Lindsey and Krista are the creators and hosts of the lifestyle podcast Almost 30. Drawing inspiration from their transition from their twenties to thirties, they’ve created a global community of women who come together to learn and grow. Episodes cover topics including wellness, relationships, spirituality, and everything in between.

SO HOW'D YOU GET STARTED?

Krista Williams: Almost 30 started about three years ago when Lindsey and I first met here in LA after a series of weird events that brought us together. We started to have these really deep and meaningful conversations about the transitions we were going through. The transitions that happen in your twenties when you're moving cities, you’re graduating college, or trying to figure out your career, your relationships, who you are, finances, there are so many different things that are happening in your twenties and early thirties that we wanted to talk about. And we wanted to bring the conversation to light. So one day at Bulletproof Coffee, I said, “Do you think we could start a podcast?” And Linsey said yes. Six and a half months of recording on her closet floor and getting tons of audio that we’ll never use, we launched Almost 30 in September of 2016 and now it’s grown into a community of women all over the world.

BIGGEST AHA MOMENT?

Lindsey Simcik: The first time we went out on tour last year we were in Toronto. It was incredible to see people in real life and hear their stories about how episodes changed their perspective, that they were going through similar things and our podcast helped them. I think the aha moment was when we started to understand that this is so much more than a podcast. We can sit behind the mikes all day, but to be out there with our community and actually feel what is happening has been transformative. It has helped us direct where Almost 30 is going next.

"Success, to me, has always been about being myself and being creative. Now, it’s turned into inspiring other people to do the same."

LESSONS LEARNED ALONG THE WAY?

KW: There are so many lessons that we’ve learned. Almost 30 really is our sole purpose and our sole mission. It’s been a complete mirror for me to evaluate and look at every aspect of my life. Before starting Almost 30, I didn’t believe that I could make money doing what I loved or build a flexible future for myself. We’ve really been shown that through the work we’ve done.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS?

LS: Success, to me, has always been about being myself and being creative. Now, it’s turned into inspiring other people to do the same. I never thought of myself as someone that would help people and create community. This experience with Almost 30 has reshaped my understanding of what I’m here to do.

WHAT ROLE DOES FAILURE PLAY IN BEING SUCCESSFUL?

KW: Failure is what brought me to Lindsey. I auditioned for SoulCycle — Lindsey is a SoulCycle instructor— and when I didn’t get it, I was heartbroken. A lot of the reason I didn’t get it was because I was uncomfortable on a microphone in front of a room of people. So in order to help me feel more comfortable, I started to get vocal lessons. That actually prepared me to be better on the microphone with Almost 30 and Lindsey. Now my relationship with failure is seeing it as an opportunity for me to grow and trusting that it’s going to redirect me to the place that I need to be.

ROLE MODELS OR MENTORS?

LS: My role models and mentors are always changing. We're taking in so much all the time interviewing people on the podcast. I literally could say that almost everyone we’ve had on the podcast has mentored me through something.

ULTIMATE LIFE HACK?

KW: It’s definitely meditation. It's changed my personality, it's changed my ability to function, my ability to love, my ability to know, and see myself. Definitely recommend meditation. I know it's challenging at first, but that's the point. Getting over that challenging hump when you have to sit with yourself is really important.

"Now my relationship with failure is seeing it as an opportunity for me to grow and trusting that it’s going to redirect me to the place that I need to be."

GO-TO PRODUCTIVITY HACK?

LS: Krista definitely keeps me on task. [Laughs] But really if I’m working from home, it’s hard for me to stay on task. When I'm working on one thing, I'm thinking about how I haven't finished the other thing. I use Evernote to create a checklist. I also like to create a ritual around sitting down and doing work. So making a tea or a coffee and lighting a candle. It's so stupid sounding, but for me, it’s telling myself, Here we go. We're going to do this and it's going to be enjoyable and productive and you're going to love it. 

MOST UNUSUAL ITEM IN YOUR HOUSE?

LS: I have a car buffer that I use for my body. It's $20 on Amazon. It's Black and Decker and it stimulates your lymphatic system. It's great and it's for your car as well. [Laughs]

KW: Being in the wellness space, I have so many things in my house that are so weird and random. A trampoline, all the crystals, my BioMat, my nail bed. It seems so normal to me, but I'm only reminded of it being weird when people come over and see all my stuff.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE WELLNESS?

KW: How I define wellness has really changed in the past year. Almost 30 is in the health category on iTunes, so we’re definitely a wellness and health-related podcast, but the topics that we talk about are more related to overall wellness. We categorize wellness as being well in all aspects of your life. So that's being emotionally well, mentally well, physically well, spiritually well.

FAVORITE SELF-CARE PRACTICE?

LS: My favorite self-care practice — everybody does it, but not everyone does it well — is sleep. I try to create a really special sleep environment. I make sure my phone's out of the room. I actually got these really chill red light glasses from TrueDark Dave Asprey that I put on like a half hour before I go to bed. They’re sexy as hell. [Laughs] So I wear those and it helps me sleep really, really well.

KW: My favorite self-care practice is talking to myself. It doesn't have to be out loud, but it's having that conversation and checking in with yourself regularly. Like treating yourself as you'd treat a friend.

"We started to have these really deep and meaningful conversations about the transitions we were going through and we wanted to bring the conversation to light."

PIECE OF ADVICE?

LS: Focus on your strengths and what you're good at. I spent a lot of time focusing on what I couldn't do, what I wasn't good at, what I didn't have yet. And that just wasted a lot of time. So work for your strengths and refine your relationship with time. If it's worth it, it's going to take time and you’re going to be in it for the long run.

WHAT'S NEXT FOR YOU?

KW: We're going on tour this year, so we have a bunch of events in a bunch of different cities. We're going international, which we are so excited about. We’re looking forward to meeting everyone in person and creating and cultivating community all over the world. Similar to what we’ve done with Almost 30 in LA, we’re excited to meet everyone in person and grow the brand.