What If Success Isn’t Enough? Conscious Living Practices with Steve Farrell
Episode of Notes from the Edge · October 21, 2026 · 47 min
Lisa Lacy talks with entrepreneur Steve Farrell about leaving Silicon Valley success for conscious living, interconnectedness, his book The Inner Way, and Humanity's Team.
Summary
Lisa Lacy interviewed Steve Farrell, a former tech executive who co-founded two fast-growing companies before co-founding the nonprofit Humanity's Team with Neale Donald Walsch in 2003. Farrell described his material success in the 1990s as a "sugar high" and said reading Conversations with God opened him to a more fulfilling sense of purpose.
Farrell argued that science, particularly quantum entanglement as described by physicists he works with such as Nassim Haramein, affirms a spiritual view that people are deeply interconnected rather than siloed in a zero-sum world. He led a short guided exercise contrasting the statements "I am alone" and "I belong to something larger," which Lacy said produced tension and then relaxation in her body. He recounted throwing out his day planner as a transactional CEO, fearing it would harm his company, and said the business instead thrived as he became more present.
Farrell discussed the fear of leaving conventional paths, citing his departure from IBM in the 1980s, read a passage from The Inner Way about realizing that success without soul does not satisfy, and described Humanity's Team's goal of reaching a conscious-living tipping point by 2040. He referenced David R. Hawkins' Power vs. Force when describing a ripple effect of authenticity. The episode closed with Lacy's recurring questions about performing roles to survive and what conversations people should be having, to which Farrell answered that each person is a unique expression of the light.
Chapters
Linked moment · 0:04Skip to 0:04 using a listen link in the info box.
0:04Introduction
Lisa Lacy introduces the show and Steve Farrell's background in tech entrepreneurship and Humanity's Team.
- 2:55
Success as a sugar high
Farrell describes his modest upbringing, wealth in the 1990s, and how Conversations with God opened him to something more fulfilling.
- 5:32
A precious life and interconnectedness
Farrell explains his sense of calling and argues that science affirms a deeply interconnected, non-zero-sum world.
- 10:09
Guided exercise: alone versus belonging
Farrell leads a breathing exercise contrasting 'I am alone' with 'I belong to something larger,' and Lacy describes how each felt.
- 14:33
Throwing out the day planner
Farrell recounts abandoning his transactional management style and argues presence is contagious and improves success.
- 19:32
Quieting the mind
Farrell discusses noise, the logic-driven mind, stillness, and the 'still small voice' as going beyond mindfulness.
- 23:02
Moving beyond fear
Farrell recalls leaving IBM to start a company and argues the real thing to fear is staying on a material path that isn't one's own.
- 27:44
Reading from The Inner Way
Farrell reads a passage about reaching the summit and realizing it wasn't his mountain, and describes the book's journey.
- 32:50
Humanity's Team and the 2040 goal
Farrell describes the nonprofit's volunteer network and its aim of a conscious-living tipping point by 2040.
- 34:30
The ripple effect
Lacy shares a story about listening to her inner voice and Farrell describes how personal practice spreads to others, referencing Power vs. Force.
- 42:28
Closing questions
Farrell answers Lacy's questions on performed roles and the conversations people should be having, urging listeners to be their own expression of the light.
Key points
What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.
- Steve Farrell
Farrell says reading Conversations with God opened him to something more fulfilling than his wealthy 1990s lifestyle.
“I read Conversations with God book one and it was the thing that opened me up to something that was much bigger, better, more fulfilling”
- Steve Farrell
Farrell argues people are not isolated actors in a zero-sum, transactional world as Silicon Valley assumes.
“we're not silos walking around in a zero-sum world zero-sum just means I am going to win but that means you are going to lose”
- Steve Farrell
Farrell claims that living consciously paradoxically increases productivity and true success.
“your productivity and your success your true success goes even further”
- Lisa Lacy
Lacy reports that saying 'I am alone' during the exercise produced noticeable tension in her jaw.
“i felt it really tight in my jaw when i was saying i am alone”
- Steve Farrell
Farrell recounts that after discarding his day planner he feared ruining his company, but it instead took off.
“I was deathly afraid I would crash my company. The company then really took off”
- Steve Farrell
Farrell cites physicist Nassim Haramein as saying everything is part of one thing, linking this to entanglement.
“He says, everything is a part of one thing. This is the entanglement”
- Steve Farrell
Farrell says transactional behavior stems not from meanness but from a logic-driven mind constantly pushing toward objectives.
“it's not that we're mean it's just that our mind is logic center mind is driving and pushing”
- Steve Farrell
Farrell argues his practice goes beyond mindfulness by fostering connection with others, nature and the divine.
“this is going further than mindfulness because we're allowing then to be ourselves to be connected with each other to be connected with nature”
- Steve Farrell
Farrell contends that the real thing to fear is continuing on a material lifestyle path rather than taking a risk.
“if there were something to fear here it's that we continue on that more material lifestyle path”
- Steve Farrell
In a passage from his book, Farrell writes that he left corporate success not from failure but from awakening.
“I didn't walk away because I failed I walked away because I woke up”
- Steve Farrell
Farrell says The Inner Way is available free on Kindle and has ranked first in that category for over a year.
“the book is free on if you go to amazon the inner way steve farrell go to kindle and it's a free book on kindle”
- Steve Farrell
Farrell says Humanity's Team relies on volunteer country coordinators worldwide and has set 2040 as a target for a conscious-living tipping point.
“we have 70 country coordinators they're actually all volunteers all over the world”
- Lisa Lacy
Lacy recounts that listening to an inner voice led her to stay in conversation with her husband despite logic telling her to leave.
“deciding to stay in conversation with my husband when every logical piece told me to run but a little voice told me to lean in”
- Steve Farrell
Farrell says the conversation people should have is about being one's own unique expression of the light.
“it's to be your own expression of the light we do belong to something larger and it does belong to us”
People
In the conversation
- Lisa LacyHost of Notes from the Edge; writer, trauma educator, executive advisor, and transformational coach
- Steve FarrellSilicon Valley entrepreneur, author of The Inner Way, and co-founder and executive director of Humanity's Team
Discussed
- Neale Donald WalschAuthor of the Conversations with God series and co-founder of Humanity's Team
- Nassim HarameinPhysicist whose views on interconnectedness Farrell cited
- David R. HawkinsAuthor of Power vs. Force
Topics
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From the publisher
What happens when you achieve everything you thought you wanted, only to discover it isn’t the life you were meant to live? Lisa Lacy sits down with Steve Farrell, Silicon Valley entrepreneur, bestselling author, and co-founder of Humanity’s Team, to explore the journey from extraordinary financial success to spiritual awakening, conscious living, and discovering what truly makes life meaningful. From releasing fear and quieting the constant noise of achievement to recognizing our interconnectedness, Steve shares the personal experiences that transformed his understanding of success. Through a powerful live exercise, reflections on his book The Inner Way , and a heartbreaking story about his sister, this conversation explores what happens when we stop performing for the life we were handed and begin living the one that feels authentically ours. In this episode, we explore: Success Without Fulfillment: Why Steve’s multimillion-dollar Silicon Valley success felt like a temporary sugar high and led him toward a different definition of purpose. Conscious Living and Connection: A guided breathing and awareness exercise exploring how the beliefs “I am alone” and “I belong to something larger” can feel different in the body. Moving Beyond Fear: Why creating stillness, listening to your inner voice, and questioning the path others chose for you can open new possibilities. The Ripple Effect of Authenticity: How presence, compassion, conscious leadership, and everyday interactions can influence our relationships and communities. The Roles We Perform to Survive: Steve’s emotional story about losing his sister, the wake-up call that changed his priorities, and his invitation to live as your authentic self. Connect with Steve | Steve Farrell https://stevefarrell.org Connect with Lisa | INSIDE THE EDGE https://lisalacy.com/inside-the-edge What did you perform in order to survive? Welcome to the Edge. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice a…
Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on October 21, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.