Conversations: Dom Farnan, CEO of Dose Connect

You’re the CEO of DotConnect and DoseConnect. Tell us about your journey to where you are today.

I consider myself a humble student of the world. I’m obsessed with learning new things, which lends itself well to my background and helping companies hire. I founded DotConnect in 2011 and acted as a solopreneur until 2019 when I decided to go all in and build a business around my existing 9 clients. The first year we grew rapidly and hit $3m in revenue and ~30 people. We were trucking along until COVID hit, the world shut down, and we lost nearly all of our business, as companies drastically cut hiring. 

At the same time, I was amidst a dark period of my life and needed a drastic change. So I invested in my first life/business coach, Angie. Thus my inner work/healing and leadership journey really began.

In 2021, work picked up, and I met another amazing coach, Gerard Adams, which really amplified my spiritual journey and conscious leadership work. I also had my first healing experience with psilocybin in Costa Rica.

In 2022, I started the year in Antarctica, coming back from that trip feeling inspired to dream really really big. I also embarked on a big year of exploring psychedelics and many ego deaths. 

In October of 2022, DoseConnect was born. I feel Dose is my lifes work. I am inspired to work alongside founders in the psychedelic therapeutic industry to help them define their values, think through their org charts, hire talent, and develop conscious cultures. It’s everything I love to do, in an industry that I am passionate about. After spending twenty years in “corporate” and never feeling like I could truly shine as I am, this new industry has given me a renewed sense of purpose.

How did you get to where you are today?

Hard work, determination, resilience. I was always fascinated by making money. When I was a kid, I would buy and sell things (stickers, pogs, you name it, I was slinging it). I began working in my career after graduating high school early and stumbling upon a “real job”, leaving the pizza place behind.

Being young in my career, I was willing to sacrifice the “fun” of being a teenager and early 20s years for being responsible and working my way up the ladder. I preferred that sense of security and realized quickly, if you’re good at what you do, you can create opportunities for financial freedom. 

That’s not to say it was easy. It was challenging working in heavily male dominated environments and remaining steadfast and focused.

I took “risks” and said yes to a lot of opportunities that were presented to me. I moved to Wisconsin early in my career,  I moved to Singapore. I traveled wherever the job would take me.

I was a sponge. I learned anything and everything I could about the clients and companies I supported.

 What does a typical day look like for you?

• 6:15 AM: Rise 
• 7-8 AM- MWF- Workout with a trainer 
• 8:30-9:15 AM- Journal, card pull, prayers, astrology, meditation 
• 10 AM- 5 PM- Meetings, usually Zoom and some in person with clients or friends
• 5-6 PM- Catch up Slack/emails
• Evening: Hang with the fam in the evening
• 9:30 PM- Bedtime, maybe a TV show beforehand if I have time 

Do you have a spirituality practice?

I pray (often in the shower). Breathwork plugs me right into source and I often connect with my guides, ancestors via breathwork

How do you prioritize?

When it comes to work, right now we are in sales mode, so the priority for me is anything and everything that is supporting income generating activity (IGA). This can mean a lot of intentional networking, speaking engagements, meetings, zooms, events etc.

Generally, this year I am saying no way more than I am saying yes. All my decisions are based on my values, so it makes it very easy to determine what the priorities are or aren’t. 

From a very practical standpoint, I theme my days, and group my meetings together, blocking time for deeper work and introspection.

One of my coaches just recommended that I end my day with something I love so I take that energy into my family time. So it has me thinking about things I love and can do when I’m done with work. To that end, dancing came to mind… So I may take a dance class to be really intentional about it:) 

You’re about to publish a book. Tell us about your story and what this means to you. 

My book, Now Here: A Journey from Toxic Boss to Conscious Connector is available on Amazon for pre-order now and will be in stores on March 28th. 

The book is really focused on my breakdown in 2020, and blossoming ever since. When I hired my first coach, little did I know, it was just the beginning of my journey back to my own heart.

The past few years, I’ve been deep on a healing journey and experimented and explored many modalities from breathwork to plant medicine. Constantly uncovering new ways of being and new awareness. This whole world of inner work is relatively new to me. For the longest time, I was living my corporate burnout life, existing, but never truly tapping into life or joy. 

My book talks about that, my life, work, love, and awakening. I’m hopeful that when someone reads it, they see a little of their own story and might be inspired enough to take action in their own inner work journey. I offer many different stories, anecdotes, and possibilities.

Tell us about your first, or most meaningful, psychedelic experience.

My first psychedelic experience was psilocybin in Costa Rica, in 2021. But I would say my most powerful experience was 5-MEO DMT in 2022. Both were profound for very different reasons. 

5-MEO I experienced an overwhelming sense of gratitude, and peace in my entire body and then I went offline. In what felt like the nothingness, there was no me. There was nowhere to be, nothing to do. It was calm. I dissolved into this space and came back feeling so much lighter, almost like I had been completely rewired.

Only now am I realizing the benefits of this medicine. I recently gave up alcohol and have zero craving for it. I attribute that to a lot the plant medicine work I was doing last year. Last year, when I was in that work, I did still consume alcohol, but then it was almost like the flip of a switch, I just gave it up and haven’t looked back. It’s hard to describe but it’s like I’m just don’t have the same wiring as before. 

How has psychedelic medicine impacted your perspective?

• Psychedelics have made me more open, more curious, more loving, more accepting —of myself— and others. 
• They’ve opened my mind and my heart. Softened me. Rattled me. Enlightened me.
• That’s not to say, every journey has been amazing. I have had some beautiful experiences, but I’ve had equally challenging ones that I’m still unpacking and working my way through. Either way, they are still so worth it to me.

Do you microdose?

I do! Last year, I microdosed a lot more LSD. 

This year, I’m focused on a psilocybin protocol and I’ve found it’s creating a lot of peace, calm, and clarity in my life.

What’s something you read, heard or watched or experienced that was meaningful to you and you’d like to share?

I watched Aware last month and loved it.

We’ll do 3 rapid-fire questions to close.

Why are mushrooms amazing? 

They are beautiful, ancient wisdom. They’ve showed me so much about myself and others, I can’t recall what life was like PM (pre-mushrooms) =‍

What’s the most meaningful change you’ve experienced as a result of microdosing? 

I’ve experience an increase in self-love and acceptance.

The way I talk to myself has evolved and comes from a heart centered place. 

My inner critic is still there a bit, but even the sound of the voice changed from what used to sound like some old mean man yelling at me all day, to now some young woman feeling only a little unsure of herself.

What’s your advice to psychedelic newcomers?

Get curious.
Be open.
Listen to your heart.
Start slow, explore, see how you feel.
Be patient.