I am Jennifer Pastiloff and this series is designed to introduce the world to someone I find incredible. Someone who is manifesting their dreams on a daily basis.
Today’s guest is Rick Rondeau, co-founder of one of my favorite companies ever: The OMies. I will admit that I am obsessed and own 6 OMies t-shirts.
11% of all revenue generated by the OMies goes directly to helping families dealing with the daily challenge of autism via bluecommunity.org, a non-profit organization created by Rick & Dahlia Rondeau.
Rick & Dahlia have 3 beautiful children, two of which have been diagnosed with autism. They say that until you experience the isolation and stress of autism, it’s difficult to understand just how challenging it can be for families. They understand and want to help. Having a nephew who has autism, I love this about them!
The success of the OMies will change lives for the better and this is why the OMies were created. Thank you for not only your contribution and support, but for spreading and sharing the OMies among your tribe.
Rick and Dahlia, aka The Omies, are fun, loving, kind, generous, big-hearted people who happen to have an awesome sense of humor to boot. I am honored to be part of their tribe.
The following interview is inspiring, beautiful, funny and honest. Please take a moment and be delighted.
Jennifer Pastiloff: What are you most proud to have manifested in your life?
Rick Rondeau of The OMies: My wife.
I actually created a “vision board” for the kind of woman I would like to share my life with. I noted every detail including hair color, personal style, level of grace, unselfishness, interests, etc… I saved all the images and took photos of the board, so people would believe me.
I have told the story to people all over the country to help inspire them. I often think back on how amazing that manifestation process truly was.
Jennifer Pastiloff: The OMies. Tell us about it.
Rick Rondeau of The OMies: The OMies came about from a personal desire to create an image that would best represent the rapidly expanding ZEN GENeration. We affectionately refer to the members of this generation as OMies.
One of the most iconic images of all time, the smiley face, was highly representative of the experiential 1960’s generation. To me, the true beauty in the smiley face design was it’s ultra simplicity. I wanted to create an image that was equally simple, yet highly recognizable and fitting for the attitude of the ZEN GENeration.
I am confident that I achieved this goal with a simple blue circle and 3 straight lines.
With that said, I created my first collection of merchandise almost 6 years ago and was unable to connect with my intended audience. The problem as it turned out, thanks to the insight of a creative mentor of mine – Jim Benton, creator of Happy Bunny and many other highly successful characters, was that my image was zen, but my messaging was not zen enough. Jim recommended that I focus more on the zen category and as he said – “own it.” It was at this point I made the decision to add the meditative/yoga influenced OMie body.
My next adjustment was eliminating all the different colored OMies and going with the most popular color, blue. The final piece of the puzzle fell beautifully into place as my wife and I had always talked about building a brand/company that had true purpose and could really make a difference in people’s lives. This is why 11% of all OMies sales goes to helping families deal with stress and isolation that autism can create. We are a family that deals with this stress and isolation everyday (our twin boys have been diagnosed with autism). Each month, our non-profit organization, blue community, spotlights a family to help.
This is how we describe the OMies on our website:
The OMies represent the ever growing, ever glowing ZEN GENeration. A peaceful, but powerful tribe of individuals who understand that love unites, inspires and rewards. OMies encourage authenticity and integrity as essential components of life.
The OMies are a high-vibe, zen tribe who spread the power of cOMmUNITY everyday, everywhere.
Jennifer Pastiloff: A mantra I live by is “I do what I love and I love what I do.” What would one of the “OMies” mantras be?
Rick Rondeau of The OMies: Celebrate your uniqueness.
Jennifer Pastiloff: I love that a portion of your sales goes to helping families deal with the challenges of autism. How did this come about?
Rick Rondeau of The OMies: Our 6 year old twin boys were both diagnosed with autism in 2008. As a result, we have dealt with the stress and isolation that autism can bring every day. My wife and I would often share our frustrations about autism with each other and agreed that it would be so rewarding to be able to help people like us. This was what is known as the “aha” moment.
Jennifer Pastiloff: Who/what inspires you the most?
Rick Rondeau of The OMies: My wife – best attitude ever.
My mom – most consistent ever.
My dad – best hall of fame hockey player ever.
My kids – brightest lights ever.
&
You, Jennifer Pastiloff, who connects and promotes people with your heart, not your ego!!!
Jennifer Pastiloff: What is the greatest lesson you have learned from your children?
Rick Rondeau of The OMies: Be uninhibited.
Act silly.
No detail is small.
* Gifts come in all kinds of packages.
Jennifer Pastiloff: From starting the OMies company?
Rick Rondeau of The OMies: *Work equals play, when you are doing what you love.
Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Never, never, never give up.
Jennifer Pastiloff: From being married?
Rick Rondeau of The OMies: 2 people working together can accomplish anything they choose.
Love wins.
Apologizing is not a weakness.
Jennifer Pastiloff: From autism?
Rick Rondeau of The OMies:
Humility.
Patience.
**What seems to be different is just different, not worse. If autism is looked at from a different P.O.V., one that sees the “frequency” of these individuals, you “see” the positive gifts and the abundance of these highly-intelligent, unique and amazing kids/people. They carry a vibrant light that cannot be dismayed.
Jennifer Pastiloff: Who has been your greatest teacher?
Rick Rondeau of The OMies:
1. The Pioneer.
I am fascinated with stories of Pioneers in a wide variety of industries. I am constantly consuming great stories about great ideas that came about from great effort.
2. Failure.
Failure has taught me so many lessons, the most important being – don’t be afraid to fail!!!
3. My wife.
She had a challenging childhood, survived a near death experience at 13, and has spent her entire life helping other people. She teaches me everyday how to be a better person and reminds me that it is much better to give, than to receive.
Jennifer Pastiloff: Facebook. I love what you post. How has social media played a part in your life and your career?
Rick Rondeau of The OMies: Facebook gives me a platform to show the extent of my creativity. I love photography, design, art and inspiring people. Facebook is a tremendous resource for showing one’s creativity.
Social media plays a major role in the success of sharing the OMies all over the world. It is so exciting when someone likes a new image/post, likes the OMies page and places an order, as a result of social media.
Jennifer Pastiloff: My sister Rachel, whose one son has Prader Willi Syndrome asked me to ask the following: How does one continue to manifest your dreams while being a parent?
Rick Rondeau of The OMies: You have to be more organized, and live life more simply. Remove the clutter from your world (everything that “gets in the way” of you focusing/visualizing on your kids and your dreams). You must dream bigger and manifest by trusting in the Universe. With faith and trust, the Universe will bring you what you need, exactly when you need it. And it’ll be beyond your wildest imagination; even better!
Include all of who you authentically are into your dreams; it’s all there for a reason and it serves a purpose. Be proud of who you are already! Gratitude is soooo important.
One of our big dreams is the OMies becoming a successful family business that all of our children can work with and around our entire lives; it’s a passion and not just a job! We love to help others. This fuels the manifesting engines.
Jennifer Pastiloff: Do you practice yoga?
Rick Rondeau of The Omies: I meditate almost every single day, so I have my own “Yoga” which means, “Union with the Divine.” But I am developing a more consistent yoga routine that includes Hatha flow along with Yoga Nidra (prajna).
Jennifer Pastiloff: Gratitude is the greatest force in my life. Most of my classes are set to this theme. If you could say thank you right now, who would it be to?
Rick Rondeau of The OMies: God.
My wife.
My mom.
My dad.
My kids.
Every single OMies supporter.
Every special needs parent.
Every teacher.
&
You.
Jennifer Pastiloff: When is the last time you have laughed at yourself?
Rick Rondeau of The OMies: Last week.
I was out sticking OMies stickers all across town acting like a teenager and laughed at my behavior and how impossible growing up has been for me.
Jennifer Pastiloff: Which is your favorite OMie?
Rick Rondeau of The Omies: RIGHT OM.
This design was inspired by Russell Simmons and his passion for yoga, meditation, fashion, etc… but it also has a bit of me in it, as I wear a black cap backwards on most days.
GIDDY OM is a very, very close second.
This design makes me and so many other people smile. It’s a classic.
Jennifer Pastiloff: Who would be your dream team of OMies? Who would you love to see the OMies shirt on?
Rick Rondeau of The Omies: Spencer Paysinger (#55 NY Giants) – done
Laura Donnelly (Actress / ABC Missing) – done
Nate Connolly (Lead Guitarist Snow Patrol) – done
Dr. Wayne Dyer & family – almost done?
Oprah – soon! (fingers crossed)
Christy Turlington – soon! (fingers crossed)
*Russell Simmons, Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Anniston, Sting, Brad Pitt and his entire brood, Sandra Bullock and little Louis, Alec Baldwin and Hilaria Thomas, Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake….my list goes on and on but these would be some really fun high-vibe OMies.
** all the above mentioned “done” OMies were thanks to Jennifer Pastiloff!!!
Jennifer Pastiloff: What’s up next for the OMies?
Rick Rondeau of The Omies:
1. More exposure!!!
We are deciding which events, festivals, trade shows, etc. across the country are best exposure opportunities for the OMies.
2. Expand the OMies wholesale business (yoga studios, catalogs and retailers).
3. Expand the collection to include embroidered caps, shirts, hoodies and kids wear.
4. We are looking to develop some product license partnerships in select categories, including:
Skateboards
Toy figurines
Plush toys
Pillows
Candles
Yoga gear
Phone case
Phone app
Animation!!!
Jennifer Pastiloff: Where can we find more OMies? How do we order shirts?
Rick Rondeau of The Omies:
and our private and brand new organization that donates to Autism (bluecommunity.org).
~
Editor: Lynn Hasselberger
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