really hard. Not totally there, but trying to go vegan because of the podcast. And like you said, it was just like, ****, man, people are listening. It's easy to forget.

[26:29] Connor: It's a good feeling, especially when it's people, you know, not just people from the Internet, because, like you said, I think they listen with a different intent. Like you're, oh, that's. They're like, oh, that's Connor. And then they listen a lot more intensely than someone who's just drifting by on the Internet.

[26:45] Carly: Totally. So on the podcast, who's judging? You've had some really fun guests and really cool conversations, like the one you were talking about, one of the more recent episodes. What is one or two things that have just really surprised you? Or some of the craziest things.

[27:04] Connor: You've know, some of the fun ones. We got on a guy from India who makes his own Indian vegan food. And he has a series. He does it on Instagram Herbivorian. And that was really cool because we had a whole bunch of jokes where it's like, he makes super spicy food. But I think that's also kind of cool when you see not just people making vegan food, but vegan food from their culture and sharing it. And it was also just interesting because I guess I didn't realize that the two sides I think it's West India, whatever. The two Indias essentially are totally different because I always thought of India as, like, they don't eat cow. But I guess that's only, like, one.

[27:43] Carly: Part of classic I mean, painting a broad brush here, but our classic education in this fine country does not do us well for knowing knowledge of many.

[27:54] Connor: Other no, but so I thought that was interesting. But it was cool to see that we also did Lucia's vegan lifestyle. And so she runs, I think, the only broadcasted vegan TV show. And so that was one was that one was fun. She's really cool. She does more of, like, I guess, like know, like, different brands and stuff more than food. And so I think that's a cool aspect that people forget about, too. So that one was cool. I did one wasn't vegan, but it was greenspark is their COO. I think it's kind of like to help a business become more, like, eco friendly. It's like an eco friendly one. And so that interview was cool. I think that was my first interview. And that one's, like, not even on video. So that one was fun. Just hearing different people from different countries and different cultures talking about it is pretty cool.

[28:49] Carly: Totally. So.

[28:51] Connor: It's been fun so far. I don't like public speaking, but it's been fun having conversations with different vegans. You learn more about them and you find more people. We've actually kept in touch.

[29:05] Carly: Yeah, I love the guests that you meet that you keep in touch and you chat with or there's like, a few people I've texted. And it's so funny how that happens. But I got to ask, if you don't like public speaking, why did you start a podcast?

[29:22] Connor: Maybe part of it was to get through that got it.

[29:25] Carly: Like shock therapy.

[29:29] Connor: Yeah. And I don't think I really intended a whole lot of interviews either. From the beginning, it was supposed to be like, me and my friend talking about it maybe. And it's easier. This is only, I think, the second one on video that I've done by myself because my partner used to be here. And so with a partner, it's easier because you could bounce off or like, while they're talking, you can think of a question. So yeah, that's easier with the group, but maybe to just shock it out. Also, I think I like talking in front of people I'm comfortable with. So I guess just getting the thoughts out, I wanted to do something vegan rather than just be vegan. And so I kind of planned all of this out during COVID Very convenient time to have a lot of time on your hands. I planned it out extensively. And then last year I was just like, I actually have to do it.

[30:19] Carly: You really did plan. And I Googled, have you start a podcast, asked, and then was like, I'll figure this out.

[30:27] Connor: Well, see, I plan everything out because I didn't have a whole lot then. So I was like, I want to have the podcast. I want to have the YouTube, this and this and this. And I want kind of, like, work with these people. And I tried fishing out who would be interested in doing stuff. And then it came to 2022, and I was like, Are we really going to do this? I have a really bad habit of I love planning stuff, and then it comes to taking those hard steps I'm like, in. So I was like, we're going to do this. And then I just bought everything. And I'm kind of really bad financially. I, like, holding on to my money. I don't like spending my money. So I was like, if I buy it, if I buy it, I'm not going to want to waste it. So I just bought everything and I was like, well, now we got to use it, dude.

[31:05] Carly: I so relate to that. And I hope that question was not more of a like, well, then why did you start a podcast? That's not how I meant it. I was just more like, are you okay with this? Because I think you sound like you enjoy yourself when you're interviewing people and you're doing a great job. Now. I know it must be weird. I've only ever been by myself, so I'm like, I don't know, only child syndrome or something, too. But it must be weird to now transition to being kind of a host. So I think you're going to do great, though.

[31:39] Connor: Thank you.

[31:42] Carly: Yeah. It is wild to talk to some people that end up as guests. Especially sometimes it's like you think you're going to talk about one thing and then they share. I don't know. It's so fun to connect with people. Like you said, people who are vegan are people that care about the environment, but in all these different ways, like fashion and all these different things. It's so fun, right?

[32:06] Connor: And I think it's good as a podcast because everybody hears the normal vegan stuff over and over again. It's kind of cool if you grab some intriguing views on it or ways people go about it. So that was fun.

[32:20] Carly: Since you're a planner, do you have any big plans or advancements that you can tease at or are you trying to kind of get stable? I know you said the blog's coming back and the YouTube channel, probably.

[32:32] Connor: Yes, hopefully. YouTube Channel. Like I mentioned earlier, I really want to get into kind of like a products kind of division type thing. And so I do have, I guess, my jar of trash, like years before. No, but it's plastic, so I have bottle caps, kind of like the thin plastic they put in the packages and package things in. And I'm looking at ways to turn those into beads and make bracelets, necklaces, stuff like that, cheap. Just kind of with the eco side of things, eco friendly instead of vegan. So that should be fun.

[33:03] Carly: I love that I have an account. If I don't do it, remind me that I have to send you on Instagram. There is a woman I've been following forever and she makes beautiful jewelry out of plastic she finds at the beach.

[33:16] Connor: Yeah, I mean, it's very good because plastic does not get recycled. And I don't think people realize that because everyone throws in recycling or whatever. But it's like aluminum gets recycled a lot, almost all of it. But plastic is very small amount of it. If it worked out, obviously I'd try to do things like that. Like other things I'd have to source more. But it's fun to even just even if it just offsets my plastic impact, selling it would still be very good.

[33:43] Carly: You must have a business mind. Are you business minded? Is that were you a business major? You're giving business major vibes.

[33:49] Connor: I'm just finishing my business major. Yeah, it is next spring, yes.

[33:54] Carly: Good for you. That's awesome. I mean that as a compliment because you are so organized with your plans. I think it's incredible and it shows in your work. When you go to your website, I'm like, ****, this is professional.

[34:09] Connor: Thank you. I think beyond that, just kind of like big out there ideas that I need to make some money before I got into that. Beyond that, I did change one of my pages, like a resource hub that I'm going to put out with this guide. I want to get more resources going, which would be fun. I think product is the next big thing coming out, so that should be on the lookout.

[34:30] Carly: I love that. Well, stay tuned, everybody, for that.

[34:33] Connor: Yes. Hopefully they go good.

[34:36] Carly: Do you have anything that you want to share with your listeners? My listeners? Since we're doing this episode together that I haven't given you space for that you're like this thing?

[34:49] Connor: Well, I guess an important one. In the guide for finding other vegans, which is another important section that you wrote, I think you put that you could even like a Facebook group or your patreon. So I thought maybe you'd want to explain kind of like what goes on in your patreon and why that would be helpful for them.

[35:05] Carly: Sure. Yeah. Thanks for bringing that up. I think the one thing I've been lucky to have is my best friend growing up, went vegan when we were in middle school. Obviously didn't listen very closely to her for a very long time. But when I went vegan, I was like, got my person. And that's not necessarily normal. And I started hearing and talking to other people that were just like, oh yeah, no one in my life will talk to me about this or whatever. And it's just so important, I realized, to have a space where you can explore these things and ask questions and not feel stupid and just have other people that get it, that you're like, how annoying is it to only get fries in a side? Like you can relate to someone about this. So I think finding community, finding Facebook, finding some friends, or for example, of course I'm going to plug myself here is consciously carly is another form of community there where I have monthly live calls to teach us things about conscious living. Last month I had a call with a vegan cookbook author and we cooked a meal together and just stuff like that where it's like, you can come, you can ask me questions. There's weekly content, depending on what level you're at, there's monthly content, there's a lot there. So if you're looking for that, please reach out or check it out because I really love the idea of having this more insular community, not to keep it exclusive, but partly a little bit. This is where we get more, right?

[36:46] Connor: What's probably your favorite thing you post on your patreon? What's the funnest thing you did that you got to post there?

[36:55] Carly: That's a great question, Connor. People that are listening, if they were patrons in the very beginning in 2020, throwback. I've gotten to do a lot of cool things that I appreciate getting to share with that community, but during the pandemic, I started doing what I eat in a day videos. Like every week I would post one to Patreon and it was keeping me accountable for eating better during the pandemic. It was a really fun way to share. What am I actually eating? That was a lot of questions that I would get. I haven't done one in a while, but I actually really enjoyed doing them. So now that you're asking me that, maybe I'll do a throwback and do a couple of those again, because then it's like you get to explain a little bit more and share why instead of just like a quick instagram.

[37:44] Connor: Right? It is fun. So for the lowest tier, how much does that cost?

[37:51] Carly: $2 a month.

[37:53] Connor: Okay. And what do you get on the lowest tier?

[37:56] Carly: So for $2 a month, you get a weekly tarot card pull. So for my woo woo folks out there, that like that a little bit. I just like to start every Monday with a message that we can all think about that's kind of that mindfulness piece, right? Like, all right, let's think of a message to guide us for the week. What does that mean to me? Just take a moment to pause and then you get discount codes, early access to all the stuff I do at that tier and then it goes up from there.

[38:28] Connor: Sounds like a good offering.

[38:30] Carly: Thanks. I agree.

[38:32] Connor: And then so just for my viewers, what else do you do with conscious Carly?

[38:37] Carly: Sure. Yeah, I guess I am so used to interviewing. I'm really bad at getting interviewed, so I'm sorry if I kind know it's.

[38:44] Connor: A dual interview too. It's not normal.

[38:47] Carly: Yeah, I know. I'm just like let me ask you questions. I know how to do this. Yeah. So consciously, Carly is my business and it houses the podcast Consciously Clueless. I obviously love a good alliteration and I am a conscious living coach. So that means I help people with the three kind of pillars I've identified of conscious living, mindfulness, sustainability, and veganism or plant based living. And I can help with one piece of that or all the pieces of that, depending on what people are interested in. I'm a yoga instructor. I teach classes locally and I have a Get More Mindful Bundle, a resource that if you're like mindfulness and meditation, yoga. That sounds scary. Kind of intro on my website. So yeah, I really just kind of with you in terms of the mission driven. I just want to keep showing people that the way we take care of ourselves can be a way to also take care of the world and take care of each other. And those two things don't have to be in opposition.

[39:56] Connor: Right.

[39:58] Carly: So, yeah, just doing all that I can, working on some new fun projects and just trying to make that grow as much as I can.

[40:07] Connor: It sounds fun because you're one of the few that I've seen that's, like, from the conscious side of it, at least that advertises it that way. And I guess just to bounce the same question off you, do you have anything big that you have coming forward or that you would like to foreshadow?

[40:22] Carly: Well, yeah, actually, since we're doing a quick turnaround on this episode, I'm so used to trying to think, far out. I'm like, what will be happening in a couple of months? But I'm hosting a free master class on September 20. Eigth called What's Mindfulness Got to Do With It? So actually kind of hearkening to all of that, like sustainability veganism. Why are you talking about mindfulness? I'm going to explain that and bring us through a practice, teach you about why it matters, and show you how to bring some more mindfulness into your life. That's free. It's on my website. And Instagram is probably the best way to keep in touch. Consciously Carly, with everything going on. And then a new series on the podcast called Consciously Cannabis will be launching because we're legal in Minnesota. Yeah. Folks in California, you're like, welcome to the world. So, yeah, I'm excited about looking at that through the lens of conscious living.

[41:22] Connor: Yeah, that sounds like it fits right in.

[41:25] Carly: I would agree.

[41:26] Connor: So the master class is through your website?

[41:29] Carly: Yeah, actually, after I said that, I was like, did I hit publish? So I'm hoping by the time not hoping I'm going to make it by the time this comes out that, yes, that will be on the website, but it's all on my Instagram and Facebook and everything too.

[41:46] Connor: Okay, that's good. We'll make sure to put that somewhere in the description or maybe the end of the video, make it easy to get there.

[41:52] Carly: That sounds great. I appreciate that.

[41:54] Connor: Of course. I think the other thing I was thinking is maybe since it's a dual interview, we worked on the guide to get everything. Maybe if someone rates both our podcasts because those ratings are important and maybe shares the guide, I would put together maybe like ten people for you to sign up for your patreon. You could do that.

[42:13] Carly: Oh, wow.

[42:15] Connor: Low tier. And then I think it would just be you make the first ten to sign up free. Right. And then I would just shoot you the money.

[42:25] Carly: I've never done something like that, but I love the idea of looking into that.

[42:30] Connor: We'll figure it out.

[42:31] Carly: Yeah. Thank you for that offer. That's amazing.

[42:34] Connor: Yeah. Mutual beneficial. The guide gets more attention. Both podcasts get rated because those really help.

[42:41] Carly: Yeah. Have you been getting ratings lately all of a sudden? I have just not been getting ratings and reviews.

[42:48] Connor: Not a whole lot. But also, I have to admit, we have been not posting since the person left.

[42:54] Carly: You haven't had a new episode for a while? A couple of months. Right?

[42:57] Connor: Yeah. My coworker has actually been bugging me about it. He surprised me. He named how many days it's been, and I was like, you're like, that's aggressive. He was probably just like, how long has it been? And looked. But I was like, hey, it's nice to have someone that cares that much. True.

[43:13] Carly: Very true. I've been like, Whoa, whoa, whoa.

[43:16] Connor: I was like, I'm on it, man.

[43:17] Carly: All right. Yeah.

[43:18] Connor: I'm trying figuring things out.

[43:21] Carly: I appreciate that. I really love everything you're doing. I think you're a great human.

[43:26] Connor: Thank you. You as well.

[43:28] Carly: Thank you.

[43:29] Connor: Yeah. Everything gets more that way. The podcast get more ratings, the guide gets more views, and then more people get to find other vegans. They get the community. Totally win win.

[43:39] Carly: Yeah, totally. I love that. I'll make sure to post a lot about the guide tagging you and not to pressure you or sound like you're a coworker, but do you have an idea of when the podcast is coming back or a goal?

[43:58] Connor: I did the big step on re putting everything back up because unfortunately we repainted the house and everything, so I had to take it down. But now that everything's up, I'll probably just get more because I can just come in and record rather than having to set everything up.

[44:10] Carly: Right.

[44:11] Connor: I'll probably put this one out next week, too. Or I could put out the next week. That way we can stagger the release and gets more attention because then I can just promote yours, and that way it's a longer kind of promotion of the guide, I think that way.

[44:23] Carly: Hell yeah. And then I'll highlight yours when it comes out the following week in my newsletter as well and push to your link and all that stuff.

[44:31] Connor: Yeah, that way it's not like our stories are just going to be like, your episode. My episode. Your episode. So we can stagger a little share.

[44:37] Carly: Share.

[44:39] Connor: Yeah. So yours comes out next Wednesday. I'll put mine out. We do Friday. So I'll put out the next Friday.

[44:45] Carly: Sounds great. That's awesome.

[44:47] Connor: Yes. And see, just, like, buying the stuff and getting into it. I'll post it that way. I have to post one next week. The clock has started. I can't just keep pushing it out.

[44:55] Carly: There you go. There you go. This is the pressure.

[44:57] Connor: Yes.

[44:58] Carly: Good pressure. Healthy pressure.

[45:00] Connor: Yeah. There has to be some or you just sit there.

[45:03] Carly: Totally. I could not agree more. This was really fun. I'm excited to find ways to keep collaborating in the future because I think both of our missions are pretty aligned.

[45:17] Connor: Yeah, we'll definitely keep a contact. Maybe we'll work on another resource for the resource center.

[45:23] Carly: Yeah, that would be really awesome.

[45:25] Connor: Yeah. Is there anything else you wanted to bring up?

[45:28] Carly: I can't think of anything. Thank you for making me answer questions and not be such a psycho and only interview. I appreciate that. And yeah, I think that we really got into the stuff I was hoping to talk about, so I feel good about it.

[45:45] Connor: Yeah, I think it was a good episode. Awesome.

[45:48] Carly: Well, I hope you have a good rest of your day, and I will chat with you soon.

[45:51] Connor: Yes, thank you.

[45:52] Carly: All right, see you later. Hey, there. My name is Carly, and I am the host of Consciously Clueless. Go to consciouslyclueless buzsprout.com. Slash share to find your favorite listening app and take a listen to Consciously Clueless. I can't wait to connect with.