Tara Mackey

If you really want something, get grateful for it before it exists.

 

Tara Mackey is the founder and CEO of The Organic Life, a successful holistic and sustainable living platform, and is a widely recognized social media personality with over 463,000 instagram followers. She founded the organic beauty company Genetix Skincare and is the #1 best-selling author of Cured by Nature, and WILD Habits (May 2018).

Mackey, who has a background in psychology and genetics, left a coveted position at Weill Cornell Medical College in 2011 to travel to California to explore natural healing, yoga and meditation. That same year she began utilizing holistic techniques to heal her chronic illnesses, going cold turkey off of fourteen daily medications, and healing herself naturally. She’s been on a conscious quest to move humanity in a more sustainable, healthy, and holistic direction ever since.

Recognized with numerous awards and nominations for her entrepreneurship, Mackey was named “a powerful voice in the smart, sexy, sustainable movement” by Coco Eco Magazine. She resides in San Diego, California, with her two rescue dogs, Raelie and Ruca.

Where did the idea for The Organic Life come from?

The Organic Life came from the name of my blog, which I then incorporated and turned into it’s own company, The Organic Life, LLC. The idea behind it is that to me, organic means coming back to our roots, finding out true selves and living our most authentic versions of our existence. So when you’re living The Organic Life, you’re being your highest self.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

Every day is slightly different depending on the project I’m currently working on, which I love. Right now I am working on my book launch for my new book WILD Habits, so it’s a lot of interviews, podcasts, scheduling book tour, follow up, and putting a ton of moving pieces together. I always have a long to-do list going and then the night before every work day, I write my specific big goals for the next day as well. It helps to keep me focused when there’s a lot of distractions and last minute deadlines going on.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I thrive off of creating something out of nothing, so whether I’m making a product, researching, developing something new, writing a blog post, working on music or a meditation series, I focus on the end goal. A lot of what I do involves learning as I go along, so I just keep the faith that whatever it is I want to do, it’s achievable.

What’s one trend that excites you?

Women stepping into their power.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

Time blocking. I try to time block each of my tasks before I start them, which helps me not get distracted or procrastinate. If I know I only have an hour to get something done, I’m much more likely to do it in that hour.

What advice would you give your younger self?

As a native New Yorker, it’s very difficult for me to wait for things. I used to get frustrated, thinking there couldn’t possibly be enough time to write all the books, make all the music, speak, travel, have a relationship, have animals and a family and touch people’s lives. But now I know that there certainly is time for it all, because I’ve made it all a priority. So I would tell my younger self, “Be patient. If you’re persistent and clear on your goals, you can have whatever you desire. There is time for it all.”

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

If you really want something, get grateful for it before it exists. A lot of people think this is a waste of time, but I know for a fact that it works. Once you begin to get grateful for that new position, that dream job, that accomplishment or relationship or whatever it is, BEFORE it exists, you are leaving room in your life for that thing to manifest for you. Your mind doesn’t know the difference between what’s real and what’s imagined. Once you start imagining it, you attract it instantly. I honestly don’t know how anyone creates things for themselves without this essential practice.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

Be your own competition. Once you start competing against other people, you’re just giving yourself a distraction and wasting your time. When you are your own competition, you are constantly focused on the most important person in your business and your life: yourself.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

I stopped thinking that I knew it all and started taking the advice of people who had more experience. Once you can give up the ego gratification of thinking that you are the one who has the answers to everything (very easy to do when you’re the boss), you leave room for all the knowledge that you can gain from others. Once you start listening, you stop making mistakes. That has saved me so much time, money, energy and resources and I recommend everyone who owns a business do it as much as they can.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

I was afraid of making money for a long time because of the stigma I attached to it. I grew up very poor, on food stamps and welfare. I have to say that I was raised with a bias towards wealthy people, and had a hard time seeing myself as “one of them”. It took a long time, a lot of books read, a lot of journaling and soul searching and breaking personal barriers about what money “meant” for me. Once I realized that for me, money is about the ability to give back, I started focusing on that. The more I was able to give back, the more it became clear what place money had in my life. For me, it’s 100% about the ability to make things that save the world and help the planet. Once I accepted that, true wealth showed up for me.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

Is there an app that shows where all the cool street art in the world is? I have a feeling that would be huge.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

I road tripped from New York City out to California, a state I had never been to before, with $300 in my pocket, and the first $100 was spent on putting gas in my car to get halfway across the country. Best $100 I ever spent.

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive? How do you use it?

I love Canva right now for marketing and media for my blog, instagram, twitter, etc.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

“Think and Grow Rich” is one of my favorite books. I re-visit it at least once a year, especially when I’m expanding or thinking about the next steps in my business. It’s an essential business book with timeless knowledge.

What is your favorite quote?

Stand guard at the door to your mind. Every thought we have is important. Everything we surround ourselves with has an effect. Our minds are so precious. Make sure you’re only allowing thoughts that propel you in the direction of your dreams to enter and stick with you.

Key learnings:

• Every thought we have is important. We need to keep a guard at the door of our minds and be careful about what we allow into our consciousness.
• Your mind doesn’t know the difference between what’s real and what’s imagined. Once you start imagining it, you attract it instantly.
• Give up ego gratification so that you can take other people’s advice. This will help you from making mistakes.
• Time block. If you know you have a certain amount of time to complete a task, you are more likely to complete it.

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TheOrganicLifeBlog.com
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The Organic Life blog on Facebook: facebook.com/theorganiclifeblog
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