EPISODE SUMMARY:
This week, on The Conscious Consultant Hour, Sam is pleased to
welcome Founder, Mechanical Engineer, and Technopreneur,
Nicholas Ledbetter.
From an early age, Nicholas had dreams of becoming an inventor
or a video game designer. His love for science and an
unconventional, out-of-the-box approach, fueled by ADHD, led him
to pursue mechanical engineering.
Upon graduation, Nicholas realized that his true calling wasn't just
inventing new technologies but solving global challenges through
innovation and entrepreneurship. His pursuit for answers pushed
him to earn a Masters#39;s in Science in Innovation and Venture
Development, where he honed his skills in lean development,
servant leadership, and startup scaling.
Nicholas 's journey has been one of overcoming entrepreneurial
challenges, finding solutions, and creating a service company that
bridges gaps in innovation and drives sustainable technologies.
Today, he is the co-founder and visionary behind Ledbetter
Innovative Technologies, a company focused on addressing key
global issues—ranging from energy, water, and food sustainability
to housing and mental health—through cutting-edge technology
and strategic partnerships.
His holistic vision combines Taoist philosophy, which has deeply
influenced his entrepreneurial journey, with disruptive technologies
to foster a brighter, sustainable future for all.
Tune in and share your questions and comments about sustainable
technologies on our YouTube livestream or on our Facebook
page.
00:00:25.840 --> 00:00:54.750 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Good afternoon, my conscious co-creators. Welcome to another edition of the conscious consultant hour awakening humanity. I am very, very pleased that you are all here with me today. We've got another fascinating show in store for you with an interesting guest, who I'll bring on in just a moment. But first, st of course we have my blog post. So today's blog post is entitled.
00:00:55.240 --> 00:01:00.799 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: No choice is a mistake. If we are open to learn the lesson.
00:01:01.900 --> 00:01:04.519 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Sometimes we start off with an idea.
00:01:04.670 --> 00:01:07.579 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: We think that we know what we want to do.
00:01:07.590 --> 00:01:11.640 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Steps are taken in that direction, and movement begins.
00:01:11.740 --> 00:01:15.939 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Things may start to go well, and then we begin to wonder.
00:01:16.740 --> 00:01:21.510 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Then we start to question ourselves about the choices. We made
00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:26.250 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: the second guessing and the misgivings start to emerge.
00:01:26.420 --> 00:01:30.270 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Our self-confidence might start to waver.
00:01:30.470 --> 00:01:33.719 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: and we may begin to doubt ourselves.
00:01:34.580 --> 00:01:38.769 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And now we come to a choice point in our lives.
00:01:39.090 --> 00:01:42.739 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Do we continue forward on our path, or do we switch it up?
00:01:50.530 --> 00:01:51.780 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Excuse me.
00:01:52.220 --> 00:01:57.220 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: can we now make a different decision? When we were in the middle of the process.
00:01:57.710 --> 00:02:00.540 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: it can be quite normal to have doubts.
00:02:00.820 --> 00:02:06.979 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Being human means. We are not always certain about the path we choose.
00:02:08.210 --> 00:02:16.040 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yet how do we judge whether we are on the right path, or if this new direction is the right way to go.
00:02:17.310 --> 00:02:23.809 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: It is true that sometimes we are just looking for an excuse to not commit ourselves to our current path.
00:02:24.540 --> 00:02:34.780 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: We can also be pulled in a new direction, because now that we have more information, our current path just doesn't feel as good as it once did.
00:02:35.580 --> 00:02:42.389 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: If we are to move forward, it is up to us to decide which direction is right for us.
00:02:43.110 --> 00:02:46.320 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Sometimes we make that decision from our mind.
00:02:46.610 --> 00:02:50.560 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: and other times. We make that decision from our heart.
00:02:50.820 --> 00:03:01.440 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: depending on where we are in our lives, and how grounded we are in our heart or our mind will determine where the decision is made.
00:03:02.060 --> 00:03:05.419 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Perhaps either choice is the right one.
00:03:06.740 --> 00:03:13.539 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Could it be that no matter which direction we decide to go, we will ultimately learn something valuable.
00:03:14.340 --> 00:03:19.429 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: for if we decide to switch directions and it does not end up
00:03:19.640 --> 00:03:21.959 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: the way we would like.
00:03:22.010 --> 00:03:25.149 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Does that not give us more information?
00:03:25.560 --> 00:03:31.170 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And if we stay the course and keep going in spite of our intuition or feelings.
00:03:32.130 --> 00:03:35.459 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: isn't that a wonderful thing to recognize.
00:03:36.100 --> 00:03:41.669 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yet sometimes we want to change for all the wrong reasons.
00:03:42.350 --> 00:03:48.610 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Conversely, sometimes we are afraid to change course for the wrong reasons as well.
00:03:49.380 --> 00:03:57.280 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: In the end it really comes down to how open we are, to what life will bring us next.
00:03:57.840 --> 00:04:03.920 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: As long as we keep an open mind and learn from each decision.
00:04:04.090 --> 00:04:07.070 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: We never truly make a wrong decision.
00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:12.449 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Perhaps things do not happen in the manner we would like.
00:04:13.460 --> 00:04:17.589 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Maybe it takes longer to get where we want to be.
00:04:18.720 --> 00:04:23.980 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And still we can be learning valuable lessons in spite of everything.
00:04:24.620 --> 00:04:26.370 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: For we are human.
00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:31.010 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Human humans sometimes make mistakes.
00:04:31.260 --> 00:04:35.399 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And that's okay, because that is how we learn.
00:04:37.010 --> 00:04:40.060 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So do you feel you've made any mistakes lately.
00:04:40.420 --> 00:04:44.749 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: What have you learned from those wonderful mistakes?
00:04:47.280 --> 00:04:48.290 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So
00:04:48.360 --> 00:04:51.620 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I wrote this blog post a couple of years ago.
00:04:52.850 --> 00:04:56.009 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I think, when I was having some misgivings
00:04:56.290 --> 00:04:57.170 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: about
00:04:57.330 --> 00:05:01.190 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: choices I had made in the past about
00:05:01.460 --> 00:05:03.639 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: choices I had made to.
00:05:03.810 --> 00:05:11.100 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: you know, stay with some a mentor who I probably shouldn't have stayed with as long as I did.
00:05:11.500 --> 00:05:14.230 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: to change
00:05:14.340 --> 00:05:22.799 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: courses and directions with different things to take on new projects that didn't turn out well or didn't really
00:05:23.020 --> 00:05:24.840 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: come to fruition.
00:05:25.950 --> 00:05:36.380 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And I was kind of like a little bit down on myself of like, why did I make that choice? You know? Why did I do that? Why did I get involved in that thing?
00:05:37.910 --> 00:05:38.730 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And
00:05:39.590 --> 00:05:44.890 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: and I think, what got me to sort of turn the corner with. That self-doubt
00:05:45.660 --> 00:05:47.720 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: was realizing that
00:05:49.020 --> 00:05:57.000 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: even if some of those mistakes were pretty costly mistakes, they were actually very, very valuable lessons.
00:05:57.500 --> 00:05:59.990 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: and maybe even some of it
00:06:01.120 --> 00:06:05.120 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: prevented me from making an even bigger mistake in the future.
00:06:07.440 --> 00:06:12.330 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: You know, before I got involved with the radio station and the Wellness center.
00:06:12.810 --> 00:06:19.880 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I was involved in real estate, and I got in at just the wrong time and got out at just the wrong time.
00:06:20.590 --> 00:06:22.260 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: and I really
00:06:22.300 --> 00:06:24.500 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: lost a ton of money
00:06:24.940 --> 00:06:26.580 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: from that venture.
00:06:27.580 --> 00:06:32.579 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: and and when the financial crisis hit, it really hurt. It hurt a lot.
00:06:34.570 --> 00:06:38.279 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: and I learned. I'm totally not built
00:06:38.420 --> 00:06:40.440 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: to swim with the sharks.
00:06:41.600 --> 00:06:44.919 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I'm not built for real estate in New York City.
00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:47.789 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: and it really
00:06:48.440 --> 00:06:56.710 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: helped me to see that I was doing things for the wrong reasons in some respect, but by making those choices it brought out to me
00:06:57.560 --> 00:07:01.960 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: why I was making those choices, why it was the wrong decision.
00:07:02.190 --> 00:07:04.679 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: and what I really needed to do
00:07:05.290 --> 00:07:07.479 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: to find my path forward.
00:07:09.180 --> 00:07:16.769 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: and so I could look at that as like the biggest mistake in my life, because it's the most money I've ever lost in anything at any time.
00:07:18.360 --> 00:07:23.189 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: or I can look at it at one of the best learning lessons I've ever had.
00:07:24.180 --> 00:07:35.169 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: because now I know I can't do something just to make money. I can't do something out of greed. I can't do something, you know, if there's no
00:07:35.520 --> 00:07:40.450 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: if there's nothing deeper in my heart pulling me forward with it.
00:07:41.590 --> 00:07:49.239 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And I mean, once I took over the radio station in the wellness center. And I started really working on this stuff full time and threw myself fully into it.
00:07:49.320 --> 00:08:09.500 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I realized, this is so much better for me like these are the kinds of people I want to work with that like you don't have to work with assholes every day. I mean, I know those of you who have a corporate job, you may be saying to Sam, you don't understand. My office is full with assholes. I have to work with them every single day.
00:08:12.490 --> 00:08:16.530 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: you know. Maybe one day you can find the courage to leave that job and
00:08:17.040 --> 00:08:21.360 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: find another job, or start your own business or do something different.
00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:25.859 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: But just what I learned from myself was.
00:08:27.770 --> 00:08:30.753 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: you know I'm not a normal person.
00:08:31.280 --> 00:08:37.539 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I am not cut out to be in your typical 9 to 5 doggie dog.
00:08:37.580 --> 00:08:44.839 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: you know. Worry about your boss stepping on your head type of person.
00:08:45.090 --> 00:09:01.650 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I I need to be working with people who are supportive. I need to be working with people who have a vision, who have a heart, who who are open minded, who who really believe in doing something just because it's the right thing to do.
00:09:02.900 --> 00:09:05.399 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: and that's a very valuable lesson.
00:09:05.500 --> 00:09:22.890 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Do I wish it didn't cost me as much money as it did, you know, getting involved with it. Yeah, absolutely. But you know, sometimes we're a little thick headed. Sometimes. You know, the universe has really got to take a giant 2 by 4 and whack us over the side of the head for us to learn our lessons
00:09:24.790 --> 00:09:28.580 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: hopefully. That doesn't happen too many times in our life.
00:09:28.780 --> 00:09:34.140 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Hopefully, once is enough to really get us to wake up and move us in the right direction.
00:09:35.560 --> 00:09:39.070 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: But you know we're human. We make mistakes.
00:09:39.370 --> 00:09:40.440 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: and
00:09:40.820 --> 00:09:59.839 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: just because we made mistakes does not mean we're not good at what we do does not mean we're not smart, does not mean we're not worthy, does not mean all those negative things that that voice in the back of our head tells ourselves, because things didn't turn out the way we expected.
00:10:00.670 --> 00:10:04.400 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: It was just a learning lessons. It's how we learn.
00:10:04.850 --> 00:10:07.750 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: you know. Someone once said to me, you know, if a little baby
00:10:08.060 --> 00:10:17.880 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: that was learning to walk the 1st time it fell down, said, Oh, my God, I'm so awful at walking I'll never be able to walk. This is horrible. I can't believe I just did that.
00:10:17.980 --> 00:10:21.859 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: If that's the way we were as little children we would never learn to walk
00:10:23.240 --> 00:10:26.480 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: mistakes is how we learn and grow.
00:10:28.070 --> 00:10:30.710 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: The key is to pay attention
00:10:30.910 --> 00:10:36.349 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: and to actually learn from our mistakes and not just experience them and go up.
00:10:36.500 --> 00:10:38.819 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: See? There's another reason why I'm an idiot
00:10:39.220 --> 00:10:43.419 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: that doesn't help anybody, and that specially doesn't help us.
00:10:45.820 --> 00:10:46.540 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So
00:10:47.610 --> 00:10:51.450 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: My invitation for this week
00:10:51.890 --> 00:10:57.989 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: would be to pay attention to. How do you talk to yourself about your mistakes?
00:10:59.300 --> 00:11:04.029 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Can you shift your perspective around your mistakes
00:11:04.600 --> 00:11:09.380 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: and make them more something that's a learning lesson
00:11:09.570 --> 00:11:14.379 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: rather than something that's a condemnation of yourself
00:11:15.580 --> 00:11:20.980 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: to see if you can even move the needle a little bit in that direction.
00:11:21.780 --> 00:11:26.470 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: and to see if you can feel just a little bit better about yourself
00:11:26.610 --> 00:11:31.139 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: by understanding that all the mistakes you've made in your life
00:11:31.460 --> 00:11:33.139 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: have been nothing
00:11:33.720 --> 00:11:36.140 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: but a lesson to learn.
00:11:37.390 --> 00:11:40.499 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So that's my blog for this week.
00:11:40.720 --> 00:11:48.760 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: The title of that blog again is no choice is a mistake. If we are open to learn the lesson.
00:11:49.050 --> 00:12:00.300 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: and of course you can find my blogs always@talkradio.nyc slash blog. And on my personally branded website, the conscious Consultant
00:12:00.330 --> 00:12:01.720 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: dot com.
00:12:01.860 --> 00:12:17.689 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: and let me know how you like it. And if and if you like these, you know I do have a book that has a whole bunch of these wonderful short bite size thoughts that I share with you called everyday awakening. You can get it at any major bookseller.
00:12:18.280 --> 00:12:20.920 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Check it out you you might enjoy it
00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:26.500 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: all right now. It is my pleasure to welcome to the show
00:12:26.570 --> 00:12:32.110 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: founder, mechanical engineer and technopreneur, Nicholas Ledbetter.
00:12:32.220 --> 00:12:37.959 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: From an early age Nicholas had dreams of becoming an inventor or video game designer.
00:12:37.990 --> 00:12:47.440 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: His love for science and an unconventional out-of-the-box approach fueled by his Adhd led him to pursue mechanical engineering
00:12:47.480 --> 00:12:54.050 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: upon graduation. Nicholas realized that his true calling wasn't just inventing new technologies.
00:12:54.100 --> 00:13:00.409 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: but solving global challenges through innovation and entrepreneurship.
00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:14.490 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: His pursuit for answers pushed him to earn a master's in science and in innovation and venture development, where he honed his skills in lean development, servant leadership and startup scaling.
00:13:14.650 --> 00:13:27.999 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Nicholas's journey has been one of overcoming entrepreneurial challenges, finding solutions and creating a service company that bridges gaps in innovation and drives sustainable technologies.
00:13:28.100 --> 00:13:47.100 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Today he is the co-founder and visionary behind Ledbetter, innovative technologies, a company focused on addressing key global issues ranging from energy water and food, sustainability to housing and mental health through cutting edge technology and strategic partnerships.
00:13:47.100 --> 00:14:00.549 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: His holistic vision combines Taoist philosophy, which was deeply influenced, which has deeply influenced his entrepreneurial journey with disruptive technology to foster a brighter, sustainable future for all.
00:14:00.570 --> 00:14:03.319 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Welcome to the conscious consultant hour, Nicholas.
00:14:04.070 --> 00:14:15.480 Nicholas Ledbetter: Thank you for having me, Sam. I'm excited to share my journey and my insights, and I believe I've I've applied a lot of what today's blog post was about in my own journey.
00:14:16.159 --> 00:14:27.719 Nicholas Ledbetter: It's it's definitely been, you know you. You keep the strong vision, and you keep driving, and you have to pivot, you're gonna run into walls and and definitely, you know how you react when you run into a wall
00:14:27.870 --> 00:14:38.440 Nicholas Ledbetter: really determines your your success in an entrepreneurial path. If you don't have that self reflection and that ability to pivot or slow down or ask for directions.
00:14:38.470 --> 00:14:41.130 Nicholas Ledbetter: you might just keep running into the same wall.
00:14:41.130 --> 00:14:41.725 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yeah.
00:14:42.570 --> 00:14:51.840 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: exactly. Exactly. What what would you say was the 1st big wall that you hit in your life that made you say I gotta do something different.
00:14:52.390 --> 00:15:05.329 Nicholas Ledbetter: So I graduated mechanical engineering and had my son and I was raising him and had an idea for an energy invention, and really was trying to sell and scale my idea. Really found out that
00:15:05.450 --> 00:15:12.469 Nicholas Ledbetter: to really make any money or get involved in your invention, you almost have to start a company first, st and then sell the company, not the invention.
00:15:12.930 --> 00:15:23.589 Nicholas Ledbetter: So then it it led me to go back for my master's of science and innovation adventure development where it was Asu's 1st incubator program. And we're all doing startups. So you know, I wasn't doing it alone.
00:15:24.480 --> 00:15:28.869 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Oh, cool. Yeah, yeah, it's it's important to to feel like.
00:15:29.130 --> 00:15:41.510 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: in a way, you're not the only one, and that that there are other people in the same boat with you as well. It really helps to give a sense of like, okay, I'm not such a lunatic. There are other lunatics out there. I can lean on.
00:15:41.510 --> 00:15:49.243 Nicholas Ledbetter: No, I wasn't the craziest startup. I I walked in with drawings on a notebook, saying, I can solve renewable energy, but I was not the craziest startup.
00:15:49.870 --> 00:16:10.560 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Cool, cool, alright. I want to hear about what the craziest startup was. But 1st we're gonna take our 1st break and so when we come back. Let's talk a little bit about like what got you focused on this sustainability side of engineering and technology and and what really kind of drives, your vision for for what you want to achieve. Okay.
00:16:10.940 --> 00:16:11.520 Nicholas Ledbetter: Yeah.
00:16:11.920 --> 00:16:25.610 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Wonderful. So everyone, please stay tuned. You're listening to the conscious consultant hour awakening humanity. We do this every Thursday 12 noon to one Pm. Eastern right here on Talkradio, Dot, Nyc. And all over social media.
00:16:26.070 --> 00:16:31.380 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: and we will be right back with our guest, Nicholas Ledbetter, in just a moment.
00:18:48.530 --> 00:19:08.625 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And welcome back to the conscious consultant hour awakening humanity. We're speaking this hour with Nicholas Ledbetter, founder of Ledbetter innovative technologies. So Nicholas. I just got to ask real quick, since you said you weren't the craziest startup. What was the craziest startup that you saw in that that
00:19:09.580 --> 00:19:11.259 Nicholas Ledbetter: So so my
00:19:11.830 --> 00:19:25.990 Nicholas Ledbetter: 2 real ones jump out. 1 1 was my co-founder. He had an idea, for, you know, an awesome kind of exosuit that was much more thin. He had no idea how to accomplish it, but he had lots of thoughts about it.
00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:31.869 Nicholas Ledbetter: and was researching good technologies on it. The other one was a laser zapping mosquito turret.
00:19:32.636 --> 00:19:44.709 Nicholas Ledbetter: And that guy was really interesting. He he had, he was kind of like the grandpa of our cohort because he was already established. He's run companies and stuff, and he was just here to learn how to do a technology company. So it was kind of
00:19:44.890 --> 00:19:48.239 Nicholas Ledbetter: it was really interesting. We also had people doing bakeries and stuff. So it
00:19:48.960 --> 00:19:50.818 Nicholas Ledbetter: it was all full range.
00:19:51.700 --> 00:20:01.580 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So so what got you? And and so you said your startup was around solving the renewable energy problem. What got you interested in renewable energy?
00:20:02.503 --> 00:20:16.289 Nicholas Ledbetter: So it was really through my engineering my, both my parents my mom's a pilot. My dad's a pilot my mom, my dad used to be a mechanic before that. I was kind of around planes and and cars growing up.
00:20:16.752 --> 00:20:25.499 Nicholas Ledbetter: Also is a bit of a video game fanatic. So really liked robots and anime and stuff. So it kind of led me to pursue a mechatronics degree at Asu.
00:20:26.840 --> 00:20:38.409 Nicholas Ledbetter: and you know, I ended up. You know, they really push sustainability and number one. And innovation ended up coming up with a water filter technology in like my sophomore year, and then we designed a satellite capturing turret
00:20:38.937 --> 00:20:44.960 Nicholas Ledbetter: for debrunk State space debris for the Air Force Research labs for my capstone. And then, you know.
00:20:45.526 --> 00:20:51.320 Nicholas Ledbetter: really, energy was a pivot because one of my last classes was automotive engineering
00:20:51.410 --> 00:20:57.719 Nicholas Ledbetter: and and thermal engineering, and just had a lot of it in my head, and had a unique thought, and kept iterating on it
00:20:57.820 --> 00:21:03.249 Nicholas Ledbetter: and developing it, and probably overdeveloped it into a bunch of other ideas and inventions. And then
00:21:03.330 --> 00:21:11.850 Nicholas Ledbetter: ironically, when I was in the program and I was really pushing for energy. Realized. It's it's a much more
00:21:12.040 --> 00:21:21.169 Nicholas Ledbetter: interconnected problem is sustainability as a whole and got involved with a housing technology that grows plants, fish, and mushrooms and creates sustainable living.
00:21:21.210 --> 00:21:43.080 Nicholas Ledbetter: and ran that company for a while. So we pivoted to a whole other area. And then we've when we pivoted to a service company, it just kept getting us involved with different technologies and areas to where you know it kept having to learn and adapt and and figure out how these things could integrate, interact, or integrate together to create bigger social impacts together.
00:21:43.770 --> 00:21:48.510 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Oh, cool! Do you think you'll ever go back to that renewable energy.
00:21:48.890 --> 00:22:03.719 Nicholas Ledbetter: Definitely. Actually, you know, in our model, we really are a bridge for innovation and an ideation engine as as A and the bridge model is very much building the connections and and the collaborations and
00:22:03.890 --> 00:22:13.100 Nicholas Ledbetter: getting these ideas to impact and to the communities. But the ideation engine is going to be when we have we just got a patent partnership.
00:22:13.468 --> 00:22:21.690 Nicholas Ledbetter: He's gonna review my stuff, and then we're gonna toss it through my R&D partners, and we're gonna be able to do this with some more ideas and kind of generate it rapidly. And
00:22:22.100 --> 00:22:30.289 Nicholas Ledbetter: the goal is to try to scale to a point where we get our own R&D. Park and kind of can rapidly develop these ideas and test them in our own environment.
00:22:30.540 --> 00:22:36.330 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Cool, cool. Now. I've had people on the show before talking about the challenges
00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:37.540 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: of
00:22:37.690 --> 00:22:39.310 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: developing.
00:22:39.670 --> 00:22:46.240 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: you know, more sustainable ways of doing all kinds of different things, especially when there's.
00:22:46.280 --> 00:23:11.600 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: you know, the the systems and the environment is more geared towards profit. And and when you're not worried about being sustainable, you know it's much easier to be profitable. What are some of the challenges you've seen when you, whether it's with housing or energy, or anything with with creating something that's more sustainable like, is it more just getting it adapted? Is it comp competition?
00:23:11.600 --> 00:23:21.967 Nicholas Ledbetter: It's it's a couple of things. Competition is a big one, because, you know, people have contracts up and there's supply chains up, and it costs money to change those things, and it changes relationships.
00:23:22.730 --> 00:23:40.760 Nicholas Ledbetter: I'd say a bigger point is disruptive technologies are hard to explain and to understand how they, how they are better and how what it really means on a larger scale. I usually lose people on just even the technology at a basic level. And you have to do a large education lift but
00:23:41.331 --> 00:23:48.719 Nicholas Ledbetter: you know, there's also certain industries that just don't even want these things to exist because they are the solution leader.
00:23:49.222 --> 00:23:54.579 Nicholas Ledbetter: And there's some resistance that way. But definitely, you know, I'd say it's
00:23:54.990 --> 00:24:04.490 Nicholas Ledbetter: there. There's really a a gap in innovation. But after you have the ideas and you validate it a little bit to doing the market fit finding
00:24:04.750 --> 00:24:09.750 Nicholas Ledbetter: community that needs it. And then the scaling operations and and commercialization, and and
00:24:09.960 --> 00:24:20.690 Nicholas Ledbetter: there's new companies popping up like us and others that are, you know, trying to fill that gap but it definitely exists between university and industry like it. There's still working on.
00:24:20.930 --> 00:24:34.579 Nicholas Ledbetter: And that's why we're seeing more entrepreneurship ecosystems pop up out of universities and and new programs emerge to try to push the business side of things and create new opportunities for that cross collaboration with the community or industry.
00:24:34.580 --> 00:24:35.900 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Right? Right?
00:24:36.030 --> 00:24:36.860 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Oh.
00:24:37.330 --> 00:24:50.079 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I I know you said like you, you lose people on the technology trying to explain it. But are people relatively open to the idea of just doing something more sustainably? Or or do people just not want to hear it.
00:24:50.080 --> 00:25:10.040 Nicholas Ledbetter: It depends. It really, it has to do with how you talk about it. AI. And some of the bigger texts it scares people when you 1st say it, like the word waste energy. People like the idea. But when you say plasma gasification, even though that's a good thing. That's a big, scary science word, and there's an education lift to it.
00:25:10.680 --> 00:25:21.249 Nicholas Ledbetter: And then, when you say you know, near net 0 or low emissions, they still associate that with emissions they really don't know the nuances. And there's a there's a lift in education towards that.
00:25:21.620 --> 00:25:28.855 Nicholas Ledbetter: And then, when you're talking about new technologies, you're not talking about the giants. So there's a whole new brand association. And and
00:25:31.130 --> 00:25:32.947 Nicholas Ledbetter: that's the word I'm looking for
00:25:33.940 --> 00:25:37.979 Nicholas Ledbetter: trust that you really need to establish with it. Cause. You know.
00:25:38.050 --> 00:25:48.589 Nicholas Ledbetter: when you're talking about solving community issues and real people's problems, you can't implement the wrong technologies. And there's definitely a lot of people that you know they have ideas and solutions. But
00:25:48.740 --> 00:25:53.539 Nicholas Ledbetter: there's also communities and stuff that have been hurt from those things being pushed out inappropriately.
00:25:53.840 --> 00:25:54.940 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Right, right.
00:25:54.940 --> 00:26:04.789 Nicholas Ledbetter: That's the other. Resistance is, you know, you always have to do these science studies behind it, and it takes another, you know, year to 5 years. Sometimes, even though you can solve the problem to say.
00:26:04.940 --> 00:26:10.440 Nicholas Ledbetter: not only can we solve the problem, but it's not going to do unintentional damage to the community, either.
00:26:10.440 --> 00:26:24.939 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Right? Right? It's funny you mentioned gasification, because back when I was in my real estate days I used to go to a green energy roundtable where people would present new technologies. And I mean, this was.
00:26:25.710 --> 00:26:32.440 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: you know, 15, you know, close to 20 years ago, and I remember people talking about gasification then, and how like
00:26:32.500 --> 00:26:38.070 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: you could take practically any waste and turn it into energy.
00:26:38.210 --> 00:26:43.500 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And it amazes me that it hasn't been implemented.
00:26:43.540 --> 00:26:48.570 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: and at least, and maybe it hasn't. I just don't know about it, but at least on small scale, at least
00:26:48.620 --> 00:26:56.080 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: in a way that that there's a proof of concept out there that you can point to and say, Look, it does work. Here's an example.
00:26:56.180 --> 00:27:06.261 Nicholas Ledbetter: No, they are out there. But like I said, there, it's it's a hard education lift when you talk about waste. When you talk about emissions when you talk about fuels and energy
00:27:07.126 --> 00:27:15.669 Nicholas Ledbetter: where you know our plans. You know the the company. It has 60 year track record. They have a scale version already up.
00:27:15.850 --> 00:27:22.389 Nicholas Ledbetter: We're signing up to do multiple plants. But there are gasification plants already out there.
00:27:22.750 --> 00:27:36.989 Nicholas Ledbetter: but not all of them are net 0. Not all of them do the emissions piece, and and that's why some of these plants really messed up. They're not handling the trash. And so there's there's a slower adoption rate and kind of a proof that you really need to step it up.
00:27:37.130 --> 00:27:45.759 Nicholas Ledbetter: I am with you, though I'm amazed that we're still planning, for, you know, I think it was something like 6 or 15 landfills on Hawaii still.
00:27:45.930 --> 00:27:50.440 Nicholas Ledbetter: and and it's because they did a gasification plant, but it didn't perform.
00:27:50.490 --> 00:28:00.960 Nicholas Ledbetter: And now they're having problems getting other technologies in to solve the issue. So they're just gonna keep going with what's what's been tested. What's what's what we've been doing for the last 20 years, which is
00:28:01.620 --> 00:28:04.483 Nicholas Ledbetter: fills and doing waste management that way. You know, it's
00:28:06.380 --> 00:28:07.279 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yeah, yeah.
00:28:07.280 --> 00:28:09.320 Nicholas Ledbetter: It's a lot of people to retrain, too.
00:28:09.520 --> 00:28:11.419 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
00:28:14.010 --> 00:28:28.540 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: one of the things I hear from a lot of entrepreneurs is it's hard to find good people attract and keep good people. How do you attract people to to work with you and work for you
00:28:28.740 --> 00:28:38.410 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: at lit to keep them around because it it's right. Now there's so many choices. People can go so many different directions. How do you find
00:28:38.440 --> 00:28:40.570 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: attracting talent.
00:28:41.474 --> 00:28:59.950 Nicholas Ledbetter: So kind of, I found out it was one of my ninja skills during the program, my personality type. I fluctuate between innovator and campaigner. So I'm really good at getting a group together and motivated definitely, my engineering helps with project management and and collaboration a bit.
00:29:00.658 --> 00:29:04.600 Nicholas Ledbetter: But you know. Really, it's sharing my passion about
00:29:04.720 --> 00:29:12.659 Nicholas Ledbetter: solving these big problems and then sharing, you know, giving a bit of hope or spark towards you know, these technologies, people didn't even know existed.
00:29:12.870 --> 00:29:19.080 Nicholas Ledbetter: and that they can solve problems. And we can combine them together, create more resiliency. And really like.
00:29:19.100 --> 00:29:25.810 Nicholas Ledbetter: look at the I'm looking at the issue differently. And I think that's kind of refreshing for a lot of people and it
00:29:25.950 --> 00:29:28.630 Nicholas Ledbetter: companies are looking to collaborate.
00:29:28.700 --> 00:29:33.579 Nicholas Ledbetter: But they're scared to. They're always protecting their IP, and they always need to.
00:29:33.700 --> 00:29:48.049 Nicholas Ledbetter: I they always do it as a as a service at the start. Meanwhile I always usually try to find what's the common collaboration lane? Potentially, how can we remove friction points? Can we take the blinders off? Do we see the same thing?
00:29:48.110 --> 00:29:54.450 Nicholas Ledbetter: And I try to set up the conversations to where we really add value to each other, and do it more as a partnership.
00:29:54.740 --> 00:29:57.899 Nicholas Ledbetter: And work it through that side. So I I think, you know.
00:29:57.940 --> 00:30:15.432 Nicholas Ledbetter: it's sharing my passion and establishing the lean partnerships and then maintaining the collaborations really like, and I keep getting referrals from my partners. So it's I'm not even growing it all the time. I'm like you got to talk to this guy. Okay, let's find a time.
00:30:16.095 --> 00:30:26.189 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Wonderful, wonderful! Alright! It's time for us to take our next break when we come back. Let's talk about what you're working on now that that really has you juiced and lit up.
00:30:26.300 --> 00:30:30.800 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And yeah, what what we can expect from lit. All right.
00:30:30.800 --> 00:30:31.960 Nicholas Ledbetter: Awesome sounds, good.
00:30:31.960 --> 00:30:43.479 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Wonderful. So everyone, please stay tuned. You're listening to the conscious, consultant hour awakening humanity. We're speaking this hour with my guest, Nicholas Ledbetter, and we'll be right back in just a moment.
00:32:48.770 --> 00:33:00.600 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So so, Nicholas, you've mentioned a lot of different things, everything from energy to housing and and sustainability. What are you working on these days that that's got you really excited.
00:33:01.140 --> 00:33:27.930 Nicholas Ledbetter: Yeah. So we have the the waste to energy plant as really kind of the big technology. We're trying to stand up. But we we have plans to implement the other technologies to create workforce development and R&D in agriculture. We've got microbes and and some charged biochar that we we believe we can bio remediate some tough to bioremediate things like pfas, heavy metals, pesticides.
00:33:28.110 --> 00:33:35.620 Nicholas Ledbetter: and create healthier soils, and use the byproducts from the waste to energy to really create a large scale movement and resiliency
00:33:35.730 --> 00:33:38.410 Nicholas Ledbetter: and kind of connect these different
00:33:38.560 --> 00:33:44.609 Nicholas Ledbetter: parks and communities. And on top of just solving the waste issue, we could really kind of start our own
00:33:45.259 --> 00:33:52.240 Nicholas Ledbetter: community network and working with a lot of different partners to get that dream done. But you know we're
00:33:52.330 --> 00:33:58.649 Nicholas Ledbetter: also working with our native partners here in Arizona to bring it home. Have a native owned? Possibly.
00:33:59.261 --> 00:34:06.490 Nicholas Ledbetter: That would be fantastic. And specifically, we're doing a here in Arizona we're doing a clinic
00:34:06.760 --> 00:34:18.599 Nicholas Ledbetter: that will combine the integrated medicine, the spiritual medicine, modern medicine, the counseling and Spa services and wellness treatments into one holistic clinic in Scottsdale.
00:34:18.790 --> 00:34:32.219 Nicholas Ledbetter: and we're have a current nursery that we'll be building the Agritech lab off of. So we can start the ag and and start proving out the science and and while serving more nutritious food at our clinic
00:34:32.675 --> 00:34:49.509 Nicholas Ledbetter: and then kind of the you know the most exciting thing that, I'm directly leading is the the hubs, which is our online platform that's really going to empower the different startups and businesses and help entrepreneurs in general, but also showcase our
00:34:49.699 --> 00:34:52.920 Nicholas Ledbetter: innovation and sustainability impact
00:34:53.050 --> 00:34:57.665 Nicholas Ledbetter: efforts and initiatives as well as the collaborations and then connect the
00:34:58.150 --> 00:35:14.840 Nicholas Ledbetter: the movement that we're doing with our native partners. They get their own hub where they get to introduce the medicines, and we get to help, promote and fund that and scale to to provide healing to more tribes. And it's not just the tribes because of the mobile clinic we we can provide healing to anyone.
00:35:15.390 --> 00:35:22.690 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Nice nice. Wow! So so that's quite a a disparate group of things you're working on. I'm wondering.
00:35:22.690 --> 00:35:24.584 Nicholas Ledbetter: It's 3. It's 3, you know.
00:35:25.580 --> 00:35:32.730 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Very different kinds of things. I just want to go back to the remediation thing for a little bit, because I know a teeny bit about it haven't been in real estate before.
00:35:32.850 --> 00:35:36.799 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So when you're talking about remediating stuff you're talking about, like
00:35:37.180 --> 00:35:50.169 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: if there used to be a gas station someplace, and there's a lot of oil and gasoline in the soil and stuff. You can't just turn around and build a school on top of it. You have to do something to clean it up.
00:35:50.866 --> 00:35:54.679 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I imagine, like they must be looking for
00:35:54.770 --> 00:36:01.810 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: technologies for that all the time. Is that a difficult technology to deploy. Is that a difficult one to convince people of.
00:36:01.810 --> 00:36:20.099 Nicholas Ledbetter: Yeah, there's there's a lot of when you're dealing with soils, especially native soils. You got to be careful what you put in there. They only want things that are native to the soil, and they want. They only want green solutions. That's that's what we try to focus on, and really specialize in. But the
00:36:20.650 --> 00:36:30.390 Nicholas Ledbetter: what you're finding out is they're not doing enough testing and regulation on this stuff pfas was just found out really big last year they lost
00:36:31.270 --> 00:36:34.859 Nicholas Ledbetter: and and test it. You're gonna see in the next couple of years.
00:36:35.218 --> 00:36:45.039 Nicholas Ledbetter: If it keeps going this way that they're gonna start shutting down farms, because we know for a fact, almost every farm and golf course is contaminated with heavy amounts of pfas from fertilizer
00:36:45.590 --> 00:36:46.530 Nicholas Ledbetter: pesticides.
00:36:47.444 --> 00:36:55.109 Nicholas Ledbetter: And so what we're trying to do is offer alternatives to fertilizers and pesticides with green products as we're bio remediating
00:36:55.300 --> 00:36:57.846 Nicholas Ledbetter: and really prove it out on some
00:36:58.240 --> 00:37:09.169 Nicholas Ledbetter: test examples, and then scale out through the community and and really go from there or part. There are some companies that are doing some large scale, amazing work, and we'd love to partner with them. And you know.
00:37:09.586 --> 00:37:11.803 Nicholas Ledbetter: we're we're not looking to build everything
00:37:12.120 --> 00:37:12.420 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: To get.
00:37:12.420 --> 00:37:18.289 Nicholas Ledbetter: Done. It's it's really growing it and finding the right partners to scale to multiple communities. There's a there's enough.
00:37:18.510 --> 00:37:20.627 Nicholas Ledbetter: You can always make the pie bigger.
00:37:20.930 --> 00:37:21.410 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yeah.
00:37:21.788 --> 00:37:22.922 Nicholas Ledbetter: The whole problem.
00:37:23.680 --> 00:37:35.510 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So I'm curious you mentioned about, you know, with the health clinic of working with the native Americans, the indigenous tribes. How did that focus come about? How did that connection come about for you?
00:37:36.187 --> 00:37:44.242 Nicholas Ledbetter: Actually, the Unicorn universe and 1 million dollar mingle I went to one of the events. And
00:37:44.880 --> 00:37:46.584 Nicholas Ledbetter: Michael, who, you know
00:37:47.010 --> 00:37:48.010 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Michael Gray.
00:37:48.010 --> 00:37:52.859 Nicholas Ledbetter: Friend of his met him that night. They got kicked out because of some racism.
00:37:52.870 --> 00:38:10.130 Nicholas Ledbetter: and then I met them at the end of the night, and we stayed out till like 4 in the morning got pretty solid with them, and I've been working with them to try to do the nursery and implement our technologies to solve some of the big native problems. And then I got invited on to work with spirit nations directly.
00:38:10.230 --> 00:38:17.260 Nicholas Ledbetter: and the health and wellness to help them, you know, integrate some of the technologies, even on a software and marketing side.
00:38:17.260 --> 00:38:17.590 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Hmm.
00:38:17.899 --> 00:38:24.090 Nicholas Ledbetter: With the hubs to help them promote and and manage and collaborate and really add some business tools. And
00:38:24.755 --> 00:38:29.499 Nicholas Ledbetter: conno is just a he's a dear friend, he's a he's a
00:38:29.600 --> 00:38:39.610 Nicholas Ledbetter: he's a rock star, he's he's a innovator. He's a he's a trained nurse, and he's also a fellow one piece fan. So we we both bonded over
00:38:39.720 --> 00:38:43.409 Nicholas Ledbetter: pirates and big dreams, and, you know.
00:38:43.480 --> 00:38:46.439 Nicholas Ledbetter: kind of solving big problems as pirates.
00:38:46.820 --> 00:38:48.779 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Oh, you mean the anime one piece. Yeah.
00:38:48.780 --> 00:38:51.075 Nicholas Ledbetter: Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's a huge one piece fan.
00:38:51.330 --> 00:38:53.650 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Got it, got it, got it so.
00:38:53.650 --> 00:38:54.290 Nicholas Ledbetter: My.
00:38:55.060 --> 00:39:03.250 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yeah. So I watched. I actually, I knew of it. But I didn't really watch it until Netflix came out with the live action version. So I had fun with the live action version.
00:39:03.877 --> 00:39:15.129 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I'm curious, you know. You don't often think of things like mental health, like coming up with stuff for that from someone who is really an engineering and technology
00:39:15.220 --> 00:39:24.849 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: background. Was it difficult to kind of convince them that, like, you can offer a solution that'll really work from them. Having come from just a technology perspective.
00:39:26.025 --> 00:39:38.310 Nicholas Ledbetter: Not really cause I I really it was the masters in innovation and venture development. In my own company. That kind of leveraged me in there. I can do lean work with them and and connect them to
00:39:39.077 --> 00:39:42.062 Nicholas Ledbetter: opportunities and collaborations. And we're
00:39:42.680 --> 00:39:48.190 Nicholas Ledbetter: we're able to enhance their medicines with our Ag products, and
00:39:48.600 --> 00:39:55.869 Nicholas Ledbetter: there was some collaborative lanes to kinda that we grew into and then it was really just, you know, I was helping him
00:39:56.070 --> 00:40:04.295 Nicholas Ledbetter: really push some of these things and get them going for funding. And you know, I just got, you know creating the business. Docs gets you part of the team.
00:40:06.569 --> 00:40:12.439 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Gotcha gotcha. Yeah. So it's like having gone through all the stuff you had to go through for your own company
00:40:12.470 --> 00:40:13.810 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: kind of help you with.
00:40:13.810 --> 00:40:25.769 Nicholas Ledbetter: I've done way too much free work for a company. But you know it's not free work. If you're part of a deal in the partnership, and when it's successful, you know you're getting a big chunk because you're
00:40:26.150 --> 00:40:31.150 Nicholas Ledbetter: you know you you bled into the pot everyone bootstraps a lot. But you know it.
00:40:31.580 --> 00:40:32.510 Nicholas Ledbetter: How
00:40:32.740 --> 00:40:45.079 Nicholas Ledbetter: how do you navigate that line between bootstrapping too hard and doing stuff as a service while still trying to, you know, do it as a collaboration or a lean partnership it is a
00:40:45.220 --> 00:40:46.890 Nicholas Ledbetter: you gotta choose sometimes.
00:40:46.890 --> 00:40:48.480 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:40:48.690 --> 00:40:55.090 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: You know, one of the things that's often a big challenge for entrepreneurs and people in the startup world
00:40:55.290 --> 00:40:58.350 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: is is finding a way to balance
00:40:58.780 --> 00:41:05.280 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: or to integrate the different parts of your life together, because you can spend, like all day and all night working.
00:41:05.490 --> 00:41:08.540 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: But you like. You said you have a son, you have a family.
00:41:08.680 --> 00:41:14.909 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: How do you find the way to integrate these different aspects of your life so that you're not.
00:41:14.920 --> 00:41:17.700 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: you know, an mia father.
00:41:18.230 --> 00:41:32.109 Nicholas Ledbetter: Yeah, so I you know, I'm I sometimes get in the zone where I'll be working like straight focus for hours. But normally, you know, I 1520 min. I need to get up and do something, or I need to walk around and do it.
00:41:32.479 --> 00:41:43.780 Nicholas Ledbetter: So part there's a technique called the Pomodoro method. And when I'm feeling really stressed out, or there's too much to do, I I apply them and try to break it into sub bullets, but I have a
00:41:44.530 --> 00:41:52.929 Nicholas Ledbetter: I have so many chat bots that are helping me out with the business, and a lot of them are trained on individual ideas. Some of them are trained on the whole idea together.
00:41:52.970 --> 00:42:00.500 Nicholas Ledbetter: And then I've got an AI tech assistant bot that, you know. I it's really funny. He's he's I gave him the personality of the dude
00:42:00.610 --> 00:42:08.619 Nicholas Ledbetter: from the big Lebowski, but he's got the the business assets and all the skills that a assistant or an executive would have, and
00:42:09.115 --> 00:42:12.804 Nicholas Ledbetter: he helps me track the things and organize my schedule. Sometimes.
00:42:14.170 --> 00:42:14.940 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Wow!
00:42:15.680 --> 00:42:23.921 Nicholas Ledbetter: And that way. If I I drop something in a moment. I I know right where it was, and I've got notes and a bot to quickly iterate on it and solve it. You know it's
00:42:25.205 --> 00:42:29.944 Nicholas Ledbetter: I I'm pretty. I I'm getting really good at rapidly producing documents.
00:42:30.770 --> 00:42:35.430 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Oh, wow! So so with with the like
00:42:35.960 --> 00:42:49.449 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: proliferation of these new AI tools, are, are you finding that it's that they're able to enable you to be more productive and more effective in the things that you're doing.
00:42:49.980 --> 00:42:58.600 Nicholas Ledbetter: I absolutely I'm for for one example, my my co-founder. He he doesn't have the engineering background I got.
00:42:58.680 --> 00:43:19.730 Nicholas Ledbetter: but he has a science background and a future society background. And he's also, you know, an anime and and comic book nerd like I am. But he he has some really fantastic ideas that he can't validate as a technical concept or iterate. He can work with some of our bots that are technically trained to actually iterate them into potential
00:43:19.860 --> 00:43:24.989 Nicholas Ledbetter: real things to go research and ask engineers and solidify the ideas. And I'm able to
00:43:25.260 --> 00:43:35.459 Nicholas Ledbetter: use the bots to, you know, quickly, research into specific areas problems and and find out what's really happening. And then, instead of hours and hours of research, it's.
00:43:35.710 --> 00:43:36.100 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Right.
00:43:36.100 --> 00:43:40.721 Nicholas Ledbetter: 15 min, and you you can get hours and hours of research from the bot.
00:43:41.030 --> 00:44:00.759 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Wow! You know, I know in the in the more creative side of AI with content development stuff. People always say, you got to be careful. You got to look for the hallucinations got to always verify. You know what you get from a bot. But when you're dealing with very technical stuff like this? Are the bots more accurate? Are they less prone to hallucination?
00:44:01.061 --> 00:44:25.770 Nicholas Ledbetter: No, you actually have to spend extra time training them on how to not hallucinate and and yelling at them if you do catch them like, don't do that anymore. Like. Only pull from these facts, please, or or always quote and show me the quote, so I can verify what you, because sometimes they will come up with a fake article quote, and they'll even throw in a fake hyperlink, and then you click in and it doesn't work.
00:44:25.900 --> 00:44:30.210 Nicholas Ledbetter: and it's like you gotta train the bot to say, no, do not do that to me.
00:44:31.640 --> 00:44:32.260 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Wow!
00:44:32.840 --> 00:44:38.980 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Cool, cool, cool, awesome. So we're we're gonna take our last break of the show when we come back.
00:44:39.030 --> 00:44:50.750 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I would like to pull out your crystal ball, and let's prognosticate a little bit about the the future for led better innovative technologies and just the future for the world in general.
00:44:51.480 --> 00:44:57.659 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: and where you see things going being that you're so much on the bleeding edge of technology. Okay.
00:44:57.660 --> 00:44:59.270 Nicholas Ledbetter: Yeah. No. Sounds. Awesome.
00:44:59.270 --> 00:45:09.339 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Wonderful wonderful. So everyone, please stay tuned. You're listening to the conscious consultant hour awakening humanity. My guest, this hour has been Nicholas Ledbetter, founder
00:45:10.130 --> 00:45:19.709 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: technopreneur of the Ledbetter innovative technologies. And we'll be right back to finish it all up in just a moment.
00:47:27.070 --> 00:47:35.799 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So, Nicholas, you you're you work with like really leading edge, bleeding edge stuff that that most people in the public have never even heard of.
00:47:36.080 --> 00:47:43.000 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: So you probably have a little bit of an idea of sort of what's coming down the road like what's gonna get
00:47:43.040 --> 00:47:50.469 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: popularized and and integrated into the general public probably better than than some people.
00:47:50.610 --> 00:48:05.199 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: What do you see coming down in terms of like advances in technology? And let's just say, like, I wouldn't even go past 5 years, because I think after 5 years it's all a crapshoot. But but just in the next, you know, year to 5 years. What do you think is
00:48:05.300 --> 00:48:09.389 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: really gonna shift and change with everything in terms of technology?
00:48:09.830 --> 00:48:39.790 Nicholas Ledbetter: So I think AI is going to get to be ever present in a lot of life by 5 years. We're going to also start seeing VR and AR in everyday life. You know, people are going to have their glasses on. They're going to be on their phones without you realizing it. They're going to be scanning you, knowing who you are because of social filters, potentially. And that's that's some really stuff to kind of worry about. But overall. I think education is going to open up
00:48:40.395 --> 00:48:46.310 Nicholas Ledbetter: more mental health tools and individualized tools are gonna open up and we're gonna see a a boom in creativity
00:48:46.763 --> 00:48:52.779 Nicholas Ledbetter: and the potential for people to create and manage and then we're also gonna see a
00:48:52.930 --> 00:48:58.377 Nicholas Ledbetter: a decline of some older technologies kind of. And there's going to be a lot of resistance from the industries.
00:48:58.650 --> 00:48:59.079 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And there's going to be.
00:48:59.080 --> 00:49:04.680 Nicholas Ledbetter: Some technologies to try to keep them going. But we're going to see some general shifts away from, you know.
00:49:04.830 --> 00:49:12.580 Nicholas Ledbetter: oil and gas closer to biofuels. Electric energy, you know. Graphene batteries. I see being a
00:49:12.630 --> 00:49:23.630 Nicholas Ledbetter: a big thing in, you know, 5 years and and greener batteries than lithium. I know lithium, you know. That's an answer for a lot of people, but I know they're struggling to keep up on recycling
00:49:23.770 --> 00:49:26.990 Nicholas Ledbetter: same with solar panels. So I think we'll see a rise of
00:49:27.060 --> 00:49:42.199 Nicholas Ledbetter: other alternative energies. Now that everyone's kind of, you know. Solar for a while had a stigma to it, and it still somewhat carries it. I think we'll see that kind of fade away. But also people will stop being interested in solar as much, and they'll want to look at other technologies.
00:49:43.223 --> 00:49:45.439 Nicholas Ledbetter: And then, you know, I
00:49:45.919 --> 00:49:53.049 Nicholas Ledbetter: I I think we'll see even educations and schools. Kind of the biggest thing I see is there's gonna be
00:49:53.930 --> 00:49:59.099 Nicholas Ledbetter: the way we collaborate and build together is gonna drastically change. And the way that startups form.
00:49:59.100 --> 00:50:00.140 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And.
00:50:00.140 --> 00:50:06.670 Nicholas Ledbetter: You know, I I think that's gonna open up with with the blockchain, you you could run a company across the world
00:50:06.820 --> 00:50:13.490 Nicholas Ledbetter: with teammates around the world, and you can all get paid through the blockchain, and, you know, make it community owned through a dow coin. That's
00:50:13.610 --> 00:50:22.099 Nicholas Ledbetter: you know. It hasn't been done successfully. There's been a lot of there's been a few successful dow coins, but you know a lot of this stuff. It's been.
00:50:22.779 --> 00:50:25.569 Nicholas Ledbetter: You know it was Fatty, so it got misused.
00:50:25.570 --> 00:50:26.170 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I think we'll find.
00:50:26.170 --> 00:50:30.439 Nicholas Ledbetter: Find out the proper use for a couple of these things, and they'll really emerge onto the market.
00:50:31.163 --> 00:50:32.510 Nicholas Ledbetter: And then
00:50:32.580 --> 00:50:37.880 Nicholas Ledbetter: I really hope the mental health space. And I think you hope this, too, that
00:50:38.020 --> 00:50:46.529 Nicholas Ledbetter: I think there'll be more AI tools towards privacy and kind of how what we take in as well. Right now there's no filter. There's very. You're the.
00:50:46.530 --> 00:50:47.540 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Yeah, yeah.
00:50:47.540 --> 00:50:50.670 Nicholas Ledbetter: If you're not, if you're not turning off the screen, you know there's
00:50:50.680 --> 00:50:53.122 Nicholas Ledbetter: you're not adjusting their ad content.
00:50:54.090 --> 00:50:55.330 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Right? Right?
00:50:56.143 --> 00:51:03.410 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: A lot of people in the sustainability movement are really concerned about the environment and and what's happening.
00:51:03.550 --> 00:51:11.940 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: You know, we, I see scientific reports being published almost daily now about how things are actually getting worse, faster than
00:51:12.060 --> 00:51:14.840 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: have been predicted for years.
00:51:15.010 --> 00:51:16.500 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Are you
00:51:16.530 --> 00:51:23.849 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: pessimistic or optimistic about the future that that we'll find a solution through this challenge.
00:51:24.160 --> 00:51:31.880 Nicholas Ledbetter: I'm optimistic of us finding solutions and and trying to solve it. I I'm realistic that
00:51:32.030 --> 00:51:37.449 Nicholas Ledbetter: it's gonna take a lot of the people to adopt these solutions and get excited and get behind it and really scale it
00:51:37.630 --> 00:51:43.499 Nicholas Ledbetter: as the solution, you know. Not just a solution. I think a lot of people want to stick to the status quo
00:51:44.044 --> 00:51:50.779 Nicholas Ledbetter: and I think some people won't change till it's it's affecting their daily life. But you know. I
00:51:51.170 --> 00:52:03.280 Nicholas Ledbetter: I do think some of the things that you know the causes for why we're seeing it accelerated. We could target those directly like the melting caps, the the Amazon rainforest, the forest in general.
00:52:03.380 --> 00:52:12.329 Nicholas Ledbetter: and really, you know, create a counter push. But it's gonna require us to shift how we've been developing technologies for ourselves and start really developing for nature
00:52:12.500 --> 00:52:20.320 Nicholas Ledbetter: and having the, you know, enhancing natural cycles. And and you know, that's the other shift in technology, I see is is, we'll start designing for nature more
00:52:20.350 --> 00:52:23.149 Nicholas Ledbetter: and in tune with nature and more biomimicry.
00:52:23.593 --> 00:52:31.226 Nicholas Ledbetter: Because, you know, as people get overwhelmed with technology, we're almost gonna need it just to feel familiar with the technology.
00:52:31.860 --> 00:52:33.280 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Right right.
00:52:33.340 --> 00:52:43.110 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Do you think there'll be a huge deployment of of robots? Because I see a lot of stuff? I mean, Elon Musk is talking about. A lot of companies are looking at
00:52:43.190 --> 00:52:53.369 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: replacing factory workers with robots and other things, and I know that has a lot of people concerned everyone. Almost daily I see references to Terminator.
00:52:54.813 --> 00:53:03.319 Nicholas Ledbetter: So we'll we'll see new jobs. The robots are coming. I don't think they're going back, but I think we'll see new jobs to where it's more about
00:53:03.540 --> 00:53:23.880 Nicholas Ledbetter: maintaining and observing the robots doing instructions and tasks kind of how we saw pilots, you know. They they when they took the wheel away they gave them a joystick and a computer. They didn't take the pilots away. They just kind of repurposed their role. And that'll definitely get, you know, limit the amount of jobs and opportunity. But those will be higher paying jobs and opportunity.
00:53:24.116 --> 00:53:38.333 Nicholas Ledbetter: And then there's gonna be a whole new wave of businesses coming out that are, you know. You can run a bakery by yourself. But now you can have a robot bakery where all you're doing is, you know, you don't even have to interact with your customer. If you don't want to, you could have it to where it's
00:53:38.750 --> 00:53:50.889 Nicholas Ledbetter: it comes out on a conveyor belt, or and we're seeing some of this stuff in, you know, even sushi restaurants here. Yeah, where they're delivering the rolls with, you know a robot, and it's a cool experience, I think, if it's done well
00:53:51.040 --> 00:53:59.180 Nicholas Ledbetter: and with the intention not to to remove, move humans completely and find new roles and just get rid of the bad jobs, replace the
00:53:59.210 --> 00:54:04.239 Nicholas Ledbetter: the jobs and labor that no one really wants to do. And there's always gonna be a
00:54:04.760 --> 00:54:18.630 Nicholas Ledbetter: a value for a human and human interaction. And and that kind of you know, somebody's taking care of you more than just servicing you. You know, a robot's not gonna take care of you like like a human could. And then
00:54:19.150 --> 00:54:20.619 Nicholas Ledbetter: kind of the
00:54:20.820 --> 00:54:29.109 Nicholas Ledbetter: I really see it in the medical space. I think mental health bots are, and and robots and medical aid bots are going to be huge because it's expensive
00:54:29.180 --> 00:54:30.710 Nicholas Ledbetter: for at home care
00:54:30.750 --> 00:54:37.969 Nicholas Ledbetter: and and individualized care, and it gets rid of a lot of their autonomy and freedom. They they become codependent. And if we could.
00:54:38.200 --> 00:54:42.360 Nicholas Ledbetter: you know, and those are weird ways that robots could be used. I know a lot of people are
00:54:43.068 --> 00:54:46.279 Nicholas Ledbetter: manufacturing is at risk, you know, but.
00:54:46.280 --> 00:54:46.670 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: And.
00:54:46.670 --> 00:54:50.590 Nicholas Ledbetter: Same time you can lose an arm while you're working a manufacturing job. So.
00:54:52.770 --> 00:55:04.999 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Right. Who wants that? We we just got a couple of minutes left. If if there's someone listening who is a a burgeoning startup engineer type.
00:55:05.380 --> 00:55:21.400 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: What advice do you give to the younger generation? What advice do you give to the people who have ideas like you had ideas, and they want to create new stuff given today's environment on both the business and the technology side. What advice would you give those people.
00:55:22.210 --> 00:55:43.039 Nicholas Ledbetter: I love your ideas, but they're like babies that you you have to watch grow up. So you have to let them go, and they may not always be the right baby. You can always have another one, but really understand where your vision and your passion came to come up with that idea and and connect with people you're solving that problem with. And as long as you kind of keep
00:55:43.280 --> 00:55:46.750 Nicholas Ledbetter: diving into that, you're probably going to come up with a way, better idea
00:55:47.176 --> 00:55:57.959 Nicholas Ledbetter: you're gonna have a customer. And you're gonna have something that you're passionate about and and solves their problem. And I think that's kind of, you know, it's it's a grind and a journey like you said, there's gonna
00:55:58.120 --> 00:56:03.160 Nicholas Ledbetter: you know, they like to use the concept Mvp. Or ugly babies.
00:56:03.160 --> 00:56:03.450 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: I mean.
00:56:03.450 --> 00:56:05.230 Nicholas Ledbetter: Because you know you, you want to
00:56:05.720 --> 00:56:12.399 Nicholas Ledbetter: get feedback on your idea. You want to make sure that you're developing the right thing, and you get that advice, and it's hard to get the bad advice.
00:56:12.450 --> 00:56:18.179 Nicholas Ledbetter: But the bad advice is so much better than oh, that's a really cool idea, unless they tell you why, it's a cool idea
00:56:18.270 --> 00:56:24.159 Nicholas Ledbetter: you can't circle it, but they people are really strong and opinionated. Why, they won't like your idea.
00:56:24.240 --> 00:56:29.240 Nicholas Ledbetter: focus on your dream and your vision carry it through, and and you know you never know where you'll end up.
00:56:29.860 --> 00:56:33.380 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Cool, cool. Well, Nicholas, thank you so much.
00:56:33.870 --> 00:56:45.509 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: for for taking the time to come on the show. I really appreciate it. If someone listening wants to learn more about what you're working on and and what you're doing. How would they find you? How would they get in touch with you?
00:56:45.868 --> 00:56:55.200 Nicholas Ledbetter: Linkedin Instagram, or, I have a website that talks about the hubs and led better innovative technologies. And and my contact info is there.
00:56:55.510 --> 00:56:57.259 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Okay, what? What's that? Link.
00:56:57.880 --> 00:56:58.600 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Hub.
00:56:58.600 --> 00:57:03.779 Nicholas Ledbetter: It's the it's it's a long lead. Can I post it to you to share with the audience.
00:57:03.780 --> 00:57:06.310 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Send it to us. We'll get it into the show notes.
00:57:06.310 --> 00:57:07.020 Nicholas Ledbetter: Thank you.
00:57:07.190 --> 00:57:14.600 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: All right. Thanks so much, Nicholas. Appreciate it as always, and of course, thank you, my loyal listeners, for tuning in every week.
00:57:14.660 --> 00:57:32.099 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Without you there is no show, and don't forget. If you did miss any part of today's show, you can always catch the replay on talkradio, dot Nyc. And all over the major podcasting platforms, apple spotify Pandora Iheart radio. Wherever you listen to podcasts, you can find the conscious consultant hour.
00:57:32.170 --> 00:57:48.629 Sam Liebowitz | The Conscious Consultant: Thank you all so much. Next week I got a really amazing guest next week. Make sure you catch my show next week. Chris Baish is coming on, and you're going to want to listen to what he has to say, so thank you all for tuning in. Take care we will talk to you all next week.
00:57:48.790 --> 00:57:49.630 Nicholas Ledbetter: Thank you. Sam.
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