Texting Your Way to Mindfulness: Introducing MindfulText with Founder Mark Montalban

The Mindful Coach Podcast

Because a lot of people think negative thoughts all the time. I remember starting to learn mindfulness in 2011 and most of my thoughts were negative. I noticed that and I was like, oh my God...And so I was like, how many of our peers and people and friends think this way? This mindful text is a passion project for me to bring awareness to that and really help bring this practice of mindfulness to address that. And what I found best is to communicate that through text message.

Joining us is Mark Montalban, my friend, colleague, and member of The Mindful Coach Association. A true industry innovator and startup expert who has blended technology and mindfulness.

Mark built MindfulText.com as a way to realize his vision of integrating mindfulness into our daily lives, simply and directly, with technology that is widely available : text messaging.

His journey into mindfulness, fueled by deeply personal experiences, instilled in him a passion for helping others towards better mental well-being.

Through his engagement with over 40 diverse industries, he has garnered a reputation as an expert and generous mentor, particularly within the startup ecosystem.

Mark's skill lies in combining his extensive technological and business acumen with a deep commitment to mindfulness in his personal life and commitment to being an innovator, entrepreneur, and mentor.

Innovative Approach with Text Messaging

The episode introduces an innovative approach to mindfulness, using text messages driven by the MindfulText application he's developed. Mark emphasizes the accessibility and reach of this mode, making mindfulness more widely available. This unique and modern approach opens up a new world of possibilities for disseminating and integrating mindfulness practices in everyday life, increasing its utility and impact for mindfulness coaches, organizations and others that would benefit from such a useful service.

Timestamped summary of this episode:

00:00:00 - Introduction,

Brett Hill introduces the episode and his guest, Mark Malnbaum, a pioneer in applied mindfulness and founder of Mindful Text.

00:01:33 - The Future is Mindful Conference,

Brett and Mark discussed their collaboration on the successful "The Future is Mindful" conference, which focused on mindfulness in the workplace and featured renowned speakers.

00:08:08 - The Founder Institute

Mark shares his experience working at the Founder Institute and how it emphasized the importance of having a strong mental foundation for entrepreneurs. He also reflects on his personal journey with mindfulness and its impact on his family.

00:12:33 - Mindful Text's Origin,

Mark recounts how his father's illness and his mother's cancer diagnosis inspired him to create Mindful Text. He started texting his mom mindfulness practices, which helped her cope with her diagnosis and ultimately led to her recovery.

00:15:28 - Working with a Strong Why,

Mark emphasizes the significance of having a strong purpose behind his work and how it drives his passion to bring mindfulness to the world. He expresses gratitude for collaborating with Brett and their shared mission.

00:18:45 - Types of Mindfulness Interventions,

The conversation discusses various mindfulness-based interventions, with MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) being the most widely used. However, there is a growing trend and efficacy for new mindfulness-based interventions, including text message-based and yoga-based interventions.

00:20:01 - Mindfulness-Based vs Mindfulness-Informed Interventions,

The distinction between mindfulness-based interventions and mindfulness-informed interventions is explained. Mindfulness-based interventions primarily focus on enhancing mindfulness, while mindfulness-informed interventions integrate mindfulness principles with other methods to target specific outcomes.

00:21:47 - Online Interventions vs Analog Interventions,

The study found that online interventions were as effective as in-person interventions in terms of their impact. This highlights the potential of online mindfulness courses and programs as a convenient and accessible option.

00:22:11 - Benefits of Mindfulness for Businesses,

Mindfulness has numerous benefits for businesses, including increased resilience, improved well-being, and better work performance. However, there is some criticism that mindfulness initiatives may be used as a band-aid solution for toxic work environments. It's important for organizations to address the underlying issues while implementing mindfulness programs genuinely.

00:27:01 - Trends in Mindfulness and Wellness,

The conversation touches on the trend of sleep-related businesses and the potential for improving sleep through mindfulness practices. Lucid dreaming and dream management are also mentioned as areas of interest. Exploring the intersection of mindfulness, sleep, and technology could

00:37:33 - Excitement for the Future,

The host expresses excitement for the guest's future endeavors and appreciates their presence on the show. They discuss the unpredictable nature of their conversations and express gratitude for the guest's work.

00:38:00 - Thankful for the Guest,

The host expresses gratitude to the guest for their participation and discusses their anticipation for the upcoming mindful coach method cohort.