I would say storytelling, media, just connecting with people has always been ...
throughout my career, but I finally decided to just go all in and in February and it is
“something that I believe was assigned to me. I don't think it's something that I made up of my own.”
Neluna Dairy is a mindful transformative empowering entrepreneur and the founder of Wonder. Guided by a deep commitment to holistic well-being, she helps individuals dismantle internal barriers and master their emotional state, empowering them to unlock their true potential and paving the way for conscious leadership, everyday serenity and authentic joy. I was working as a management consultant, you know, things were good, but there was something
still missing. I went to a Joe dispenser workshop in Tampa and he said something on day two of a 10-day workshop. He said by the age of 35, 95% of who you are is a set of like memorized beliefs, emotions, responses, and that's terrified me and he said like most people, they die at like 30 but they're not buried till they're like 70 because they stop living. So I was like, "Oh my gosh." And and it just hit me. I was like, "What am I going to do with that?"
It spams the globe, like a super high school internet Elvis, ready to fly over here. And today Apple is going to reinvent the globe. It's not over, I'm telling how we are. The living your legacy podcast for those who live to leave a legacy. Come on with the way you say, "Oh, it's about just not on the planet. You can live your dream." Hi, and welcome back to another episode of Living Your Legacy Podcast. And I'm your host,
Jay Selangen, and we have another special guest here today. Please introduce yourself. Hi, Jay. Yes. I'm Neil Inaderi. I am the creator and host of Water.
Now, when you first said your name, Neiloo, I was like, "Oh wow, that's such a cool original name."
“And then I thought, "N-E-L-U." But it's N-E-L-O, right?”
I'm probably the only person I spelled with that way. Okay, so there's many new those. I just haven't heard of them before. Yeah. Okay, so it's the first for me. So where's that from? Yeah, so Neiloo's a short nickname for "Nealoo Fire," which is a Farcee Iranian name, and he's Water Lily.
Okay. Yeah, Iranian, my best friend growing up was an Iranian American family. But yeah, you have an interesting story of how your parents came over here to the states. Give us a little background about that. Yeah, so I was born in Iran and in '82, and it was a couple years after the Iranian Revolution. So we were persecuted. Had religious asylum and caucused on and made our way over to the states.
“Okay, wow. And how old were you when you made your way over?”
Yeah, I was six when I left Iran about eight years old when I got to California. Okay, so I'm trying to think when I was six, if I have memories of that, but since you had such a contrast, do you have memories of being in Iran? Yeah, absolutely. Okay, wow. I couldn't tell you what I was doing where I was six, you know, but when it's such a big contrast of moving in such a huge thing in your life,
yeah, you know, I never thought about it that way, but that makes sense. Yeah.
So yeah, and then you moved over to the states and you're very young and kind of where do you move to? Yeah, so we had when when we were in Pakistan, we were waiting for a residency to get cleared, and we had the options of Southern California, Adelaide Australia, Netherlands, Amsterdam, and then Vancouver, Canada. Those were like, we had family or my dad's friends were there and willing to talk to them.
Those were pretty cool options. Really no options. You would think, you know, like I taught these like exchange students in Thailand that were coming over to the states for a year abroad, right? And their options were like, you know, Kentucky and, you know, Louisiana, just like places when they think of America, they think the places that you listed, right? Like Southern California, okay, but yeah, that's a great idea. I think Adelaide is probably on the same level as Kentucky,
when I have been to Adelaide, and I was going to say that is the lowest part of the list. You know, it's still pretty good there compared to all the others, but yeah, that's good options. So then what'd you choose? So my parents ended up choosing Southern California where my dad's youngest brother was. He was going to school out there and he had gone in advance a few years and so we picked there. I grew up in Orange County. Okay, around nice. Yeah, back,
I think back then during that time that would be the only place to choose, yo...
the California Dreaming, right? It was great. Southern California has the largest population in
Iranians outside of Iran. Okay, but Vancouver has a big population. Adelaide has a large Iranian Bahai population, which is what we were, and then my aunt was out in Amsterdam. Wow. And so it was religion, a big part of your family. What religion are you practicing now? Well, now I'm, I'm, I'm a believer some Christian, but I grew up Bahai. Okay. And what is Bahadi like I was? Yeah, Bahai is a, it's monotheistic, only a couple hundred years old,
and the prophet essentially said, "I come from the same God as like Jesus, Muhammad Moses, we're just furthering the message for the people of that time." Okay. So I grew up with that very unifying, very like accepting of other faiths, but in Islam, Muhammad said, "I'm the last
“prophet from God." So if anything comes after him is blasphemy essentially. Okay. And so that's why”
there was persecution after the revolution. Wow. And but now you're practicing Christian, right? Yeah, born again. Oh, okay. But so tell us about your business little. Let's get into that. Yeah, sure. And I was going back into your spirituality because I think it's a big part of what you do as well. So yeah. Okay. So tell us about your business. So wonder is a story telling platform? I just launched it in February. I would say storytelling, media, just connecting with people
has always been like a thread throughout my career. But I finally decided to just go all
in in February. And it is something that I believe was assigned to me. I don't think it's something that I made up of my own. Wow. And so storytelling platform is it others that are getting their stories, are you telling the stories? Yeah. So it's stories of the past and of the present that make us pause and wonder stories, historical stories, stories of human resilience, stories of nature and animals. I've always been a super curious person and a little bit, I missed my calling
as a detective a little bit. So just I love the background work and the research. But the stories and the audience watches, are anywhere between like 90 seconds to two minutes. Okay. So you said the stories that your audience watches. And so what are they watching? They're watching people tell these stories. So they're watching the story. Oh, you're telling the stories. Oh, okay. And then like in the corner and there's like, you know, video or footage of pictures,
like telling a very visual story. Yeah. And then I'm in the corner. I kind of like, um,
“if I could be invisible, I would be, but I think it helps to have me in the corner there. Okay.”
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. In corner of a room where the corner of the screen. Oh, okay. Okay. Because I'm thinking in the corner of the room because we're in a nice room here. It's like, okay. Well, just don't be in the corner. Be front center like us, you know. Okay. Well, that's cool. So you do the research on these stories that give you wonder.
And then you're telling these stories. And I guess you've experienced some amazing growth.
Yeah. I've had some really great growth. I launched it February 1st. It started out as I'm not sure if you're familiar with the company's stamp. Oh, no, I'm not. Yeah, they do. It's like a CRM for creators. Okay. So they had, they had done a contest in January called Dare to Dream. And my friend said, and to me, said, hey, what do you think, uh,
“you should submit something for this? And I did and, uh, submitted an idea called under pressure,”
where really great creativity at ingenuity can happen in moments of pressure. Yeah. Uh, so I submitted that. I was like, I'm going to see if, you know, how I do in this contest to decide if I'm going to do this or not. And it was going to be another month before I found out. And in the meantime, um, on social media, I saw a real of a Iranian girl back in Iran, she was 18 years old. And she wanted to be a runway model. And she had like, you know,
the physique and the look and everything. But she was willing to put herself out there fully completely putting her life at risk, uh, given the situation right now. And I'm watching this girl just go for it while I'm waiting to see if I win this contest before I actually decide to do my my, my thing. Yeah. So that, like, just shook me up from the inside out. And I was like, okay, why am I, why am I waiting for permission? So let me, I'm just going to do it. But, uh, and in
that moment, under pressure just felt like if every episode is this theme of under pressure,
It felt really heavy.
to be a little bit more joyful and fun. And, uh, so then I was like, well, how can I expand and
“include on stories of under pressure, but also other stories. And that's what wonder came from.”
Wow. Wow. That, that must be a thing to, and what happened to this girl? Uh, yeah. So I did her story. Yeah. Which was like episode two. Wow. And, uh, this was, uh, February
second when I did her story. And, um, it was right after the government shut down and the, the two days
of blackouts that happened in Iran. And so a lot of people were like, is she still alive? And, uh, I had gotten touched with her, uh, on telegram and a photographer saw my story and said, she really has it. Like, she, I want to work with her. Yeah. And he's, um, he was a model before and then got into fashion, design, and now that's photography. So I've been able to link them up. Uh, it just been a little bit challenging with the Wi-Fi shut down in Iran. Uh, but now she's
like a friend to me. And, um, if I can help her, why not? Yeah. And so what we're looking to get here
“to the States, or yeah, get out of the country. Okay. Wow. And so when's the last time you talk to her?”
It's so interesting. I'm so involved in the story. Yeah. Yeah. She just reached out to me.
There was like a month of like silence. Yeah. And, uh, uh, but I talked to her at the beginning of me. Okay. That. Not too long ago. So there's hope. There's hope. We got to get her to, to live her dreams. All right. She said it was daring to dream, right? The contest. The contest was called there to dream. And I didn't win. And I was so glad that I started it anyway. Yeah. Yeah. I launched a February. And we found out the contest winners like middle February. But by then, I had already
like had two weeks of episodes, uh, daily episodes underneath my belly. Nice. Um, and I had committed to like 30 days and posting daily. And which is a big commitment that's hard to do. It's not as easy as you think. Yeah. And I had, I had done like web series before. I created content before. But this was a lot more, the scope was very clear. Yeah. We're in the past. I was kind of like all over the map. Well, you got to go all over the map sometimes and have that bird's nest in order
to say, hey, I got to organize this and get my game on. So like, and you know, take the bird's nest and turn it into a house, right? Yeah. And all the stuff leading up to like my friends, like,
one of my close matches, like, I'm glad you finally found your lane. It took you like 10 years.
And I said, it really did. It took me about 10 years. Like, the first time I did any kind of content creation was in 2017. I was turning 35. So I did this web series called Thrive at 35. Yeah. Why do something new every week? And I take my audience on the journey. That's funny. So I'm saying that's funny, because when I was, I went to journalism school, right? And I had my own series called The Hitchhiker's Guide to Vermont. And it was, I go out and do an adventure, you know,
like, and hitchhike somewhere. It was one of the months, you know, but it's your mind. Yeah, it just reminded me of where you thrive at 35. So I was 35. Yeah. And I was, before that, I was living a very conventional, I would say, went to college, grad school. I was working as a management consultant. You know, things were good. But there was something still missing. And I went to a Joe dispenser workshop in Tampa. And he said something on day two of a 10-day
workshop. He said, by the age of 35, 95% of who you are is a set of like memorized beliefs, emotions, responses. And that terrified me. And he said, like, most people, they die at like 30, but they're not very told they're like 70, because they stop living. So I was like, "Oh my gosh." And, and it just hit me. I was like, "What am I going to do about that?" So I went back home. And I was reading his book called "Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself." And he just recommended
small changes. Like, maybe brush your teeth with your left hand instead of your right hand. Take a different route to work. I started doing that. And then through that process, this is where Thrive of 35 came out. And I did it for the whole year. Then I did a TEDx talk on it on my learning points. So all of that got me really comfortable from the camera in order to prepare me for later for wonder. Wow, nice. So, yeah, yeah, you just started in February. And then you were telling
me that you had millions of views, right? Yeah. That's that's great growth for, more people will
“get into it if they saw a growth like that. So how do you do it and where they come from?”
Yeah, honestly, like I said earlier, I, I, I really believe this was, it's an assignment. I'm just getting out of the way and stewarding it. I'm very much believed like this is something
God kind of gifted me to bring to the world.
I grew to about 35,000 followers across those platforms. And then I have, that's great.
A couple of videos that I have, like, I have one video, it's almost like a five million views,
another one at like one and a half million. And so, and it's the engagement that I really like. So my sometimes, my friends are like, these comments are a little harsh or a little bit like raw. And I said, but I, I love that because the people are, they're really reacting. It's polarizing sometimes. Yeah. It's hitting something. And that, that's part of it, you know, it's the good
“and the bad. And do you have a technique to your storytelling? Is there a formula?”
Yeah. So I had, I had, essentially, watched this eight part series on how to create videos for where you're like in the corner and you're telling some kind of story.
The guy who was teaching, it was say, his recommendation was taken existing viral video.
And then you kind of put a spin on it. Let's say, like, an entrepreneurial spin or whatever. So, but when I was watching it, I was like, I don't want to do what he's saying. Yeah. But I like the, like, the, the tools he's showing me how to create, like, content like this. And so those were the notes I was taking in my head. So essentially what happens is like, I decide, like, for the week, I'm going to tell these seven stories or five stories.
And what's the kind of emotional arc I want to take the audience on? Yeah. And I, I keep it, they're short stories. So they have to be under three minutes. They're usually between 90
seconds to two minutes. And really strong hook. Some tackle emotional center. And give
leave them with a punchline. Yeah. Okay. So hook emotional center and a punchline.
“Yeah. And stories that I'm in a minute and a half really curious about. Like, I think that's critical.”
Like, if I don't care, then I'm not going, it's not going to help me telling the story. The audience is not going to care. Yeah. Because I think my interest kind of ignites something in the audience too. Yeah. And there's, there's something about the, you know, the science of the brain, where if they see a part of the story, they need to kind of get the ending to it. So like, that it's like, it's like, you, you get something shocking. And then you rewind it. And then the
brain says, well, I can't keep on scrolling because I need to know what happens. Okay. That's so true. Uh, I'm actually, I'll look into that. Um, that sounds like a great wonder story. But, uh, I did an episode on this lion cub called missfit. And, um, essentially a lion cub called missfit. I would not want to meet that cub when he grows up. Okay. I want to meet the lion cub whose name is like sparkles. Yeah. The, the nature filmmakers name the missfit because
he was kind of, that he was, he was, he was, he was in, he didn't fit with the rest of the cubs. And he got abandoned by his family because he was injured and his mom and his aunt's just stop feeding him. Okay. So he was going weaker and weaker. And he just knew I have to stay close to my pride if I'm going to survive. Eventually he wins his way back in. If I tell the story, and people are like, what happens next? Is he still alive? Did he become a king? So then I
had to do missfit, missfit part two. Yeah. And there was actually a part two because I'd watch this documentary last year. Well, people were so invested. They're like, I'm sitting here driving to work crying, you know, uh, what happens next? Tell me. But that makes sense what you just said. Yeah. Yeah. No, I'm, I've just recently, because I'm, you know, I, I look into marketing
“and, uh, there's just something about the psychology of needing the ending, right?”
Needing to know, you can't just leave 'em hanging. It can't be a cliffhanger. So yeah. Yeah. Uh, and what I was saying about, you know, the strong hook, which I wholeheartedly believe you need. At the same time, I think, um, I respect my audience. And I, and I assume their intelligence. I assume their smart. Because I see a lot of, like, content out there where they give you these hooks, but they're, they're like, yeah, yeah. What is it called, bait and switch? Okay. Or like, they're not,
it's almost twisting the truth. Yeah. So it's those, it's those doom scroller hooks. Yeah. It's like, stop it with the doom scrolling content. Please give me intelligent, you know, wonder style content that, you know, I leave feeling kind of better about my life and not like, oh, I just wasted hour of my day or whatever. Yeah. And so I have that internal, um,
Kind of internal integrity with myself is like, do I want to watch this video...
a note, then I don't say the line or I like make it make it better, uh, and get as much, you know,
just keep, keep it, keep it honest. Yeah. But we have to put more positive content out there. You know, we're in but barred with all this, uh, all kinds of bad stuff, all kinds of too much sexual stuff.
It's too much negative stuff and it's just like, oh, please, you know, it's like when China was
“talking about how their algorithm pushes more educational content to the younger kids, right?”
While we're feeding them this brain mush, you know, it's like, come on, you know, we're better than that,
right? So it's so happy to hear that you're putting out the content that, you know, we should
be learning about, you know, positivity, uh, educational that it makes us better. Yeah. Thank you.
“Yeah. Um, so wonder platform, right? How do people find you?”
Yes. On Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, uh, just wonder, uh, you could put wonder with Nilu, uh, it'll pop up. Okay. And do you have a website? I don't have a website because yet, um, I've been so focused on building my social media presence,
“but it's coming. Yeah. But that's wonder with Nilu and EL with a double O, right?”
Right. And EL double O. All right. Think double O seven audience wonder with Nilu, right? Okay. I love a day. All right. Well, thank you so much for joining us. And I'm really happy that you've seen this explosive growth. And I can't wait to go and check out wonder with Nilu. And yeah, I'm, uh, so happy for you and your growth. Thank you so much. Thanks for having me. All right. All right. And that's another episode. Thank you for joining us. And her episode will be airing soon.
And, uh, come back. All right. Thank you.
