Cake Bites with Omi Bell

Welcome to Cake Bites, where we go rapid fire with this week's Rule Breaker. Fast questions, real answers, zero corporate polish. I'm your host, Elizabeth Biennik. Let's dig in. I'm here with Omi Bell for Cake Bites. Omi, are you ready to jump in? Let's go. All right, let's do this. Okay, when you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? First, I wanted to be a pediatrician, but then people said I talked a lot, so then I wanted to be a lawyer. But then I had a bunch of dolls, a lot, a lot of dolls, and I used to play school with them. Interestingly enough, I did grow up to be a K-12 educator. Fantastic. What piece of advice would you give your younger self? Piece of advice I would give my younger self is, girl, it's going to be fine. It's going to be fine. Let it go. I think at every age that you think is so detrimental, the last thing that you could ever do that you think is just so harsh is like, hey, another day is coming. Tomorrow is coming. You're going to make it, and you're going to see more and more of what's possible. I think the best thing you can do is see what's possible and be invested in what's possible. Curiosity is one of the best tools that we have in our pocket that we don't always use. That's advice is good at any age. What's one thing you think more people would be successful if they did? Breathwork. I think if people ... There's different types of breathwork. The breathwork that I facilitate is like pranayama breathing, but it's in a different rhythm than most breathwork practitioners teach you because the lineage that I got taught under uses three breaths, like two inhales, one exhale. It's something that is calming, brings clarity. Also, you feel the impact in the moment. I think there's a lot of things we do like meditation and things like that. They're great. People should do them, but you don't always feel the impact of those in the moment that you do them. Sometimes it takes some time. Breathwork is the thing that even down one time you're going to feel it, but down on a regular basis you can really take things, whatever is all bogged down in your mind, like get it in front of you, where you can really work through it and see it at a distance. Awesome. Do you have a favorite quote or mantra? Just being average. That is my mantra that I live by. I think what I mean by average is sometimes you have to realize that you're not the sum total of everything you've been through, but you have the opportunity to start new. Given that tomorrow is not within our grasp, and I don't mean that, oh, if you die, I don't mean a morbid way. What I mean by that is literally talking to you about this right now, tomorrow is just not something that is about to happen. I am talking to you now. What I want to do with me talking to you now, right? Me in this moment is what I have. If so, I'm doing all that I want to do to be as impactful in this moment as I can and make sure that I'm being authentic and make sure that I'm being vulnerable and sharing and also doing what's best to move forward in life. Resist the urge to be average. You are not the sum total of everything that you've gone through. I love that. That made me think too. I have on my wall upstairs that's in my kid's bathroom. It's a Coco Chanel quote of, in order to be irreplaceable, you have to be different. I love that. It fits right in with that. Resist being average. That's perfect. Legacy, what do you want to be remembered for? I want to be remembered for the way people met. I think I remember for that now, but being like, I would have never met you if it wasn't for Black Girl Avengers. I would have never met you if it wasn't for Only Bell. I met you and then I met this person. I got this thing and then I went here. That level of journey, I want somebody's kid to be like, if it wasn't for Black Girl Avengers, if it wasn't for Only Bell working with my mom, coaching her, or working with my dad, or my family member coaching them, and for them to have a regulated nervous system, I don't know where I would be. I might not have gone to college, or I might not have chosen this profession, or I think the connected tissue that I've been able to put together and the movements that I'm creating is what I want to be remembered for. Connections, it's fantastic. And our last question, of course, because this is cake bites, what is your favorite kind of cake? My favorite kind of cake is carrot cake. You know why? Because I feel like I'm cheating a little bit. I got some vegetables. It's kind of healthy, right? There you go. I got some vegetables. I got some frosting. I have nuts in there. You know what I mean? I got protein. You know what I mean? It's like, it has everything it needs to have. And it's a complete meal. I'm with you on that one. It's a complete meal. Oh, and we thank you so much for joining us for Cake Bites. Thank you for having me. Thanks for joining another Cake on Tuesday celebration of beautiful disruption. Please share it, review it, and find more innovative stories at podcast.cakeontuesday.com. I'm Elizabeth Jiennik. Be bold, stay curious. Now go have some cake.