Latest / The Ambition Code / How to Start Before You Feel Ready, and Build the Life You Want with Abby Girvin
Transcript
- 0:00Every day, film and TV productions throw out thousands of untouched meals.
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- 0:15One of the number one reasons for my success and reasons I see other people succeed is being able to take action even if you fall on your face.
- 0:25So being able to be in action with your life and what you want to create.
- 0:29Because I believe that when you take those steps forward, that the universe meets you halfway.
- 0:33Welcome to the Ambition Code.
- 0:35Today's guest is someone I'm so excited to introduce you to.
- 0:39Not only because of what she has built, because of who she is, how she leads, and the way her story speaks so beautifully to the heart of the show.
- 0:46Abby Gervin is the owner and agency director of DDo Artists Agency, one of the most respected talent agencies in the country.
- 0:52Abby began her career with her first company, Alan Models, at just 21 years old.
- 0:57And by 27, she had already taken ownership of DDO Agency.
- 1:0127.
- 1:03An age when so many of us are still figuring out who we are, what we want, and whether we are ready for the next big.
- 1:08Step.
- 1:09And Abby walked through the door of opportunity and began building what would become her life's work.
- 1:13Over the last few decades, she's expanded DDO from a single Los Angeles office into a thriving national agency with offices in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Atlanta, now
- 1:24representing more than 2,500 actors.
- 1:27But what I love most about Abby's story is that it is not just about scaling a business, it's about recognizing potential and talent and teams.
- 1:35People and maybe first and foremost in yourself.
- 1:37Abby has built a company rooted in loyalty, trust, hard work, and the belief that when you give people room to rise, they often become more than they ever even imagined.
- 1:46She's a leader who believes in creating a culture where people are trusted to take the reins and do something remarkable.
- 1:52That is what this conversation is really about.
- 1:54It's about ambition before certainty, leadership before you feel fully ready, trusting your instincts.
- 2:00Building something that lasts and understanding that sometimes the open door opens before the confidence is fully landed and you become who you are and are meant to be by simply
- 2:09walking through it.
- 2:10I cannot wait for you guys to hear this conversation with the incredible Abby Gerbin.
- 2:14Abby, welcome to the podcast.
- 2:16Thank you so much, Julie.
- 2:18You started your first modeling agency at age twenty one.
- 2:21What did ambition look like to you then?
- 2:23Cluelessness.
- 2:24And just ignorance is bliss.
- 2:26I started completely landed this opportunity to own an agency, like fresh out of college, did not have a clue what I was doing.
- 2:34It was with someone that was a high fashion photographer.
- 2:37We literally became partners overnight.
- 2:39It was purely like fake it till you make it.
- 2:42And I would find girls at the mall.
- 2:44And basically I would just jump in and try to find girls that wanted to be high fashion models.
- 2:51And I would ship up to New York.
- 2:52So I would just basically approach.
- 2:54Whoever I thought had the look of the times, which was the early nineties, kind of wafy, five ten and above, and just dove in.
- 3:03So how did you even think you could do that?
- 3:06Most people don't understand the idea of ambition and entrepreneurship at twenty one.
- 3:11I was in college in twenty one.
- 3:12I was still figuring out how to pay my bills.
- 3:14How did you know that you could run a company?
- 3:16I don't think I did.
- 3:18My mom was the first female photographer agent in the country.
- 3:22So I just kind of emulated what she did and watched her start a business growing up.
- 3:27So I part of it was just watching her and I was like, this is what we do.
- 3:31We we own businesses at whatever age we are.
- 3:35And I think I also had authority issues.
- 3:37So I knew that I needed to own a company because I was not great at going by other people's rules.
- 3:43So
- 3:44To me, it was just strictly like, okay, this is what we do and we fall on our face and we pick ourselves up again and we just keep moving forward.
- 3:52And at the time I I remember I was a cocktail waitress as well.
- 3:55So I had to work during the day and as the agency owner for a lawn.
- 4:00And then at night I would go and was a cocktail waitress just to pay the bill.
- 4:03So I was not making any money when I owned a lawn models.
- 4:07And then it slowly started to increase.
- 4:09But in the beginning it it was all about the side gigs and how to
- 4:13to afford my lifestyle.
- 4:14Yeah, I totally get that.
- 4:16I think that when most people start, they it doesn't necessarily automatically cover your life.
- 4:20You have to have other gigs like the waitressing is something that I did in college.
- 4:24Absolutely.
- 4:24You know what I just heard, abs, is that who you were at seven is a good indication for who you'll be as an adult.
- 4:30Like who who were you at seven?
- 4:33Gosh, I loved myself at seven.
- 4:35I was an entrepreneur.
- 4:37I'd say seven, eight, nine.
- 4:39I started, I had that entrepreneur spirit.
- 4:41And I'm so grateful to my incredible, inspiring mom that told me I could do anything at a very young age.
- 4:49And I had a huge
- 4:52huge desire for Jordash jeans and I knew Me too.
- 4:56I would say the best.
- 4:59my god.
- 4:59And this dad Clogs.
- 5:00That was my middle name.
- 5:01Clogs for sure.
- 5:02The sports hacks.
- 5:03So I had this huge desire and she was a single mom.
- 5:06So I I needed to fulfill that desire.
- 5:09So first I started opening lemonade stands at garage sales and just on the curb or wherever I could find.
- 5:16And then I started selling making tuna fish sandwiches and selling them in my mom's office building.
- 5:21So I knew if I spent like five dollars on a few cans of tuna and bread, I could profit maybe seventy dollars for the day.
- 5:28So it was kind of embedded in me.
- 5:30I think my Jordan Ash Jean obsession really launched my whole entrepreneur career.
- 5:36That's funny, 'cause I feel like I wanted to make a lot of money when I was younger, also for fashion, like purely for fashion.
- 5:42yeah.
- 5:42I mean, what else is what else matters?
- 5:44I know what else matters.
- 5:45So cut to the next scene.
- 5:47You own DDO.
- 5:48Tell us how you went from a lawn modeling to owning DDO, an already established agency before even building it to where it is today.
- 5:56Okay, so wild story.
- 5:58Uh so basically I moved out to LA knowing one person.
- 6:01I had five hundred dollars to my name, drove out from Washington, DC, where I had owned a lawn models, and just was so clear I needed to be in Los Angeles.
- 6:10It was completely my vibe.
- 6:12arrived and had faxed over a few resumes and got hired at DDO after I think I was in LA for literally like three days and did not know what the hell I was doing.
- 6:24I had dealt with models.
- 6:26I had not dealt with actors.
- 6:27So I just got in there and they hired me as an agent, which was kind of a miracle.
- 6:32Mm-hmm got in and just hustled as much as I could.
- 6:36Just really decided I would work like 14 hour days and I still
- 6:41think they may have been morons for hiring me.
- 6:43I'm not sure why they hired me, but they did.
- 6:46Was faking it till I made it, worked like a dog, worked super hard for two years.
- 6:50And then the current owners at the time were not the greatest and they weren't paying for my parking.
- 6:58And our offices were in Deep Beverly Hills.
- 7:00So parking was like maybe one tenth of my salary at the time.
- 7:04So I was like, okay, well I'm just gonna move my car every two hours and
- 7:09That's just the way it is.
- 7:10So I had just read this book called The Power of Your Subconscious Mind.
- 7:14And I decided I was like, I don't like working for these people.
- 7:18They're not fair.
- 7:19They're not supportive.
- 7:20I decided I wanted to own a company again because that's what I had had when I was 21.
- 7:24So I wrote this affirmation about owning my own business.
- 7:28And it was thriving and it was abundant and it was happening with ease and grace.
- 7:33And I wrote this affirmation.
- 7:34Every two hours I would walk to my car.
- 7:37And
- 7:38I would say this affirmation over and over again because what else was I gonna do?
- 7:42You know, it took like twenty minutes every two hours outside of my day.
- 7:45So I would say this affirmation over and over again.
- 7:48And so I'd say I probably said it five hundred times a day.
- 7:51And this went on for a couple of weeks.
- 7:52And it was all about me owning my own company and I'm abundant and I walk in one day and the owners had offered me to buy the company for a really good price.
- 8:04And I was like, Well, that's great.
- 8:06I literally have like
- 8:07you know, a couple thousand dollars to my name, but sure.
- 8:11And so walked out that day and we we drew up an agreement that I bought for fifty thousand dollars with a partner at the time and basically left that day with an agency.
- 8:22Wow.
- 8:23And it was it was a wild day, but it was such an incredible confirmation of my affirmation and what I was putting out to the universe.
- 8:31I
- 8:32Could not fathom that this would have happened in my wildest dreams.
- 8:36I was thinking, I'll have to open my own company and start it and build it and that sort of thing.
- 8:41And this just fell in my lap.
- 8:43I was terrified at the time because I was like, I just bought this agency.
- 8:47I didn't know what that would entail.
- 8:50We didn't have much money.
- 8:52And so I was terrified, but I just in my heart of hearts, I knew it was such the right choice.
- 8:57And I also didn't want to abandon the clients at my clients at the time.
- 9:01So I was like, well, I have
- 9:01to I have to do this or else they're gonna the company was gonna close.
- 9:04Wow.
- 9:05Okay.
- 9:05So I love that you did your affirmations five hundred times a day.
- 9:09I mean you're so productive.
- 9:10It does not shock me.
- 9:12But it it was sure your affirmations, but it's also that you had the talent and you had the experience because you had your own agency.
- 9:18So what do you think made the current owner say, Okay, you're the one that's gonna take over the legacy of this agency.
- 9:24Well they we were the only agents there.
- 9:26So they really had no choice.
- 9:28It really was simple as that.
- 9:29They introduced me with there was myself and another agent at the time.
- 9:33We were the perfect people to sell it to because we were the agents and the ones that had the trust with the client.
- 9:39Okay.
- 9:39And also that you're totally know what you're doing.
- 9:41I'm just gonna add that in there.
- 9:42Sure.
- 9:43Were you ready for that level of responsibility when you took it on?
- 9:46I think at the time I was up for anything.
- 9:49I was young, I was driven, I wanted to be successful.
- 9:53I don't think I had the leadership
- 9:57skills that I do now, but I had a can do attitude and a drive and I had a mindset that I could do anything.
- 10:07And that was because of my mother and the way that I was raised.
- 10:10And she I'm just so grateful because she always told me you can do whatever you want to and you whatever you put your mind to.
- 10:17Anything's possible.
- 10:19So I think a lot of the success is because of the mindset that was embedded in me at a young age.
- 10:25And do you think that was something that was learned or you already had it in your DNA?
- 10:29I think it's a combo.
- 10:30I tend to be pretty even keeled and up
- 10:35positive person.
- 10:36I'm pretty optimistic.
- 10:37So I think that also helps.
- 10:39And I also had proof throughout my few years of adult life of success that when I believed and when I came from a place of knowing that I wanted this to happen, then it would
- 10:51happen.
- 10:52So I think I trusted the process of just jumping in and having the results line up.
- 10:57And at the time I also
- 10:59Started to really dive into the law of attraction and manifesting.
- 11:05And I was really in a high vibration place.
- 11:08I felt like at the time I was young and ambitious, but I was also had just a mindset of what we visualize can manifest.
- 11:18And that really came into play with a
- 11:21acquiring the agency and then the trajectory of the agency for the past three decades.
- 11:27Yeah.
- 11:27Wow.
- 11:27Okay.
- 11:28So do you feel like when you're starting off with DDO, because I certainly have felt like this early on, but did you ever feel like you were underestimated as a young woman running
- 11:37an agency?
- 11:37Did you ever have to prove yourself?
- 11:40Yeah, completely.
- 11:41I and to be honest,
- 11:43Sometimes rightfully so.
- 11:44There were times when I did not know what I was doing.
- 11:47There were times where it was competing with agencies and owners that had been around for decades because the talent agency industry, especially back then, was owners that were in
- 11:59their 70s and 80s.
- 12:00And so I was competing with people that had been doing this for their whole life.
- 12:05Mm-hmm.
- 12:06Yeah.
- 12:06But at the same time, isn't there something to the art of getting an opportunity like that where you rise to the occasion and if you believe it, other people believe that you've got
- 12:14it covered?
- 12:15Absolutely.
- 12:16A hundred percent.
- 12:17And that's my life motto now with my employees.
- 12:21It's like when you are given that opportunity and the freedom, you step into it and you just become what is needed to lead.
- 12:29And that was
- 12:30hundred percent what I did.
- 12:32I just I was like well this is the only way it is.
- 12:34So I'm gonna step in.
- 12:36I'm gonna lead.
- 12:36That's just the way it goes.
- 12:38Did you ever have a moment where you felt like you had imposter syndrome, like suddenly you were in this moment and you don't even know what you're doing here or how did I get
- 12:47here or can I handle this?
- 12:49Like oh yeah I have okay, tell us.
- 12:51I I still have imposter syndrome all the time.
- 12:53I still have
- 12:54And when I do have imposter syndrome, I go back to trusting the universe that I'm in the right place and knowing that I'm here for a reason and I can do big things, I can do hard
- 13:07things.
- 13:08I lean on my self-confidence and my trust in myself at those times.
- 13:13But I feel like I'm still 30 years later having imposter syndrome with the entertainment industry and owning DDL.
- 13:21Yeah.
- 13:21I think the imposter syndrome.
- 13:23it sort of wears off as you get older when you have the confidence that you know your abilities and you're more confident overall.
- 13:29You know that you belong in a room.
- 13:31But I think at the beginning I had it so bad.
- 13:33I would I'd like at opportunities to pitch shows to big networks and I was like really young.
- 13:39You have the simil a very similar story.
- 13:41Yeah.
- 13:42I'd be like, my God, what a
- 13:44But I'm so I had to remind myself that I got myself into that room and I was supposed to be there.
- 13:48And so I got there because I had a good pitch.
- 13:50And like to my surprise, you know, I sold stuff.
- 13:53So can you speak a little to that?
- 13:55Absolutely.
- 13:56What advice would you give to like the younger version of Abby to fight imposter syndrome?
- 14:01Because a lot of people do for a long time.
- 14:03Yeah.
- 14:03I would say, first of all, knowing that most people do have imposter syndrome.
- 14:08And so trust yourself.
- 14:09Like
- 14:10I'd say affirmations about trusting yourself, visualizing before say you're having imposter syndrome about a big pitch or opening a big audition or a big meeting.
- 14:21I would rely on really visualizing how I want that to go and just seeing it through.
- 14:27I come from a place of knowing.
- 14:29So when I I see myself on the other side and I look back and I know
- 14:34Okay, I've got this big meeting.
- 14:35I know that I'm going to say the right things.
- 14:38I know that it's gonna be successful.
- 14:40And then I work back.
- 14:41Sometimes that can be hard because I've been in meetings where I could be like, my God, I'm gonna like throw up in front of those people.
- 14:47You know.
- 14:48Totally.
- 14:49yeah, all the time.
- 14:50I mean the worst things are gonna happen in this meeting right now.
- 14:52And everyone's like, worst when you're so when you're so scared and you're
- 14:57my god.
- 14:58And yeah, I've been there a a million times and it it can be really stressful.
- 15:02So how did you grow DDO from one Los Angeles office into a national agency over the last decade?
- 15:09But now you've got offices in New York, Chicago, and Atlanta.
- 15:11It was solely because of our incredible team.
- 15:15I give all the cred to
- 15:17the team of people that we have was it's each step of the way would not have happened without these people.
- 15:25And I think back on the cities and every city that was launched happened not because I decided, I want to open up Chicago or Atlanta or New York.
- 15:37It literally was something that came in and it was such a clear intuition or maybe it's divine timing.
- 15:45Things lined up.
- 15:46And I had the right person in place to help lead it.
- 15:50And so each city was merely a person that I felt instant trust with to know they can go to the city, we can invest the money in this person and this location to build.
- 16:02We have the steps and we can strategize together and then we can launch it.
- 16:06So I say each city and each division was if it felt in alignment with the person that wanted to do this or the person that.
- 16:15felt like was the right fit, then we would line up and we would forge ahead and come up with a strategic plan to make it a success.
- 16:23I think a lot of owners would probably do a ton of research and would think about it for years.
- 16:30And I did do research, but it was not extensive.
- 16:34Each city was more based on a gut and an intuition and a knowing that it was the right fit for the agency and for that
- 16:42person and for me and for the company.
- 16:45So it was all just felt l like an alignment, but it happened usually pretty quickly.
- 16:50Instinct is a big part of your decision making process.
- 16:54Is that also in your life or only your career?
- 16:56Instinct is everything for me.
- 16:58I half the time, like you mentioned imposter syndrome.
- 17:01Half the time I'm like, it's been thirty years, but sometimes I'm like, do I know what I'm doing?
- 17:05But one thing I do know is my I trust my instincts.
- 17:09And I have these sometimes
- 17:12like something comes over and it takes over my body and it's like a knowing that this is the next logical step.
- 17:18And and it's all instinct.
- 17:20And it rarely knock on wood when look back at my life, my profound life moments, career and and life, those profound life moments, and I say almost all of them were a gut
- 17:34instinct that just happened.
- 17:36And then I trusted it and I went with it.
- 17:38Yeah.
- 17:39I got you.
- 17:39I'm like that too.
- 17:40Like something feels really right or really wrong, I'll make a decision, yes or no.
- 17:45If I don't have a clear answer, I won't make a decision.
- 17:48It has to align with what I feel is right or wrong.
- 17:50Absolutely.
- 17:51Absolutely.
- 17:52Cappy's Cappy's united.
- 17:54I know, I know.
- 17:54I think that's time we share that we are both triple Capricorns.
- 17:58Yes, totally.
- 17:59I'm a double, you're a triple.
- 18:00You're a double, I'm a triple, which is insane.
- 18:03And also I just want to take this little commercial break moment to talk about how we met.
- 18:07'Cause we had, I mean, it was a while back, but we had our companies next to each other in Hollywood on the same floor and we met bathroom, which I love that we were both pregnant
- 18:17and so we were like instant friends.
- 18:18But yeah.
- 18:19And and we live in the bathroom at that time, right?
- 18:22But the truth is we just had so much in common, like our go getting attitude and our approach to life and business.
- 18:28And it was just like, Oh, we are so similar and you were like running everything at your schools, like you were just
- 18:34I was so impressed by you.
- 18:35and your and your production company was incredible.
- 18:38I mean, gorgeous office.
- 18:40I was like, who is this badass lady?
- 18:42I want to be friends with her.
- 18:44But then we had the same cars and like all these same things.
- 18:46And anyway, our friendship has endured.
- 18:49Back to D DO.
- 18:50So the entertainment industry has been kind of a mess and evolving in the last couple of years.
- 18:55And I'm sure it has affected every agency on the planet.
- 18:58So
- 18:59You guys, you know, evolved.
- 19:01How do you continue to thrive during this kind of change in the entertainment business?
- 19:04Great question.
- 19:05Well, first of all, it all goes back to the incredible team here at DDO.
- 19:10Every employee here is not only a dream to work with, but can also pivot and strategize and huge goal setters.
- 19:20People love goals here.
- 19:22And there's a lot of okay, this isn't working.
- 19:25Let's pivot.
- 19:25And it's a very solution oriented.
- 19:28Team of 30 people.
- 19:30And when the strikes happened in 2023, that's where Atlanta was birthed.
- 19:35wow.
- 19:35It's like, okay, there's nothing to do here.
- 19:38Let's let's open up Atlanta.
- 19:40There was there's been so many things along the way from this incredible team of people that think outside the box.
- 19:47And they don't get stuck in the mentality that the entertainment industry brings.
- 19:52They have a okay, let's find a solution on how we can continue to grow.
- 19:57in a shrinking industry.
- 19:59Yeah.
- 19:59And how hard has that been or easy?
- 20:02I know you give your people a lot of autonomy, but a lot of us like directly in the business of making content don't even know what the answers are sometimes.
- 20:10Yeah, absolutely.
- 20:11I think one blessing with D DO is that we are diversified with
- 20:17Four cities as well as voiceover and commercials, film, TV, theater.
- 20:24So the diversification has definitely helped.
- 20:26We used to have dance, like the commercial strike back, I think it was 2001.
- 20:32We had a lot of different divisions and that the commercials were hit, but other divisions weren't.
- 20:37The film and TV was hit in 2023, and we had the commercial and the voiceover.
- 20:42So through the years, the diversification has definitely helped.
- 20:46What's your process or your team's process in terms of being like, okay, everything's changing.
- 20:52Now we're gonna do X, Y, and Z to get ahead of the curve?
- 20:54Or how do you adapt quickly?
- 20:56Also, it's I guess part of the same question.
- 20:58Yeah, I'd say the pivoting, the brainstorming, the
- 21:02can do attitude with these people.
- 21:04This team of people, they do have incredible freedom and the autonomy, as you mentioned.
- 21:10And that's and that's allowed them to have the space.
- 21:13They have the trust.
- 21:14So I think part of that allows them the space to come up with solutions.
- 21:18So they're very solution oriented.
- 21:21So you just went into your career and, you know, wrapped your arms around it and ran.
- 21:26But some people
- 21:27They sort of have a barrier.
- 21:28They know they wanna succeed.
- 21:30They know where they wanna go, but they don't know how to take that step from college or home or wherever they may be into the rest of their life.
- 21:37What's your advice for somebody to just go for it?
- 21:40I feel like a lot of people, it's I see a lot of people struggling with purpose.
- 21:44I think finding purpose in this life, in our lives, it's it's such a gift and it's such an important part of our journey to
- 21:52To have a a productive life, to have a life that has meaning.
- 21:56Yeah.
- 21:56And so I do think that finding purpose is I'd say do everything you can to try to find your purpose because it just does add that meaning that will give you that fulfillment.
- 22:06Yeah.
- 22:07When I was in college, I went to college in Virginia and I really wanted to be in New York.
- 22:11I actually really wanted to go to FIT when I was in high school, but my parents were like, You're not ready for New York.
- 22:16So I went to Virginia, but the minute someone came into my college and said, I can help you get interns in New York, I was like, Me, me, me, me, me, me, me.
- 22:24I'm I didn't know how to get there.
- 22:26I'm gonna go do it.
- 22:27But there's another side of me that knew I wanted to go to interview magazine, which was my dream.
- 22:31So I literally went into the Masthead and I looked at everyone that was working there and I called my number and be like, is so and so in the production department there?
- 22:38And then I would call them and say, I am a college student, I'd love to interview.
- 22:42So that it's that ambition of being like, that's what I want.
- 22:45I wanna go after it.
- 22:46So yeah, figuring out the steps.
- 22:48So that's number one, figuring out where you want to go.
- 22:51Number two, figure figuring out the steps.
- 22:53And I think so many people get frozen and they're not moving forward because I well, I think there's various reasons, but I think there's the perfection part of it.
- 23:04And then there's also the part of not knowing the steps or seeing something as insurmountable.
- 23:11And so they don't take
- 23:12Action and they don't move.
- 23:14One of the number one reasons for my success and reasons I see other people succeed is being able to take action even if you fall on your face, even if it's a mistake.
- 23:26So being able to be in action with your life and what you want to create, because I believe that when you take those steps forward, that the universe meets you halfway.
- 23:35So it's finding out what those steps are.
- 23:37And there's a lot of different
- 23:39tools as far as figuring out what those steps are.
- 23:43For instance, say that my dream was to own a talent agency.
- 23:46I would spend time writing down and maybe journaling like, okay, what this is going to look like and getting a clear vision about what I want to create would be one step to get
- 23:58into the details about what I want to create with the talent agency.
- 24:02And then I would look at what are some initial first steps.
- 24:07Because I think people get bogged down with if they go straight to the big picture and what they want to do.
- 24:12It can feel really overwhelming.
- 24:14And they're going to come across a lot of red tape and they're going to come across some hurdles.
- 24:18And so you've got to have some wins along the way.
- 24:22And if you can start looking at these tinier, um, they're called like three foot tosses versus these large jumps, start having wins along the way, that creates that momentum.
- 24:33So I think momentum when you're starting something out is everything too, because you you want to be in action and you want to keep that momentum to move forward.
- 24:41Yeah.
- 24:41I've never heard of that three foot tosses, but that makes total sense.
- 24:45Yeah.
- 24:46I love it.
- 24:47Yeah.
- 24:47So how has your definition of success changed now from when you were twenty seven?
- 24:52In life and in work?
- 24:53Life and work.
- 24:53I'd say twenty-seven it was all about I had so many desires and so many uh it was all about success and and
- 25:02probably more ego based and what was in front of me and tangible items.
- 25:06And now I feel like it's like that work-life balance is so important.
- 25:14And I feel like they have like meaning and purpose in so many other areas of my life as well.
- 25:21And just to constantly, for me, it's all about continuing to evolve.
- 25:28So I love changing and growing as a human.
- 25:31And so to me, that's what success is now.
- 25:34It's ever changing.
- 25:36We're ever changing beings.
- 25:37The world is spinning and everything's moving.
- 25:40And so we need to keep evolving and moving to keep that momentum and to keep changing and growing and learning is to me that's that's everything as far as success.
- 25:50Can you talk about finding inspiration in your life and career to drive you forward?
- 25:56You touched on it a little bit before, but specifically inspiration.
- 26:00I'd say my employees inspire me a lot and the clients, the clients or talent underneath that they represent.
- 26:08And sometimes I think about what a big footprint that DDO has.
- 26:13It's not just a company, it's about the lives that we are affecting and touching.
- 26:20And that's a huge inspiration to me to know that we have we have 30 employees and
- 26:27Hopefully they feel that they have a happy, healthy work environment where they're inspired.
- 26:34And so that's certain people whose lives hopefully are improved by working at DDO.
- 26:40And then with that, there's so many incredible talent, you know, about 2500 talent that are affected by those agents and that team and those assistants.
- 26:52And what I feel is that we're unique in the sense that our
- 26:57team is they're kind.
- 26:58They work hard, they're kind, they're communicative, they're fair, and they're just like wonderful humans.
- 27:07And I feel like that's unique in the entertainment industry to have an entire team of people that I can say they have those qualities.
- 27:16And then what happens is that trickles down to our clients.
- 27:20And then they attract people that are also hardworking and talented and kind and
- 27:26Putting their best face out there in the world.
- 27:28So I feel like overall the footprint that DDO has is very impactful.
- 27:33And that really inspires me to be my best self because I think everything trickles down.
- 27:38What is your personal ambition code for approaching life and work?
- 27:43My ambition code is to become the best version of myself.
- 27:46So I'm constantly wanting to look at myself.
- 27:51I've so much left to learn.
- 27:53I have so much left to learn about myself.
- 27:55I'm far from perfect.
- 27:57So I'm always trying to be a better version.
- 27:59I'm trying to learn and grow, but I'm also trying to, I also want to have a ton of fun.
- 28:05And fun, it keeps me ambitious because I just want to have more and more fun along the way.
- 28:10I want that to trickle down into the team of people that are around me.
- 28:16We try to have a ton of fun together and that.
- 28:19inspires me.
- 28:20And I just feel like I feel like doing something every day to improve the company, something doing something every day to improve my life, to improve my family's life, my
- 28:31friends.
- 28:32I think it's just all about expansion and growth and having that inspiration to create more and more.
- 28:40It's a crazy time on the planet, but I also feel like we're so blessed to be part of this journey in this time.
- 28:48Everything is at our fingertips.
- 28:51And we have the knowledge to create whatever we want.
- 28:54You know, knowledge and information is at everyone's fingertips.
- 28:58So there's I'm inspired to find out what's next.
- 29:02I feel like I want to do something, something big because there's just so much at our fingertips.
- 29:08And it's just it's all about action.
- 29:11It goes back to a vision and putting a strategy in place and doing the action steps that we need to do it.
- 29:19So I feel like anyone can pretty much create something with very little cost and with you don't even need to have a lot of talent these days with some of the things which we have
- 29:31so much to add, but that's why we're doing this.
- 29:35It would fake it till you make it.
- 29:36I mean, everything is just at our fingertips.
- 29:38So it's a really interesting time to create a business, to create content, to connect with people.
- 29:46I feel like there's just it's just about being willing, being courageous, being bold, being in a forward momentum, getting yourself out there, whatever that looks like.
- 29:56I feel like you can get out of your own way and pretty much do anything is my mentality.
- 30:01Yeah.
- 30:02And it's also just starting like.
- 30:04I say that all the time.
- 30:05You just have to start, which is I think the hardest thing.
- 30:08You're going from not doing, for example, this podcast to doing the podcast.
- 30:12You just have to start.
- 30:13And you know you can no one has to see it.
- 30:16Nobody has to know, but you at least know that you're creating, you're starting.
- 30:20It's gonna take you someplace.
- 30:21A hundred percent.
- 30:22There's this technique that I love.
- 30:24I have I'm a big to do list person.
- 30:28And I have like
- 30:30third well, maybe like 20 to do lists on my reminders app of my phone in all different categories.
- 30:36Um, it's like I've got the someday maybe to-do list, which is like things that I dream of, but I don't have time right now.
- 30:42I have the the work to-do list, I have my finances to-do lists, my home life, all these different lists.
- 30:49But one thing I do is when I get stuck, cause some things are really boring or they're monotonous or they're hard.
- 30:56I don't know the answer on how to move forward with them, but it
- 30:59It just takes a little research or you just have to get started.
- 31:03You just have to commit to doing it.
- 31:04So I have this, I have this timer here.
- 31:06It's called the Pomodora technique.
- 31:08So if I'm having a hard time getting started on something, which happens all the time, I'll either set a timer.
- 31:14It's the Pomodora technique is like 25 minutes, but you can do whatever feels right for you.
- 31:21And you can set a timer or set a timer on your phone and be like, okay, for 20 minutes, I'm just gonna try to start this and see where I land.
- 31:29Because a lot of times it's just that first tiny step and taking that first action step and and then having that momentum.
- 31:37You might be like, Okay, I'm I'm can't.
- 31:39I'm having a hard time starting this.
- 31:41I'm gonna set the timer for twenty minutes.
- 31:43I'm gonna write down all the action steps that I could do in order to start my podcast.
- 31:50And then the the ideas will start flowing and that momentum should start moving and then people will be in action.
- 31:57But it really is the it's just about
- 31:59Taking those first steps.
- 32:00Yeah.
- 32:01Totally agree.
- 32:02And then you're on your way.
- 32:03Yeah.
- 32:04Hopefully.
- 32:05And you might fall on your face.
- 32:06Yeah.
- 32:07And or it might not work out, but it it's better than not starting.
- 32:12It's better than not doing anything.
- 32:14And also starting can take you somewhere you're not you didn't even expect.
- 32:17Like totally.
- 32:19Absolutely.
- 32:20Absolutely.
- 32:20Yes.
- 32:22Yeah.
- 32:24And you don't know where
- 32:26Yeah, where you're going next.
- 32:27But as long as you're out there and you're you're growing and you're being bold and you're being courageous, then then you'll you'll end up somewhere amazing.
- 32:36Yeah.
- 32:36Eventually.
- 32:37A hundred percent.
- 32:39Well I'm so