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Jeff Conway: Achieving Bold Success on Your Own Terms · The Bold Lounge

• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the Bold Lounge Podcast.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: My name is Lee Burgess and I will be your host.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: If you're anything like me, you love hearing inspiring stories of people who have gone on bold journeys and made a positive impact in the world.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: This podcast is all about those kinds of stories.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: Every week, we'll hear from someone who has taken a leap or embarked on an extraordinary journey.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: In addition to hearing their stories, we'll also learn about their bold growth mindset that they use to make things happen.
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: Whether they face challenges or douse along the way, they persisted and ultimately achieved their goals.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: These impactful stories will leave you feeling motivated and inspired to pursue your own bold journey.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: I believe everyone has a bold story waiting to be freed.
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: Tune in and get ready to be inspired.
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: Welcome to the Bold Lounge.
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: Today I have Jeff Conway.
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: He is Emmy nominated TV host and also the Forbes Senior contributor.
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: Welcome, Jeff.
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: Thanks, lee, happy to be here.
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: I'm so excited to have you on.
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: Is there anything you want to add to that?
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: I know your uncle, your fitness lover.
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: There's many others.
• 1:15
  Speaker 3: You've been reading my Instagram byline.
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: Yes, I have.
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: I don't know what kind of fitness.
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: But you're a fitness lover.
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: I didn't know if you would add in anything else.
• 1:24
  Speaker 3: Well, fitness lover, I do not go to therapy, I'll be honest.
• 1:27
  Speaker 3: But my therapy and my advice is fitness.
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: That just gets me calm, it breaks up my day between work.
• 1:34
  Speaker 3: I'm just very grateful for fitness, that's whether I'm going on a hike here in Los Angeles or I'm going to my gym, or both some days.
• 1:42
  Speaker 3: I just like to push my limits physically whenever I can, in a safe way, of course, but in a way that I'm 37 and when I keep all this together in the best way.
• 1:51
  Speaker 3: I can, it just doesn't get easier.
• 1:54
  Speaker 3: For sure I really enjoy fitness.
• 1:57
  Speaker 3: Yes, I'm a devoted uncle.
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: All of my nieces and nephews are back in the Chicago land area but I send them letters all the time with little gifts and such.
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: I'm sending one of them a playhouse, a big playhouse today.
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: Ship, even when I'm not around.
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: I try to remind them hey, your uncle Jeff loves you.
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: I know I don't have to do it through gifts, but I just like to because at that age that's how they respond, through little playful toys and whatnot.
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: Yeah, how old are they?
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: What are their ages?
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: I have twin nephews from my twin brother, which is wild.
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: They are one, almost two.
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: I have a three-year-old niece and god daughter that's also his.
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: Then my older sister has two girls, and they are eight and six.
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: Wow, those are some super fun ages too.
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: They are they are.
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: Super cool.
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: I'd love to jump into your boldness and really curious about what your definition of bold is.
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: It's funny and I'm glad you actually bring this up because I don't really think about that too often.
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: I love the term bold but I never think about that with myself.
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: I use words for myself personally, like tenacious, because I am very tenacious in my work, and making it happen on my own, because I don't like to wait for people.
• 3:02
  Speaker 3: I think it's a type A personality thing which I'm not sorry about.
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: I used to see it as almost like an insecurity and now I fully embrace it, but bold-wise.
• 3:11
  Speaker 3: I think bold is being able to go away from the norm and not shine away, from being different.
• 3:19
  Speaker 3: Sometimes we, I think in our society, being different can be seen as an outcast and for many years I saw myself as that, being a little bit of an outcast even within my family, just because I kind of had a different creative mindset and everything, even in my business.
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: But I think being bold is going for what you want and doing it the right way.
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: I'm really big about that.
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: I love the work I do, I work hard, I make connections, but at the end of the day when I go to bed, I need to and I know me, I need to be like Jeff you did great today and you did all the right way, you weren't conniving, you weren't manipulative, and that really matters to me.
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: And I don't think that matters to everybody, especially in my business, unfortunately yeah, in entertainment but for me that matters to be able to do everything the right way, with integrity, but also to be able to succeed on your own terms, and that's what I think it means.
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: What's bold means to me and what I think should mean to others.
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: I love that.
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: So succeeding on your own terms and being you and you hear a lot of people say, be unapologetically, you be authentic.
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: Like authentic is definitely in the business world, something that's over and over and over and so, but I don't know if people truly understand what that means.
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: Right, it means actually being bold and maybe standing out.
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: It doesn't always mean blending in and it means accepting that you're different, and it could mean accepting that people may not even understand you being okay about it, Right?
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely.
• 4:42
  Speaker 3: Even I think with, like the political climate we're in, whether you're affiliated with any political party or not, authenticity has been a little bit blurred for a lot of people and they don't know what's true.
• 4:52
  Speaker 3: And even with AI, artificial intelligence, we have, like that chat, gbt.
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: You know these are not humans, so these are people creating, which is amazing technology, but is it an authentic approach?
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: It's not a human.
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: So for me, like there's a lot of things going on right now that are really tampering with the word authenticity, and for me, authenticity is not something that can be swayed.
• 5:12
  Speaker 3: Authenticity is authenticity.
• 5:14
  Speaker 3: Fact is fact, truth is truth, genuine is genuine.
• 5:16
  Speaker 3: You know what I mean.
• 5:17
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 5:18
  Speaker 3: And it's hard when you see in our society, in our world, when that authenticity word is trying to be used differently than what authenticity actually stands for.
• 5:27
  Speaker 3: So it's a different time, to say the least.
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: Yeah, to say the least, and I know you're younger than me, but I think you know, from the perspective of just the things we're seeing now, like there's just so much opportunity but at the same time, there's opportunity for it to go the wrong way or to be used the wrong way.
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: Absolutely, I say no matter what you're doing or who you're affiliated with, just do good, be good, be kind and be yourself.
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: I had posted something over the weekend and I said something about being authentic and someone commented about unless you're looking for a job, you can't be yourself when you're looking for a job, and I felt like, wow, I wish I could coach that person because that's really where you should be yourself.
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: Right, and I think you know some of us learn the hard way when we're in roles or when we're in business and we're doing things that aren't aligned with who we are.
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: We're unhappy when we're not living the life we're aligned to live with and be in.
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: So I think you know, from that perspective, I think it's very important for people to understand what that is and what office and to see me for them.
• 6:24
  Speaker 3: If I may too, like one of my first career moments where I was really kind of surprised was I was 22.
• 6:30
  Speaker 3: I was working as a intern at the time for an NBC entertainment show in Chicago, like an entertainment around town show, and I was pretty new.
• 6:38
  Speaker 3: But I was a hard worker and I was doing everything they asked.
• 6:41
  Speaker 3: And my boss came to me one day and she was a very nice woman.
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: She was a, you know, decent boss, I'll say.
• 6:46
  Speaker 3: And she came up to me one day and just point blank was just like Chuck, you're not going to make it in this field.
• 6:50
  Speaker 3: And I asked her I was like why?
• 6:52
  Speaker 3: And she's like well, because you're too nice and people are going to take advantage and walk all over you.
• 6:56
  Speaker 3: It's not going to work for you in entertainment.
• 6:57
  Speaker 3: And I told her I'm like I'm going to get everything I want done and still be myself and still be a decent person to people.
• 7:04
  Speaker 3: Some people, I think, have that stigma where they think you need to be hard and you need to be aggressive and to be succeed.
• 7:11
  Speaker 3: And the funny thing is I'll share with you and she probably knows at this point, but every year I make a Christmas card with the people I interviewed that year, all the celebrities that I interviewed that year, on the Christmas card every year and I sent out to people being like thank you for the support this year and I sent it to.
• 7:25
  Speaker 3: Usually in my contacts and people I've been really supportive, but I also sent it to her every year.
• 7:29
  Speaker 3: We don't really keep in touch by no address, so every year I send her a Christmas card with all the great movie stars I've been able to interview, fortunately, that year.
• 7:36
  Speaker 3: It's my almost passive, aggressive way to show like, hey, I did it on my own terms, you were wrong, but I hope you're well.
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly, merry, christmas.
• 7:45
  Speaker 3: Merry Christmas to you.
• 7:46
  Speaker 3: I hope you're doing good too, and you're still being your genuine self.
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: Exactly, exactly.
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think people think bold is always in your face or something big.
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: I think bold can be muted and it can be kindness, and it can be patience, and it can be understanding or being resilient.
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: It doesn't have to be loud.
• 8:05
  Speaker 3: No.
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: At least that's what I think.
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: I think it's a whole continuum and you can make a bold move by just steaming up for someone who doesn't have a voice, which is a lot of the work that I've done.
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: It's just along the way, it's just.
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: I really think that's wrong, or I really think we shouldn't do it that way, and you don't always get the political points for those types of things, but I think that's not what it's about, right?
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: Yeah, in your life, when you think about the time that you stood out, did it the right way?
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: Was yourself?
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: Was there any moment that comes up in your mind?
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: I remember that really, really well.
• 8:36
  Speaker 3: It's tough.
• 8:37
  Speaker 3: There's a lot of things that have happened.
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: The thing I'm really proud about was, I think, in 2017, I was Emmy nominated for a television outstanding program, host Emmy nomination, and it was just really cool because I really did it all my own way.
• 8:51
  Speaker 3: Of course, most of us do in a lot of ways.
• 8:53
  Speaker 3: A lot of us do not have a film director, father, a film producer, mother, something like that or an aunt, uncle, cousin.
• 8:58
  Speaker 3: That has a connection.
• 9:00
  Speaker 3: There's a lot of, we know.
• 9:01
  Speaker 3: We throw around the word Nepo baby and I say always of those Nepo babies.
• 9:04
  Speaker 3: If you have an in, good for you.
• 9:06
  Speaker 3: I mean, you're lucky.
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: Nothing wrong with it.
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: But there is a pride for me and I've spoken to other individuals in any kind of business about this too that are not affiliated with anybody and we did it our way.
• 9:17
  Speaker 3: We did it by ourselves, and there's no ego in that statement.
• 9:21
  Speaker 3: They're just saying I did it all by myself, no one helped me.
• 9:24
  Speaker 3: My parents weren't able to introduce me to this person or this person.
• 9:28
  Speaker 3: We did it by ourselves.
• 9:29
  Speaker 3: So there's like a.
• 9:30
  Speaker 3: I think there's a larger pride.
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: I just say for me.
• 9:33
  Speaker 3: I can only speak for myself to be able to say that I did it my way.
• 9:36
  Speaker 3: I really had no help.
• 9:37
  Speaker 3: There were no handouts along the way, which is what makes us bold that we were able to go against a lot of the easy accesses in and we had to take the road less traveled and make it happen for ourselves in our own unique path.
• 9:54
  Speaker 3: So I think that's bold from my perspective and that was one of my moments.
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah, for sure.
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: I think I always find pride in saying I bootstrap my company.
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: For me it was just kind of like can I do it all my own?
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: Can I make it happen?
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: Can I not have to have anyone else's opinion?
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: Because with VC comes opinion and expectation.
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: And it may change your trajectory.
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: It can, and so I think I can relate to the kind of feeling proud, in that way, of getting to where you are today.
• 10:20
  Speaker 3: I will say, if I can, really quick.
• 10:21
  Speaker 3: One of my faults, though, I would say and I think some of us have had this too is sometimes when we do have that tenacity so self-sufficiently on our own, sometimes we have a harder time taking out a criticism or taking input for a helpful direction from people, and there were years where I was like, no, I'm doing this.
• 10:37
  Speaker 3: So right, sure, share what you want to say.
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: But I got this as I've gotten older.
• 10:42
  Speaker 3: I think it's actually been a benefit to me that I actually do soak in what people say.
• 10:46
  Speaker 3: Even if it's not what I agree with, I'll listen to it at least.
• 10:49
  Speaker 3: I'll take a moment to consider it.
• 10:50
  Speaker 3: I'll be like you know what that one no, that's all right, I appreciate what you said.
• 10:54
  Speaker 3: That's not for me, but some I'll be like you know what that actually would be helpful.
• 10:57
  Speaker 3: So I think there is a way of having to allow yourself to be vulnerable in your boldness that will make you actually a better character, better human, better business person.
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I definitely think there's two ends of it right.
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: You could be more.
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: No, I'm doing it right.
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: And you could also go the other end, where I'm like, oh my gosh, I can't believe I got that feedback.
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: I'm going to change what I'm doing.
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: I'm going to not keep on the path I was going because of this feedback.
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: There's the two ends and probably neither one is good, right.
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: It's somewhere in the middle and I think one of the things I learned earlier from a business perspective and entertainment is business.
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: People need to understand that if they don't already.
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: It's not just for happiness to do it.
• 11:34
  Speaker 3: Nothing happens just automatically.
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: Everything has a system and it's a project.
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: It's very business.
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's very strategic, and so I think one of the things people who need to realize is you get feedback, but you do need to hear it, but you don't always have to act on it right.
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: But in the way, it's kind of good to know like that's a perspective and sometimes you do act on it.
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: You know, and I think it's a really good point that you made, did you always set out to be in this?
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: Is this what you wanted to be when you grow up?
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: Type of moment?
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: How did you get to where you are today?
• 12:06
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's funny.
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: Whenever anybody may ask me that I always say it.
• 12:09
  Speaker 3: It really is, because especially I was the kid on road trips.
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: I have an older sister and a twin brother and I would be on road trips with my brothers and sisters in like the late 80s, early 90s and cars, and I'd be just like annoying them the whole time with movie quotes and I would just be saying movie quotes out of nowhere in front of them, in their ear and the same kind of stick that they did in the movie and it was just always my thing.
• 12:34
  Speaker 3: I knew I didn't want to go into acting because I could not memorize lines.
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: I just was not an actor type.
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: I knew I wanted to do journalism because I would watch these interviews on TV and they felt so robotic and so business transactional to me, like it didn't seem like they were like Really genuinely listening.
• 12:49
  Speaker 3: They were reading off of a cue card and just kind of keep going through the motions and I was like this isn't feel genuine, this isn't feel like a human conversation, this feels like a robotic exchange in a very and I mean that very Roodly.
• 13:01
  Speaker 3: To an extent, you know, it was not fun to watch.
• 13:03
  Speaker 3: I was like I feel there's something in me you know, obviously I'm young by the time I was like there's something in me that feels like I can have these conversations and make these people that are usually these high profile people that you know, kind of keep their distance and, you know, private, which I respect, but asking questions and respectful, thoughtful ways, with my good research that would be able to get them to open up comfortably.
• 13:24
  Speaker 3: And that has really, I feel, been my, my stick and the ways that I have fortunately stood out in this industry that people do come up to me.
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: Being like Jeff, you're asking questions, no one else is asking you got him to open up when he opens up to nobody.
• 13:37
  Speaker 3: And I think it's because they see that I am genuinely both kind of a fan but also a respectful professional with them, that I just want to know more and I, in my delivery of my question and my tone, they can see that it is me being genuinely interested.
• 13:52
  Speaker 3: I'm not just reading off of a cue card because my boss asked me to do so.
• 13:56
  Speaker 3: They can tell and they, when they can tell, I feel they respond in a more candid again we go back to the word authentic way, in more human way.
• 14:03
  Speaker 3: They open up to you.
• 14:05
  Speaker 3: They almost forget that.
• 14:06
  Speaker 3: The cameras there which is the best part, you know sometimes like they're beyond their actors.
• 14:10
  Speaker 3: They can be an actor at all times that they need to be.
• 14:11
  Speaker 3: You can see the human comes out and those are my favorite moments.
• 14:14
  Speaker 3: We can just really see they have a human moment.
• 14:16
  Speaker 3: I think audiences appreciate that too.
• 14:19
  Speaker 3: To see like, wow, I've seen this person on the big screen.
• 14:21
  Speaker 3: They seem like a god to me.
• 14:21
  Speaker 3: Wait, they're just like me, and people like to see when we all are really the same.
• 14:26
  Speaker 3: You know, they may have these elevated careers with potentially a lot more money in their income, you know, but we're all the same in a lot of ways.
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: They're just hardworking individuals just like us.
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think you could give a master class on the human and, I think, heart-centric interview and I think if anyone wants to understand kind of what that looks like, they should check your work out on Forbes or LinkedIn To see some of Jeff's interviews.
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: Because he does.
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: He approaches it in a very unique way, a very natural way, in a conversation that doesn't feel I'm just going to use the word like a truce, it Like it's not like going in for the whatever you know, whatever the key question is it never feels like that.
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: The darling part in interview really comes to mind for me when she's like in her kitchen I'm talking about her new cake and icing one and I think even how that came about was also that each of these types of things.
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: I just reached out and I wondered if I could interview her and she said yes.
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: And how does that happen?
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: You know, it happens through that.
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: They know who you are, they know who you are.
• 15:28
  Speaker 2: You've established that.
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: You know you are different from others in the business In the sense of how you approach things and how you treat others and therefore it also then allows you, you know, to have that moment and to do those types of things.
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: How does someone understand or kind of get to that point to realize that it isn't like a straight line for everything and everything is an instant?
• 15:47
  Speaker 2: Sometimes it's building a reputation or building authenticity or building trust, which can be extrapolated in any business.
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: But, obviously you do it very well in the entertainment business and journalism, but what is it that people can understand about that, that you could just reach out to Dolly's people the night before and then you're talking to her the very next day?
• 16:05
  Speaker 3: Well, fortunately, with the Dolly one I saw I was on Twitter earlier that day, the day before the interview, where I had no interview even planned or sad or thought could be possible.
• 16:14
  Speaker 3: But I saw on Twitter that she was talking about her baking line, that she was promoting a few new baking goods, and I was like you know what, she probably wants to talk about it.
• 16:23
  Speaker 3: So it was like I hit up the baking company's website, went to their website.
• 16:28
  Speaker 3: I just looked at their contact page.
• 16:29
  Speaker 3: It was only like an info page where anybody could just ask a question.
• 16:32
  Speaker 3: But I was like, hey, if you can get this to your media or PR department, you know it was a shot in the dark.
• 16:36
  Speaker 3: I was like I was literally assuming I'm not going to hear any.
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: Tenacious bold.
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: You hear your word.
• 16:42
  Speaker 3: But you know, I was like I'm probably not going to hear it back.
• 16:44
  Speaker 3: My mentality is always if you don't try and I try to do this in all life, not just in business, but in all life If you don't try, you don't know.
• 16:50
  Speaker 3: And for a lot of us, rejection in the word know used to scare me a lot and it doesn't scare me at all anymore.
• 16:57
  Speaker 3: I mean in no way.
• 16:58
  Speaker 3: No, doesn't scare me at all, which I think is a wonderful place to be at, where know is just like in my perspective, like if they say no and like I don't say it, but like their loss.
• 17:06
  Speaker 3: They would have got an amazing coverage.
• 17:08
  Speaker 3: But then I moved on.
• 17:09
  Speaker 3: But at least I tried.
• 17:10
  Speaker 3: I would not have known if I was even on their radar and they may remember me for like times down the line.
• 17:14
  Speaker 3: You know now that I'm on their radar, I'm on their peripheral, now that they know me, maybe down the line, even if it's a no, now they may be like you know what I remember you reached out, he or she has a new thing going on.
• 17:24
  Speaker 3: I have seen your work, fortunately, and let's get you on for this one.
• 17:28
  Speaker 3: So again I think not being afraid of know in any of our businesses, makes us bold to not let know scare us or make us shy away or make us feel like we shouldn't be doing this or aren't gonna make it.
• 17:41
  Speaker 3: Quote unquote let those nose almost build more fire in you.
• 17:45
  Speaker 3: For me, the nose make me even more tenacious, which has been a benefit for me.
• 17:50
  Speaker 3: No, doesn't scare you Well you learn from those right.
• 17:52
  Speaker 2: You learn from the nose and sometimes it's like, okay, I'm just gonna stay over here being awesome and you just missed out.
• 17:57
  Speaker 2: Or it's like, okay, maybe I purchased a stickler, maybe I wait a little bit, or maybe they need to get to know me a little bit better, or maybe there is a loop around or maybe it's just a move on and sometimes they loop back, like you said, by themselves.
• 18:12
  Speaker 2: So I think it's that comfort zone piece for people and that growth mindset of like.
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: I think a no could be seen by some people as a failure or like I didn't get it or or I'm not good enough.
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: I'm not good enough, which is not the way yeah or I'm not popular enough or whatever it may be Like, I have a vision board of like people I like to have on the podcast and the rock is one of them.
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: It's over here where I keep pointing and like have you interviewed the rock?
• 18:36
  Speaker 3: I haven't yet.
• 18:36
  Speaker 3: It's funny, I was at Tequila company, which one of my fellow writers got to interview him recently.
• 18:41
  Speaker 3: I'll you know.
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: I'm sure I will, hopefully, and surely it's some point yeah absolutely, If you want to, you will, Cause he's definitely obviously entertained.
• 18:49
  Speaker 2: Connected, a really good human being making a difference and just just rocking the world.
• 18:56
  Speaker 3: No pun intended.
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: Whatever he does.
• 18:58
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: You know what's his algorithm for that?
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: What'd be really cool to understand that, and I think it actually comes from a base of being him and being authentic.
• 19:06
  Speaker 3: For sure he's a smart businessman between his, his, his movies, his Tequila company, now his production company, I think it's XFL, like he's got his own football league.
• 19:17
  Speaker 3: now that he's got, you know he's a.
• 19:19
  Speaker 3: He's a smart businessman.
• 19:20
  Speaker 3: A lot of these people are doing it.
• 19:21
  Speaker 3: Ryan Reynolds was doing the same thing.
• 19:22
  Speaker 3: I've interviewed Ryan several times.
• 19:24
  Speaker 3: He's not only that, but he has maximum effort, his own production company that he does his Deadpool movies through, and so many other things.
• 19:30
  Speaker 3: He's got Wrexham, the football league in England.
• 19:34
  Speaker 3: You know he's got Aviation Gin, which is his beverage company.
• 19:38
  Speaker 3: So, like these people, they they've learned that they can use their notoriety, their celebrity, to expand their business and they can kind of immerse them all together in a special way, like they're being very strategic, which is very cool, very cool to see.
• 19:52
  Speaker 2: What do you think it is?
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: People don't understand about these individuals which, for us, like you said, some people are a pedestal, or some people, like it, just seemed unattainable, or they don't seem human.
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: What's the biggest misunderstanding from all the time that you spent on me?
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: You have met scads of people movie stars, musicians, different type of business, entrepreneurial individuals who are connected to entertainment.
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: What's the biggest misunderstanding you think the general public has?
• 20:19
  Speaker 3: I think it again.
• 20:20
  Speaker 3: I think it's people do see these people as untouchables.
• 20:22
  Speaker 3: I call them.
• 20:23
  Speaker 3: These are people that in reality, most, most of us don't, we don't have access to these people.
• 20:27
  Speaker 3: These people are guarded, sometimes literally, you know, like the Meghan Markles and the Prince areas of the world.
• 20:32
  Speaker 3: They have security around them.
• 20:34
  Speaker 3: So, yeah, they have to be, but like they seem like they're on a different wavelength to a lot of people and that's where they'll have the envy that us every day.
• 20:41
  Speaker 3: People kind of feel sometimes like we feel like they're like almost like a top tier human which, at the end of the day, they're just humans.
• 20:48
  Speaker 3: And I think, from a journalism standpoint, I always approach my interviews with a respect, but also that we're just people and I actually think they respond better unless you're like a certain person I'm not gonna say names but unless you're someone that likes to be seen as a God.
• 21:01
  Speaker 3: You know, to an extent, most people want to be treated normally and that's why I, whenever I speak to people, I speak to them the same way I'm speaking to you, lee, and just kind of engaging and having a genuine curiosity, and that's when I think they respond best, because they want to be treated normally.
• 21:15
  Speaker 3: And when you treat them like autograph I call it treat them like autograph book and like oh my God, dolly Parton.
• 21:20
  Speaker 3: It's just so amazing.
• 21:22
  Speaker 3: I never would do that.
• 21:22
  Speaker 3: It just cause I think you would actually turn them off and you'd make them a little bit nervous and then, from that way that you were, their responses from there on out are gonna be a little more guarded because of the way you were.
• 21:33
  Speaker 3: So it all works together.
• 21:35
  Speaker 3: You gotta be careful.
• 21:36
  Speaker 3: It all works together, but just treat these people like normal people, cause most of them want to be treated like normal people.
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we did the bull table in Soho and a couple of times.
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: You know New York is New York, so you could be walking on street and someone's there and you just don't even know it.
• 21:51
  Speaker 2: We had our dinner and it was actually a movie screening and Mark Ruffalo was there and one of the most down to earth individuals and our group was just going out in between and, you know, wasn't going out specifically to see him, they were, you know, going to the restroom or whatever and they would stop by and talk to him and he was just one of the most approachable individuals.
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: They're like you should go out there.
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: I was like no, I'm just gonna let him be.
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: You know, I just feel like he's here for what he's doing.
• 22:17
  Speaker 2: But he was very open and was actually having fun taking the pictures.
• 22:20
  Speaker 2: But I'm almost the opposite.
• 22:22
  Speaker 2: If I see someone in the elevator and we just happened a couple of times in New York as well I was like I know who you are and you know, I know who you are I'm like I'll say anything, I promise.
• 22:30
  Speaker 2: You know, just kind of letting them be, because you can tell, especially in the city, I think people just want to just be, they just want to be left alone or they just don't want to have that autograph moment.
• 22:40
  Speaker 3: No for sure.
• 22:41
  Speaker 3: There is a way I would say and I think you did it the right way You're very respectful about that leave what I say at minimum, and I don't mind doing, especially if I'm not going to be interviewing them, but I see them like you see them.
• 22:49
  Speaker 3: I'll maybe just turn to them and be like hey, you know, jeffrey, huge fan, just saw your movie.
• 22:55
  Speaker 3: You know, hope you're having a good day.
• 22:56
  Speaker 3: And I'll just literally say it that way.
• 22:57
  Speaker 3: You know, I'm not aggressive, I'm just saying my appreciation, but not making it invasive or anything.
• 23:03
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I always feel like a little weird.
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: Maybe I'll try that next time.
• 23:06
  Speaker 2: I think what people don't understand and, like you interview entrepreneurs, I mean, I think so many of the people that you interview are doing something different.
• 23:16
  Speaker 2: We just, you know, railed off a few of them a couple of minutes ago, but, like, think of Jennifer Aniston and what she's doing with the different businesses that she has.
• 23:23
  Speaker 2: And what do you think is the common business element between the key entrepreneurs, or some of the key ones that you've interviewed, is what's one of the key ingredients to their success?
• 23:33
  Speaker 2: Obviously, they have their fame and those types of things in the hard work to get to where they are that helps them sell their products.
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: But I mean, what's another ingredient outside of their fame that has led to their success?
• 23:45
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think with, like Jennifer Aniston.
• 23:48
  Speaker 3: Like you said, she has the Lola V haircare company that she co-founded with two other people, joel and Amy, and I've interviewed her twice in the last year about Lola V and it's been wonderful to speak with Jennifer.
• 23:57
  Speaker 3: But one of my favorite things is there are a lot of celebrities.
• 24:00
  Speaker 3: I'll speak from the celebrity entrepreneur side.
• 24:02
  Speaker 3: There are a lot of celebrities out there that sometimes are approached and they've brought this up with me people like Blake Lively brought it was approached Ryan Reynolds, wife and actress.
• 24:11
  Speaker 3: She was approached and said you know, I had some companies that had a fully created product and just said hey, we want you to be a part of it in the face and just slap your name on it, and they didn't want to do that.
• 24:21
  Speaker 3: They're like no, I'm going to make something from the ground up, and that's what like Blake Lively did with her Betty Buzz mixer drink now alcoholic mixer drink that she has, which I got to interview her for.
• 24:29
  Speaker 3: She was really big about being like I want to build this on the ground up.
• 24:33
  Speaker 3: I'm going to have an active hand in it.
• 24:35
  Speaker 3: I'm not just going to show up for the photo shoot day, hold the bottle and be like good job.
• 24:39
  Speaker 3: Scientists have a great time with this.
• 24:41
  Speaker 3: She wanted to be a part of the tastings and everything.
• 24:44
  Speaker 3: She even went on.
• 24:45
  Speaker 3: She even told me she was in New York.
• 24:46
  Speaker 3: She went on before they launched Betty Buzz.
• 24:49
  Speaker 3: Blake Lively went on Fifth Avenue and just went on a corner and brought a bunch of different sample flavors out and like almost like a lemonade stand for free and had people just come up and try them and give her feedback, cause she just wanted to publicly a real life focus group and you know what I mean.
• 25:02
  Speaker 3: I appreciate these people that have this genuine passion for their projects.
• 25:07
  Speaker 3: Yes, we know them from the Hollywood side, but to have such a passion for these other business passion projects and to be really a part of it and not just allow their fame to be put as a oh you're gonna pay me a bunch of money to just put my name on it, go for it.
• 25:20
  Speaker 3: Some people do that and that's fine.
• 25:21
  Speaker 3: Teach their own.
• 25:22
  Speaker 3: I really respect the people that have an elevated platform, but make sure that they're actually doing the work.
• 25:30
  Speaker 3: Scarlett Johansson has her outset skincare company.
• 25:33
  Speaker 3: I got to interview her for and she's been in it since the ground up with her co-founder, kate, you know, and that matters and I think the public notices this on social media when they post, you can see the difference between I'm holding a bottle and them actually talking about.
• 25:47
  Speaker 3: I went to this laboratory and we did this for six months and, like showing the grit and showing the work that it took to get there, I respect it more and it makes me actually want to buy their product more, when I know there was actually like a blood, sweat and tears, so to speak, that went into this.
• 26:01
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think the other thing people may misunderstand is people think that they hit it out of the park right away when they're again, I think, going back to human and I think that's what we all have in common and if we start with our commonalities like that's the piece, that's the most important, people understand.
• 26:17
  Speaker 2: Whether you know you're in any industry entrepreneurial, you're in the corporate world, I mean, that's where we all base out, is that we're human.
• 26:25
  Speaker 2: These people are trying things and failing and growing and learning and you know, I think it's important for people to understand that at times we're very, very alike 100% versus different, and I think, when it comes to the business of what they do, I think for people to kind of tune into some of those conversations that you have with them, because I think people can learn a lot from really the trial and error and the failure, would you agree with that?
• 26:50
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and I think it's also in these.
• 26:52
  Speaker 3: I gotta go back to celebrity entrepreneurs, but any of us, we should be able to show a little bit of vulnerability as people.
• 26:57
  Speaker 3: Again, I go back to the word vulnerability because I think people appreciate when we have those trials and tribulations, you know, showing that we are human.
• 27:04
  Speaker 3: Some things didn't work, but maybe I learned from it.
• 27:07
  Speaker 3: It's a growing process.
• 27:08
  Speaker 3: It's a moment of growth to learn and to move ahead in a smarter, potential way, you know.
• 27:14
  Speaker 3: So I think that's really important to be able to not shy away from showing your success moments, but don't be afraid to also be like.
• 27:20
  Speaker 3: You know what accountability, like this didn't work or potentially, I screwed up and I take that on me and I'm gonna learn, I'm gonna be better, moving forward.
• 27:29
  Speaker 3: I think that can be a admirable quality.
• 27:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah, every idea is not a good idea, but it's an idea right, you never know, till you try it so.
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: I think that's the other thing is, I think when you're doing some things that are bold, people won't understand, and that's okay, yeah, and I think it's important to you know value others' opinions, but also know that they shouldn't hold you back 100%.
• 27:49
  Speaker 2: And I'm sure, whether you're a celebrity or, you know, just a regular person like I, actually think they're the same.
• 27:55
  Speaker 2: But you have to just sometimes do things, going back to your definition, on your own, be your own, be your own person and be you.
• 28:04
  Speaker 2: So I think people learning that certainly can learn through your interviews and some of the things that you share in those interviews, but also fun people who are doing it in their everyday lives.
• 28:13
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I would even say Lee, like originality, one of my favorite other words, like Tamatius is one of my favorite words.
• 28:18
  Speaker 3: Originality is big because there's a lot of people in a lot of industries right now that are doing kind of the same thing.
• 28:24
  Speaker 3: So what's going to make you stand out?
• 28:26
  Speaker 3: You have to find ways to make your product, your delivery, your execution different, original, otherwise you're going to be a face in the crowd to an extent.
• 28:37
  Speaker 3: So, yeah, I say you know, it's those disruptors, the big word everybody likes to use these days, especially in like business disruptors.
• 28:44
  Speaker 3: And disruptors doesn't mean in a negative way.
• 28:45
  Speaker 3: I think that sometimes disruption was known as like a rudeness or a negative word, but disruptors are ones that also are original, are bold and decide to try something and it pays off.
• 28:56
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so disruptors are actually a positive word in my definition these days.
• 29:00
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I agree and I think, no matter what kind of business you're in, you're always in some bit of a competition, and I think what happens if you're not evolving or disrupting or innovating, people are catching up At least that's what it is to me.
• 29:14
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and then sometimes we'll like get a little annoyed, like I just got here and someone's already trying to copy something I'm doing, or you know like it can be very competitive.
• 29:22
  Speaker 2: And then you know I have to like kick out of that pretty quickly, let it bother me for a moment, and then kind of like, okay, well, I can, I know I can do the next level or I can do something different.
• 29:32
  Speaker 2: And again people may not understand you're different until like, oh well, wow, she did this or she did that, and it's like, oh well, how did she do that?
• 29:40
  Speaker 2: You?
• 29:40
  Speaker 2: know, so, I think, be original, be tenacious, be kind, all those things that I think lead to you being ultimately successful.
• 29:48
  Speaker 3: I would even say really quickly you brought up somebody in your industry.
• 29:51
  Speaker 3: You know you jumped a certain point and then somebody went past you.
• 29:54
  Speaker 3: I always say and I hope you live by this this took me a long time to get here and I still don't have my perfect moments is but words I try to live by every day.
• 30:00
  Speaker 3: Is somebody else's wins?
• 30:02
  Speaker 3: Is not your failure Correct?
• 30:04
  Speaker 3: And I think it took me a long time to see that.
• 30:06
  Speaker 3: Like, well, I would work my butt off and I'd watch another journalist get this interview.
• 30:10
  Speaker 3: I was like, why did they get that interview when I didn't?
• 30:12
  Speaker 3: And then what did I do wrong?
• 30:13
  Speaker 3: Yeah, what did I do wrong?
• 30:14
  Speaker 3: Or why am I not making it like them?
• 30:16
  Speaker 3: And I'm like I've learned that their win is not my loss.
• 30:19
  Speaker 3: Now I'm more about supporting them.
• 30:21
  Speaker 3: I used to be like, no, not even going to give them a like, I'm not going to do anything.
• 30:24
  Speaker 3: I'm like no, it's really, it doesn't take anything away from me.
• 30:26
  Speaker 3: We think in our head it's really only in our head that we feel like we're a failure because they got the win, but celebrate victories.
• 30:33
  Speaker 3: I really do live in a world where we all can win.
• 30:36
  Speaker 3: Maybe it'll be at different times and different degrees, but I really do live with the mentality in the store we all can win and I think if more people had that mentality I think it'd be a little bit more of a pleasant place.
• 30:47
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I love that.
• 30:47
  Speaker 2: As we kind of close out, I'm wondering kind of what your outlook is for 2023 and beyond when it comes to journalism and and the things that you do in the celebrity in Hollywood world.
• 30:59
  Speaker 2: Like what do you see?
• 31:00
  Speaker 2: You talked about AI Just a few minutes ago Is that gonna have an impact?
• 31:04
  Speaker 2: In what way, or what other things are you seeing when you think about journalism?
• 31:09
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean well, ai is a big thing right now, especially with the writer strike happening, the WGA writer strike, sag aftra where, like the actors for like television, radio and such, they just did a vote, which was 97.91% vote, authorizing a strike if Negotiations for better wages and whatnot aren't agreed upon in the next few weeks, so they could be joining the picket lines with the WGA, the directors union, after that.
• 31:36
  Speaker 3: And a lot of producers are saying and I hope it's not the case, but there are people there saying that, like well, if we can't get the writers back, ai can write it for us, which is almost a true fact, which is a very chilling thing to think that these computers can be taken away from individual jobs and Human emotion, because it can actually think kind of like human emotions.
• 31:54
  Speaker 3: So it's a really weird time in Hollywood that the individual is maybe not being as valued because they see the technology there and be like, well, we can just have chat GBT do it and we're saving so many incomes that we'd have to pay.
• 32:07
  Speaker 3: So it's it's a weird time.
• 32:09
  Speaker 3: I hope you know that doesn't become the case, but for me I could.
• 32:12
  Speaker 3: I could speak for me, storytelling wise.
• 32:15
  Speaker 3: I want to just keep telling stories that more so matter that need to be told.
• 32:19
  Speaker 3: Recently I interviewed Michael J Foxx about his Apple TV documentary called still, which is really great.
• 32:26
  Speaker 3: I recommend everybody to check it out, but I have to speak with them about it.
• 32:28
  Speaker 3: And I talked about his Michael J Foxx foundation, which he's had since 2000 and he has been the most breakthrough research to help people that are Before they even get symptoms.
• 32:38
  Speaker 3: Like he can help people not have the symptoms that he's had to have over the last 30 years or so and he was just so honest about.
• 32:44
  Speaker 3: I asked him about what advice do you have for other Parkinson's people at Parkinson's like yourself that are going through this like you and he's like I just understand that this is your life.
• 32:51
  Speaker 3: Like it sounds like a sad thing, but he it's like a be here now and embrace that this is your life.
• 32:56
  Speaker 3: It is a tough thing but if you don't jump away from it, embrace it.
• 33:00
  Speaker 3: And I had so many people message me after I posted his word that have either have Parkinson's or have a family member.
• 33:07
  Speaker 3: I have people on LinkedIn being like Jeff.
• 33:09
  Speaker 3: I said that to my dad and that meant everything to him because he's felt lost for so long.
• 33:13
  Speaker 3: Like this is only him going through this and for me as a journalist, as a human, the best work that could ever do is, yes, it's fun to do a red carpet and whatnot.
• 33:22
  Speaker 3: But when you can actually like help others lives through entertainment which everybody thinks entertainment it's fluff, it's fun no, there's ways that you can actually make a direct impact for the better in people's lives and that's why I still go for like.
• 33:33
  Speaker 3: My next article is gonna be on Sada Ramirez.
• 33:35
  Speaker 3: They, because they are non-binary, are on and just like that.
• 33:39
  Speaker 3: They played Che Diaz on the Sex in the City new chapter series and they talked about like having a supportive work environment and making sure that people on set respected the they, them pronouns.
• 33:51
  Speaker 3: They are not she or her, you know.
• 33:55
  Speaker 3: So I really appreciate these kind of stories that I can share, because I hope that when I publish this, people will be like I feel seen, I feel heard.
• 34:04
  Speaker 3: I've been feeling like I've been doing this by myself, but here's Sada Ramirez speaking out for me and with me, and To be able to be that journalist and be that messenger to an extent that can help share, that is for me priceless, like it's.
• 34:17
  Speaker 3: That's where my job feels like I'm doing the right thing.
• 34:19
  Speaker 3: Sometimes we question our work.
• 34:20
  Speaker 3: Those are the moments when, like you know what, I'm making a difference and there's no ego in that, just it's the genuine love and the compassion for people, and if I can make a difference in one person's life, that is the most amazing thing I could ever ask for.
• 34:33
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you humanize it.
• 34:34
  Speaker 2: So you humanize it, I think, for for all your guests and kind of help people relate or connect, yeah, or realize something.
• 34:41
  Speaker 2: So think that your interviews are very powerful.
• 34:44
  Speaker 2: I hope everyone checks out Jeff his work at Forbes.
• 34:47
  Speaker 2: All the information is in the episode notes for you to check him out.
• 34:50
  Speaker 2: Thank you so much, jeff, for being on the Boll lounge and keep being bold.
• 34:53
  Speaker 3: Thanks, lee, appreciate it.
• 34:57
  Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to the Boll lounge podcast.
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: Through the continuum of bold stories Vulnerability to taking a leap you will meet more extraordinary people making a positive impact for others through their unique and important story.
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: By highlighting these stories, we hope to inspire others and share the journey of those with a bold mindset.
• 35:15
  Speaker 1: We hope you've enjoyed this podcast and look forward to sharing the next bold journey with you.