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Say YES to the Possibilities (with Tricia Brouk) · The Daily Writer

• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome creative geniuses.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: This is episode 88 of the Born to Create podcast.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Kent Sanders, and this is the show where we explore the mindset, habits, and skills to help you make a bigger impact in your life and creative work.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: You can find previous episodes, my free ultimate toolkit for creative entrepreneurs, and much more at KentSanders.net.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: As kids, we constantly hear the word no from other people.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: But when we become adults, it's easy to get into the habit of saying no to ourselves.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: Why do we do that?
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I think it's oftentimes because we're afraid or we're stuck in a rut.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm thrilled to have a guest today who will help you to stop saying no to all life has to offer and instead begin saying yes to the possibilities.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: She's got to knock your socks off with her wisdom and inspiration.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: This was one of my favorite interviews that I've done on this podcast, and I can't wait to share it with you.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: We'll get to the conversation with Tricia in just a couple minutes, but first I want to encourage you to check out our Born to Create Facebook community.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: This is a group of like-minded artists, writers, and creative entrepreneurs.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: We have a blast there talking about creative habits, books we're reading, and strategies for becoming more successful.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: I love this group.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's a ton of fun and it really helped me as an artist.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I know it's helped many other people in the group as well.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: The creative journey is not meant to be traveled alone.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: So check out the group by going to Kent Sanders.net slash Facebook Group.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: Also, I want to jump into our Ask Kent segment.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: This is where I answer your questions about creativity, mindset, creative habits, or writing.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: And today's question is from Brian Mays.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: Brian says, priority is a challenge for me.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'm creative in my day job, but I'd love to shift what I'm doing as a professional creative to something a bit more niche.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's tough finding time to roll with that and do the regular things as a professional day in and day out.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: I can't remember doing much portrait drawing in the last year, and I miss it.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: It just never feels as important.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Well, Brian, first of all, thanks for your question.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate your honesty and your transparency with this, and I think all of us can relate to your question on different levels.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: What I'm hearing is that you want to do more portrait drawing, but it hasn't been a priority on your schedule for the past year or so.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: So then in my mind, the question becomes how do I take creative work that's important to me and actually get it done?
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: Now I'm going to speak from my own experience.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: Many times in my life there's a disconnect between the things that I want to do and what I actually do.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: So why am I not doing the things that are important to me?
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: Where's the breakdown in the system?
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll share with you what has really helped me over the last few months, and that is a very short book called The Twelve Week Year by Brian Moran and Michael Lennington.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: This is a again, as I mentioned, it's a short little book, but it's very, very powerful because in this book called The Twelve Week Year, they lay out a system to help you get more accomplished in twelve weeks than most people do in a whole year.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: And it really does work.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: I've been way more productive this past year than I probably have ever been.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: Way more focused, and in the times where I'm not getting all the things done that I want or need to get done, I know exactly where I am on my plan and I can adjust accordingly.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: For example, since starting this system, I have made more money this year doing freelance work than I ever have before.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: I've gotten healthier and I've gotten a lot clearer on my goals.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: And those are three, you know, those are three really important things to me.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: The cornerstone of this whole 12-week year system for me is my weekly Sunday night review.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: So here's what I do on Sunday evenings.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: This now, and I know this is gonna sound probably a little extreme to a lot of people, but this whole process for me takes about 90 minutes to two hours.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: I know that sounds like a lot, but for me this is the cornerstone of my whole week in many ways.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: So on Sunday nights, I sit down and I go through the whole past week.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_00: You know, what I did, I look at my calendar for the past week, I look at my notes, I look at just kind of all the stuff that was a part of my week in the previous seven days.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: And also I plan my coming week.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: I think about my calendar items, my tasks that I've got to get accomplished, my big projects, you know, things in my business, things in my day job, family commitments, and basically anything that's happening in my life in the coming week.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: I just kind of put all that out on paper and think through it all.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: So I block out all the things I'm going to do and I start with my most important goals.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: Now, this book, the twelve-week year, really emphasizes that you start with several blocks of time on your week that are devoted to accomplishing your most important goals.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: So, in other words, just I put the big rocks in first.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: That's something I believe Stephen Covey talked about many years ago.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: The idea of putting the big rocks into the jar before you put all the little rocks in there.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: Now this is really key because many times we want to be creative, but other things get in the way.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: Life happens, people get sick, uh we're overwhelmed with emails, people want us to do things for them, you know, just life happens as it always does.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: But the main thing here is creating a weekly plan and then just executing the plan.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: I find myself that it's really easy to create a plan.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's way harder to actually execute the plan in the moment when I may feel overwhelmed or pulled in different directions, or I'm tired, or I don't feel like working on my goals, or whatever it is.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: So for me, the execution of the plan is where the rubber really meets the road.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it helps to think of your planning like you are the CEO of your own life.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: Now I know anybody who's an artist or a creative doesn't you know that doesn't sound very appealing.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the the idea of thinking of yourself as a CEO sounds very business-y and not very creative.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: But the truth of the matter is that if we're going to create things, we have to produce.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: And if we're going to produce, we have to think of our schedules.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: We've got to execute on our goals, we've got to block out time to do those things.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: And if we really want to make progress in our lives and in our creative work, we have to make those plans and then execute on those plans.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: For example, here's just one example among probably millions.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of people consider Stephen King to be immensely creative, and he certainly is.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: I've read many of his books, I I love so much of his stuff as many people do.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: But Stephen King has a goal of writing two thousand words a day.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: So he has a plan and every day he sits down and he executes on that plan.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's just simple simply a process that he goes through.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: What I have found is that when I schedule my creative time and I follow through on it and I take action, then once I get into the process of creating, I get into the flow of things.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: So I would really recommend this book called the Twelve Week Year.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: It does take a while to get into the rhythm of it.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's taken me probably half a year to really get into the rhythm of it and to feel like I kind of know what I'm doing.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: But it is absolutely worth the effort to do this.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_00: So give that a shot, Brian, and let me know how it goes.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to send you a copy of my book, The Artist Suit Case, in ebook and audiobook form.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: So hopefully you will enjoy that.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: In my book, I also talk about some things related to goals and time management and so forth.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that'll help as well.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: For everybody else who's listening, if you have a question about the creative life, habits, mindset, or productivity, you can submit your question by going to KentSanders.net slash podcast or you can just shoot me an email at Kent at KentSanders.net.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: If I use your question on the show, I will shoot you a free copy of my book.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: As I mentioned earlier, I'm really excited to have Trisha Brooke as a guest on the show today.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: Trisha's passion for storytelling has shaped her work in film, television, and theater for over two decades.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: She is an award-winning director, including being awarded Top Director of 2019 by the International Association of International Professionals, Best Comedy from the Vancouver Webfest for directing sublets, and a golden thumb award from Roger Ebert for her work on John Totturo's Romance and Cigarettes.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: In addition, Tricia has also won six awards for her short documentary Write Livelihood, A Journey to Hear, which now qualifies for an Academy Award.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: That's pretty cool.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: Her work has been featured on shows such as Black Box for ABC, The Affair for Showtime, and Rescue Me on Fox.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: She has worked with Kate Winslett, Susan Sarandon, Eddie Izzard, Christopher Walken, Steve Buscemi, and the late James Gandalfini.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: Trisha is committed to producing and directing stories that inspire, entertain, uplift, and foster an exchange of ideas.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: As the executive producer of Speakers Who Dare and former executive producer of TEDx Lincoln Square, she curates the top speakers in the country.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: And her production company, The Big Talk Productions, who's documentary shorts on the thought leaders making an impact on our world.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: I first got to know Trisha through our mutual friend Bob Berg a couple of years ago.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: And since then I've been writing show notes for her excellent podcast, which is called The Big Talk, and in my humble opinion, it's the best public speaking podcast out there.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: In our conversation in this episode, we touch on a variety of topics, including Trisha's journey through dance and theater to public speaking, how to deal with failure, the importance of mindset and confidence, your first steps to becoming a public speaker, and much, much more.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_00: After the conversation, be sure to check out the show notes at KentSanders.net slash zero eight eight.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: All right, let's get to the conversation with Trisha Brook.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm here with Trisha Brook.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: Tricia, thanks so much for being on the show.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate you making time to do this interview.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: Ken, it is my absolute pleasure to connect today.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_01: I'm super excited.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I have to say, it has been really fun working on your podcast, by the way.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: I have learned a lot.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's been a great value to me personally.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: I've also gotten to use it in one of my college classes that I teach.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, it's one of those situations where you're working with somebody on, you know, as a client, and I feel like I've benefited so much out of that, which is, I guess, is, you know, that's the way it should be.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: But I just want to thank you for just being an awesome person and for adding value to my life through the opportunity to help work on your show.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: I I want to share with your listeners a little bit about how that all came about because I think it's a really interesting um piece of information that can serve your audience.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_01: You reached out to me via email saying that you heard my interview with Bob Berg, the Go Giver, and that you would be interested in doing show notes for my podcast because I had not had show notes created for them yet.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_01: So it was so um, it was so meaningful and special to me that you you reached out and you asked me if you could help me based on your experience of listening to my interview, that I said, yes, absolutely.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: So I think it's something to just be reminded that you should always ask, always reach out because we are going to say yes, most likely, if you want to help us.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's something that people forget a lot.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: Boy, that's a really great point.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, I and I've done the same thing for other people, and sometimes there have been no's and sometimes there have been no responses, but sometimes there is a yes, so you just never know what's going to happen when you put yourself out there and you know put yourself at the risk of being rejected, so to speak.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: But on the other side of that fear is a possible yes, which is which is really fun.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: And then you've got this relationship.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_01: Two years later, we're hanging out on your podcast.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: And to me, that's what podcasting really is it's relationships and the opportunity to connect with people and create value for listeners, but also just build that relationship, and you just never know what might come of a connection that you have with somebody.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: So you have had quite a varied career, and I have to confess to you that many times when I do these podcast interviews, there's there's kind of a single theme that I want to talk about with somebody or a single topic that I want to explore.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: With you, this has been really challenging because even though I want to talk about speaking, you've done a lot of different things and you have had lots of different experiences, and probably you were a little overwhelmed with a list of questions that I sent because I was thinking, oh, there's about 38 different things I want to ask Trisha about.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: You just have done so many things and have such a variety of experiences.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: So that's uh it's been a challenge and a definitely a great way.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: So I want to ask you first of all, if you can walk us through, if you can take a few minutes and walk us through your journey through dance and theater, then to developing an interest in helping people with their public speaking, because that's kind of an unusual path to take, but I'm really curious how you how you got into that.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_01: I would love to share this journey with you, Ken.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_01: I am from Missouri, like you, and I went to college at Stevens College in Columbia, Missouri for a sort of BFA in dance.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_01: I've always been a dancer and I always knew I would move to New York City and work with Brishnikov, which I did.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_01: So when I moved to New York, I was 20 years old and I came here to pursue my career in dance.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_01: I wanted to be a classical modern dancer.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_01: I wanted to tour the world with dance companies and make a living as a dancer.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_01: And I soon realized that it was very difficult to make a living as a dancer, so I began my journey into the world of being an entrepreneur.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_01: I started a fitness company, and that was so that I could go on tour and still scale.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_01: I had my trainers working back home with my clients, so I was making money while I was in Italy dancing on all the stages.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_01: And then from there, I went into having an incredible 20-year-long dance career and realizing that I was sort of getting tired of warming up.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_01: I was getting a little older, my knees were both had surgery, and I thought, okay, I want to continue the creative process, but on the other side of the table.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_01: So I began choreographing, which was a natural organic transition from dancing to choreography.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_01: Now, what wasn't organic or natural was that I had not even thought about choreography until John Tuturo asked me if I would choreograph his feature film, Romance and Cigarettes, starring James Gandalfini, Susan Sarandon, Eddie Izzard, Steve Buscemi, Christopher Walken, and Kate Winslett.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: So that was an experience that I said yes to, not knowing if I had the answers, but knowing I would do my homework.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_01: And that's how I got into choreography.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: The first thing I choreographed was his feature film.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_01: And then I realized, oh, I actually have a gift at this, and it's something that I love doing, and it's a way that I know how to express myself through physicality.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_01: I can tell a story through my body.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_01: So I choreographed for several years after that, a lot of film and television, Rescue Me, The Affair on Showtime.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_01: And then I realized I think I need to say more, literally.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: So I began writing and directing.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_01: And a producer approached me and asked me to direct a show, but there was no script.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_01: So being the overachiever that I am, I decided to write it myself because I couldn't wait for a writer to get on board.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_01: So I began writing and directing and choreographing and converging all of my talents.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_01: And then I began producing.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_01: And really, being a good producer or a good director means you hire the right people.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: It means you stay organized and you hire the right people to make the best possible show and the best possible product.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: And from there, I was doing my thing, working, putting on shows, and my friend Petra Kolber reached out to me and said, I just got asked to do TEDx Syracuse.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_01: I want you to direct me.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I thought, well, that sounds just like a one-woman show.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_01: I just have to do that.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_01: So I worked with her on her script just like a dramaturg, and I worked with on her performance just like a one-woman show.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_01: And I gave her direction and I gave her choreography, literally when you move, when you don't.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_01: And it was amazing and super fun.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I really didn't think much of it.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_01: And then she planted the seed.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_01: She said, You should really do this.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: You're good at it.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: And that's when I decided to start my second company, The Big Talk.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_01: I thought, okay, I know how to run a company.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_01: I've been doing it my whole life.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_01: I've only worked for myself my entire life.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_01: So let's see what this could turn into.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_01: And before I knew it, I had all these amazing speakers who wanted me to direct them and work with them on their talks and know where to put them.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_01: As a theater producer, it was time to put on a show.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_01: So how was I gonna do that?
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_01: Get my TEDx license.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_01: So I applied to TEDx, got my license, and then produced TEDx Lincoln Square here in New York City for two seasons.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: And have since decided to create my own event, which is now called Speakers Who Dare, which premieres on March 26th here in New York City.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_01: And being able to work with speakers has given me an opportunity to give voice to so many people who have so many important messages to share.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_01: So the legacy that I get to leave behind is far bigger than me, and that's why I love doing this.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm actually getting chills as you're telling me this story, and I want to explain why I'm getting chills.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's because literally the next question that I have in my notes is do you feel there's any common thread or theme that ties your creative work together?
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't ever know what the answer to that question is when I write these questions.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: But it occurs to me that a common theme, at least that I see, through all of these things that you're sharing, is that you've said yes to the next thing, even though you weren't sure how it was going to work out, you didn't know what the end result was going to be, you didn't even know if you if you could pull it off or how you would pull it off.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: Would you say is that an accurate assessment of your story in a way?
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 17:58
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_01: I say yes, not knowing how, but knowing I can.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_01: And that means running to your computer and starting to do your homework.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_01: It means going to the books and reading what you need to teach yourself.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: If you say yes to an opportunity, the possibilities are endless.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_01: And it doesn't mean I'm not scared.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't mean I have all the answers.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: It means I know I can do it and I do the homework to back it up.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_01: So that is absolutely a through line.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_01: I think the other through line, Kent, is that I want to make a difference in the world.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: And if I can do that by entertaining people through dance, by making a difference in the dancers' world that I work with as a choreography, because I accept them and support them and lift them up no matter what their body type, that is making a difference in the world.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_01: If I can create a safe space for my actors to be able to go deep, to be able to take risks in the room, that is making a difference in the world because they will pay that forward.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_01: And if I can make a difference in the world by elevating powerful stories and putting them on a big stage or putting them onto a big screen in the documentaries that I make, that's contributing.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what I want to do is contribute to make the world a better place.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: Has anyone ever told you that you have a really unique gift for speaking in tweetable quotes?
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_01: No, but I love that, and that's why you're my show notes guy.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_00: And and I mean that really sincerely is because people process information in different ways and they speak in different ways, but this confirms to me that, and of course I've I've known this for a while because I've listened to many, many of your interviews on your podcast, but you really do have a gift for speaking in a succinct and clear and direct way that I think is really it's just really wonderful.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_00: So obviously you're you're in the right field helping people to develop their speaking and communication gifts.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: So I just wanted to throw that out there for whatever it's worth.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate that, and I look forward to seeing these tweets.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: So let me back up a little bit.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm curious as to how how that connection came about when you choreographed Romance and Cigarettes.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: How did you make that connection with John Traturro?
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: That was the person that you connected with for that film, correct?
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_01: His Pilates teacher recommended me because she and I had danced together.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_01: And he asked me to come in to the studio at Mark Morris Dance Theater and dance around with a bunch of New York City firefighters, literally, not actors, firefighters.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_01: And he said, okay, in this scene, Kate Winslit is on fire.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_01: Her name's Tula.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_01: And I want you to dance around like you're Kate Winslit on fire and see what happens.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: That I can't even imagine how you would process.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, you're from a dance background, so you would have the tools and the emotional and technical abilities to be able to know what to do with that.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: But that sounds like a major challenge.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_01: It was so challenging and so exhilarating because I had no choreography.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_01: And if any dancer is listening to this, improvisation is a nightmare for us.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_01: We want to know what the steps are.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_01: So I didn't have choreography built.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_01: I was simply improvising, literally, with a bunch of really buff dudes wearing fire gear.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_01: And John was running around with a camera, shooting it, you know, getting inspired by what was possible for his vision.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I was thinking the whole time, this is so surreal.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_01: I moved to New York from Missouri, and I'm in this room right now, pretending to be case, dancing around with firefighters and John Tuturo, who's an incredible actor and director.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_01: Life is good.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_00: So is there an element to this where it is important to put yourself in the right situation where those opportunities are going to be more likely to come up?
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: For example, if you would have moved from Missouri to, let's say, Nebraska, nothing against Nebraska, but you probably would not have had the opportunities that you would have in New York City because of where it's at and all the creative things that are happening in that city.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, and I think I've had the gift and the fortune of knowing what I want to do since I was very young.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_01: I always knew I would move to New York and pursue a career in dance.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_01: I did not know that it would lead me down this path, but I stayed open to the possibility of always being creative in my process.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_01: And had I moved to Nebraska, I would probably have created some sort of theater, some sort of place for creatives to uh collect because that's in my nature.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_01: But certainly I came to New York because I knew the opportunities would be here for me.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, see that makes a lot of sense.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_00: When you are dealing with clients or just people in your circle in general, because I know that you're a natural teacher and whatever situation you're in, I I of course we have never actually met in person, but I just have an intuition that you're always helping people to lift themselves creatively, no matter what situation you're in.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: When you work with somebody or talk to somebody who doesn't know what they want to do, what are some ways that they can begin to discover that if they don't have a really clear creative direction?
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they have talent, maybe they have gifts, they have lots of different work experiences or whatever it is.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_00: How can somebody begin to discover some type of direction or forward momentum when they're not sure what direction they want to go?
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_01: Such a great question.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_01: And I always start with questions.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_01: What lights you up?
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_01: What do you love doing?
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_01: Because a lot of times people get confused by the noise of other people's opinions of what they should be doing, whether it's your parent, your friend, your partner.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_01: So if you can back up from all of that and really ask yourself, what lights you up?
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_01: What do I love doing?
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_01: Do I love cooking?
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_01: Do I love babysitting?
• 23:46
  SPEAKER_01: Do I love woodworking?
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_01: Really think about what it is you love doing and don't apologize for it and spend some time strategizing as to whether or not you can make a living doing that.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_00: So you would say identifying your passion, your gifts, your what really lights you up, so to speak, identifying that first and then doing some research, maybe talking to others who are in that field to see if that's a viable career path or an entrepreneur path.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_01: I would absolutely suggest you start with the question of what is making you happy.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: Wow, I love that.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: So all these tweets are going off in my head.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: That's what happens when you when you do a lot of show notes for people, is you just thinking uh you know, these little quotable bites, which is oh I mean, this is good stuff.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: So let me back up a little bit.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: I keep saying that, but uh you're spurring so many questions in my mind.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, I have to to ask you about dance and choreography because and my wife would absolutely tell you this, I have zero ability to dance, to choreograph my body in any sense.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a drummer and a guitar player, but my the rest of my body does not follow my hands and my feet as far as my rhythm.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_00: When I'm watching something like uh let's say Hamilton, because everybody knows what Hamilton is, or when there's some when there's a movie with choreography or with uh you know a dance sequence or something like that, what are some things that those of us who are non-dancers should be looking for, or how can we appreciate that art form if we don't know anything about it or we don't have any gifting in that area?
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: I know that's a super broad question, but I'm hoping you can help us to understand this art form a little bit more.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_01: I see the world through choreography.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_01: Anytime somebody is moving, walking on the subway, drumming, playing in the guitar, to me that's choreography because your body is moving.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't have to be choreograph steps, it doesn't have to be the Bullshoy ballet, it doesn't have to be a triple pirouette landing in a fourth position.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_01: So if you start to observe movement as choreography rather than thinking, I'm not sure if this is good, then you can appreciate it for what it is.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_01: Hamilton is fantastic.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_01: I love the choreography in that show.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_01: Andy Blank and Bueller did a beautiful job of using hip hop and modern dance to tell the story, to push the story forward of that play, of that musical.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_01: And if you think about romance and cigarettes, the choreography is an extension of the character's experience.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's great.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_01: And that is how I choreograph.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_01: I always start with the story.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_01: I don't superimpose movement on top of it.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: The story informs my choreography.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_01: And if you can watch choreography through that lens, that it's a story being told through movement, it might be more palatable.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_00: You know, see, I had never thought about that, that choreography is different according to who the character is, what the storyline is.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_00: Because someone who who's not educated in that art form, it's hard for me to distinguish different moves and and different intentions and so forth, but now you've given me something that I can look out for.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate that.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_01: My pleasure.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_00: Let me ask you about the experience of going through your career and at times hitting roadblocks, coming up against obstacles or frustrations or failures, but needing to have the tenacity to move forward past those.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: Can you help us get into the right mindset a little a little bit of what it takes to have the tenacity to overcome those failures and frustrations?
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_01: I think there's two parts to this.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_01: I auditioned over and over and over again in New York City before I got chosen for anything.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_01: I auditioned in St.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_01: Louis for Cats, the musical, and did not get chosen.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_01: The no has to mean not yet.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_01: The no has to mean I can give myself an hour, maybe a day to feel badly, and that I have to get up and go back to an audition.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_01: Because if you don't keep going, you end up creating a void for your talent in the world, creating a blank space that you need to be filling.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_01: And that's why I think it's so important to remind anybody who is starting a new career, becoming an entrepreneur, uh, asking for money for a project, you're gonna get no before you get yes.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_01: And it's not about you, it's simply that they're not buying what you're selling.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_01: So I always say if I can't get through a certain door, I build my own so I can walk through it.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you're enjoying the conversation, and we'll get back to it in just a minute.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_00: But first I want to take a second to mention that this episode is brought to you by Audible.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_00: Audible is offering Born to Create listeners a free audiobook with a 30-day trial membership.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_00: Just go to audible trial.com/slash born to create and browse the unmatched selection of audio programs.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_00: Just download a title for free and start listening.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_00: I've been an Audible user for years.
• 28:40
  SPEAKER_00: Between my 30-minute commute toy and my running routine, I spend almost two hours every day listening to audio content.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_00: Some of the best books that I listen to in Audible include titles such as Where Good Things Come From by Steven Johnson, Walt Disney, The Triumph of the American Imagination by Neil Gabler, Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, and The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_00: Let me just get real with you for a second.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_00: You're not going to grow as an artist, leader, or creative entrepreneur unless you spend time reading and listening to great content.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_00: And it's just that simple.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_00: Audiobooks are amazing because you can listen on the go wherever you are.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_00: And with Audible's free trial, it's totally a no-brainer.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_00: So to download your free audiobook and get started today, go to audibletrial.com slash born to create.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_00: And now let's get back to the conversation with Trisha.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_00: So there's kind of an entrepreneurial mindset that you know, and you've talked about you've always worked for yourself.
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_00: For somebody who has has worked in jobs all their life, but they want to start something, whether it be something small and I say small, it's not really small, but something like writing a book, which is a smaller project than let's say creating a whole business or starting something creatively.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_00: How can somebody develop that mindset of an entrepreneur if they haven't had that before?
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: Is there anything that you've noticed among the people that you've worked with that the successful entrepreneurs have that those who aren't successful don't have?
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_01: I think you nailed it by saying mindset.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_01: You have to be consistent.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_01: You have to be consistent in your routine, you have to be consistent in the way you're thinking.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_01: If there's a thought in your head that is, I'll never be able to quit my job, then you're never going to be able to quit your job.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_00: You're already defeated.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_01: You have to shift how you perceive yourself in the world.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_01: And when you do that, all the doors open.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_01: All of them.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_01: And that is that is something that has been proven.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_01: That is something that people who are mindset experts talk about.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I encourage everybody listening to reframe your personal mindset about how you see your life.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_01: You and that requires consistency.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_01: It requires consistency of saying it out loud.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_01: It requires consistency of writing it in your journal.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_01: It requires consistency of sharing it with your family.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_01: And the second you start to change your mindset and put it out into the universe, things will start to go the way you are imagining them going.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_00: So how do you determine the line when you're talking about developing this confidence and putting yourself out there more and changing the way you see your life?
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_00: What is the line between being confident but then being arrogant?
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_00: Some you know, sometimes we we see people who come across as they're super, super arrogant or they really think a lot of themselves, or there's some kind of line that they've crossed where, hey, I'm so great and I'm like God's gift to the creative world or whatever.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_00: But it does require a lot of confidence to be successful.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_00: So is there is there a way that we can know what that line is between being confident but then having too much confidence?
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_01: The confidence is not in myself, the confidence is in my ability to help others, and that's the line.
• 31:53
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's great.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_01: When you know that you're the person to to help people in whatever field you're in, that confidence is what you lead with, but it's never about you.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_01: It's about serving them.
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I love how, especially on your show, you know, you've done a lot of podcast episodes at this point and done a lot of different things.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_00: You're always about serving, serving the listener, serving the audience, serving the reader.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that is such an important thing to keep in mind.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, thanks.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's really great advice.
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_00: So let's shift to speaking uh for a bit.
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_00: You work with a lot of speakers and you spend a lot of time.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_00: Helping people to become better communicators and speakers.
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_00: If somebody doesn't have a lot of speaking experience, but they want that to be part of their business or their platform or their creative work, what is the first place to begin?
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_00: How does somebody take a first step in that direction of becoming a speaker?
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_01: You say you're a speaker first, and then you start to put yourself out there.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_01: And that means go to conferences, that means go to events where you're watching other speakers, and you take from them what's great and you apply it to yourself and you remove from yourself what they're doing that you don't like.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_01: And the other part is I always say you need to have product as a speaker, and it's such a tricky word because when I'm helping speakers birth a talk, it is so intimate.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_01: So afterwards, when you have a product, it doesn't feel like it aligns, but you do.
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_01: You have to have a product as a speaker.
• 33:28
  SPEAKER_01: So begin to write a talk, whether it's a keynote, whether it's a companion piece to your book, and go for the TEDx stage.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_01: When you have the TEDx crown, people will open your emails, people will return your calls, and that's because the TEDx brand is so strong.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_01: So start there, and the next thing you can do is sign up today for speakerhub.com.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_01: It's a free platform where you upload your profile and they'll start sending you emails when speaking engagements fit your profile.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_00: Ooh, that's great.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_00: I'll have a link to that in the show notes, by the way.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll be doing that myself as well.
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_00: Because that's something I definitely want to move more toward.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_01: And the other thing too, Kent, is reach out to organizers.
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_01: I love when people email me and say they want to be on my stage.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_01: I love when people follow me on social media and are commenting and posting.
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_01: When you engage with organizers, if you do it in a way that is authentic and honest and from a place of authenticity, we will see that.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_01: We will know that.
• 34:31
  SPEAKER_01: And when it's time to cast our shows or have applications go out, you will rise to the top.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_00: Let's take myself as an example.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_00: I put myself out on the show as a guinea pig a lot of times just because that's I know myself better than anybody else.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_00: So if I want to get more involved in speaking, let's say would I start locally by you know pitching, let's say, Chamber of Commerce type of things, rotary club, libraries, or is that thinking too small?
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_00: Should you start with something bigger, or is locally the best place to start if you want to get some practical experience?
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_01: Locally is absolutely the best place to start because you need to understand what it means to go out and talk in front of people because your body will betray you.
• 35:11
  SPEAKER_01: And if you start big, you most likely will bomb and you'll never want to go back.
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_01: So start small so that you understand what those butterflies feel like.
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_01: Start small so that it's a forgiving location for you.
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_01: Speak in front of your friends and family.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_01: Gather a bunch of people at a coffee shop and give a talk.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_01: Start putting yourself out there in creative ways, and that's also gonna make you a unique speaker.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of speakers right now.
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_01: So I encourage you to think outside of the box when it term in terms of conversing, having a conversation as somebody on a stage.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 35:48
  SPEAKER_00: Now, can you explain what you mean a little bit more by that?
• 35:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_01: In my show, Speakers Who Dare, which is happening in March, I work one-on-one with all of my speakers on how helping them create an experience for the audience, whether that is music, sound effects, video, um, dance, so that we are creating a new vocabulary for what it means to be a speaker and to convey information in a way that not only we can hear, but we can experience fully as the audience member.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_00: Wow, that's great.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_00: So if you want to to begin maybe doing some local speaking gigs, do you have any tips for people who want to start pitching conference or well, maybe not even conference organizers, but let's let's say you want to speak at a local library to get some to get your feet wet, or Rotary or Chamber of Commerce or something like that.
• 36:45
  SPEAKER_00: What are the best ways to connect with those organizers or those those people?
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_00: And do you have any tips for even pitching them in the correct way?
• 36:55
  SPEAKER_01: The first thing you want to do is find out who spoke in there first, and then find out about the audience.
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_01: Then you're gonna get in touch with the people who are hiring the speakers and tell them that you have a talk that's going to be able to serve their audience and that you would love a conversation.
• 37:11
  SPEAKER_01: Make it about their audience, making about what you want to give to them.
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_01: It's never about you.
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_01: It's not, I want to do this, I need to do this, I'm gonna be great if I do this.
• 37:21
  SPEAKER_01: It's all about I see that you've had Kent Sanders on your stage, and I loved what he was talking about, and I think I could provide some amazing value to your audience as well.
• 37:33
  SPEAKER_01: I'd love to have a conversation with you about how we can make that happen.
• 37:37
  SPEAKER_00: That is great, and I'm going to stop for a second and recommend to people that they check out your podcast, and of course I'm gonna have this in the show notes, and we'll have it in the introduction, which I'll record later and all that.
• 37:48
  SPEAKER_00: But so many guests on your show, which is called the Big Talk, of course, have mentioned that it is so important to keep in mind that you're serving the audience.
• 37:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's not about you going and sort of showing off your stuff, or it's not about you being so great on stage, it's about serving the audience and keeping their needs in mind.
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_00: So I definitely want to tell everybody to go check out your show because it's it's such a great resource.
• 38:11
  SPEAKER_00: What are some of the biggest mistakes that you see speakers make?
• 38:15
  SPEAKER_01: Make it about them.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_01: That's one of the biggest mistakes they make.
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_01: The other mistake that speakers make is rushing.
• 38:23
  SPEAKER_01: And what I mean by that is when you take the stage, take us in, accept the gift of the audience before you give us your gift.
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_01: We are there giving you our time and our attention.
• 38:35
  SPEAKER_01: So accept that gift and then share yours with us.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_01: Many times I see a speaker walk out on stage, they're frazzled, they haven't grounded themselves, and they start talking at us.
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_01: So if you give yourself the moment and wait until you're ready, you will drop into that moment and we will be able to hear you.
• 38:52
  SPEAKER_01: The other thing is when you are trying to be someone that you think we want you to be, there will be a slight disconnect.
• 39:00
  SPEAKER_01: We won't know why we don't trust you, but we don't trust you.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_01: And that's because you're not being yourself.
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_01: Always be yourself.
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_01: And the other thing is when you start to take stages, you have to start practicing what it means to be under mild stress.
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_01: Because when you walk on a stage and everyone's looking at you, your heart race, your heart rate will elevate, you will start sweating.
• 39:21
  SPEAKER_01: So if you practice what it what happens to your body while you're talking under mild stress, like for a family member, and then increase that stress.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_01: A group of friends, increase that stress even more, a large group of strangers.
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_01: Then you're gonna understand how to handle it when you're on stage in front of a a group of people where the where it matters.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_01: That's really important.
• 39:44
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that is so true, and something I don't feel like is talked about a lot, um, at least I uh well, maybe that's just me.
• 39:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's I don't talk about it enough with my own students in my public speaking course, is that speaking in in class is one thing, speaking in front of a mirror or in front of people is one thing.
• 40:02
  SPEAKER_00: But when you get on a stage where you have the lights, you've got a microphone on, you're maybe seeing yourself projected on a huge screen, your voice is over the sound system, that's a whole different atmosphere.
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_00: And that can really throw you off in major ways if you're not prepared for it.
• 40:16
  SPEAKER_01: You have to understand how to be able to deliver the content while your body is going crazy.
• 40:24
  SPEAKER_00: And also overcoming sometimes there are distractions in the audience and people doing weird things and weird noises and cell phones going off and you never know what's going to happen when you get in front of a crowd.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_01: That's right.
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_01: That's why when you're rehearsed, those things won't throw you.
• 40:40
  SPEAKER_00: So let me shift for a few minutes um as we start to kind of wind this down a little bit.
• 40:44
  SPEAKER_00: Let's talk about your personal creativity.
• 40:46
  SPEAKER_00: You're one of the most creative people I know.
• 40:48
  SPEAKER_00: You have your hands on a lot of different things, and I've had so many uh su such a variety of experiences.
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_00: And because you're so busy, sometimes you've got to get tired, you've got to get burnt out, or you know, for a little bit frazzled.
• 41:00
  SPEAKER_00: How do you keep your personal creativity in check?
• 41:03
  SPEAKER_00: What are some things that you do to stay creative and to stay motivated and energized in your life?
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_01: My morning routine is consistent, and that is what sets me up for the day.
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_01: So I wake up, I hydrate, I set my intentions for the day, I go to the gym, I meditate, and then I begin the process of serving people.
• 41:25
  SPEAKER_01: And that way I can show up fully for my husband, for my clients, for my friends, for my family.
• 41:30
  SPEAKER_01: And because I'm organized emotionally and physically, so to speak, my creativity is on the surface.
• 41:39
  SPEAKER_01: I allow myself to um, I allow myself the creativity forward.
• 41:46
  SPEAKER_01: When I'm focused, my creativity comes forward.
• 41:49
  SPEAKER_01: If I'm tired and frazzled and haven't organized my emotional and physical self, then there's no way I can be creative because I'm worried about all the stuff I haven't accomplished.
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_00: I read recently, and I I apologize that I can't remember where I read this, but someone did a study of the common elements of a certain segment of billionaires in the world, or may have been the world's most successful people, or something of that nature.
• 42:11
  SPEAKER_00: And they were saying that there was really only a handful of commonalities, but one of those was a meditation practice, which which really intrigues me.
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_00: I meditate myself, but I don't do it as consistently as I should.
• 42:23
  SPEAKER_00: How would you say that meditation specifically, that practice, has really helped you to become centered and focused and helped to get your day started on the right foot?
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_01: There's two things about it.
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_01: A, it connects your mind-body so that you have space when things are stressful to not react.
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_01: And the second part is the detachment part.
• 42:43
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a Buddhist, so my meditation practice is also about being detached and practicing um kindness and uh mindfulness.
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_01: So when something is not going your way or someone says no, it's not, you don't take it personally.
• 43:01
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's just information.
• 43:02
  SPEAKER_01: And therefore, it doesn't rile you up or ruffle your feathers.
• 43:06
  SPEAKER_01: So the mind-body connection, space to not react, and understanding to detach from things so that it doesn't ruffle your feathers.
• 43:14
  SPEAKER_00: So let me dig into that comment you just made about when you get rejected or you you receive a no, it's just information.
• 43:21
  SPEAKER_00: How do you so that meditation practice really helps you to create space mentally and emotionally, uh maybe even physically in a sense, to then put that no someplace where it it doesn't like it's not a commentary on your value as a person, on your worth as a person.
• 43:39
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't affect your personal security and confidence.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_00: Is that an accurate way of saying that?
• 43:44
  SPEAKER_01: That's a perfect way of saying it.
• 43:45
  SPEAKER_01: It gives you the clarity around what no means.
• 43:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that is so great because so many creative people struggle with insecurity and self confidence and just the fear of being rejected.
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_00: So just just that practice alone takes Making that no in his information rather than it being a commentary on your value as a person, man, that could be life-changing.
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_01: It could be.
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_01: And also, you should know right now, everyone who's listening, you will always be rejected by someone.
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_01: So when you begin to embrace that and not make it about you, then it's just well, as uh we kind of end here, how can our listeners connect with you and your work?
• 44:25
  SPEAKER_01: You can find me at Trisha Brook.com.
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I would love for your listeners to take advantage of a free ebook called the Seven Step Formula to Fearless Speaking.
• 44:36
  SPEAKER_01: And uh we can put that in the show notes, or you can text my name, Trisha, to the numbers 44222, and it'll help you get over those nerves for public speaking.
• 44:47
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 44:48
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.
• 44:48
  SPEAKER_00: I will definitely have that in the show notes and recommend that everybody downloads that because your material is really, really good.
• 44:55
  SPEAKER_00: And um, you know, I wouldn't say that if I didn't mean it, it's just stellar.
• 44:59
  SPEAKER_00: So everybody make sure and download that.
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_00: Well, Trisha, thank you so much for speaking into my life today and adding so much amazing value to our listeners.
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_00: I really appreciate you as a person.
• 45:10
  SPEAKER_00: I appreciate what you're doing in the world, and um also appreciate you making time to do this interview this morning.
• 45:16
  SPEAKER_01: I'm honored that you asked, Ken.
• 45:18
  SPEAKER_01: It's been such a pleasure to spend time with you over the last two years, and now I get to return the favor, so thank you.
• 45:25
  SPEAKER_00: My pleasure.
• 45:29
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Trisha.
• 45:32
  SPEAKER_00: Here are my three biggest takeaways from our conversation.
• 45:35
  SPEAKER_00: Number one, say yes, even if you don't know the answers, but knowing that you can do the homework and figure it out.
• 45:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know, so many times we let fear rule over our lives.
• 45:46
  SPEAKER_00: But I love Trisha's encouragement to us to say yes to the next opportunity, even if we don't exactly know how we're gonna get it done or exactly how it's gonna go.
• 45:55
  SPEAKER_00: One consistent thread that you're gonna hear in these podcast interviews is how one thing leads to another, then to another, then to another, because the person took a risk, they didn't know how it was gonna pan out, but they took a risk anyway, and it ended up leading to a lot of cool things in their lives.
• 46:11
  SPEAKER_00: So Trisha says, say yes to not knowing how, but that you can.
• 46:17
  SPEAKER_00: And that's a great insight because it goes back to the importance of confidence in our lives.
• 46:22
  SPEAKER_00: And that, man, that issue of creative confidence is such a key part of our growth as artists and creatives.
• 46:28
  SPEAKER_00: Another really key part of all this is I think putting your work out there so that people know you.
• 46:34
  SPEAKER_00: This is why I do blogging, podcasting, writing, speaking, and all those kinds of things, all those things are important because not only do they help build your confidence, but they also let you meet other people.
• 46:48
  SPEAKER_00: So we've got to find ways to put ourselves out there.
• 46:50
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think it's enough to just, you know, be posting on Facebook or Twitter.
• 46:54
  SPEAKER_00: We've got to have a platform and a way to get our content out to other people, whatever that content is.
• 47:00
  SPEAKER_00: So say yes, even if you don't know the answers, but knowing that you can do the homework and figure it out.
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_00: Takeaway number two, begin with the question, what makes me happy?
• 47:10
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna be totally honest with you.
• 47:12
  SPEAKER_00: I have wasted a lot of time and energy the last few years trying to figure out what my thing is.
• 47:18
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of different voices online, and all of them have a different emphasis.
• 47:23
  SPEAKER_00: You know, there's people who say you've got to do blogging.
• 47:25
  SPEAKER_00: There's other people who say you've got to do podcasting or speaking is the thing, or you know, writing books is the thing, or building an online funnel is the thing, or whatever the the thing is, and and actually all those things have a lot of value, and I do a lot of those things.
• 47:38
  SPEAKER_00: But I spent a lot of time and energy really chasing people in a sense who are doing well, and I think, well, maybe that's the thing I should be doing.
• 47:46
  SPEAKER_00: The problem is that I never stop to think about what makes me happy.
• 47:51
  SPEAKER_00: Where do I find the most joy?
• 47:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's that's a really good insight that Trisha has given to us, asking the question, what makes me happy?
• 48:00
  SPEAKER_00: So think about your life.
• 48:01
  SPEAKER_00: What brings you joy?
• 48:03
  SPEAKER_00: What brings you happiness in terms of your creativity?
• 48:07
  SPEAKER_00: Does it make you happy to paint?
• 48:09
  SPEAKER_00: Does it make you happy to sing or to make music or to dance, as in Trisha's case?
• 48:13
  SPEAKER_00: Does it make you happy to write?
• 48:15
  SPEAKER_00: What things bring you the most joy and pleasure in life?
• 48:19
  SPEAKER_00: So look look inside, take a deep look inside.
• 48:22
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe take some quiet time and do some journaling or some thinking and praying about it.
• 48:26
  SPEAKER_00: Look deep inside.
• 48:27
  SPEAKER_00: What brings you joy and then see if you can make a viable career out of that thing.
• 48:32
  SPEAKER_00: That's a completely different way of looking at it than just seeing what somebody else is doing and thinking that we have to copy that just because they're successful.
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_00: So uh just something to think about there.
• 48:43
  SPEAKER_00: Then finally, takeaway number three, don't let a no hold you back.
• 48:48
  SPEAKER_00: Trisha suggested that a no means not yet.
• 48:53
  SPEAKER_00: And that's a great way of framing what a no is.
• 48:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's not a permanent no, it just means not yet.
• 48:59
  SPEAKER_00: And when you get no's, it's really easy to get discouraged.
• 49:03
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, over the last few months, I've had several major no's, and I'm gonna be honest with you, they all hurt a lot.
• 49:09
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, one of them happened just a few days ago was it wasn't quite as major as the other ones, but it was still a no for an opportunity.
• 49:16
  SPEAKER_00: And and I thought, oh, you know, to be honest with you, my first response is, oh great, you know, there's another no.
• 49:22
  SPEAKER_00: And it's really easy to let those nerds, those no's discourage you.
• 49:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's easy to let nerds discourage you as well.
• 49:30
  SPEAKER_00: But those no's can really discourage us.
• 49:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I love Trisha's advice where she said, if you can't get through a door, build your own door.
• 49:38
  SPEAKER_00: And this is exactly what we excel at as creatives.
• 49:42
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we're artists, right?
• 49:44
  SPEAKER_00: This is what we do.
• 49:45
  SPEAKER_00: We build doors, we build things, we create things, we imagine things.
• 49:49
  SPEAKER_00: So, man, this is what you're good at, this is what you're gifted at.
• 49:53
  SPEAKER_00: This is what we're genius at, right?
• 49:55
  SPEAKER_00: Because we're artists and we're creatives.
• 49:57
  SPEAKER_00: So we've got to build our own doors and stop relying on everybody else to carry us along.
• 50:01
  SPEAKER_00: Now, yes, we do need those yeses, we need those affirmations, we need that acceptance from others.
• 50:06
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's applying for a job or going for an audition or pitching something to a publisher or whatever it is.
• 50:14
  SPEAKER_00: But we first got to build that door and step through it before we can get to those.
• 50:18
  SPEAKER_00: So don't be shy, put your stuff out there, and don't let a no hold you back.
• 50:24
  SPEAKER_00: Well, those are my thoughts, but I'd love to hear what you think about this episode.
• 50:28
  SPEAKER_00: You can do that by leaving a comment on the episode at KentSanders.net slash zero eight eight, where you'll also find the show notes and the links.
• 50:36
  SPEAKER_00: You can also head over to Apple Podcasts and leave a rating and a review, which I always appreciate.
• 50:42
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, you can simply shoot me an email at Kent at Kent Sanders.net.
• 50:46
  SPEAKER_00: I want to thank Trisha for taking the time out of her really busy schedule to share this amazing conversation.
• 50:52
  SPEAKER_00: If you enjoyed this episode, please let her know by hitting her up on Twitter at Trisha Brook.
• 50:57
  SPEAKER_00: That's T-R-I-C-I-A-B-R-O-U-K.
• 51:02
  SPEAKER_00: And finally, thanks to you for listening to this episode.
• 51:04
  SPEAKER_00: I know there's tons of things you could be listening to out there, but I really appreciate you taking the time to tune in to this podcast.
• 51:12
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure to check out my free ultimate toolkit for creative entrepreneurs, which is packed with 24 amazing resources to help you write and self-publish your book, unlock your creative genius, grow your business, and become more productive.
• 51:26
  SPEAKER_00: You can find my free toolkit by going to KentSanders.net slash toolkit.
• 51:31
  SPEAKER_00: I want to begin to wrap up this episode by sharing a quote from Maya Angelou who said you can't use up creativity.
• 51:38
  SPEAKER_00: The more you use, the more you have.
• 51:41
  SPEAKER_00: So true.
• 51:42
  SPEAKER_00: I hope that encourages you on your creative journey.
• 51:45
  SPEAKER_00: And until next time, remember that you were born to create and designed to make a difference.
• 51:50
  SPEAKER_00: Now go create something awesome.