#052: How Improv Mindsets Help You Lead, Collaborate, And Navigate Real-Life Curveballs With Amanda Austin

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Sometimes I'm not, but I I really have to focus on that every week.

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So that's like a technical thing.

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But I think the bigger picture is, and it comes back to a lot of the spirit of improv where you have to trust the process and just be okay with what's going to happen.

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I do get a lot of stuff that comes at me, and some are definitely some challenges that in all of the different areas of business.

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I have to kind of ask myself, okay, is this urgent?

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Is somebody in trouble?

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Um, can we sleep on this?

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Can like a good meal and some water, maybe a class of wine and like a good night's rest let me make a better decision tomorrow?

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Or is there actually something really urgent?

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Like the building's on fire or this human is on fire, and we need to address this.

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Whenever I can take a step back and realize it's gonna be okay if we wait until tomorrow to deal with this.

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And it's not about putting it off, it's just about letting it giving it a minute to breathe, which is also something that, you know, in improv, we always tell people you don't have to be saying words, words, words.

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Welcome to another edition of the For the Love of Creatives podcast.

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I am your Connections and Community Guy host Dwight, and on the line with me today is our other Connections and Community Guy host, Maddox.

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And today we are joined by the amazing Amanda Austin.

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Hello.

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Hi, I'm so glad to be here.

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Amanda.

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Thank you.

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What a treat.

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We we're so glad that you could uh could uh grace us with your presence.

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Um you have done a number of amazing and wonderful and funny and fun things.

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Uh, but uh I would love for you to tell our audience just a little bit about who you are and what you're about.

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Sure.

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And and how you guys met, how you guys know each other.

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We'd love to share how we came about being together for this.

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I think that's the most important part is how we met because it's one of the things that inspires a lot of what I do and what you all do.

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Uh Dwight and I are in the Business Council for the Arts Leadership Arts Institute cohort for 25-26, say that three times fast.

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Um, so we are in this cohort together where we are learning more about our arts community here in DFW and also working on projects that are smaller within the group to help um other nonprofits there uh grow their business side of uh the arts, which can sometimes be tricky.

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So we're getting to tour lots of different places, learn lots of things, meet each other, and that's how we know each other.

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So we kicked that off in September, I believe, or August.

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Yeah, August, September, and then we will wrap up in May.

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So that's how we know each other.

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And I was very drawn to that program and had been for several years, and now I just had more of the bandwidth to take it on because I've spent most of my life involved in the arts, one way or the other.

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Um, most recently I owned the Dallas Comedy House for uh just under 12 years.

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We closed during COVID because a fun thing about business is that you have to be open to make money, and uh that is one of the driving forces of staying uh open.

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And so we had just done uh quite an expansive remodel on a location, and so I shut that down uh for uh because of COVID during uh 2020.

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But that was kind of my most recent uh foray into the arts.

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And um I love live theater, I love comedy.

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Um, now I actually take those tenets of improvisation and collaboration, as well as um some of my education, and teach companies how to work together collaboratively and not competitively, and how to be innovative and all while having fun, because I do believe laughter is an incredible tool for bringing people together.

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And nobody wants to go to some kind of corporate training workshop that's boring and they're not gonna remember it.

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So I try to make it valuable and fun.

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And that's what I spend the bulk of my time doing.

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I'm also a realtor, which sounds like it's not creative at all, but I can tell you you can get really creative when you're putting together contracts for real estate.

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Uh, and that's what I um I do, and I teach also at SMU.

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I teach a class at the business school.

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So that's that's who I am and what I do now.

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I grew up in dance.

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So actually, my first love was in dance and danced competitively all growing up and did theater as well.

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So I've never been able to get out of the performing arts.

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Um, it just I'm so drawn to it, and I do I do believe there's such a like a great place for it in the world.

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So yeah, that's my short bio.

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Um, you can ask me what my favorite color is or my astrological sign or anything else.

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It's fine, it's all fair game.

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It it's very diverse.

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It is.

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It's all over the map.

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I love that.

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It is all over the map, and I sometimes would struggle with the fact that it was all over the map because I thought that that could be confusing to people.

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And now I just lean in because these are the things that I'm interested in, and I pursue them and I try to deliver the best work I can when I'm doing it and also have fun.

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And that's a beautiful thing.

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I I'm a firm believer in that you have to just embrace what it is that you really you're really into, like what really fills your heart.

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Yeah.

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Because otherwise, you know, you you're just going to uh follow the same boring drab script that everyone expects.

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And yeah, that is just uh no, life's too short.

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Life's too short to.

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I mean, you've got to do some of the boring stuff.

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Do we we all need to probably clean our house every once in a while, do some laundry, pay our taxes.

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Um, other than that, though, like we can have fun, like there's no reason why we can't be having more fun.

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My my new mantra is to focus on what brings me joy, people, activities, places.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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We we I love it.

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And it doesn't have to be big things that can bring you joy, it can be very little things.

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I was just talking to somebody about this.

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I love to travel a lot.

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And they're like, what's your most like fun adventure recently?

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And it wasn't a bit, I mean, I've had some really fun trips, but I was in my hometown a few weeks ago for a funeral, and I was with my best friend, and we pulled over, it was on a Thursday night, into the parking lot of the Broadway Square Mall in Tyler, Texas, because they had a pop-up carnival and we were in funeral clothes, and we just like got out, parked the car, bought tickets, and just hopped on a bunch of rides.

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And to me, like that's really I mean, we just did, I mean, I was in high heels and found some sneakers in the car.

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She's wearing a dress.

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I mean, we are not dressed to go to a mall parking lot carnival.

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But to me, like those fun, like joyful adventures are actually what it's all about.

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Well, yeah.

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I mean, they were scary as hell.

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Let me tell you something.

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Those rides were hanging on by a thread.

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There was a 16-year-old controlling it saying, You're gonna be fine.

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But we did it and we had the videos to prove it, and we made it out.

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But you know, it's fun.

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Like it's might as well.

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Love that.

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So I I'm really curious what it's like going into spaces where you are introducing people to uh just the concept of embracing what it is to be real, to be a full, complete person, where they're um maybe used to following uh something safe and standard and just you know generally trying to stay in their lane and not uh not upset people.

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Oh wow.

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That's a great question.

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You know, you usually see uh two different types of people in those rooms, the people that are they've they've been wanting to try something new and they've been wanting to get outside of their comfort zone, and then they see this as an actual opportunity, or they're at work and they're being paid and told or voluntold to be there, and they're just like so excited, and then they they go in and they are all in.

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Then there's also this group of people, let me put my coffee down because I did the little reenactment, and they're sitting in the back of the room with their arms shrugged, or they're on their phone and they're not paying attention at all because they either think I'm too good for this.

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I also think sometimes they're terrified of it because people get people get really nervous if they think they're gonna be to crush something.

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Like they want to be able to do something really well.

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And the thought of doing something where you have to be present in the moment, there is no script, can be quite terrifying to people.

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So um, that's always my goal is to win those people over.

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And if I don't, it's fine, but I would vote that it's more terrified than the other.

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It probably is.

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Yeah, it really is.

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And like even, you know, you all were talking about hey, we don't have a plan for the I mean, you have a plan for the podcast, but you don't have a list of 27 questions that you have to get through with every guest.

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And that can sound terrifying to people.

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Then I would just argue, like, what's the worst that's gonna happen?

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Or alternatively, what's the best that could happen?

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Yeah.

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I mean, the best that can happen is that we have a hell of a lot of fun during this time together and we learn more, and that's it.

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That's the best that can happen.

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You know, Amanda, it's interesting that you say that because we have we've completed something like oh low 50s now conversations for this podcast.

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Episode number 51 drops this coming Monday.

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Okay.

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And there has only been one person that agreed to be on the podcast and then reached out in advance wanting to know if I could send them all of the questions.

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And I said no.

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That would uh kill the whole spirit of the podcast.

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First of all, I don't have any questions formulated, and I won't have questions formulated.

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But second of all, if I sent them to you and you worked out all these answers, now it's just a scripted who wants to listen to that?

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No, that no you know, there's probably a time and space for that, but not for this.

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Not for not for the entire purpose of this podcast.

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Right.

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The spontaneity is what makes this special.

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You know, you don't know you're gonna get asked that question, then all of a sudden you're really drilling down and thinking, or the the spontaneous stuff that comes out of people's mouths.

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Oh my gosh.

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I don't remember.

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I can't imagine.

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Well, I'm glad that you didn't send me any questions.

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I didn't even look, I actually didn't even look for any questions.

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I would prefer for there to not be any, um, and let's just roll with it and see what happens.

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Yeah, well, along those lines, uh a burning question for me with someone as uh multifaceted as as you are and having to uh have to pivot so many times and just deal with what comes.

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What is it that you've had to lean into in order to be prepared for each next challenge?

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Well, a couple of things.

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I'll say what's coming to mind now, and then there might be something that comes to mind in uh uh you know a few more minutes.

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Yeah tactically speaking, you gotta be really good at your calendar.

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Like you have to know, you have to, and I have a couple of calendars, and so I've had to merge them all.

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And that sounds so silly.

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If you are juggling a lot of different things and have, you know, what's some I guess call like a portfolio career, you gotta know who you gotta be talking to, where you gotta be, what you know, you you've gotta know.

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And so I have to be really good with my calendar, and sometimes I'm not, but I I really have to focus on that every week.

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So that's like a technical thing.

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But I think the bigger picture is, and it comes back to a lot of the spirit of improv where you have to trust the process and just be okay with what's gonna happen.

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I do get a lot of stuff that comes at me, and some are definitely some challenges that in all of the different areas of business, I have to kind of ask myself, okay, is this urgent?

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Is somebody in trouble?

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Um, can we sleep on this?

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Can like a good meal and some water, maybe a class of wine and like a good night's rest let me make a better decision tomorrow?

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Or is there actually something really urgent?

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Like the building's on fire or this human is on fire, and we need to address this.

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Whenever I can take a step back and realize it's gonna be okay if we wait until tomorrow to deal with this.

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And it's not about putting it off.

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It's just about letting it, giving it a minute to breathe, which is also something that, you know, in improv, we always tell people you don't have to be saying words, words, words, words, words the entire time in an improv show.

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There can be a little bit of time to breathe.

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So I've tried to, you know, remember that and also ask myself, what's the worst that's gonna happen?

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Am I gonna remember this in two weeks, two months, two years, 20 years?

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And when you look at that over like the span of your lifetime, some of the big challenges that come your way can shape you forever.

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And then some of them you will completely forget about next week and be like, oh dang, I didn't I forgot that even happened.

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So you're you're describing the difference between urgency and importance.

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Yeah.

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And you have to know, and you you have to know, and you have to be able to like silo it out and be okay with it.

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Um because there's really not, I mean, I used to say this a lot when I'm in the comedy club, like we're not we're not curing cancer, right?

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Or we're not ER surgeons.

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So unless the the comedy emergencies that would come up were typically something with the facility, the alarm has gone off, you know, or there was an issue.

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I mean, those are those are things that need to be addressed right now.

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Other than that, I think we're gonna be okay.

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There you go.

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Yeah, it's I think that people need to have their um perspective reset sometimes.

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Um I've part of my past involves working for a facility that's not on many maps.

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And some of the things that we had to deal with um could have well, the mission had to do with being prepared in the event of a nuclear exchange.

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So I I know what an emergency is.

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And yours is very different.

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Yeah.

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Uh if somebody tells a really bad dick joke, that's not an emergency.

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That's just sad for them, you know.

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Exactly.

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We'll get we'll we'll get through it.

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So I have an idea, something that we've never done on the podcast before because this never presented itself.

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Okay.

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But I'm wondering if you would be uh for if I just spat it off a topic and punched a timer, could you riff on that topic for one minute?

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Could you give us a little improv?

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Well, I could, yes.

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Improv is better uh shared with people.

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Ooh.

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So I would um say it would be really fun if we all did it together.

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Because otherwise, I would just be kind of doing a monologue, which would be fine.

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I think it would be finer if the two of you joined me and we just did a little improv scene.

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I don't know.

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I'm feeling that terror right now.

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Challenge accepted.

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Okay, okay.

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I mean, that's what we talked about at the beginning.

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And I'm sitting here going, oh shit.

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Okay, but here's the thing beginner's luck, first of all.

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Also, remember the people we talked about that were in the back of the room that were terrified.

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Guess what?

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I haven't lost anybody once in an improv workshop, and I've done it for 20 years.

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So, um, and you're sitting there in the comfort of a place that you know well.

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So Dwight's like, yeah, let's do it.

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Yes.

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Okay, well, we probably need a little more than a minute than if we do, we do.

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What we could do is think about we could just do a little improv scene together.

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Why not?

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Okay.

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I mean, remember that if if you don't know the rule in improv, the number one rule in improv is yes and.

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And yes means I've heard what you have to say, and and means I'm gonna build on it.

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So you don't have to agree with whatever is being thrown out, but um, we just have to build, just be okay with it.

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It's uh it's all right that it's and somebody has an idea, it's not gonna hurt anybody.

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So we could just to make it a little bit more narrowed down, give ourselves a scenario that we're in, and then we can play these actors that are in this scenario, you know?

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We will follow your lead.

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Okay.

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Then I'm gonna ask for a suggestion here.

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Um, I haven't done improv virtually, and it's been probably a year since I've done improv virtually, so this is gonna be really fun.

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Okay.

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How about um a reason that three people might be celebrating something?

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What's a reason that we could be celebrating something?

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It could be a a marriage, a divorce, a birthday, um.

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A brisk.

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Okay, we're celebrating a brisk.

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All right.

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Okay.

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I don't even know what a brisk is.

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Well, we could okay, so we can do a couple things here with this.

00:18:01.019 --> 00:18:11.820
You can not know what a brisk is, and we can just go with it, and just whatever you say is gonna work, and it's gonna be really fun, um, which is what I would prefer.

00:18:13.100 --> 00:18:13.420
Okay.

00:18:13.900 --> 00:18:14.220
Okay.

00:18:14.460 --> 00:18:20.940
I would prefer that you don't know and that we just go with it, and that we're all at this brisk.

00:18:24.860 --> 00:18:27.740
This is what happens when you pitch an idea and I turn it back on you.

00:18:27.900 --> 00:18:28.220
Yep.

00:18:28.300 --> 00:18:28.940
I see that.

00:18:31.019 --> 00:18:35.660
I get tongue-tied, so don't be surprised if I just sit here with this dumb look on my face.

00:18:36.140 --> 00:18:36.460
Totally fine.

00:18:36.540 --> 00:18:37.340
All right, you want to start?

00:18:37.420 --> 00:18:37.820
Let's do it.

00:18:37.900 --> 00:18:40.860
And then whenever it feels like it's coming to an end, I'll just call scene.

00:18:41.019 --> 00:18:41.500
How does that sound?

00:18:41.660 --> 00:18:42.380
I'll say and scene.

00:18:42.779 --> 00:18:43.180
All right.

00:18:43.420 --> 00:18:44.860
You guys, thank you so much for coming.

00:18:45.019 --> 00:18:50.860
I know this is so last minute, and I know like carpool and just getting everybody and the kids and the family here.

00:18:50.940 --> 00:18:53.180
I just really appreciate you being here.

00:18:54.060 --> 00:18:56.779
Oh, well, we quit wouldn't miss it for the world.

00:18:57.180 --> 00:19:00.620
I've heard so many great things about how these things go down.

00:19:00.860 --> 00:19:05.420
Yeah, I wouldn't miss it for the world because I I don't even know what it is.

00:19:05.580 --> 00:19:07.100
I don't know how it's gonna go down.

00:19:07.340 --> 00:19:09.100
I think you know how it's gonna go down.

00:19:09.180 --> 00:19:12.060
I think you're just playing shy and acting like you don't know.

00:19:12.300 --> 00:19:15.180
Man, but yeah, you do that all the time.

00:19:15.340 --> 00:19:17.500
Remember that one time we were in college?

00:19:17.820 --> 00:19:27.740
How you acted like you did not know what somebody's 21st birthday party celebration was, and then you show up with showed up with two bottles of champagne and you were ready to go.

00:19:28.060 --> 00:19:30.700
Well, you know, champagne works for just about anything.

00:19:30.940 --> 00:19:32.620
It probably works for a brisk.

00:19:33.820 --> 00:19:34.460
I don't know.

00:19:34.620 --> 00:19:38.220
I I think you need a rather steady hand when it comes to cutting around there.

00:19:38.460 --> 00:19:39.500
You might, you might.

00:19:39.660 --> 00:19:44.540
I'm just saying for us in the background, we could definitely be drinking some champagne, right?

00:19:45.100 --> 00:19:49.420
Yeah, but chilled champagne because you know you want to be brisk.

00:19:50.300 --> 00:19:55.580
You do, and I also appreciate that you all dressed for the occasion in brisk clothes as well.

00:19:55.660 --> 00:20:04.540
So you really just like double down on we're gonna have like a brisk drink, and we have these like brisk, you know, some coats to keep us nice and warm at this brisk.

00:20:04.779 --> 00:20:06.940
I didn't realize it was gonna be that itchy, though.

00:20:07.100 --> 00:20:08.140
It's really itchy.

00:20:08.380 --> 00:20:12.540
Well, that's also what they might be saying too during the brisk.

00:20:13.420 --> 00:20:16.460
I'm just glad I didn't wear brisk underwear.

00:20:18.140 --> 00:20:25.580
Well, as a spectator, um, it's okay for you to be wearing underwear during a brisk.

00:20:29.580 --> 00:20:34.220
But it's probably not so great that it's this cold during that kind of a thing.

00:20:34.540 --> 00:20:36.060
Yeah, that can uh be trivial.

00:20:36.140 --> 00:20:37.900
That's why I've got it temperature controlled inside.

00:20:37.980 --> 00:20:43.340
I don't know if you noticed I had uh some heaters brought in just to kind of keep things nice and neutral and warm here.

00:20:43.420 --> 00:20:46.140
I wonder if I'm concerned that's gonna make the itching worse.

00:20:46.860 --> 00:20:47.180
Well.

00:20:48.060 --> 00:20:55.500
For you it might, you know, but for you but for you know the brisky, they need it to be nice and and warm.

00:20:55.660 --> 00:20:56.860
It can't be too cold.

00:20:57.900 --> 00:21:04.300
Was the the the the brisky were they married to a brisket at some point in their life?

00:21:04.860 --> 00:21:06.460
It's so funny that you ask.

00:21:06.700 --> 00:21:08.220
People say that a lot.

00:21:08.380 --> 00:21:11.500
Um little too young for for marriage.

00:21:11.740 --> 00:21:13.100
A little too young for marriage.

00:21:13.420 --> 00:21:16.700
If they were though, a brisket would be a good choice.

00:21:18.140 --> 00:21:19.820
It would be an excellent choice.

00:21:19.980 --> 00:21:20.220
Yeah.

00:21:22.140 --> 00:21:26.300
So can I guess interest you guys in any um uh of the order's here?

00:21:26.380 --> 00:21:32.940
I've got these little like uh uh little uh weenies, little beanie weenies that uh I have uh to choose from.

00:21:33.100 --> 00:21:35.100
I also have uh pigs in a blanket.

00:21:35.259 --> 00:21:38.460
Uh and then we're just gonna ask, are there any pigs in a blanket?

00:21:38.620 --> 00:21:38.940
There are.

00:21:39.019 --> 00:21:41.740
And then I do have a hot dog truck that's gonna be here a little bit later.

00:21:41.980 --> 00:21:47.580
So um we'll call scene there.

00:21:49.100 --> 00:21:50.140
Dwight, are you okay?

00:21:50.300 --> 00:21:50.860
You need a moment?

00:21:51.100 --> 00:21:51.740
I'm okay.

00:21:51.980 --> 00:21:52.700
He's crying.

00:21:53.259 --> 00:21:59.820
You yeah, you you warned us about the dangers of a bad dick joke, but oh man, we were we were right there in it.

00:22:00.060 --> 00:22:01.980
We were right there in it.

00:22:03.180 --> 00:22:04.460
Maddox, how are you feeling?

00:22:04.700 --> 00:22:06.380
Yeah, no, that was that was fun.

00:22:06.460 --> 00:22:12.300
I I'm cracking up at him because I know him well enough to know that he's tears are streaming down his face over there.

00:22:12.860 --> 00:22:16.860
Yeah, when he was doing this, like I was like, he's such a good quiet laugher.

00:22:17.019 --> 00:22:25.740
Like, how polite, because it I couldn't hear the sound coming through, but I I he wasn't muted, so I knew with this he was trying to, he was a little of a climped.

00:22:25.820 --> 00:22:28.620
So a climped, yes, for sure.

00:22:28.940 --> 00:22:31.740
Dwight, would you like to tell Maddox what a brisk is?

00:22:32.220 --> 00:22:39.980
Um, I I would like to know if Maddox, you have a uh a guess as to what it is at this point.

00:22:40.380 --> 00:22:43.660
I I have no idea, no guess whatsoever.

00:22:43.820 --> 00:22:46.540
If it's not the spouse of a brisket, I'm lost.

00:22:46.940 --> 00:22:47.259
Okay.

00:22:47.820 --> 00:23:03.660
Well, so it's it's um something that's it's going to be done for for little um male children for um yeah, uh it's uh it's like a circumcision ceremony.

00:23:03.900 --> 00:23:05.500
Oh my gosh, I was just getting ready.

00:23:05.660 --> 00:23:08.540
That this has got to be the celebration of getting losing your foreskin.

00:23:08.860 --> 00:23:09.580
Oh my god.

00:23:09.820 --> 00:23:10.700
It is, yeah.

00:23:10.940 --> 00:23:12.300
And they named it brisk.

00:23:12.779 --> 00:23:14.460
I guess that's better than hack.

00:23:16.220 --> 00:23:17.580
Totally, totally.

00:23:17.980 --> 00:23:21.019
Um also can I just say this, Dwight?

00:23:21.500 --> 00:23:32.700
I will get that suggestion a lot to get because a lot of times when you're trying to do a scene and if I'm doing like corporate work or whatever, you don't want to just start out in the middle of with no inspiration.

00:23:32.779 --> 00:23:37.420
So I'll get different suggestions to take it from everything that's possible down to here.

00:23:37.660 --> 00:23:43.660
And the the the ask of what is a reason that people might be celebrating is something that I ask a lot.

00:23:43.900 --> 00:23:47.820
I don't know that I've ever had anybody say a brisk ever.

00:23:48.140 --> 00:23:49.900
So you got me really good.

00:23:50.060 --> 00:23:56.779
Um, because I was like, we're gonna have to do this here on this recording because I don't I I I can't remember when somebody has said that.

00:23:56.940 --> 00:23:58.060
So I love that.

00:23:59.100 --> 00:23:59.740
You stumped me.

00:24:00.060 --> 00:24:00.860
It was obscure.

00:24:01.019 --> 00:24:01.980
I had no idea.

00:24:02.940 --> 00:24:07.980
Well, you you don't want to see all of the things that might be swimming around in here.

00:24:08.140 --> 00:24:09.980
It's it can be a little weird.

00:24:10.300 --> 00:24:11.820
Isn't that the same for all of us, though?

00:24:12.060 --> 00:24:12.700
Yes.

00:24:14.140 --> 00:24:15.900
You know, that was great.

00:24:16.060 --> 00:24:19.820
I I hope that our listeners enjoyed that as much as we did.

00:24:20.779 --> 00:24:23.580
So that's what happens if you ask me to just riff for a minute.

00:24:23.660 --> 00:24:25.820
We're gonna talk about a brisk for three minutes.

00:24:26.060 --> 00:24:28.380
So it's a beautiful thing.

00:24:29.180 --> 00:24:41.259
Yeah, I I gotta say, it it must be a delight to go into those rooms where you never know just how stuffed the shirts might be.

00:24:41.420 --> 00:24:45.420
And I I'll bet that you can just get everybody to open up.

00:24:45.900 --> 00:24:47.100
That's the goal.

00:24:47.340 --> 00:24:58.940
You know, when I do my work, like if it's a workshop, I like to have three to four hours minimum with the group because if I go in for 20 minutes, I mean, I've had people say, Can you come do something for 20 minutes?

00:24:59.180 --> 00:25:01.580
And you know, my question is, what are you wanting to get out of that?

00:25:01.660 --> 00:25:03.019
Are you trying to fill the time?

00:25:03.259 --> 00:25:05.100
Or do you just want me to come in and be funny?

00:25:05.259 --> 00:25:07.259
Because that's not going to really move people to action.

00:25:07.340 --> 00:25:20.460
If you really want to see the work, it takes a little bit of time to warm up to the idea that there are some tenets in improvisation that are paramount to success in the real world, regardless of what profession you are in.

00:25:20.700 --> 00:25:23.660
And I would argue when people say, I can't, I get this all the time.

00:25:23.820 --> 00:25:25.259
People say, I can never do improv.

00:25:25.500 --> 00:25:26.380
I can never do it.

00:25:26.540 --> 00:25:28.300
Well, first of all, we just did it.

00:25:28.380 --> 00:25:28.540
Yeah.

00:25:28.700 --> 00:25:29.019
Okay.

00:25:29.180 --> 00:25:31.820
We did it under the guise of we are doing improv.

00:25:32.220 --> 00:25:35.740
Second of all, most of our conversations in life are not planned.

00:25:35.820 --> 00:25:37.259
Like we're not showing up every day.

00:25:37.580 --> 00:25:38.460
This is improv.

00:25:38.940 --> 00:25:42.940
Yeah, like you're not walking in saying, okay, let me read um what I'm gonna say.

00:25:43.019 --> 00:25:43.900
Hello, good morning.

00:25:43.980 --> 00:25:48.060
I'd like 2x, please, with I mean, that's not how life is.

00:25:48.380 --> 00:25:48.700
Right.

00:25:48.940 --> 00:25:50.860
We're all improvising all of the time.

00:25:51.180 --> 00:25:53.100
Yes, absolutely.

00:25:53.340 --> 00:25:55.740
I never really thought of it like that, but yes.

00:25:56.220 --> 00:26:00.540
I mean, think about when's the last time you read a conversation.

00:26:03.740 --> 00:26:04.860
Kill me, please.

00:26:05.100 --> 00:26:05.259
Right.

00:26:05.580 --> 00:26:06.700
Just put me out of my misery.

00:26:06.940 --> 00:26:13.900
Yeah, so we're all improvising, and I think people get nervous when they think that it needs to be funny.

00:26:13.980 --> 00:26:18.140
And so I'm not teaching people in the context of what I do now.

00:26:18.220 --> 00:26:28.460
I don't teach people to be funny, I teach them the rules of improvisation and how these tenets help them be better innovators, collaborators, you know, and and team players.

00:26:28.700 --> 00:26:37.660
It is funny because I put you through some fun theater exercises to show you how it can work and then teach you how this could actually work in business.

00:26:37.900 --> 00:26:44.860
So it is funny because you're doing fun games and you're you're laughing with each other, not at each other.

00:26:45.019 --> 00:26:46.779
And so it's always funny.

00:26:46.940 --> 00:26:48.860
It's not about teaching people to be funny.

00:26:49.259 --> 00:26:55.420
Even when we had an improv school, we weren't teaching people to be funny, we were teaching them to make a higher percentage choice.

00:26:55.660 --> 00:27:05.340
So taking a choice here over here is actually will end up being funnier on stage, and you have to just kind of learn that over years and years.

00:27:06.940 --> 00:27:28.380
Yeah, no, I uh I I can't help but take in what you're saying as just an entry point for uh embracing some other um some other concepts that you might come by by way of um church or or school, you know, different philosophies, different ways of being.

00:27:34.540 --> 00:27:35.019
Oh yeah.

00:27:35.580 --> 00:27:56.700
You know, it's just another another entry point to be able to embrace those concepts because there's a lot about tolerance and uh just about um accepting what is, uh being uh in control of the things that you can control and letting go of the rest.

00:27:57.100 --> 00:27:59.340
You gotta let go of a lot of it in improv.

00:27:59.740 --> 00:28:01.100
So and in life.

00:28:01.180 --> 00:28:05.980
I mean, we can't I mean, we can really only control ourselves, and even that we can't control all of it.

00:28:06.220 --> 00:28:10.540
So Yeah, that this is I'm I'm actually like having a shift.

00:28:10.620 --> 00:28:23.500
I'm like thinking, wow, you know, I'm I'm envisioning this meme that says life is an improv because I never really thought of it like that, but we don't know that we rehearse.

00:28:23.660 --> 00:28:34.300
You know, when I have to have a difficult conversation with somebody, I rehearse in my mind, but when I actually get there, it's complete improv because I may not say a word that I rehearsed.

00:28:34.540 --> 00:28:39.340
It's literally that is the debrief I do with an exercise, what you just said.

00:28:40.060 --> 00:28:41.100
It's exactly right.

00:28:41.259 --> 00:28:43.500
You how many times have you planned a conversation?

00:28:43.740 --> 00:28:50.620
You are driving somewhere or you're driving home or you're about to get on a call in 20 minutes, and you're like, I'm gonna give them the biz.

00:28:50.860 --> 00:28:57.820
I got this thing to say, or boy, here are my seven talking points, and I've got them right here, and I have practiced this over and over again.

00:28:58.060 --> 00:29:08.380
It doesn't matter how much you practice, there's another person on the other side of that conversation who's probably also been practicing if they know the conversation's coming, if it's a surprise, they don't.

00:29:08.620 --> 00:29:19.420
You cannot, you can practice, practice, practice, but if there's somebody else in this equation, which in life with all of our conversations, there is, it's not gonna go as planned.

00:29:19.500 --> 00:29:22.860
It may go way better, it may go worse, it just may go different.

00:29:23.019 --> 00:29:31.340
And improv is teaching you about how to be present and listen to what they have to say and not listen to respond, listen to understand.

00:29:31.500 --> 00:29:35.660
Because when you listen to understand, there's this incredible willingness to change.

00:29:35.820 --> 00:29:40.860
And so I could be super pissed at Dwight and have this whole thing prepared that I need to tell him.

00:29:40.940 --> 00:29:46.300
And I'm gonna say, when I see you in December at that class day, boy, am I gonna say this, this, this, this.

00:29:46.540 --> 00:29:51.980
And then you show up with that wonderful smile on your face and you start talking to me, and I'm like, oh, that's not what I was gonna say.

00:29:52.140 --> 00:29:55.660
Okay, hang on, I'm gonna change, you know, because there's somebody on the other side.

00:29:55.820 --> 00:29:59.660
And regardless if they've planned it or not, there's more than one person in that equation.

00:29:59.740 --> 00:30:05.740
And you've got to be able to be present and not worried about what you're saying, listening to what they want to say.

00:30:06.060 --> 00:30:08.380
You're you're describing an energetic thing.

00:30:08.620 --> 00:30:09.180
Oh, yeah.

00:30:09.420 --> 00:30:12.540
You can walk up and see them, and they're it just be right there.

00:30:12.700 --> 00:30:21.100
No one's even spoken yet, and just the energy that you feel coming off of them can completely alter what you thought you were gonna say.

00:30:21.340 --> 00:30:21.980
Oh my gosh.

00:30:22.140 --> 00:30:26.140
My brother that um we have performed forever together.

00:30:26.220 --> 00:30:29.180
We just started taking classes together, you know, almost 20 years ago.

00:30:29.340 --> 00:30:31.580
And um obviously we know each other well.

00:30:31.740 --> 00:30:38.380
We've kind of known each other since we were born, and we're close, and we still don't know what each other will say if we're performing together.

00:30:38.540 --> 00:30:42.620
We might have an idea, but it's you can know someone that well and still not know.

00:30:42.779 --> 00:31:07.500
And he, I say that all of that, because he has a saying that he would say to me all the time and still does, and that energy is a choice, and so that shift in energy on stage in the green room before you go on, before you come into a podcast, before you walk into a meeting, or you just show up to Wendy's to order some spicy chicken nuggets, whatever that is, like that is all a choice that you're making.

00:31:07.740 --> 00:31:13.180
Even when life is really sucky, we still have that choice to to think about the energy that we're bringing.

00:31:13.580 --> 00:31:21.100
You're you're bumping into our our one of our minor commote components right now, which is about becoming yeah.

00:31:22.140 --> 00:31:22.940
Yeah, yeah.

00:31:23.580 --> 00:31:25.500
Yeah, you get to the magical segue.

00:31:26.540 --> 00:31:27.980
And you do.

00:31:28.300 --> 00:31:28.940
You do.

00:31:29.180 --> 00:31:38.060
Um it's you know, I love, you know, I said dance is my kind of my first love, and of course I love the theater and comedy specifically.

00:31:38.220 --> 00:31:39.580
Um, I also really love music.

00:31:39.660 --> 00:31:41.740
I can't uh carry a tune in a bucket.

00:31:41.980 --> 00:31:45.900
So uh I always say, if I could sing, you would know me.

00:31:45.980 --> 00:31:54.540
You just you wouldn't, you would know of me, you just wouldn't know me because I would try to be famous if I could sing, but I cannot sing, but I will sing and I will listen to music all the time.

00:31:54.860 --> 00:32:02.860
Because when I go on a morning walk, I mean, and there's so much I will listen to almost anything, but like that can change anything.

00:32:03.019 --> 00:32:09.100
Think about like when you put on a song for just 20 seconds, that shift, like that you're becoming a different person.

00:32:09.180 --> 00:32:21.740
And it's a not entirely, but like it can really shift the energy, just like a little bit of music, or what is the thing or the things that you're doing to get your energy and get your like head and your heart and your soul in the right place before you show up that day.

00:32:22.140 --> 00:32:24.540
I think there's a lot of life that does that.

00:32:24.700 --> 00:32:27.259
I think that our clothing does that.

00:32:27.500 --> 00:32:27.900
Yes.

00:32:28.140 --> 00:32:37.500
I I think that you can put on a pair of sneakers and you walk one way, or you can put on a pair of high heels and you walk a totally different way.

00:32:38.700 --> 00:32:39.340
Yes.

00:32:39.740 --> 00:32:42.060
Some of that's out of necessity, though.

00:32:42.779 --> 00:32:43.180
Sure.

00:32:44.140 --> 00:32:50.460
Some of it, but more of it is that it's just evoking a different energy from within.

00:32:50.700 --> 00:32:51.420
It is, it is.

00:32:51.660 --> 00:33:02.380
I wish I wish high heels were more comfortable because I walk and talk and carry myself so differently when I'm presenting and I'm in a tall ass pair of high heels.

00:33:02.540 --> 00:33:07.180
Um, my favorite thing though is to take those off and go put the tennis shoes on afterwards.

00:33:07.340 --> 00:33:08.380
But it is, you're right.

00:33:08.620 --> 00:33:17.660
Even the way that we show up, and when I work from home, I joke that I'm kind of like in a business mullet.

00:33:17.740 --> 00:33:25.019
So I'll wear something professional on the top, but then it looks like Adam Sandler on the bottom, like oversized basketball shorts or big sweatpants.

00:33:25.259 --> 00:33:34.700
And that's fine and comfortable, but there's something to be said about actually like putting on something that's expressive in the way that like it represents who you are when you show up too.

00:33:35.019 --> 00:33:35.580
Yes.

00:33:35.900 --> 00:33:37.820
We're we're both very much about that.

00:33:37.980 --> 00:33:48.460
We we are we when we go out, we're not always dressed up, but we're dressed, you know, some of which is really artsy fartsy stuff that we found in thrift shops.

00:33:48.779 --> 00:33:49.259
Love that.

00:33:49.420 --> 00:33:50.060
I love that.

00:33:50.300 --> 00:33:52.620
But it's about expressing who we are.

00:33:52.779 --> 00:33:55.980
You know, I got up one morning last week.

00:33:56.140 --> 00:34:03.900
Oh, it was we were on our way to creative mornings, so it was an early, oh, and I got decked out.

00:34:04.060 --> 00:34:05.580
I good for you, head to toe.

00:34:05.660 --> 00:34:08.699
I had on a hat, I had on jewelry, I did it all.

00:34:09.019 --> 00:34:13.420
And it was just because that was what I was feeling when I got out of bed that morning.

00:34:13.659 --> 00:34:13.980
Good.

00:34:14.059 --> 00:34:14.539
I love that.

00:34:14.699 --> 00:34:17.259
Dwight's always dressed, I feel like, to the nine.

00:34:17.500 --> 00:34:19.900
You always are just having so pulled together.

00:34:20.139 --> 00:34:22.219
So oh, thank you.

00:34:22.619 --> 00:34:24.940
No pressure when I see you again in December.

00:34:25.179 --> 00:34:25.739
Right.

00:34:26.460 --> 00:34:28.460
Please come dressed as a Christmas tree.

00:34:28.619 --> 00:34:28.860
No.

00:34:29.019 --> 00:34:30.619
Uh you're right.

00:34:30.699 --> 00:34:36.139
Like it's there's so many like little choices that we can make throughout the day, and we're not always going to crush it 100%.

00:34:36.779 --> 00:34:45.420
All of that energy, you know, as a choice is not just, you know, it's your energy, it's your, it's, you know, the smiling, the being more positive.

00:34:45.500 --> 00:34:49.500
It's the way that you dress, the way like have you have you bathed recently, you know?

00:34:49.579 --> 00:34:53.259
Um, you know, the little things like that can actually like have a big impact on the way you should be.

00:34:53.420 --> 00:34:56.379
It's amazing what a good bath can do for somebody's energy.

00:34:56.539 --> 00:34:59.179
And for somebody else's energy if they're in the same room with you.

00:34:59.739 --> 00:35:00.219
Sure.

00:35:01.179 --> 00:35:05.259
I would argue sometimes the baths and the showers are not just for me, but for others.

00:35:05.339 --> 00:35:07.739
Uh, you know, that and a good breath mint.

00:35:07.980 --> 00:35:09.819
Oh, by the way, never turned out a breath mint.

00:35:09.980 --> 00:35:11.899
That's a rule somebody told me a long time ago.

00:35:12.059 --> 00:35:16.139
If someone offers you a mint, it probably means you might need it.

00:35:16.779 --> 00:35:28.699
Yeah, I had a friend, a co-worker one time, this has been nearly 40 years ago, say to me one day, I've I've been meaning to tell you for the last couple of weeks you've had bad breath.

00:35:28.779 --> 00:35:34.379
And I was like, Some fucking friend you are, let me go around with bad breath for two weeks.

00:35:34.619 --> 00:35:35.339
Oh my god.

00:35:35.579 --> 00:35:36.779
I chewed her.

00:35:37.019 --> 00:35:38.539
Oh, I would have too.

00:35:38.779 --> 00:35:39.500
I would have too.

00:35:39.739 --> 00:35:40.539
Oh gosh.

00:35:40.699 --> 00:35:41.739
I get nervous about that.

00:35:41.819 --> 00:35:45.019
I'm always have a big old tin of altoids on me just because.

00:35:45.980 --> 00:35:46.299
Yeah.

00:35:46.460 --> 00:35:48.699
I I carry a little packet of tic-tacks.

00:35:48.859 --> 00:35:49.179
Yeah.

00:35:49.579 --> 00:35:51.739
Something that will freshen the breath.

00:35:51.980 --> 00:35:52.699
Freshen it up.

00:35:52.779 --> 00:35:53.659
Look where we got now.

00:35:53.739 --> 00:35:55.339
This is what happens when you don't have a list of questions.

00:35:55.420 --> 00:35:59.019
You start talking about your preferred breath mints on a podcast.

00:35:59.819 --> 00:36:02.460
Well, these are some essential life tips.

00:36:02.619 --> 00:36:04.460
I mean they are.

00:36:04.859 --> 00:36:13.819
If there's someone that's only been listening to whatever they could find on the internet in the basement because no one would talk to them, you know, this might be the clue that they needed.

00:36:14.059 --> 00:36:15.739
That is exactly.

00:36:16.059 --> 00:36:20.379
I'd I'd love to tiptoe a little bit more into the becoming conversation.

00:36:20.539 --> 00:36:20.779
Sure.

00:36:21.259 --> 00:36:27.980
I know that you had um the comedy improv that you had to close down during the pandemic.

00:36:28.219 --> 00:36:28.859
Yes.

00:36:29.259 --> 00:36:32.460
And so, you know, that hadn't been that long ago.

00:36:32.619 --> 00:36:38.219
There's there's been an aspect of, okay, gotta become somebody different now.

00:36:38.539 --> 00:36:44.379
And that may be what you did from the closing to here, but then there's the okay, what's next?

00:36:44.619 --> 00:36:47.980
And who do I need to become?

00:36:48.219 --> 00:36:53.500
And when I I guess I'm this is not a common conversation I'm finding.

00:36:53.819 --> 00:37:01.739
So when I ask this, nine times out of ten, people, it's like they're a little kid, and somebody said, Who do you want to how what do you want to be when you grow up?

00:37:01.899 --> 00:37:03.259
I want to be a fireman.

00:37:03.659 --> 00:37:05.739
I'm not talking about what do you want to be?

00:37:05.819 --> 00:37:07.899
I'm talking about who you want to be.

00:37:08.059 --> 00:37:10.940
So it's one is an internal thing.

00:37:11.179 --> 00:37:12.460
Who is an internal?

00:37:12.619 --> 00:37:14.059
And what is an external?

00:37:14.219 --> 00:37:18.460
I want to be a fireman, I want to be an astronaut, I want to be an artist, I want to be, you know.

00:37:18.779 --> 00:37:21.099
So that my question is the who?

00:37:21.500 --> 00:37:22.539
Who do you have to become?

00:37:22.619 --> 00:37:32.940
If you said, oh, I want to become, you know, an astronaut, who would you need to become in order to be an astronaut?

00:37:33.259 --> 00:37:35.819
All right, so wonderful question.

00:37:36.059 --> 00:37:42.779
I've stopped trying to worry about what I want to be when I grow up because I don't know.

00:37:44.059 --> 00:37:46.139
I mean, I'm I'm still figuring it out.

00:37:46.299 --> 00:37:47.179
I'm still growing up.

00:37:47.259 --> 00:37:48.460
I'll never completely grow up.00:37:48.539 --> 00:37:53.019


I don't know if any of us really will, we'll will listen to that East Texas accent.00:37:53.659 --> 00:38:10.460


I think what's important to me, I was talking to my best friend about this, is that I I always want to be the person that shows up for the people that are important in my life and that I am loyal and that I have fun in almost anything that I do.00:38:10.779 --> 00:38:14.460


And I don't really commit to something unless I know I can commit to it.00:38:14.539 --> 00:38:22.699


And that's a that's a part of who I am, as opposed to what that ends up being, because there, you know, I've got this like portfolio of things I'm doing.00:38:22.779 --> 00:38:27.019


I don't know if I'm gonna be doing all of those in two years, 10 years, or two months.00:38:27.179 --> 00:38:27.899


I don't know.00:38:28.059 --> 00:38:31.899


It's all about me feeling like I'm in line with what I should be doing.00:38:32.059 --> 00:38:39.579


It also needs to have some kind of element of creativity where I can express myself creatively, even though it may sound like it's not.00:38:39.739 --> 00:38:45.819


How can I bring my unique value proposition and my point of view to those things?00:38:46.139 --> 00:38:48.139


So that's who I want to be.00:38:48.219 --> 00:39:05.899


I want to be the person who's always doing something that has that is inspired by something creative, whether or not it may not look creative, and that I am doing it in a way that honors the people that I am serving, whether it's an organization or a company or a nonprofit, or it's a dinner party on a Tuesday night.00:39:06.219 --> 00:39:10.299


And um, that I'm like a reliable and loyal person in people's lives.00:39:10.379 --> 00:39:12.219


That's also a hell of a lot of fun.00:39:13.420 --> 00:39:16.619


What great answers! And you like really got my question.00:39:16.699 --> 00:39:20.619


You know, I've learned that to get good answers, you have to ask good questions.00:39:21.259 --> 00:39:24.219


You asked a great question and you framed it so well, too.00:39:24.619 --> 00:39:25.099


Thank you.00:39:25.259 --> 00:39:35.819


You said something in there that I want to backtrack to because I think it's similar to things that get said a lot, but I want to call out the distinction for those that maybe didn't catch it.00:39:36.139 --> 00:39:41.019


You said I I only want to commit to things that I know I can truly commit to.00:39:41.259 --> 00:39:47.259


And what I hear more often than not is I'll only commit to things that I know that I can do well.00:39:49.179 --> 00:39:56.219


And I think there's a there's something about that that I I would love your take on that.00:39:56.460 --> 00:40:04.539


I personally think I only commit to things I know that I can do well is a limitation.00:40:04.619 --> 00:40:05.659


It's like I don't know.00:40:05.819 --> 00:40:11.339


How do you know if you can do it well if you don't exactly you can't do anything well from the beginning?00:40:11.579 --> 00:40:12.940


No, that's right.00:40:13.500 --> 00:40:18.059


Michael Jordan did not come out of the womb, slam dunk and making three-pointers.00:40:18.299 --> 00:40:19.819


People, I mean, think about anybody.00:40:20.779 --> 00:40:21.899


I feel really sorry for his mom.00:40:22.059 --> 00:40:23.099


For his mom, right?00:40:25.500 --> 00:40:27.579


That's a whole nother improv scene we could do.00:40:27.739 --> 00:40:35.819


Um anybody who is really great at something or thinks they can even do something well, they didn't do it well to begin with.00:40:35.980 --> 00:40:37.179


They were bad at it.00:40:37.339 --> 00:40:46.859


Now, there are some people that okay, I use sports as an analogy a lot because people are can resonate with that oftentimes when I'm talking about the arts and sports, which is an interesting combination.00:40:47.019 --> 00:40:47.500


But anybody.00:40:48.139 --> 00:40:52.299


That you see in anything that they do well, they might have been more inclined.00:40:52.460 --> 00:40:55.579


Maybe Michael Jordan is a little bit more athletic than somebody else.00:40:55.819 --> 00:40:57.339


But he didn't know how to do this.00:40:57.739 --> 00:40:59.579


You don't know if you're going to do it well until you try.00:40:59.739 --> 00:41:02.699


I actually like the clunkiness of it all.00:41:02.940 --> 00:41:06.460


I like the having the training wheels on and having to finish it.00:41:06.539 --> 00:41:17.099


And in fact, there's this quote, I'm looking at it because it sits on the other side of my desk, uh, and it's really long, but it's a quote from Ira Glass, who is the host of this American Life podcast and many other things.00:41:17.259 --> 00:41:18.539


And he, I'll summarize it.00:41:18.619 --> 00:41:30.619


And it's really about the creative world, but I like to tell people about it's really with anything, that when you start something new, you have this really good idea of what it should be.00:41:30.699 --> 00:41:37.579


Like you have your taste and you know it should be like this, but you're down here and you know you want to be here.00:41:37.659 --> 00:41:50.940


And a lot of people stop before they get here because let's say, for example, you're learning to play the violin and you know you should sound like this, and that you know it could be this because you've heard people play the violin well, and you're really bad at it.00:41:51.099 --> 00:41:54.779


And so you keep trying, and if you stop before you get there, that's what happens.00:41:54.940 --> 00:42:07.899


But what you need to remember is like the progress is not going to be linear, and as you continue to get better, your valley after, I don't know, two weeks, two months, two years is still so much better than the peak when you started.00:42:08.059 --> 00:42:10.219


And it will eventually, you'll get to this part.00:42:10.299 --> 00:42:17.339


So saying that you can't commit to something because you don't know if you you're because you won't be good at it, like, I don't know.00:42:17.579 --> 00:42:24.299


Like, what's the if if it's not interesting to you, then I would say don't commit, don't commit to trying it and learning something new.00:42:24.379 --> 00:42:30.059


But if it's something that's interesting to you, how cool is it to get through all of this and then get out on the other side?00:42:30.139 --> 00:42:33.659


And then when you're up here where you think you should be, that's like the new starting point.00:42:33.739 --> 00:42:36.859


So that that's here, and then you get to keep going like this.00:42:37.099 --> 00:42:39.819


Yeah, you know, I can once again it's a choice.00:42:40.059 --> 00:42:48.059


It is a choice, it is a choice, and and I can see maybe looking at it and deciding, you know, I'm not willing to put that effort forward.00:42:48.299 --> 00:42:59.659


Yeah, you know, but I I mean, I've thought for a lot of my life that um if I wanted to have a singing voice, I I've sang on and off in choirs.00:42:59.739 --> 00:43:06.619


I don't have a solo voice, but if I had wanted that, do I think I could have done that with the help of a voice coach?00:43:06.859 --> 00:43:07.099


Sure.00:43:07.339 --> 00:43:08.460


Absolutely.00:43:08.699 --> 00:43:12.539


But I chose not to invest my time and energy in that.00:43:12.699 --> 00:43:15.739


I found other things that called to me more than that.00:43:15.980 --> 00:43:22.539


Um, I'm currently painting and it's nowhere where I'd like for it to be.00:43:22.940 --> 00:43:23.899


But do you love it?00:43:24.219 --> 00:43:24.460


I do.00:43:24.619 --> 00:43:25.099


I'm happy to do that.00:43:25.259 --> 00:43:25.980


Then keep doing it.00:43:26.219 --> 00:43:26.940


Then keep doing it.00:43:27.259 --> 00:43:27.899


It's frustrating.00:43:27.980 --> 00:43:29.819


You know, it's it's also frustrating.00:43:29.899 --> 00:43:40.139


But I'm not sure if you're experiencing that that thing where the your your valley is definitely above where your peak was at the beginning of the summer.00:43:40.619 --> 00:43:44.219


But do I think that at some point I will be really good at it?00:43:44.779 --> 00:43:45.420


I do.00:43:47.019 --> 00:43:49.899


But I don't think I didn't think I would start out that way.00:43:50.379 --> 00:43:55.339


But you're keep but you're continuing to pursue it because it's you love it.00:43:55.819 --> 00:43:57.819


It just it it feeds me.00:43:57.980 --> 00:44:03.420


It's um when I paint the whole rest of the world, it goes away.00:44:03.899 --> 00:44:06.539


Then you should keep everything goes away.00:44:06.619 --> 00:44:10.940


It's like it it is just literally me, the brush, the paints, and the surface.00:44:11.179 --> 00:44:11.579


I love it.00:44:11.899 --> 00:44:17.980


All that exists while I'm sitting there with brush in hand or with whatever tool in hand, everything else goes away.00:44:18.059 --> 00:44:22.940


And how many things in life do we have where everything goes away?00:44:23.259 --> 00:44:29.339


So when it starts not going away and becomes a chore, then maybe it's not the thing anymore.00:44:29.420 --> 00:44:31.259


Or maybe you step back from it, but that's okay.00:44:31.339 --> 00:44:32.619


Like, that is okay.00:44:32.779 --> 00:44:39.899


It's also I I love to read, but I used to be so hell-bent on finishing a book if I started it.00:44:40.059 --> 00:44:42.940


And sometimes I'll pick a book, a couple book, and be like, this is awful.00:44:43.099 --> 00:44:44.299


I'm not like this book.00:44:44.460 --> 00:44:52.219


Or like the book club assignment for the month was some book and I'm 40 pages in and have to keep rereading it because I just don't like it.00:44:52.460 --> 00:44:55.339


And it's not that it's a bad book, I just don't like it.00:44:55.420 --> 00:44:57.019


And so there's no reason for me to continue.00:44:57.099 --> 00:45:04.379


And so I think that when people say, like to your point, that they're answering the question of, I don't want to do it unless I'm gonna do it really well.00:45:04.539 --> 00:45:06.779


I mean, if it's something new, how do you know it?00:45:06.940 --> 00:45:17.339


I mean, I for the Leadership Arts Institute, I asked to be on a committee that I really appreciated the art form, it's dance.00:45:17.500 --> 00:45:24.059


I don't know enough about putting together a uh donor and stewardship program, is which which is what we're doing.00:45:24.379 --> 00:45:26.940


To me, that was interesting to try and learn that.00:45:27.019 --> 00:45:28.859


And also I liked the organization.00:45:28.940 --> 00:45:34.539


And it would have been easier for me to sign up for a theater company because I know how to run the business of a theater company.00:45:34.699 --> 00:45:42.059


And I chose this because it was interesting to me and I I wanted to learn more about it, and but I'm not good at it.00:45:42.219 --> 00:45:42.779


I don't know.00:45:42.859 --> 00:45:44.299


I mean, I'm I'm learning.00:45:44.460 --> 00:45:44.859


I don't know.00:45:44.940 --> 00:45:48.619


I think there's just it's creating that wrinkle in your brain when you're learning.00:45:49.420 --> 00:45:51.099


And it's painful sometimes.00:45:51.339 --> 00:45:51.579


Yeah.00:45:51.739 --> 00:45:53.019


It's it's we want to be good.00:45:54.619 --> 00:45:59.259


It's like, yeah, would I love to just sit down and paint a masterpiece?00:45:59.500 --> 00:46:04.619


I would love to, but something tells me that if it was easy, it wouldn't be nearly as gratifying.00:46:04.940 --> 00:46:08.219


No, all the easy stuff is it's the low-hanging fruit.00:46:08.299 --> 00:46:11.500


This, you know, the stuff that's worth it is you got to sink your teeth into it.00:46:11.899 --> 00:46:14.940


I was um a beauty professional for 40 years.00:46:15.659 --> 00:46:18.219


And I never ever stopped learning and growing.00:46:18.299 --> 00:46:30.460


You know, every time I would experience burnout, I would go back to the drawing board and put myself in classes to stretch myself and learn new techniques and things that I had never done before.00:46:30.539 --> 00:46:37.980


And it was the way that I would infuse me and the whole business with fresh energy again.00:46:39.179 --> 00:46:39.980


You have to.00:46:41.980 --> 00:46:47.579


Yeah, there's there's something to be said about bringing all of those other things, those other mountains that you've climbed.00:46:48.219 --> 00:47:07.019


You know, there's uh there are those that m maybe have been steeped in the that world of uh getting collecting all of the donors and and getting people to um to go all in to support a cause that they that they love.00:47:07.579 --> 00:47:21.179


But uh if they are only have those enthusiastic people that are at the center of it, then they they can't appeal to those other groups that might be adjacent or those other people that just don't have an awareness.00:47:21.339 --> 00:47:25.099


You know, they don't they don't know that they they can contribute to something like that.00:47:25.259 --> 00:47:27.259


They have no idea that it's even out there.00:47:27.659 --> 00:47:46.379


And what a gift it is to bring all of the things that have made you who you are to make it so that you can infuse your gifts into a recipe that uh was missing, was devoid of of all the things that are in your wheelhouse.00:47:46.699 --> 00:47:46.859


Right.00:47:47.019 --> 00:47:48.859


And that's all of us, right?00:47:49.099 --> 00:47:56.539


It's also what you said, Dwight, is very similar to this quote, and I'm gonna get it a little bit wrong, and I can't remember who said it.00:47:56.859 --> 00:48:05.500


And it goes something like this, where there are just so many more people out there that you are meant to know and love that you have have not walked into your life yet.00:48:05.659 --> 00:48:11.259


And so it's that idea of like learning new things and trying new things, like you don't know until you try.00:48:11.339 --> 00:48:13.500


It's the same thing with I haven't you haven't met everybody.00:48:13.739 --> 00:48:15.179


You haven't met everybody you're gonna know.00:48:15.339 --> 00:48:21.179


I mean, you're gonna meet people that are gonna become really big parts of your life, and you're not gonna meet them for days, weeks, months, years.00:48:21.259 --> 00:48:29.500


And how cool is that to know that that is a that is something that is a potential if you just keep showing up in life, you know, being true to yourself.00:48:29.819 --> 00:48:32.859


I have such huge opportunities are all around us.00:48:33.659 --> 00:48:39.339


You know, I I for a long time now have believed that we teach what we most need to learn.00:48:40.859 --> 00:48:51.420


And there is like definitely a part of me that thinks it would be fun, even though I don't at this point have a lot of skill, I think it would be a lot of fun to teach art.00:48:52.699 --> 00:48:53.099


Do it.00:48:53.899 --> 00:48:58.539


We went to um an art walk this past weekend, uh-huh.00:48:58.779 --> 00:49:04.859


And I walked up to a booth where there was a young woman who has was doing collage.00:49:05.579 --> 00:49:10.619


And she mentioned that she had only been doing it for three months.00:49:10.779 --> 00:49:12.619


Well, I was just kind of blown away.00:49:12.779 --> 00:49:23.659


Not that her art was, you know, necessarily super exciting or anything, but that in she'd only been doing it for three months, and she'd set up a table and had all of her stuff and was showing.00:49:23.739 --> 00:49:28.859


She was putting herself out there, putting her art out there, and she's only been doing it for three months.00:49:29.099 --> 00:49:42.539


She had created little packages that she was selling that were little pre-made packages for collage so somebody could take that package open and just use it to collage.00:49:43.099 --> 00:49:58.539


And she had a board up where she had a glue stick and some cut-up pieces of paper where she was asking people that walked up to the booth if they would like to collage pick a piece and collage it onto the board, which I thought was really, really cool.00:49:59.500 --> 00:50:01.899


But it was a glue stick and some clippings.00:50:02.059 --> 00:50:07.659


And I said, Is glue stick the way you collage your your artwork?00:50:07.739 --> 00:50:09.099


And she said, Yes.00:50:09.579 --> 00:50:14.379


And I said, would you be open to another an alternative?00:50:14.460 --> 00:50:15.899


And she said, Absolutely.00:50:16.139 --> 00:50:24.940


And so I shared with her what I know about a couple of different acrylic mediums that um it's just a whole totally different process.00:50:25.179 --> 00:50:29.980


And I told her why why it would be good, you know, and gave her some tips on how to do it.00:50:30.219 --> 00:50:40.539


But it was so cool to be in the early stages of my own art and to see somebody that's just gotten started and to know that I already had something worthy of sharing.00:50:40.619 --> 00:50:44.940


And she was just soaking it up like a sponge, going, Oh my god, I love what you're telling me.00:50:45.019 --> 00:50:46.940


I can't wait to try this, you know.00:50:47.259 --> 00:50:50.299


And I think it's the people who are earlier in sometimes.00:50:50.460 --> 00:50:54.460


I mean, like with that, that have it, they're gonna look at it from a different way, right?00:50:54.940 --> 00:50:55.739


Absolutely.00:50:56.059 --> 00:51:05.579


There's something to be said about hiring an expert um and having somebody who's done it for years, but also like it doesn't mean that you can't teach something.00:51:06.139 --> 00:51:06.299


Cool.00:51:06.539 --> 00:51:08.699


There's always somebody that's knows less than I do.00:51:09.179 --> 00:51:10.699


Yeah, and there's always somebody who knows more.00:51:11.259 --> 00:51:26.139


Yeah, and I and I would say that the the mark of someone that's really skilled when it comes to teaching anything is uh as a master, if they can find if they can find someone who maybe is just learning.00:51:26.699 --> 00:51:30.619


You know, they're they're just they're just cementing the skill.00:51:31.339 --> 00:51:34.219


They've been closer to the mistakes.00:51:34.379 --> 00:51:39.339


They they're more of a a peer to those who are coming along.00:51:39.579 --> 00:51:44.539


They have the recent memory of what it was to struggle and they can relate it in a way that makes sense.00:51:44.779 --> 00:51:45.179


Yeah.00:51:45.500 --> 00:51:50.699


Then your most skilled teacher is going to leverage those who have just learned.00:51:51.099 --> 00:51:52.940


Yeah, that's a great, that's great.00:51:53.259 --> 00:51:58.699


You know, I hadn't really thought about it, but I'm in several f artist Facebook groups.00:51:59.179 --> 00:52:07.819


People are always posting dilemmas with their art, you know, or questions, or I don't understand how this works, or what do I need to be able to do this?00:52:08.059 --> 00:52:11.819


And I find myself drawn and you know, piping it.00:52:12.059 --> 00:52:20.460


I'm not really posting anything right now, but I'm commenting on other people's posts because I I'll go, oh, I know the answer to that.00:52:20.699 --> 00:52:21.739


Or it's great.00:52:22.059 --> 00:52:24.139


I tried something that really worked really, really well.00:52:24.299 --> 00:52:26.059


Let me tell you what what I did.00:52:26.379 --> 00:52:29.099


And um, that's fun to me.00:52:29.339 --> 00:52:31.659


Also, those people aren't gonna check your credentials.00:52:31.739 --> 00:52:34.299


The fact that you took the time to do that, you're not trying to screw them over.00:52:34.539 --> 00:52:39.739


I mean, like you're intentionally in this group, they're gonna listen to you, like, oh great, this guy's got something to offer.00:52:39.899 --> 00:52:41.099


This is great.00:52:41.579 --> 00:52:49.099


Nobody's gonna go double check and see like where your last gallery opening was, or what I mean, like what if you have a MFA from somewhere.00:52:49.259 --> 00:52:50.059


Nobody's looking at that.00:52:50.379 --> 00:52:50.859


They don't care.00:52:51.019 --> 00:52:58.139


All they want is the answer or the to this, it's to solve the problem that they were up against or the resource that they were looking for.00:52:58.619 --> 00:52:59.019


Yeah.00:52:59.179 --> 00:52:59.579


Yeah.00:52:59.819 --> 00:53:00.859


Oh, I love that.00:53:01.179 --> 00:53:04.299


I think you should keep I should you should keep doing art and you should start teaching art.00:53:04.460 --> 00:53:05.339


I'll take a class.00:53:05.659 --> 00:53:06.940


I'm I'm considering it.00:53:07.019 --> 00:53:17.899


I'm not sure what that's gonna look like, but I'm also kind of thinking about something that looks a little bit like art therapy, except it would be more like art coaching, because I'm a coach, not a therapist.00:53:18.859 --> 00:53:19.579


Big difference.00:53:19.819 --> 00:53:21.500


So it's good that you know that too.00:53:22.059 --> 00:53:23.739


Yeah, yeah, yes, it is.00:53:24.299 --> 00:53:27.259


Uh Amanda, what's next for you?00:53:28.539 --> 00:53:34.299


Well, I did get a roasted chicken at the store last night, so I'm probably gonna eat that for lunch.00:53:34.460 --> 00:53:40.859


Um, so specifically that and a little bag salad, you know, try to keep it light before Thanksgiving.00:53:40.940 --> 00:53:42.379


So that's specifically what is next.00:53:42.619 --> 00:53:43.579


You are too funny.00:53:43.739 --> 00:53:44.940


Um, sorry, that was easy.00:53:45.019 --> 00:53:45.980


That was an easy one.00:53:46.139 --> 00:53:52.859


Uh you know, um, I'm gonna keep kind of trucking along with what I'm doing.00:53:52.940 --> 00:53:56.139


I love the speaking and the training that I'm doing.00:53:56.379 --> 00:54:04.619


Um, I'm starting to work on a little writing project with a couple of people that I just adore, and uh I think it's gonna be really fun.00:54:04.699 --> 00:54:07.259


So hopefully something will uh come to fruition.00:54:07.420 --> 00:54:11.099


We're gonna work on a uh, we're trying to write a pilot for a show, you know.00:54:11.259 --> 00:54:13.659


Um, and I've written a couple of those, and those are really fun to do.00:54:13.739 --> 00:54:15.339


So I'm excited to do that.00:54:15.579 --> 00:54:21.099


Um yeah, I've been working on like it creatively, like I love to mix things up at the house a lot.00:54:21.339 --> 00:54:32.619


So um I saw this meme on like maybe it's like Instagram or TikTok or something that said, What is it about women that wake up on a Saturday morning and decide they have to completely remodel the kitchen by the end of the day?00:54:32.779 --> 00:54:34.299


Uh and that is me.00:54:34.539 --> 00:54:41.659


So um I'm always like moving things around and trying to create and just like make the space a fun place to be.00:54:41.899 --> 00:54:44.219


So um, yeah, those are the things I'm doing, you know.00:54:44.299 --> 00:54:55.500


I'm on, I'm gonna sell some homes, um, which is, you know, it's a fun thing to do, but I also really love design and architecture and um finding a gem for somebody that really makes sense for them.00:54:55.579 --> 00:55:01.420


So, like that's that's a really fun process for me because I it's not just about the transaction of the buying and the selling of the home.00:55:01.500 --> 00:55:03.899


Like, I truly do love homes and architecture.00:55:04.139 --> 00:55:07.019


So um yeah, you you are on it.00:55:07.259 --> 00:55:13.980


I mean, all the things that you've done and all the things you're doing, and it's just like focus and go.00:55:15.259 --> 00:55:16.779


It's like wow.00:55:17.019 --> 00:55:22.460


Yeah, but I also just like fell asleep on the couch last night with some wine watching old episodes of the West Wing.00:55:22.539 --> 00:55:25.659


So, you know, like it's gonna it comes and goes.00:55:26.379 --> 00:55:26.460


Yes.00:55:26.619 --> 00:55:27.339


Yeah, it comes and goes.00:55:27.500 --> 00:55:30.379


Yeah, and then my sister-in-law and I, we and I never really talk about it.00:55:30.539 --> 00:55:33.579


I do it on my Instagram, but I never talk about it like on LinkedIn or anything.00:55:33.659 --> 00:55:41.500


We have a podcast and it's wildly inappropriate, but we watch television shows and we kind of recap them, but more just sort of like review them.00:55:41.659 --> 00:55:49.899


And so she is um also a comedian, and so we have a lot of fun, and she lives in Pennsylvania, so it's a great way for us to continue to connect.00:55:49.980 --> 00:55:52.460


So we're gonna figure out kind of what's next for that.00:55:52.539 --> 00:56:04.059


But we've been doing it for a couple of years, it's really fun, and we just, you know, we recapped the entire series of suits, the television show Suits that was out 10 years ago and they kind of had a resurgence.00:56:04.139 --> 00:56:08.539


And then once Suits was we were done recapping that, we've been watching all kinds of stuff.00:56:08.619 --> 00:56:12.379


So um, she got me watching the Kim Kardashian show, All's Fair.00:56:12.619 --> 00:56:13.739


Also, we watched that.00:56:13.819 --> 00:56:14.940


I mean, we watched the diplomat.00:56:15.179 --> 00:56:25.339


It's all it's all really fun, and I love it's hard for me to watch television and film without looking at like the formatting and the story and the cinematography beyond just for pure enjoyment.00:56:25.579 --> 00:56:27.339


But um, we have a lot of fun doing that.00:56:27.420 --> 00:56:28.139


So, you know.00:56:28.699 --> 00:56:32.059


Do you realize how much you and Dwight have in common?00:56:32.539 --> 00:56:33.259


I guess not.00:56:33.579 --> 00:56:35.099


Do are we the same person, Dwight?00:56:35.420 --> 00:56:40.299


Oh my gosh, he he has how many calendars do you have that are all synced?00:56:40.699 --> 00:56:49.019


Uh yeah, I I I have the the nightmare of juggling calendars, and it's uh I missed I've missed a couple of things because of it.00:56:49.099 --> 00:56:49.819


You gotta be careful.00:56:50.059 --> 00:56:52.139


Yeah, it's that is kind of a real fear for me.00:56:53.019 --> 00:56:59.980


I mean, he maps out everything in advance, and and he gets a little pissy if I move his cheese.00:57:00.379 --> 00:57:01.659


Rightfully so.00:57:02.219 --> 00:57:03.259


I'd be pissy too.00:57:03.339 --> 00:57:04.699


What kind of cheese is it you're moving?00:57:04.940 --> 00:57:09.739


Because depends on what kind of cheese, because I love cheese.00:57:09.980 --> 00:57:10.940


I love cheese too.00:57:11.019 --> 00:57:15.420


He's vegan, he does not love cheese, but if you move his cheese, if you move his cheese, then he's unhappy.00:57:15.659 --> 00:57:17.980


He all of a sudden decides he likes it and he's into dairy again.00:57:18.059 --> 00:57:19.099


Okay, I get it.00:57:21.980 --> 00:57:30.219


Well, um, and you you know, you you don't have to to be so um uh I don't know, on the hush.00:57:30.299 --> 00:57:32.699


Like only show fans is the name of that podcast.00:57:32.940 --> 00:57:34.859


It is, yeah, it's called Only Show Fans.00:57:34.940 --> 00:57:45.500


Um, because it was Only Suits Fans is what because we were were capping suits, and we just thought it'd be funny because OnlyFans has such a you know, it's out in the world.00:57:45.819 --> 00:57:52.139


And it when you Google Only Show fans, it's just a bunch of OnlyFans stuff that comes up.00:57:52.219 --> 00:57:54.299


So we think that that's funny anyways.00:57:54.539 --> 00:57:57.980


And so um, you know, it was a little bit of it originally.00:57:58.139 --> 00:58:03.500


The idea was like only and then show fans, um, so that you couldn't see it.00:58:03.579 --> 00:58:05.099


But um, yeah, it's just funny.00:58:05.179 --> 00:58:07.179


But we yeah, we talk about shows, it's silly.00:58:07.259 --> 00:58:08.779


Um, but we have fun doing it.00:58:08.859 --> 00:58:15.339


It's not one of those things where like that's my business or anything, it's just a fun creative outlet, and we enjoy doing it.00:58:15.500 --> 00:58:23.980


The the editing is so awful to do, and sometimes our audio sounds great, and sometimes it sounds like you know, a two-year-old was putting it together the audio.00:58:24.059 --> 00:58:29.420


So, but we we still have fun doing it, and that's you know, it doesn't all have to be a business or perfect.00:58:29.500 --> 00:58:31.819


It can, you know, it's always a process, in my opinion.00:58:32.059 --> 00:58:32.379


Yep.00:58:32.539 --> 00:58:34.940


At the end of the day, it's whatever brings you joy.00:58:35.179 --> 00:58:36.859


Yeah, and people are like, Why are you doing that?00:58:36.940 --> 00:58:43.899


I'm like, Because it's fun, because we can I like I can, I like TV, I love my sister-in-law, it's fun.00:58:44.139 --> 00:58:45.259


We have fun doing it.00:58:45.500 --> 00:58:49.659


Perfect when we don't have fun doing it or it becomes too much of a burden, we won't do it anymore.00:58:50.059 --> 00:58:55.500


Turns out there's a lot of TV to watch, so um, we're having fun doing it, and there and there will only be more.00:58:55.739 --> 00:58:56.619


There'll only be more.00:58:56.779 --> 00:58:57.420


Yes.00:58:58.699 --> 00:59:00.139


This has simply been delightful.00:59:00.299 --> 00:59:01.099


This has been so great.00:59:01.259 --> 00:59:02.619


Thank you guys for improvising with me.00:59:02.699 --> 00:59:03.500


That was really fun.00:59:03.739 --> 00:59:06.859


Yeah, and I'm glad that you got to learn about a brisk today.00:59:10.219 --> 00:59:11.899


I'm forever changed.00:59:12.139 --> 00:59:12.619


You are.00:59:12.779 --> 00:59:13.500


You're gonna remember.00:59:13.579 --> 00:59:14.139


Here's the thing.00:59:14.219 --> 00:59:21.899


Now it's like whenever you learn a new word or you're not shopping for a red car, and then all of a sudden there's 20 red cars on the road everywhere you go.00:59:22.139 --> 00:59:25.420


The word brisk is gonna come up a lot for you.00:59:25.659 --> 00:59:26.139


Oh, yeah.00:59:26.299 --> 00:59:27.179


Yes, absolutely.00:59:27.339 --> 00:59:32.779


Every time somebody says, Wow, it's kind of brisk out here, I'm gonna burst into laughter and they're not gonna know why.00:59:33.579 --> 00:59:36.139


Like that word means more than just one word, that more than one thing.00:59:36.219 --> 00:59:37.339


You gotta be careful with it.00:59:37.579 --> 00:59:41.899


So well, this has been a delight.00:59:42.139 --> 00:59:43.179


Y'all are a delight.00:59:43.339 --> 00:59:43.739


Thank you.00:59:43.899 --> 00:59:47.259


This has been, I was already looking, I was like, this is gonna be the highlight of my week.00:59:47.339 --> 00:59:55.500


And I'm so I wanted to get it on a week where I didn't have a ton, you know, like other commitments because I wanted to just sit down and chat and have fun with you guys.00:59:55.579 --> 00:59:56.059


And I did.00:59:56.379 --> 00:59:56.940


Thank you.00:59:57.099 --> 00:59:58.699


Thank you, thank you, Amanda.