Life Coach Shiraz Baboo On How We Can Change Our Lives By Changing the Stories We Tell Ourselves

On today’s episode of Creative Space, we have the pleasure of chatting with Shiraz Baboo. He’s an award-winning author, international speaker, and reality interventionist. He coaches people to get out of what he calls “reality addiction” and his book, ‘How to Rewrite Reality’ has changed lives around the globe. Shiraz helps people  annihilate their unconscious addiction to stories of struggle and lack, resulting in an abundance of free time, money, and energy.

We cover a lot of ground in this episode, starting off  with Shiraz's 18-year battle with arthritis and how overcoming it led to his career as a life coach and energy healer. We talk about the power of belief and how we can change our lives by rewriting the stories we tell ourselves. We also dig into the nature of creative energy and how artists tap into it, overcoming writer's block, and what keeps us from following through on our New Year's resolutions.

For more on Shiraz Baboo, visit: energeticmagic.com.

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SHOW NOTES:

0:00—Introduction

1:00—How we met

1:50—Moving from South Africa to Canada

3:52—Creating his first computer game at 14

4:50—Those aren’t shoulder pads

5:30—Getting debilitating arthritis at 22

8:40—Discovering combined therapy in India

11:15—Arthritis is better than guilt

16:55—Some people are sick because they want to be taken care of

17:45—The beginnings of Energetic Magic

20:00—The big influence of Buckaroo Banzai

22:42—What does “energetic magic” mean?

26:00—Shiraz’ definition of creativity

26:43—The invention of the shopping cart

28:35—Don’t quit three feet from gold

29:00—The full ‘three feet from gold’ story

31:00—Don’t be afraid to ask for help

32:40—How is creative energy different?

33:12—It’s humanly impossible to stay positive all the time

36:15—Prince was constantly in that creative space

37:30—How can we overcome writer’s block?

40:40—How do we know if a project is right for us?

43:15—90% of people try to figure out the how

45:46—What keeps us from our New Year’s resolutions?

49:00—Tips for pushing through challenges

52:30—How some artists push people away

55:30—What’s next for you?

Transcript

Jennifer Logue: 0:11

Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of creative space, a Podcast where we explore, learn and grow and creativity together. I'm your host Jennifer Logue and today we have the pleasure of chatting with Shiraz Baboo. He's an award winning author, international speaker and reality interventionist. He coaches people to get out of what he calls reality addiction. And his book, How to rewrite reality has changed lives around the globe. Shiraz helps people annihilate their unconscious addiction to stories of struggle and lack, resulting in an abundance of free time, money and energy. Who wouldn't want more of all of that in 2023? Welcome to Creative Space, Shiraz.

Shiraz Baboo: 1:00

Hey, Jennifer, thanks for having me on. This is great.

Jennifer Logue: 1:02

Oh my gosh, it's so lovely to have you. And we've known each other for such a long time. And I don't remember how we met it was it

Shiraz Baboo: 1:12

was 2009. At the Book Expo in New York.

Jennifer Logue: 1:17

Yes. Do we meet at the Steven Tyler signing?

Shiraz Baboo: 1:22

Yes. But he was up. He was up on stage talking.

Jennifer Logue: 1:26

Yes, yes, yes. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. And we've been friends all this time. And you've helped me so much in my life, my own creative journey with your coaching and everything. And I'm so excited to have you on. So you can share your wisdom with creative space listeners. So all right. Looking forward to it. Cool. Well, let's start off first, let's go way back into the very beginning. Where did you grow up? What was your childhood like?

Shiraz Baboo: 1:59

i Okay, so we moved to Canada from South Africa when I was three years old. And we settled just outside Toronto in a place called Mississauga. So growing up there was interesting because we moved several times within Mississauga, and one of the significant ones was, I was in junior high. And I was just getting in with the in crowd. They get the in crowds of the clique High School, it's just the way it goes. And my parents moved us. And so we went to a brand new neighborhood, it was an all white neighborhood. So that was a culture shock. For me, I actually was the school I was at was the most multicultural neighborhood in Mississauga. And we went to an all white neighborhood. And so I hated my parents for a while not hating, but you're very annoyed with them for like, ripping me off. I was one of the popular kids and I Yeah. And, but it may meant that I had to become independent. It meant that I had to really, like rely on myself and not my friends and not reputation, because I'm starting all over again. And that independence really formed who I am today. Hmm. So I look back at it. I'm like, Thank God for that move right at that time, because otherwise, I know, I would have been in the space where I'm trying to do what I can to be popular, as opposed to just be you. So, yeah, it was a cool, cool lesson growing up.

Jennifer Logue: 3:32

That's definitely, you know, a foundational experience that you had. And Did you always know you wanted to be a life coach? A healer?

Shiraz Baboo: 3:42

No. So I started started with computers. I started I did my first computer game at the age of 14, wow, Dungeons and Dragons type games. And I'd written it after school and just got, you know, enraptured by it and learn more. And I, what was really interesting is that when I came to university, you know, I do what, like most people do, it's just like, well, computers is something that I love to do. It's something I'm passionate about. So they're obviously it's not a career thing. What would be a career thing, and my dad was a doctor, my mom was a nurse. I had like six uncles that were doctors. So it's like, and everyone was saying was Ross is a smart kid, he's going to become a doctor, like his dad, you know? And so I just decided I'm gonna go to university and study molecular genetics and get my doctorate. Oh, wow. Yeah. So, I did I started doing that. And I discovered bodybuilding in university. I don't know if you knew that. I was a bodybuilder.

Jennifer Logue: 4:50

I had no idea. I don't think we ever talked about this. Yeah,

Shiraz Baboo: 4:54

so I was I was I was big enough I remember one of my friends in my in visits with studying medicine, chemistry class. We were in the lab, and he starts chuckling at me. And he goes, who the hell was shoulder pads under a sweater? And I looked at him, I go, what? And he reaches up and he's like your shoulder pads? He goes, and then he's like, Oh, this is all you? Yeah. Oh my gosh. So, so this is it. And then I had my career laid out, I was gonna become a doctor I was gonna be I was really buff. Everything was working out for me. And the world is my oyster. Right? Except the world didn't give me pearls. It gave me arthritis. I remember at the gym, I was doing shoulder press. And then I felt this pain in my shoulder. And I was like, that's not muscular pain. That's something else. went to the doctor and they said, now you've got rheumatoid arthritis. And within months, I was in intense pain in every single joint in my body. What? How old? Are you? 22? Wow, yeah. So there were nights where I sit my dinner through a straw, because my jaw was so swollen and painful. I couldn't move it. Wow. All right. And, you know, you may not have gone through this kind of physical issue. But tell me if you can relate. You've got the plan for your life. The plan is laid out and then out of nowhere, bam.

Jennifer Logue: 6:31

Oh, Shiraz, I can relate. Okay, you know, some of the health challenges that I've, you know, have definitely shaken things up for me in my life. And yeah, so what did you do? Well,

Shiraz Baboo: 6:43

first, I did nothing. I went into despair. My life is over. Why did this happen to me? What am I supposed to do now? Right? And what did I do to deserve this kind of a life, I had to drop out of university. Course I couldn't work out anymore. Watch my body just shrink really rapidly because there was no exercise going in. And when you're doing art, when you're not doing arthritis, when you have arthritis, it takes anywhere from two to 10 times as much effort to do anything that anyone else does just basic stuff. So I would get exhausted really quick. Because I'm expending all this energy and people, some people thought I was lazy. So a lot of people would see I was suffering. But I started to try to get out of it. Right. And I did what most regular people did start with medication. And more on an aside there, don't get me started on painkillers and arthritic medicine and childproof caps. That's just wrong. You can't get to it. So that should be outlawed. But the medication worked for a little while and stopped working. Then I tried diets and supplements and that worked for a while it stopped working. And so I just kept trying things. I tried yoga, I tried acupuncture, someone said magnets have worked for arthritis, everything would work for a tiny bit. And then it would stop and I couldn't figure out what was going on. And I got myself together. I learned to tolerate the pain I started I switched over to computers finally because I thought am I so have fun if I'm gonna work and and I got a job in computers. And I remember one day, we had come out it was a we just come back from the weekend and the CEO was in this we're in this big meeting. And he's like, Ah, man, I was playing so much tennis this weekend, my shoulders out, it's going to affect my work all week. I'm sitting there covering up intense pain, listening to this guy complain about his shoulder. So let me let me ask you this. Have you ever been in a situation where you're looking at someone that's getting really successful? And you're thinking, if you if I only had as few problems as you do to overcome stuff? I'd be so much further than you right now. I've got every bit of as much as talent as you do. But I've just got all this crap going on in my life. You ever felt that way?

Jennifer Logue: 9:01

Oh, my gosh, I think all of us have.

Shiraz Baboo: 9:04

So yeah, this is me and that and then human. What the hell, man? Why do I have this? And he doesn't why is this like so much harder for me to get through? And he's just got it. And and he wasn't even that wonderful guy. He was making passes at all the good looking women that work for him. It was Yikes. Yeah, that kind of person. Oh. But I progressed and I kept looking for stuff to get to get out of the arthritis. Until finally after 18 years, this I found out about this program in India called combined therapy. And so I flew over to India, and because it's India, I expected this guy to be doing this old for us. We're going to heal you. We're going to just use the healing hands right. And I was ready for that at that point. But that's not what happened. He just sat me down and he talked to me for two weeks. It was weird. It was like being with a psychiatrist only he wasn't trying to solve anything he was He's just gathering information about my life. And at the end of the two weeks, he goes Shiraz, you believe you're responsible for everyone in your life? I said, No, I don't. And he said, I know you don't think you do. But from everything you've told me, you've created this belief that you need to be responsible for everyone. And it started when you were eight years old. I went, Okay, I know, I'm a responsible guy. I don't think I'm responsible for everyone. And what the hell does this even have to do with arthritis? Yeah. If you said, Oh, you don't want to be responsible for everyone. Yeah. And if you're lying in bed in pain, you don't have to be responsible for anyone, and you don't have to feel guilty about it. If people see you're struggling just to get through your day, they won't ask you to take care of them. This is the solution to a problem you don't even realize you have.

Unknown: 11:02

Wow, yeah.

Shiraz Baboo: 11:05

So I said, Well, that's messed up. And he said, but that's what most chronic illnesses are. solutions to problems people don't realize they have.

Unknown: 11:23

Ah,

Shiraz Baboo: 11:25

so I thought about it. And I said, Okay, if what you're saying is true, then all I have to do is say, I'm not going to be responsible for anyone but me. And the arthritis should just go away. And I'm not really believing this. But he looked at me, he goes, yes. If you actually believe it deep down, then then you won't need the arthritis. So I said, Okay. And I just gathered my will. And I said, I'm not going to be responsible for anyone except for me. And guess what happened in that moment, Jim? No way. Nothing.

Jennifer Logue: 12:02

Oh.

Shiraz Baboo: 12:05

But when I woke up the next morning, there was no pain. There was there was more mobility, the inflammation had gone, I could even breathe better, I could take in more oxygen, it was crazy. I'm freaking out. Because 18 years, trying everything, this this, of that this nothing working. Two weeks of talking this guy, one moment of saying this is what it is. And the next day it's gone. Okay. So

Jennifer Logue: 12:34

the mind is such a powerful thing

Shiraz Baboo: 12:36

it is. Now keep in mind, the damage done to my body by the arthritis over those years was still there. But the arthritis was gone. And there was a track where I was staying. And I was on that track every day. But I was doing like my old man shuffle, because that's where my body was like the 70 year old man. And I'm just trying to get exercise. And I'm being passed by 70 year old people on this track. So it was Oh my god. But this day, I am out. I'm weaving in and out of people. I'm passing people younger than me. And everyone that's been there watching me for two weeks is like, what the hell?

Jennifer Logue: 13:15

What happened to him?

Shiraz Baboo: 13:17

Like, I know, right? This is amazing. And when I flew back home, no one asked me to take care of them. Because why would they that was a belief created by an eight year old that I just been living in all my life. So I could just start doing whatever I want without feeling guilty. And if someone did ask me to be responsible for them, I'd be like, No, not no guilt. It's all good. And when I looked into this, I found out this isn't just about illness. This is about everything. Because you're buying mind prioritizes the avoidance of emotional distress over physical circumstances. So arthritis is better than guilt. Oh, okay. Your mind does not care about the physical. So when I started applying this to other areas of my life, everything started to change and it often was just magical. So I I earned I mean, I was I've always been a good earner, I got to six figures. But that six figures I stopped, and I couldn't let go. And for six figures for me. That was$100,000 that was my mind. That was six figures, even though$700,000 is six figures for me.$100,000. So after I, I broke that barrier, I just thought I couldn't figure out what's what's going on. Why can't I make more money? I know how to make money. And then I started to remember I sort of did the process that this guy did with me. I went back into my childhood and I remember when I was really young people were like, SRAS you're a smart guy, you're gonna do really well. You're gonna make a lot of money. And when you do, you're gonna have to A fancy house, maybe place on the beach, we're going to come visit you, we're going to be able to go on trips with you, and you'll be able to pay for it because you have so much money. And they put this in me that they're going to just leech off me, they're going to ride my coattails. And I didn't like that. I didn't want anyone doing that. My mind says, If we stop you at about six figures, you can live comfortably. But you don't have to worry about people leeching off you because you'll just cover what you need.

Jennifer Logue: 15:25

Interesting.

Shiraz Baboo: 15:27

So when I removed that belief, this year alone, I've almost doubled my income. I've made more money than I've ever made in my life this year.

Jennifer Logue: 15:37

Wow.

Shiraz Baboo: 15:40

As big because now if people say look, I want to I want to leech off you, I'm like, go away. Right, so and there was there was good. There was I mean, there was annoyance, which is like still an emotional thing you're trying to avoid. But there was also guilt. What if people that really need money come up and say SRAS? You need to give to this cause you need to help us out. I knew I would feel guilt. Yeah. But now I've decided not to write, if it's a cause, and I think wow, that is a good cause I'll give it but if it's something I'm like, no, sorry, you're not getting it.

Jennifer Logue: 16:12

Are you gonna say no?

Shiraz Baboo: 16:13

You feel good about saying no? Yeah, exactly. The guilt is gone.

Jennifer Logue: 16:19

Yes. Right. And so this is it,

Shiraz Baboo: 16:21

you can apply this to every area in your life. So if you're, and this is the thing, it's the same as it was, for me, any consistent problem in your life is not a problem. It's a solution for an emotional problem you're not looking at. And when you locate what that emotional problem, what the emotion is that you're afraid will happen, if you let this problem go away, or the emotional satisfaction you're getting for this problem being in your life, but some people are sick, because people are like, Oh, you poor thing. Let me take care of you. And they feed off that some people are poor, because people are like, wow, you've got really hard life. I see you struggling and working hard. And I really, you know, I really admire you for how hard you're willing to work, even though you're not making that much. And they're afraid they'll lose all those people saying that if they make lots of money and make it easy,

Jennifer Logue: 17:14

subconsciously, they may not even be aware of it, or they're

Shiraz Baboo: 17:17

completely unaware. Yeah, that's what's happening. And you don't realize that you're, you're getting your emotional fix, or you're afraid of that emotional turmoil. Those are the two things that happen that keep that physical thing in place.

Jennifer Logue: 17:31

So interesting. Man, so what was the aha moment for you then when you transition into working as a life coach full time as a healer full time helping people break through these challenges?

Shiraz Baboo: 17:48

Really, it's, it's different than most people because I know a lot of people, they go through this and then they're like, I need to teach this to the world. People need to know about this and, and they become coaches or whatever it is. For me, I was I was happy doing what I was, was doing as a little bit bored. But I was practicing these techniques, once I learned them on my friends and my family. And I'm like, check this out. Let's see if we can move this for you. And let's see if we can get you out of this. And then one of my friends looks at me one day he was shrouds, you know, people will pay you for this. And I'm like, No, this is just stop doing it. Because no people will pay you for this. So just to prove her wrong. I said, Okay, you know what? I'm going to charge $100 an hour. Okay, let's see if anyone pays $100 an hour for this service. And people started putting $100 bills in my hand. I'm like, Oh, my God, this is a business. And so. So I transitioned into the business, and it's actually way more satisfying to see the changes in people to see people prosper, to get out of trauma and guilt and poverty and illness than it was creating computer programs where people could do business, right?

Jennifer Logue: 18:59

Oh, for sure. I can't think of anything more gratifying and helping people.

Shiraz Baboo: 19:04

So yeah, so now this is what I do.

Jennifer Logue: 19:07

Beautiful. So who inspired you on this journey? In the beginning? I know you were inspired by your own experience. But did you have any mentors or other healers you look to or other coaches?

Shiraz Baboo: 19:22

Not really. I saw people that I was like, I need to learn from that person. So Dain here with Access Consciousness was was a really good one as he's still alive. He's a really cool guy. And I learned some stuff from him. The late Karl Wolff taught me about the nature of stories and how everyone just is just running a bunch of stories, and all stories can be rewritten. So that's what I do with people now we just start rewriting your stories. And when you get new stories, you get a new life and I would also say Buckaroo Banzai. So there's an old movie from I think the 80s called buckaroo. Banzai was with Peter Weller. They had like John Lithgow in it. It had Jeff Goldblum.

Jennifer Logue: 20:14

Oh Cenas.

Shiraz Baboo: 20:18

Brown was in it. Wills. I can remember this like, yeah, some really big names. It was it was a B movie. It's a cult classic now. And the reason that wouldn't had an influence was because when I was trying to figure out who I was supposed to be, we get taught will pick your career, pick your field and go into it. Buckaroo had picked four different fields. He's like, Why do I have to have one, let me have four. And so he he had this career where he was a particle physicist, and a brain surgeon, and a rock star, and a samurai. The people in his band were like him, they all had three, four different things that they're all specialists in. And ended up moving together, they have to get together and save the world. And so my friends and I, we got hooked on that movie. And when we started going, learning stuff, we all started doing double majors, triple majors, making sure we had multiple skills that like that we're really good at. And it was just this really cool group of friends to be around and to grow up with that. Whatever is possible is possible.

Jennifer Logue: 21:32

Not putting any limits on yourself limits. Yeah,

Shiraz Baboo: 21:35

we say those four things. So I mean, like, well, if we could do four, we can do six, why not? You know, you don't do it all at the same time. But you can build, right? Because Malcolm Gladwell has that 10,000 10,000 hour rule. So and that's about seven years. So it takes you seven years to become an expert in everything. So every seven years, you add an expertise to yourself if you want.

Jennifer Logue: 21:57

So I love that it makes me feel a little bit better about my own creative journey, all the different paths that I've gone down. I wouldn't say I'm an expert in all of them. But a few of them stuck. Have you stuck.

Shiraz Baboo: 22:14

And that's great. Because if there's some that stick that you keep using, that's wonderful, you don't need to keep all the skills you gain. Right, I used to be an amazing artist back in high school and college. And now I can do stick figures.

Jennifer Logue: 22:30

We evolve? You know, can you explain for our listeners, you went into into depth about it a little bit? But can you explain more about the nature of the work you do? What do you mean by energetic magic, the name of your company?

Shiraz Baboo: 22:46

Yeah, that was that was an interesting thing. Because when coming up with the name I was talking about, I work with people's energy, right? And we hope to shift thought patterns and neural networks. And it's all about the energy in the body and the brain. But my friends are like, but you can get results in minutes. It's like magic. So you have to name it something that has to do with magic. And I'm like, No, it's all about energy. And we're like, oh, energetic magic, is and and what it is, is we we basically have a discussion about what's keeping you stuck. And when I talk to you, I can tell when your conscious beliefs match your unconscious beliefs. It's it's a skill I've acquired, and anyone can be taught how to actually teach people how to do energetic magic. And so whenever you're saying something, and I say, well, that's not true. It's not that I'm saying you're lying to me. I'm saying, You think that's what you want, but it's not really what you want. Right? So just earlier today, I was talking to a friend of mine, and we were just chatting away. And then she says, I'm really looking forward to taking my business to the next level. And I looked there, I said, No, you're not. And she's like, what? That didn't come up true. I said, that did not come up true. Wow. So we looked into that. And it turns out, she has a belief. Well, she had it, we got rid of it. That if the more success she has, the more she has to pressure herself for excellence. Hmm. So she couldn't take your business to huge levels of success because the pressure would have become overwhelming.

Jennifer Logue: 24:25

Wow. So she blocks around success that way. Yep.

Shiraz Baboo: 24:31

And so we're saying yeah, when I made her realize that what she's doing now who she's being can be the exact same person, even at high levels of success. Then the block went away because a lot of people think, well, if I have more success, I have to be better. I have to be more skilled. I have to use whatever. But it's not because I remember one of my coaches he told me I remember I charged $30 an hour for business coaching. And now I charge $10,000 was for a VIP day with me. And he said, Do you know what's different from the business coaching? I did it $30 An hour versus VIP day. And I'm like, what? There's nothing. Wow, I just have greater faith in myself. Ease with my clients. And because they're paying a premium price, they're determined to have results. So they actually have bigger results at that paid pay Pricer than they would if they're paying 30 bucks. But it's just me. It's just me really embracing me relaxing into who I am. And being me, rather than trying to prove, hey, you're paying this much I have to show you can get your results, because that actually stops you from getting. And yeah, so we had that discussion. And she just quit. Oh, I don't have to. I don't have to pressure myself. Yeah, now, I guarantee your business is going to take off in the next couple of months.

Jennifer Logue: 25:56

Incredible. Now, this is creative space. Yeah. So I asked this question of everyone. But Shiraz. From your perspective, what is your definition of creativity?

Shiraz Baboo: 26:08

My definition of creativity is, well, there's two, there's accessing just this wisdom of, hey, I have an idea. And you come up with something just brand new that's never been thought of before. And a lot of people can access that. But they don't think they can so they get stuck. And then there's also the well, what if we do this with whatever originally existed? Right? So you see things that are already there? And you like what if we put these two things together? Or what if we just pull this out? Would that make a difference? And, for example, the guy that invented the shopping cart, he had a supermarket. And well, not a supermarket didn't exist, but a market, grocery store kind of thing. And people would come in with their baskets that they'd have a slung on their arm. And he's just like, how can I get them to buy more because the, the baskets only carry so much, and they get heavy. And he's just like, I have no idea what I'm going to do about this. And then one day, he saw a little kid with one of those baskets on his little red wagon, pulling it home from the store. And he's like, Wait a second. So he just took a wagon in the basket, put them together, patented it and made more money from the patent of the shopping cart than he ever did as a grocery store. Owner.

Jennifer Logue: 27:26

Incredible. So we got inspired, but what exists, it already

Shiraz Baboo: 27:29

existed already. And like this thing's a lot of times when we're trying to be creative. We're trying to make it complicated. Right, but it's just like, I think you get more creative when you have more fun when you

Jennifer Logue: 27:41

thought 100%

Shiraz Baboo: 27:45

And that's it. It's just tapping into that knowing for me, it's that's what creativity is. Tapping into that knowing from a place of playfulness. Gets you wonderful creative results. And things sometimes they're ridiculous. Right? I've seen it like there was one thing that I made like a million dollars off it was he was he's watching someone squeegee the cars at the at the gas station to clean the windows. And he's just like, you know, a little one on my mirror at home for the for the bathroom after a shower would be really cool. That's all he did. He's even a tiny little squeegee he made millions. It's it's not a hard concept. No one thought of

Jennifer Logue: 28:26

it. You don't have to reinvent the wheel. You just have to make the little change. Sometimes it's something that exists. Yep. You know, you said something to me years ago, like don't quit before you're Three Feet From Gold. Like with these ideas, we can be so close to an idea to that can make a real impact.

Shiraz Baboo: 28:46

Yeah, and most people quit. Because sometimes it just happens. And sometimes you've got to put in the work. Yeah. And sometimes it is just a creative switch. And it doesn't have to come from you. Right. So here's the thing, that the three foot from gold, it's an act, it's a true story. So during the Gold Rush, the sky, found out that there was gold on a certain property, bought the property. And he went, got loans from family and friends bought the mining equipment went out and start pulling up gold and started pulling up all this gold. And he's like, We're gonna be rich, this is amazing. And he had started to pay off the loans and the equipment stuff. And then the gold just ran out. And he's just like, where is it and he kept digging deeper, deeper, there's no gold. And he was just so frustrated. He hadn't paid everything off yet. And he's he decided to just give up on the claim. And he went back to the place where he had got the equipment and the guy's like, what's going on? It goes, we've exhausted I thought it was gonna be a huge vein. But it just ran out. And so the guy's like, oh my god, okay. And he said, So like what can you give me for this equipment? Good to you. is trying to get his money back. And but the guy, he also gave the guy, the deed to the land because other than the gold, the lamp is useless. And so this guy instead of just saying, Well, I'm not going to do to use this land, he said, well, maybe there's still gold there. So he went to a geologist and said, Look, this is what happened, this situation that golden. And the geologist is like, Well, yeah, but that lands on a fault line. So if there was a vein of gold, the fault line could have moved and switched it. So if you go three feet here to the side of the fault line, you should pick up the vein. Oh, my goodness. So it wasn't even him being creative. He just like, let me ask someone that knows. Yes. And that guy hit one of the largest veins of gold ever produced during the gold rush. Wow. I asked him a question of an expert. Incredible. Now that the biggest the guy that lost all the money, he went into insurance. And he heard what happened with the gold that he gave away. He said, I lost that much money because I was three feet away from a gold, I am never going to quit. When I'm three feet away from a goal ever again. So much money selling insurance that he lived in amazing.

Jennifer Logue: 31:26

Because it was a great ending. Anyway, I love that story. That's inspiration for sure. Like just to just keep going. Because you never know. And also to ask for help.

Shiraz Baboo: 31:38

Yeah, because that could have been it. And the geologists would say, Well, that's it, you're done. Right? But a lot of people like sometimes you're gonna keep digging and digging, and you haven't asked an expert. Because, I mean, that's the thing if he had not given up, but kept going down instead of

Jennifer Logue: 31:52

than anything. That's an important part to take away. Yeah. You gotta get you got to ask for help.

Shiraz Baboo: 32:00

Who knows? I have so many coaches and mentors in my life right now. And that's one of the reasons I'm creating so much success. Right? And if you feel me asking for help makes you look weak or makes you look stupid, then you will just end up being weak and stupid.

Jennifer Logue: 32:19

That is an important lesson to take away,

Shiraz Baboo: 32:21

you will get exactly what you're trying to avoid.

Jennifer Logue: 32:23

Wow. Yep. Um, so okay, you work with energy, the day to day? From your perspective, is creative energy, different from like, our more emotional part, like our more emotional energy? Do you see it differently?

Shiraz Baboo: 32:43

Creative energy is accessed by higher frequency emotions. So when you're in gratitude, joy, love, you have way better creative capacity, than when you're in frustration, anger, despair, there's no creativity down there. Interesting. So the more you can stay positive, the better results you're gonna get. Now you can't stay positive all the time, I see a lot of people saying stay positive all the time. It's humanly impossible. So when you have a bad emotion, just let that emotion process and let it get out. Don't push it down. Don't try to avoid it, like you're angry, be angry. Let it out of your system. And then when you do that, you'll actually naturally come back to a place of joy to a place of gratitude or, or kindness or whatever it is. But most people are trying to control their emotions too much. Alright, I know especially like some people will say like, well, I can't be too angry. I'll have this outburst. I'm like, you've had this outpost burst, because you kept suppressing the anger. So when it finally came. But if you naturally just keep letting your anger out, and this is what happens to me now, someone does something I'm like, Damn, that makes me angry. And they're like, you don't look at your No, this is me being angry. Oh, my God,

Jennifer Logue: 33:57

you're laying it out. As soon as even triggers you just a little bit just so it doesn't explode. Now with creativity. I know from my perspective, like if I'm feeling sad or something, I'll write a song about it or so that's still creativity, even though I might be in a lower state. Like, how do you expand that?

Shiraz Baboo: 34:18

That's you harnessing the emotion rather than trying to avoid it, trying to suppress it? You're and let me ask you this when you're sad, and you're creating that song. Are you actually sad? Are you sad and enjoy at the same time as the song comes out and you feel all the words and the music come out of your of that creative space?

Jennifer Logue: 34:45

It's actually really hard. Like, I guess, because it's easy to just be like, I don't feel like writing anything. I'm sad. I'm not I'm not in the mood to write. Like, it's so easy to say that but I know, when I, in the moments where I've pushed through that wall, I know that I'm able to create something to make to turn lemons into lemonade. Because if I make something out of this sadness out of this downtime that I have, it might create something that might help someone else. Yep. You know, so like, I'm not sure what that is. Yeah, and you feel better? You do feel better after?

Shiraz Baboo: 35:30

Yeah. And you're definitely gonna feel because you just created a song. I mean, that's gonna feel amazing. Yeah. When the lyrics are coming out, how do you feel? In the moment?

Jennifer Logue: 35:42

I'm in the moment? Yeah, you start getting into flow, and you lose sense of space and time and everything. And it's the time you're out of it. You know why you're not really sad anymore. That feeling passes,

Shiraz Baboo: 35:59

you're tapped into that creative flow. Like, in the spiritual of people talking about channeling, right. I'm going to channel the spirit of this person, or I'm going to channel this energy, right. But artists channel creativity. Alright, there was actually I can't remember what show it was. But they actually showed a person in the process of writing a song. You could see him space out, as he's channeling the information of the song. So artists do this, you naturally learn how to channel which is go to that space where everything exists, all possibilities exist. Need,

Jennifer Logue: 36:36

it's a magical place. Yes, it's the best place.

Shiraz Baboo: 36:40

And that's it. That's what that's that's the creative process is accessing that. And anyone could do it at any time. And the more you practice it, the easier it gets that you're just there all the time. Right? It's similar to me, like when I'm having like, when I was having a conversation with my friend, I'm in that space. So when she said something, I'm like, Oh, that's not true. Because I'm constantly accessing that energetic space. Now.

Jennifer Logue: 37:01

Do you think at the same, the space, you're operating as a same for artists? Zone? It's so interesting.

Shiraz Baboo: 37:09

Yeah. And the people that are really connected to it like, like Prince, like, how many songs? And then there's all the songs that are still in his vault that haven't been released? Like he was just constantly in that creative space?

Jennifer Logue: 37:22

Yes. Oh, my gosh. How can we keep our energy flowing? You know, I have my own thoughts on this. But from your perspective, if someone feels like they're blocked in some way, apart from identifying beliefs that might be holding them back, like, Do you have any other ideas of how we can keep our energy flowing day to day.

Shiraz Baboo: 37:48

So look at what other people are doing, like not go look and see those? When I'm writing. And I can't write, I start reading a book in the genre I want to write in. And then something happens up here. And while I'm reading this idea pops in my head, oh, this would be good for my story. If I can't write a song, then I listen to songs in that genre. And stuff just starts to turn in your subconscious. And then the x axis point opens, and you're like, Oh, I got it and stuff. And the thing is, sometimes it feels like, Well, it's because I heard this. So I'm stealing this, but it's like, no, that was the catalyst to get you in into that creative space. And then you just go to your own thing.

Jennifer Logue: 38:30

Yes, yes, yes, yes, you got it. Sometimes you got to walk away. That's part of it. I know. I work in advertising now, as a copywriter. And if I'm, you know, doing a concepting project or something, and I'm writing for a really long time, you know, you inevitably just like music, you hit a wall. Sometimes it's not that you don't have ideas, it's just that you're not feeling them. You're like me, and I'm when I step away to do something else, then it's like, Oh, got it. Or you have a half written song, you go to bed, and you wake up in the middle of the night, with like, the solution to the song, the parts that you were missing, you know, it's so interesting how the brain works.

Shiraz Baboo: 39:17

And it's not it's not just this one thing a lot of people may not want to believe or don't get, but it's it's not just that it is this harmony with everything that's going on around you. So the example here is, I was living in Japan for a while and my buddy had a synthesizer, and he would write music. And we decided let's write a song together. Because I was I'm a writer, so I'm good lyrics. So we started writing this song, and we got the melody. But we didn't get the chorus and we were stuck on a course. And so then we just said like, it'll come to us just let's stop working on this. Give it a break. And that was like on the Friday, and we went off for the weekend. We didn't see each other and we came into we worked at the same place, we came into work and met each other at lunch. And at lunch. I look at him, I go, I've got the lyrics. And he looks at me. He goes, I've got the music. Wow. And yeah, and here's the thing, we were separated the whole time. So I had no idea of my lyrics worked with his music. We both just went into that creative space on the weekend, and they matched perfectly.

Jennifer Logue: 40:23

That's lovely. Incredible. Well, it's a new year. And that means new year's resolutions for a lot of us. Shiraz, do you have any thoughts on choosing the right goals? I have this issue. And I know other creatives I've talked to relate to this. We can't figure out which project to pursue. There are only so many hours in a day, how do we know if a goal that we have the vision that we have for our lives is the right one for us.

Shiraz Baboo: 40:55

Our country from a different space? What I do is I keep imagining myself in the life I want. And then I just let things unfold to what it would if you do this. Alright, so it's and it's tough, because we're at the, the end of the year now we've got like, what, four days? Right. And this is probably premiering next year. But okay, so he's

Jennifer Logue: 41:24

gonna be on January 1, so you can start really fresh,

Shiraz Baboo: 41:28

okay, so this year, spend more time thinking about the what that you want, and not like, even what you like, what steps you need to take, but the what of this is the life I want. I want to be performing here. I want my art to be here, I want my house to look like this. I I want to feel Oh, wow. This is my life. This is really cool. I love that. My, my art or my music is getting recognized by all these people. I love that being displayed here. I love that I get to travel and talk about it. And but do it from a place of it's already happened. Because what most people tend to do is like, oh, what's it gonna feel like when it happens? And that's just this big excited? Oh, my God, it's happening. It's happening. And that's not your normal state, the normal state of a successful person is wow, wow, this is really cool. It's my life right now.

Jennifer Logue: 42:23

It's attitude. Yeah, it's called gratitude. Yeah.

Shiraz Baboo: 42:28

And it's, and it's a normal feeling for you. And this is the thing, when you start to come from that space, everything to get you to that space starts to show up. Right? And, and you can go along with whatever plan you want to get there. But when you're open to that plan changing, when you're open to new and better things showing up, then I've found that shortcuts, just pop up. So you've got this plan, but you're in the space of my life is great. I love how it's going. And you just hold that feeling the feeling is the most important part. Then it's like, oh, well, what if you did this, like before, for instance, I wanted to do a three day workshop. And, and I wanted to be powerful, I wanted to have partners. And I didn't know how to present that. And make it profitable for everyone, make sure everyone's involved get get a lot of people and, and just make it great value for the people that show up, even if they don't choose to work with us later. And then I got invited to speak at this three day event. And they did this format that was like this is exactly what I wanted. But they're doing it this is and this is the first time they've done it in that format. They didn't know what's going to work. It turned out to work really well. So they were like the beta for the thing I wanted to do without me having to do any of the work so interesting. And then they said, Okay, now that we know this works, we have, we're going to create a program so you can learn to do exactly what we did for your three day event. Who wants it on that program? And I'm like, Wait, so you're going to train me how to do the thing I wanted to do anyway. And you're going to host it. That's it because their company hosts these events, you're gonna host that as well. So I don't have to do any of that work. Okay, here right here. I'm yeah,

Jennifer Logue: 44:17

I'm down.

Shiraz Baboo: 44:18

This whole thing I was trying to figure out because I'm already in the space of like, yeah, that was cool. I did that event and everyone got a lot of value. And we had a whole bunch of cool people. This just popped up. And here's here's the thing. Other people applied to be in this event. There were 62 people that said, Oh my god, I wonder I got invited.

Jennifer Logue: 44:38

Wow. So cool,

Shiraz Baboo: 44:42

right. And that's like, that's the kind of thing that happens is like, people are like, Wait, you didn't have to go through the whole and what No, no, they just did the opposite. And it all shows up like magic.

Jennifer Logue: 44:55

Yes. You didn't do anything. It just you're in the right ate space Yes, to receive these opportunities coming to you. Like you didn't have to go and like manipulate anything or like, like everyone else was trying to get there being interviewed and all this stuff, it's so interesting how when you're in the right state, you're more able to be successful

Shiraz Baboo: 45:20

90% of people out there are trying to figure out the how to figure out the how, then I'll get the results. But the actual secret on how to do this is to feel you've already got the results. And then the how just shows up.

Jennifer Logue: 45:36

So interesting. So this is related. But what keeps us from achieving our goals, those resolutions that we set? I mean, you've written books on this Shiraz. So I mean, maybe high level,

Shiraz Baboo: 45:52

very, very high level is you're addicted to your current circumstances. So when you try to change the circumstances, you go into withdrawal, and you get pulled back into the addiction. Now, if it's a drug addiction, everyone knows what that looks like. It's like, Oh, my God, I need the drugs, I haven't had them so long, I need the back. But with a physical addiction, withdrawal shows up in different ways, because you don't feel it in your body. It's like, okay, let me like, let's say it's a coaching business, let me know, when I woke up more creative. I'm going to I'm going to put out a whole bunch of art. Right, and I'm going to, I'm going to get it out to a bunch of museums, and and we'll see how it goes. And let's say you do that you start to get art in multiple museums, and people like, wow, this is great. The withdrawal is, oh, now this museum doesn't want to take it. Or it wasn't well received at this museum. And so you use that as excuse to say, well, this isn't working. And I'm gonna go back to where it was. Right? And it looks legitimate, it looks like well wasn't working, or I had this thing. But that's more of like a three, three from Golden, which some hardship came up. But instead of pushing through it, you went, let's just go back to what I was used to what feels comfortable. And you can say, and you can still say to people I tried. I had some results, but then it just fizzled out. And I don't know what the hell happened. It all seems real. Like it all seems legitimate. But it was you actually going into withdrawal, creating those circumstances, and pull yourself back. And some of the things you actually do ahead of times, like you'll choose a museum to display your artwork. And that unconsciously, you know, it's not going to do well. Yeah, give you an excuse to pull back. And then when it doesn't do well, you're like, Oh my God, I don't know what happened. But underneath, you know what happened, because you're trying to get back to those safe space, the comfortable addictive space, even though it's where you don't want to be, even though it's where you don't consciously want to be unconsciously it feels

Jennifer Logue: 47:44

good. Safe and familiar. So interesting.

Shiraz Baboo: 47:50

So that's, that's one of the big things. The other thing is like with with me in the money, fear of what's going to happen if you get there? Are people going to start it? Can I have some money? Can you invest in my project? You know, if you have an emotional reaction to even thinking about that, you are not going to create success? Because like if you're having an emotional reaction, your mind prioritizes emotions, the thought of of that means nope, not going to do it. This goes back to the original thing. It's always about the emotions. When you think about the here's the success I want to be I'm going to be a singer in front of 10,000 people at a concert, actually, let's go 50,000 people a nice big concert hall, singing your heart out. If part of you goes What if they don't like my songs? What if I get bad reviews? What if no one shows up? Then Then you're gonna be like, Well, no, let's just make sure it never gets that big. Let's keep it small, where it's safe and comfortable. And that's just where my career will be. That's the unconscious decisions that take place.

Jennifer Logue: 48:54

Incredible and it just shapes the whole trajectory, your life unless you change it

Shiraz Baboo: 48:59

unless you change it. And here's the thing, you have to be willing to go through all the good and all the bad. And then you tend to get all the good stuff. But when you're refusing to go through the bad when you're refusing when you're afraid of the emotions that can come up. You'll stop yourself every single time.

Jennifer Logue: 49:18

So do you have any tips for pushing through those challenges when we encounter them instead of running back?

Shiraz Baboo: 49:26

So the first thing is get into that mind space of I'm willing to go through whatever it takes to get there. Right and second is realizing every emotion is a choice. You don't think they are because a lot of them is just you're on automatic pilot going from what you've been taught in the city emotion you're gonna feel but every single emotion you feel is your choice to feel that emotion. So when I decided I'm not going to feel guilty if I can't help everyone I don't need to be responsible for them. Arthritis went away. Hmm When I decided I'm not going to get annoyed or frustrated or feel guilty if I can't give people money than the money increased. And I've watched this and you hear some people even stated, like, oh, you know what? I know, I'm not gonna go to Jake's party because when Jake gets drunk, I get so pissed off. Well, are you deciding I'm gonna get pissed off when Jake gets drunk? You're saying it out loud, you don't realize that you're deciding to have that emotion. Right? If I get up on that stage and kind of 50,000 people, I'm going to be scared as hell. Right, then well, let's just not do that.

Jennifer Logue: 50:35

So just change the emotions, like make a decision to not feel certain things that like the biggest thing you can do to push through?

Shiraz Baboo: 50:42

Yeah, that's, that's one of the things because it's all choice. Because you're let's choose an example. Imagine three guys that either they're talking to a whole bunch of people, and someone comes behind and pulls the pants down of all three guys. The first guy's like, Oh, my God, because he's jumping out everyone's seeing. And he's pulling his pants up. He's running away. He may be scarred for life. Because there was like, let's say, two to three dozen people seeing him. Right. So that's, that's his emotional response. But that's what he chose. He didn't think he chose that. It felt like a full reaction. But he chose I'm going to be humiliated. The second guy looks down. He's like, Oh, and then he looks at he's like, Oh, my God, why do we Why do you do this? Stop this, and he pulls up his pants. And he's like, Oh, my God, that was embarrassing. But it's not traumatizing. It's not humiliating, it's just like, this idiot has done this before. And I'm not gonna let it do that, to me. I'm just annoyed. Right? That's his choice. It's the exact same thing happened to him as the last guy. But he chose these emotions. The third guy looks down, looks around, take a good look, everyone, I'm gonna have to pull him up at some point. Joy, I know you're loving. That's his choice. It's the same exact circumstance. So it's not like a circumstance means you have to feel this emotion. That's what you think that's what a lot of people are taught. But you can choose whatever emotion you want. Or we can

Jennifer Logue: 52:16

change our automatic responses to things on them.

Shiraz Baboo: 52:19

When you start consciously doing it eventually becomes automatic.

Jennifer Logue: 52:24

Just like working out? Yes. You know. So for the artists out there. And this is related, how can we be more confident in our craft, we all experience you know, voices of doubt, shame, procrastination, any tips on getting beyond that?

Shiraz Baboo: 52:42

It's that simple thing that one, one man's garbage is another man's treasure. So you have this creative flow. And there are always going to be people that relate to your creative flow. So when you think about this, if point, zero 0.0001% of the people point 00 1% of the people in the world like your stuff, that's a really small percentage. Yeah, right. That's 8 million people that love your stuff.

Jennifer Logue: 53:15

Wow. Okay. Wow, when you put it that way?

Shiraz Baboo: 53:21

Yeah. So it's about being in touch with your creativity and knowing what you want, what you're putting out has value to other people. Right? It may not have value to the majority of people, but that doesn't matter because of 0.001% people like it. That's a million people. Yes, yes. Right. So and that's it. And if it is a bigger percentage, that's even even better. But it's all about connecting with people from your heart. When you're when when you make that your goal, not proving you're a good artist, right, proving is all ego, when it's just sharing your heart and connecting with people. Number one, you're going to connect with more people because that energy of proving is a push energy, which actually pushes people away from you.

Jennifer Logue: 54:10

Yes, that is so important. That's something that I didn't realize until I was a journalist. And I would interview my idols, like actors, musicians. And I was always struck by how chill they all were. And they'd be doing this, whether they were successful or not. Like they they did it for the love. And that is the desperation that some artists have when they're trying to make it and I know I had in my younger years like it is such a push away.

Shiraz Baboo: 54:49

And you can tell this because you'll see what smaller bands. You can actually feel the push on the crowd, look at us we're performing. But when you go to the huge concerts, you're pulled into the performance, the energy is completely different.

Jennifer Logue: 55:03

Yes. You want to be there. You want to be part of it. Yeah. You're invited in? Yes. So it's not like not like shoved down your throat. So interesting.

Shiraz Baboo: 55:18

You don't you don't need confidence if all you're doing is beating you and connecting because you weren't connecting.

Jennifer Logue: 55:25

And just make that your focus be present. That's all you need. So if listeners are interested in working with you, how can they

Shiraz Baboo: 55:36

they can go to energetic magic calm. And yeah, there'll be some way to connect with me on that site somewhere.

Jennifer Logue: 55:46

Cool. And what's next for you Shiraz?

Shiraz Baboo: 55:49

What's next for me? Oh, there's a bunch of things going on next year that I'm looking forward to number one is traveling again. So yes, COVID ended this year, I traveled almost every single month this year. And it was amazing. And it's so nice to get in physical contact with people and get hugs and a lot more of that. And I'm working with a friend to actually start doing some workshops on cruise ships.

Jennifer Logue: 56:17

Oh, will be fun. That's awesome.

Shiraz Baboo: 56:21

I was I was at an event with Abraham Hicks. I love her. So she I think she's back to doing her regular cruises. She was doing three cruises a year. And I was there and I was looking around and I'm like there are 1100 people here to see someone shift beliefs. Right? It wasn't like I'm a magician, or I'm a singer. It's just like they're here. To have their beliefs shifted. And we're on a cruise ship. I want to do this.

Jennifer Logue: 56:53

So cool. Awesome. Yeah. Very cool. Well, straws. Thank you so much for taking the time and sharing your wisdom on creative space. I know I learned a few new things in this conversation, which is amazing.

Shiraz Baboo: 57:10

Thank you for having me on. Yeah, we never we never discussed my early childhood before.

Jennifer Logue: 57:15

Yeah. You know, I think it's important to have context with where people are coming from, you know, it gives you a nice picture. For more on Shiraz Babu and his work, visit energetic magic.com. And thank you so much for tuning in and growing in creativity with us. I'd love to know what you thought of today's episode. You can reach out to me on social media at Jennifer Logue or leave a review for creative space on Apple podcasts so more people can discover it. I appreciate you so much for being here in the beginning stages of this. My name is Jennifer Logue and thanks for listening to this episode of creative space. Until next time,