Podcast appearances and mentions of Diane Bell

Diane Bell is an independent filmmaker and director whose first movie made a splash at the Sundance Film Festival. Born in Scotland into a big drinking culture, she could never conceive of a life without alcohol in it, until one day she woke up and realised how much better she felt without it and how much culture (including Film and TV) misleads us into believing alcohol was glamourous and exciting. To learn more, visit the show notes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Episode 207. In today's conversation, I actually had the wonderful opportunity to speak with Lana Ashby Rowder, the founder of LookingGlass Lifestyle, which is about styling yourself and leveraging technology in order to make this wonderful, wonderful gift of aesthetics, a possibility for every single person. I wanted to just share something before we jump in. Lana and I met at a library. It was me talking to strangers which brought us together. She helped me pick out the style that made sense for my book cover of Fertile Imagination. Cool, right? This conversation was on book launch day, and I'm sharing that with you because there was so much excitement in terms of the possibilities of this book. Also, the book managed to get to position one in the motherhood category and also number one in women in business as an Amazon bestseller.  If you love parties then please do say hi on Instagram which was where this party took place: https://www.instagram.com/melissallarena/ Shop/gift/review - Fertile Imagination: https://amzn.to/3F6AgMu TRANSCRIPT And so the conversation with Lana is very fitting as she is a woman in business and she's gone through her own career transitions, having been a nurse. before and now a business owner. So this is what I want to share with you. I want to share with you a review on Amazon for Fertile Imagination, my debut book. So the book is all about rediscovering yourself and really leveraging the power of your imagination for yourself as a mom. Oftentimes we imagine the best in everyone else. I mean, we're talking about like, we imagine the best in terms of some of our kids' teachers, in terms of our partners, in terms of are OBGYNs. And I want you to take that superpower, that amazing, unmagnificent vision you have for others, and turn it on yourself so that you can dream really, really big. So here is an Amazon review. It comes from someone named Andrew. So I just want to say that it's amazing how Andrew really gets moms. Because I resonated with his review on Amazon. He says, fertile imagination is a must-read for anyone feeling stuck in the merry-go-round of life. Ain't that the truth? I had to just interject. Using personal stories, interview excerpts, and creative exercises, Melissa inspires you to tap into your inner creativity and go after what you've always dreamed of. Even if you aren't a mom, this book will help get you unstuck when it comes to reaching your potential. I have found myself frozen sometimes when I think about what I want to accomplish and what I have yet to do. And I want to really be sure that you and I both have some sort of way to overcome those hurdles. And oftentimes you write the book that you need most. And that's why I wrote Fertile Imagination. So Andrew had an opportunity to write a review on Amazon, two to three sentences, sharing his opinion about Fertile Imagination, my book. And these reviews are so important, which is why I wanted to read it to you first because it give you a sense of whether the book is right for you or for a friend. But second, if Amazon sees that a book has a hundred Amazon reviews, It will then help market the book to new readers. And here's the deal. How amazing would that be for a mom who is purchasing holiday gifts for her family on Amazon to then get a little nudge from Amazon to see that, wow, there's this book called Fertile Imagination that could actually help me accomplish what I want to accomplish in the new year of 2024. They would have never seen it if Amazon didn't see that you wrote an Amazon review and about 3 million moms a day log into Amazon. Those are the statistics and that's a little bit of back-of-the-envelope math for you. So every single day that we are not at 100 reviews. Is a day that 3 million moms would not have seen that fertile imagination as a possibility for them too. So I really could use your help. I want to be sure that we get through that 100 Amazon reviews. So, off to the conversation with Lana. It is sensational. I absolutely love how thoughtful she was. And I also want to just give her a huge shout-out because she is looking for VCs. So if you think that Lookingglass lifestyle is an interesting opportunity for you, be sure to reach out to me via Instagram at Melissa Llarena. And now for the conversation with Lana, where we talk about speaking to your inner child. And she's a mom that has a little girl. And I wanted to just say that because I have all boys and I appreciate hearing from moms who have very different life experiences. So stay tuned for that as well.  Yeah, I want to talk about your book. So I didn't realize until today that you had been doing coaching for moms for like 12 years and that's is that what kind of got you to the point where you're like, I want to write a book on some of these stories or share some of these insights that I've learned is that what really propelled this? Yeah, 12 years of having a conversation that usually is held tightly guarded, like these secret conversations, right? Like I'm at work and I don't feel supported or I'm at work and I'm in this job and I don't know if I'm going to get to the C suite. There are all these emotions behind the scenes, especially with working moms in particular. So we have these inner conflicts that we're trying to untangle. And I even talk about that, like in the book, like it's like these knots in the back of our heads that are like impossible to unknot. And for me, I just felt like, okay, I'm having conversations with both working moms and also working dads. And that's not even a phrase, which is pretty interesting as I think about it. And they sound different. They really sound different. And I thought to myself, what if I shared a little bit of what I'm hearing from like, The guys and what I'm hearing from people that are not moms, and I empower moms to like have this like psychological flexibility with which they can create their own life experience like at home, at the office, anywhere you want to be. That's amazing. I know so many women are going to benefit from this book, moms especially. I had a similar experience. What you're talking about is when I was starting my company Looking Glass, it was like this gnawing in the back of my head that was like, there's more. There's more. Like, just try this thing. You have this idea. And like, I could not shake it no matter what I did, what I tried. And I sat on my idea for a while, but it, yeah, I think just everything you have in the book, encouraging moms to kind of, to find their purpose and stretch their imagination. That was the point that I really liked was the imagination. Like, Tapping into that what if that lets you play to your reference about Halloween this morning? Like what would you want to be when you grow up? Even if you're 40, what do you want to be?  Play like it's Halloween like you get to imagine how this can look for you. So I really love all your insights on that. Yeah, I think when you grow up and I say this as a mom who's been around the mom lights for 12 years now both in the U.S. and living abroad in Australia, what I have noticed is that there's this like, almost like kind of like, I give up. I shouldn't play. I'm too old for that. There's so much going on. I don't have time to like, introduce laughter in my life. It's all about like, do, do, do, the checklist, figuring out how much can get done in a day. And what happens is something that's really, really, Horrible for entrepreneurs, right? So as an entrepreneur, what I hear all the time is to enjoy the process. Well, how the heck am I supposed to enjoy the process? If I keep on adding even more pressure behind what needs to happen in the day. So one way to add a little bit of levity and to actually enjoy the process of motherhood of entrepreneurship, of being a partner in any other capacity. Is by finding a way to almost add a breath of fresh air to the moment. And so this is something that helps people not just with their children, like today, Halloween, like we are more playful today because our kids are dressed up and we're all having that fun with them. But like, let's say you're in like a very stressed situation, right? And right now you have a company and there are all these competitors coming into the marketplace. The best way for you to tackle any challenge, any creative challenge is to actually step away and like really daydream like Sarah Blakely, whom I'm wearing, by the way, because of your style, by the way, I have literally legit Sarah Blakely Spanx jeans on right now. She actually, yeah. Her best ideas came when she was daydreaming. Her best ideas happen when she's like playing with her four kids. This is something that is proven from a business perspective. Like I have Beth Comstock who was the former CMO of GE in my book. I interviewed her and she herself had gone to a Korean pop concert for divine inspiration for something that can add value to a manufacturing company like GE like playing can be profitable as much as it's fun and something you do with your kids. And I think that there's a lot that we need as moms. We need so many tools like our bags have everything, lipstick, mascara, but we need other tools that we can be like, all right, let me pull this out for when I don't know what to do. And your imagination is that versatile. Yeah. I like to look at kids in another way. Like I love the idea of mirroring them and thinking like, how do they play? Let's, we should also be playing like that. But one, one thing I love and  Breeja Larson talks about it in your book. Is that like, how would you speak to your inner child? And I've done this where when I wanted to launch my business or I thought I shouldn't go to that work event because my kids, my kids, my kids, I've flipped it in my head like, what would I tell my daughter? If my daughter wants to be a working mom and she wants to launch her business, would I tell my daughter, no, stay home and make spaghetti? Or would I tell her, you know what? Go out. Do that interview do that networking thing that you've been planning and just reach for the star So I've tried to shift it in my head. What advice would I give my daughter? When I'm thinking about my own decisions as a working mom.  Yeah Yeah, and and here's the thing. Let's just imagine your daughter did choose to make spaghetti we're in a situation right now where we have cellphones. So technically she could put her cell phone on a tripod, show up to that event, and show herself making spaghetti for her kids and still make a profit in whatever it is she chooses to do. Some straight-up people make spaghetti, record themselves, and make money doing so on Instagram. Right. So, we're in a world where you could actually have a situation where it's like, yes. And yes, I can show up to whatever, like a soccer game or whatever I could be present and focused. And then when the game is over on my way to the car, I could get back online, whatever needs to happen, and make those choices along the way. So I think, yeah, Breeja Larson is so kicked tush. I'm a mom, right? We can't use potty language, but she's so kicked tush. She's an Olympian swimmer for anyone who doesn't know her. And she was the one that said, basically, what about that little girl inside of you? Like, what is it going to take for you to when you're not motivated, jump into a cold pool and practice anyway? And for Breeja, it was conjuring that inner little girl. And as a mom today, it's Halloween. I want you to go back to when you were like eight years old. Like who did you dress as? Who did you want to be? What did you think you would look like or be like at this age right now? And, and how can you not let her down? And I think your imagination can help you figure out the how. Yeah, absolutely. The other thing I love about Rhea Larson is reading a book and knowing a little bit about her. She is an Olympic gold medalist in swimming with a breaststroke, and I have a daughter who does breaststroke and swims. But what I love about her is that she didn't start year-round swimming until she was much older. And so I love that too, like the mirror there for the moms, like, If you didn't start when you were 18 or in college or you took some time off or you decided to be a stay-at-home mom, it's not too late to now turn and pursue your dreams and train for something and learn a new skill and reach for the stars. So I really love, I love that part of her story. Yeah, and I think Breeja talks about it from a perspective of still being a child, technically, when she started her craft. But then there's also Theo, Theo Travers, who's in my book as well. He was the executive producer of the show Billions. He was in his 30s. And that's when he decided to go across the road, the road, go across the United States to Hollywood and like pursue writing, which at the time felt like something you would do super early in your career, not after being a TV journalist with a lot of success. Right. So I think this whole thing of, well, I should have done that when I was  18 or 20, that stops a lot of dreams from even having a chance. And so if you're. 30, 40, 50, 60, like straight up, you're the age you are period. Now we move forward. What can be done? What can you do? And maybe you can create your own category and whatever it is you want to pursue. Like there's sky's the limit with your imagination, right? Yeah. So why do you think that is? Why do you think moms in particular, come out of college, we're in college, we can do anything, and we can be anything we want to be. And then we stop, maybe we stay home for a while, we have kids, we kind of pursue more of a domestic role.  And then maybe we have these dreams. Why do you think moms kind of fall into that where they feel like they can't pursue those dreams anymore? What is it about motherhood or about being in this kind of middle life in the 30s, or 40s that kind of stops dreams from being pursued?  Yeah, it's, it's so funny because in the book, really what I share is this idea of holding yourself up to a higher standard than other people might hold you up to. And I think as a collective, as moms, there are certain excuses, and I'm just going to say the word excuses, that we've agreed are valid. And are the reasons why it's okay for us not to go after what we want. So one of the excuses might be something like I don't have the time, right? However, it's kind of funny how we might make the time to binge-watch something on Netflix But we don't have the time to go to the gym exercise blah blah blah. So it's like collectively accepting it. Just like when you're a mom, the notion I've heard is if you're a mom, then you no longer come first. Like it's no longer about you. You could take that really literally, right? And so it becomes any moment that you have to decide between your priorities and your child's, you're always going to choose yourself. Even if the consequence for your kid is not really a big deal. And I'm not talking about the serious stuff. Like you got to go to the hospital.  be on some sort of TV show. I'm talking about things like, Oh no, my kid is not going to show up with like a homemade Halloween costume today. Right. Versus man, I really want to do an Instagram live with Lana right now. So like right now, my, I know my kids are not having GMO-free snacks this second. Like they're literally at a. a theme park here in Austin that has sugar up the wazoo. Am I going to pay for it? Yes, I am. But that's what I chose for today. Right, right. Yeah, it's all a balance, right? I mean, I think to kind of play off what you're saying about the moms and the making excuses and why it's acceptable to not follow your dreams. One thing I noticed with my clients is being overwhelmed. And so they make excuses like, I don't really care what I look like, or I don't care. I'm 20 pounds heavier,, but I'm too busy to do anything about it. Or I don't care about clothes. So I don't care how I look in photos. But to me, as I've gotten to know a lot of my clients on a more personal level, and even taking this to my years as a nurse,  to me, that's just kind of a mask for overwhelm. They have this dream inside whether it's to have a new career or launch their own business or pursue. Painting, whatever it is, but the ideas of like, now that they're trying to figure out how to do it and learning it and starting something, it's just, they're so overwhelmed by all the other balls that they have in the air that they just kind of maybe say, I don't care about that. Or I used to want to do this, but like, I can't do it now because, to me, it's just an underlying feeling of they're just overwhelmed and they don't know how to act on it.  I think one of the early readers of my book was saying that really sometimes we're also intimidated by our own dreams. And so if that mom that you are saying feels overwhelmed, maybe she's overwhelmed because she assumes that pursuing this business idea, for example, like she's going to have only like her current level, like information, her current level relationships, current level skills. But in the book, what I share is that you tend to grow with your dreams. So like last year, if someone told me, Melissa, you would have to figure out how to get like the interior of your book ready and set and into like amazon.com. For example, I would have been like, oh my god I don't have my book yet, right? I would have been so scared and I didn't have certain Facebook groups that I would ask these questions to But as I've grown along with my dream as I'm executing on my dream I've been able to increase my capacity, and also figure out where I have gaps and I don't know anything. So I've been able to figure out like, who can I ask that has already accomplished what I wish to accomplish. So like that mom, to your point, like, let's say you're overwhelmed, right? You want to have, for example, beautiful holiday photos, right? And you see all these holiday photos every year that come to your house. And you like, I'm making this up, tape them to your wall. Some of us do that, right? Or you like to hold them as this beautiful, like the reflection of a perfect life. Why is it that my kids have their fingers in their nose and their picture or Tommy has a Mohawk and I'm not into that, right? Like if you feel, if you see that disconnect in the moment. All you have to do is just say to yourself, okay, wait a minute, let me just start with the one picture I really liked. Let me call that one mom and let me just ask her, like, did you have a stylist? Did you hire a photographer? Like did you tell your kids that you would take them to Disney World if they stood still? You know what I mean? Like you just ask one person. That you admire, like the result of their efforts, just like what, what did they do? And if we're more open about our dreams, even if they intimidate us or overwhelm us or our ambitions, even if they embarrass us too, that's the other thing where we, we feel that's one step forward to actually reducing overwhelm. Yeah.  So do you feel like moms, it's hard for them to be vulnerable at this point when they're talking about their own dreams and their own things for the sake of looking silly or embarrassed around other moms in the community? Or why is it that we stopped sharing the things that we're passionate about that aren't related to our family and our kids?  Yeah. So here's the thing. We all want to evolutionarily be part of a group, right? And so if a group with which you hang out with our moms who look put together, who show up at Halloween with like all the bells and whistles of Halloween stuff and, and you all of a sudden want to do your own thing. thing and be a little different, you're going to then feel like the group is no longer going to accept me. Like my mom, friends are going to think that I am, and I'm making this up, but like me with a book, for example, right? Like right now I have a book and a lot of the people that I've engaged with, they don't have a book, but they have a book inside of them, right? They have a book in their heart. And so sometimes even for me, like I might feel like okay let me not mention today's book launch day because like what if that makes them feel bad or makes them feel any sort of feelings that are not positive also what if now they don't look at me in the same way? What if now when they say I have a book in me, they feel embarrassed because I have a book outside of me? So it's really group dynamics. And it's about just like this need to feel like we're in a group of people who accept us. And if we start doing things differently than the people with whom we hang out with, we will, and this is the truth, we will notice a couple of differences. And it's all a matter of like, who do you want to be? Who do you want to be? And I think that's a question we don't take time to ask ourselves.  Yes,  absolutely. So what can we do as fellow moms when we're in these groups to maybe help women express their dreams? Or what questions can we ask? How should we be reacting when they do open up and share?  Yeah, so I would say the best thing that you can do is ask the mom a follow-up question, right? So I love asking questions, which is why in the book I have like five questions for every single chapter that a mom can reflect upon and I have questions you could answer like Five minutes by yourself for like five hours. It depends on you. And I would say, ask a mom. Okay. Wow. That's interesting. What made you want to pursue that? Like, that's a super simple question. That's interesting. What made you want to pursue that? Or another question could be, that's really cool. Tell me more. Super basic. You're just asking them to express themselves. And the beauty is having been a coach for 12 years in the capacity where I'm helping people land these like six figure corporate jobs, et cetera, is that I'm using the same skills, but for moms who are entrepreneurs and who just needs to flesh out their ambitions. And as it relates. to our Children. And I actually have a five-day challenge on my website that moms can go to. Just go to the link in my bio. But as it relates to your kids, your kids are like amazing question-askers. That's the bomb, right? Two. They also force us to be really simple with how we express our ideas, and that's key to sales as well. So if you have an idea in your heart and you tell someone the idea you could tell your kids that idea and ask them to Talk back to you and say what did you understand by that? But if you are someone in a mom group and someone says it's like a wacky idea quote unquote what you might want to do is just Ask wow, that's interesting. Tell me more and leave it at that. You don't have to put judgment or improve it or anything. Just tell me more is, is really amazing. Actually, it feels good. I think  I was going to say in the role of a mom, like having somebody else be like, tell me more and getting the opportunity to talk about like what's in your heart and not having to talk about kids and other things. And someone just genuinely showing interest in your dream and just really giving you permission and the space to like. put that out there in the universe and speak it to life and tell people like I do have this idea and You never know where that's gonna lead that may lead to them being like I know a book publisher Or I have a friend who already published a book. Let me hook you up So you mentioned this really early on when I hopped on and I think it's been so true and valuable for me It's like just speak it out there Talk to people find people at the library like you and I met to ask them what they think about this ask them just make conversations because there are so many great people out there that want to connect and want to help fellow moms. And I've been so fortunate to have a couple of mentors that have really connected the dots with me. But it just started with me having a little bit of courage to really be honest about what I wanted to do. Yeah.  And I think here's the thing, like,  again, it's about what, what's been heard before from mom circles before. So like, it's common, for example, for a mom to say, I want to be a teacher, for example, right? Because like, the summer's off and all of that stuff. It's common for a mom to say, Oh, I want to participate more heavily in like the parent-teacher groups and all of that. And I know it's uncommon to say, I want to be invested or backed by a VC within like 90 days, or I want my app to hit like 20 million downloads within X period of time. That's uncommon. And that's why for me, fertile imagination means that you have a vision that's. so big that maybe you've never seen it done by a mom before, but you've got the guts to go after it anyways. And that's the distinction. So I think it's about figuring out what's common and just letting go of that and being uncommon. And I think that's okay. It's so amazing., I read a couple of chapters. I just bought the book this morning. when it officially went on sale. But I can't wait for all moms to read this and just the reach that you're gonna have with this book. I think it's really gonna hit a lot of hearts in the mom communities and really just tap into that kind of loneliness or maybe unsureness and just really give a lot of people the courage to look inside themselves. And be honest about their dreams, and, I think your book is going to do a lot of great things. Thank you so much, Lana. This has been sensational. I think you have to become a journalist, girl. No, not at all, but I do have to run to parent-teacher conferences, but I have one more question for you. I want to know, as I have the book and I want to gift it to others for the holidays. I think it's such a great book to give to mom groups or to give to the teachers as a Christmas present. But what was your favorite chapter of the book that you wrote? For me, it was the one with Diane Bell when I was comparing winning a Sundance award to tandem nursing, my identical twins. That was my favorite because to tell that story, anyone, anyone that's attempted to nurse one baby. Yeah. Please just imagine what it's like to tandem nurse two and the award that all moms around the universe get for feeding their kids in any way that they decide is like, I mean, we need like golden whatever is out there. The Nobel Peace Prize. Let's give ourselves that. How about that?  I know. I think we don't give ourselves enough credit as moms. It's like, if we can do all these other things, why can't we be a BC-back company? Why can't we start our own? Store or jewelry line or whatever it is Like we've done amazing things and I think something happens along the way where we sell ourselves short a little bit But you're right I think looking back and being like these are great successes and I did all these things and I can do so much more Absolutely. Thank you so much. Lana. This has been amazing Congratulations. I'm so proud of you. I can't wait for everybody to read it. Good job. Thank you All right. We'll talk soon. Bye, Can I just say that the different women who interviewed me on book launch day are sensational. So I wanted just to leave you with this one point. If you feel like you would advise your child to go and take a risk or skip making a spaghetti dinner or, you know, do something for themselves when they had the option to do something for their family. And it might have not been a big deal for their family if we're honest about it. If you feel like you would have provided that suggestion, then do the same thing for yourself.  As you think about the holidays, there are so many things that you can do to make the holidays magic for your family, but why not consider doing something magical for yourself? And I want to just invite you to do that. So please help me out. Go ahead to amazon.com. Look up Fertile Imagination. I will put this in the show notes as well. And then if you're on your cell phone, you could just scroll down to write a review and write a review for Fertile Imagination. If you have yet to shop the book Fertile Imagination, then I wanna invite you to shop the book, shop the book, because it is a testament to both being a wonderful parent and also. Being totally excited by what you want to bring to the world, right? Having nothing to do with your family, but everything to do with your heart's desire. And I want us to really see more wonderful things out in the world. I think we can all use wonder right now. So I invite you to shop the book for yourself or shop the book for a mom who you believe in. You're literally telling her I believe in you by buying Fertile Imagination. So just head on over to Amazon.com shop the book and leave a review. We want to reach those 3 million a day moms shopping on Amazon so that they can see that fertile imagination is an option for them. Thank you so much and happy December.   

Welcome to episode 204. Today's episode, you're going to hear from Bethany Braun Silva, who interviewed me on Fertile Imagination's launch day on Halloween. Bethany is the author of Like a Mother, Banish Guilt, Blaze Your Trail, and Break the Rules to Create a Life You Love. It's amazing to be interviewed by a fellow mom, author, and New Yorker. We discussed how watching our moms go first really informed how we, and what we thought we were capable of as moms. I wanted to just share this. So this episode is brought to you by my book, fertile imagination, which actually hit number one, Amazon bestseller in two categories. motherhood and women in business. It's available right now and it makes for the perfect gift. Shop/gift/review - Fertile Imagination: https://amzn.to/3F6AgMu If you enjoy this episode then tell me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melissallarena/ TRANSCRIPT So quick napkin math. Here's the statistics. Reviews on Amazon matter and when they show up matters even more. Right now, the books that Amazon will share with anyone online. Need to have at least 100 Amazon reviews. So two to three sentences that share your opinion about the actual book. So imagine this every month, 197  million users log on to Amazon each day, 6. 7 million users log on to Amazon. And if I had to just guess, I would say maybe 3 million moms log into Amazon every single day. What if today? 3 million moms would have seen Fertile Imagination, my book, as a recommended product. For that to happen, we need 100 written out Amazon reviews. So each day that I am not at that 100 number, that means that there's 3 million missed opportunities to suggest to a mom, a tired mom, a mom who doesn't believe in herself, a mom who needs some inspiration. to actually have seen fertile imagination in her list of recommended products to add to her shopping cart. I'm all about encouraging moms on how to think for themselves in terms of the changes that they want to see in their lives, in their homes, and in the world. Could you imagine if 3 million moms today saw the book fertile imagination, which maps out exactly how to go about making a maximum impact based on your unique heart's desire? That's what we're going for. And I need your help. So as you listen to this conversation, I would love your support in taking your cell phone, going to Amazon, selecting fertile imagination, and then scrolling down and just left clicking on write a review. That's if you actually shop the book, if you having it shop the book, then listen to this review right now. And it's available on Amazon. So it says, As someone who is and advocates for moms, it's sometimes difficult to spark moms to be inspired by themselves. In Fertile Imagination, Melissa not only reminds moms we're inspiring, but provides the tools, anecdotes, and encouragement to get us moving towards what's important. Changing the world by nurturing the inner genius we each possess. As I turned the pages, I was reminded of many dreams I placed aside and recommitted to move toward action. Bravo. That is the sort of message that I would love moms to be able to listen to, hear and absorb and activate in their lives. Enjoy the conversation with Bethany Braun Silva. Tell me about why you launched today. Like, what was it about you and Halloween and launching your book? Yeah, so Halloween is the day that, as a little girl, I don't know for anyone else that's like an 80s kid or whatever, but there was a Halloween that I was like Madonna, I was Funky Bruiser, I was Turbo Shortcake with the plastic like mask. And that was the day I got to be anything I wanted to be. You could be anything you want to be. And when I was writing the book, Fertile Imagination, I was thinking to myself, I was like, what? Like we're moms and we actually get to play that role in our own unique way. We can be. any kind of mom that we wish to be and today is a day that like it's almost like permission to be weird literally one of the chapter names of my book so as we see kids out there like dressing up in like these like very random like gnome or Fall guys or whatever sort of costumes. It's like, well, what about us? What about us moms? Right. We're like the ones that are making these days, these moments so special. And part of that is the vision that we have for the childhood. We want to provide for our kids. Like it's our vision for other people. And so the book is about, well, what's your vision. As what would you like to imagine more of in your life, in this world, in your community? And so for me, it's kind of like, okay, well, obviously it would have been obvious, right? Launch on Mother's Day. Like, it makes sense. But for me, I was like, nah, I want to do things differently. Like that's just not creative enough for me. It's like, no Halloween. Let's do it today. Let's help moms rediscover our imagination. Cause we're in that mind frame for our kids. Today. I mean, there's some crazy imaginative costumes I've seen out there. So. Yeah. For me, it made sense. I love that. I love that. That's really what I'm all about, too. Like, like rediscovering ourselves, pursuing our passions, being like unapologetic about it. That's also why we connected, I think, so much, too. Like, we're very aligned with, with those things. Like, we're moms, but like, we have our own stuff happening here.  Yeah, absolutely. And I think we go first. Like I feel when I'm sure through your conversations and like through my conversations, you're talking to moms and like we want so much for our kids. But the interesting part, it's like, well, how are they going to get what they want if we don't feel like we have what we want yet? Like, right. Are we skipping something like Yeah. Like we've got to like lay the path, like show them, okay, this is what it looks like to move forward and then fall down and then get back up. This is what it looks like to like try doing things in one way and then trying a whole different way. And I think That's part of the, the, the idea in terms of the book. I think it's really about showing my kids. Mommy did it. Mommy did it and mommy did it and you can do it and you could do even better. What I mean, because this is where, this is where I left off. So here you go. Yeah. I love that. And actually, yeah, I shared that yesterday on my Instagram when you commented, because like, I, I kind of like followed a dream and a passion, like. When I was pregnant, like I was like, it sort of all started to like align for me then and I was 26 years old and that's young, but it wasn't like young to go into this to like journalism, right? Like I was like a 26 year old pregnant intern. There was  like, I fought against a lot of that. But then now when I look at what I've done and like seeing myself through my kids eyes, it really is. So fulfilling in that way. Like my kids know that they can do anything at any time. Like it doesn't have to be on anyone's timeline because I did it late or push myself through like in a, in not in a nontraditional timeline. So I love that I'm showing I'm like that example for them too. Absolutely. And in the book, I actually interviewed, so it's kind of like a funny story, but I'll save that for the book. Basically, my former landlord happened to have been also a Senator and House of Representative for New Hampshire, Martha Hennessey, and she's so badass, I will say, which is why I featured her in the book. But is it too late for anything? Well, Martha proves us Totally like, no, there's nothing that you want on your heart that it's too late for, like she retired quote unquote, and decided to then run for office, like two different positions, one, then both. She's a grandmother of seven grandkids right now. And I think her as an example, and just kind of like looking outside of our family. So let's imagine that in our families as. Was the case for me. We don't have these examples. I don't know for you, Bethany. Did you have journalists in your family? I don't know. No journalists, but I did have a mother who pivoted at around 34 years old. And that's when she got pregnant with me to a brand new career. And she was an artist. And then she went into, into medicine and literally like kicked so much ass, like, On like, like, incredible. She just retired like, like, like two years ago, but like literally hadn't went the pivot with had nothing to do. And same thing with her. She had nobody in that in the medical field to rely on. She put herself through her got her second masters while I was like a baby and then got a doctorate and like, I watched it all. So I have to say that while I didn't have like connections, I had a really good shining example of like what it means. to like really go after a dream while like providing and caring  for a child. So that's, that was really my inspiration for sure. Yeah. And, and I'm sure like for you, it's, it's interesting because there were probably moments that your mom would not have thought you were looking, but you were.  I was looking, I was looking and actually for me, I didn't really put that together until I kind of was like, Oh my God, I'm doing the same thing. Like I, maybe I did it a little bit earlier or whatever, but I literally was doing the same thing. And, and then I, when I realized that I was like, wow, I saw that I was able to do it. I had permission. I gave like the audacity to believe in myself because I had this mother who worked her ass off. She was, she is and was the breadwinner in my family, because it was crazy, it was crazy. But no, it's really such a good, kind of like a very nice like tie in for me. And then now being, now raising boys, like what does that look like? Like wanting to be that example for them, but also to understand sort of like the role that they play within society too. It's very different than raising girls. So yeah, and I'll never know, right? Like I always joke with people. I'm like three's enough for me boys, my identical twins. And I think when it comes to that, just like, like, I feel like the greatest gift, like as a mom that you can give your kid is living your own best life. Like, I don't really don't see that as like a selfish thing. I see that as like an example. And I see that as like an opportunity because like maybe. For me, for example, as I was writing the book, what really stood out for me was my kids were watching me. Like they were seeing me like go out on a Saturday morning to like write this book. They were watching me like sometimes honestly be at the foot of my bed while I would, while we were living in Australia, typing out some copy or whatever, sending it to my editor. And they were watching me do things and. I was so uncomfortable at times, but I was still doing them. And I think when it comes to any endeavor, any goal, right? Like if you want to pivot into like journalism, or if you want to pivot like me from coaching marketers to coaching entrepreneurial moms, it's like. You've got to do it even in uncomfortable moments, even regardless of the season of motherhood. And I think that's something else like your mom, for example, and yourself, like your dreams, both of your dreams, they were important to you at that stage of your life. It happened to coincide with being pregnant for both of you, right? Like,  right. And so, which is interesting, right? That's, that's a rather productive time of a mom's life. You're creating, right? And so it's kind of like, well, what do you do? Like, do you pause the desires of your heart or do you find a flexible way forward? And so that's where our imagination, our fertile imagination comes into play. It's like, okay, if you are able to figure out the logistics of just a day, like today, right? Like, how am I going to get my kids from house to house safely? How am I going to look through their candy, make sure it's safe to eat, right? How am I going to hide their candy? Or somehow secretly throw it away.  That's so bad. Don't tell my boys.  I know, right? It's too much sugar. But how am I going to do that? So you use your creativity and your imagination for things like that. Right. And I think the same can be done when it comes to our dreams, irrespective of the complications that are involved. And there's a lot of variables when it comes to kids that much. I could tell you over 12 years. You might plan your family out beautifully, just like we might plan our birth plans, but ultimately it's like when stuff happens, you've got to rise to the occasion and make stuff up. Yeah, I really like what you said about like the flexibility, right? Like flexibility in because parenting really is all about that, right? Like kind of being in the moment, flexible, adapting to anything that could happen at any moment. But also when we think about like ourselves, like, right, like. Having to be flexible with our dreams and pursuing our goals. And if something kind of comes up, not to quit, right, but to be flexible, to figure out the way to manage it so that you still have that, that goal in sight. I really liked that actually. I've never really thought of it like that before, but I, that's pretty much how I've done it. And it's, I'm like 11, 12 years in the game of parenting and 11, 12 years in my career. And that's not. By accident, like we just, like we just said, and I'm thinking about all the sort of flexibility that I've had to exercise throughout parenting and my career as like I was like doing them in tandem. And it's really wild actually to think about. Yeah, I think that that's something that I think that's the difference between achieving a goal versus not achieving a goal. So it's kind of like if you have this one thing that you want to do as a you, you might write it out. You might even come up with a beautiful like roadmap  and, and that's amazing. However, what about that day when you wake up and the night before your kid was vomiting all over the place? Projectile vomiting because I've been there right or like what if school is shut down for whatever reason a flood I'm literally thinking about real life situations  Right or what if you you your file like is corrupt and you can't open it Again, 12 years in as an entrepreneur online, like these are real things. So what do you do from there? Right. And so in one chapter, like I was thinking about it, there's a Sundance award winner, Diane Bell, who had never written like a movie before, had never produced, was told you're never going to get it done for a hundred thousand dollars. And the learning that I got from her was like, well, in her mind, she invested in her idea and she set forth on a plan that even if no one else believed was possible, she was going to keep going through the obstacles, the hurdles, and just keep moving forward until it was just done. So she almost. started with that end in mind  and figured it out along the way. And for me, I think to myself, like feels a lot like Indiana Jones and the temple of doom, how he's like running and there's this boulder behind him, like that's straight up motherhood and entrepreneurship, right? What happens when the algorithm. Changes, what happens when childcare falls apart, you've got to be so nimble, like Jack, be quick, Jack, be nimble, all that stuff. No, no, no. Mom, be nimble. Mom, be quick because you got to jump over a candlestick, legs and a million other things, right? And Legos. All those hurt.  Those hurt. Yeah. I know. It is, it's, it's, it's really, I was going to say something too about, oh yeah, so about like, it's one thing to like, be flexible, but like, it also is, and I don't even know if you want to get into it, but like how, like, society and, and the private sector is not really set up to support flexibility. So we have to also think about that with moms who are Thanks, Cassidy. feeling like they can't do it, right? Like I have to give up. I have to stop because of the way like things are set up for them. Like we're kind of like not only fighting against our own stuff, right? Like being as flexible as we can managing our careers and our kids, but also fighting against like not being supported at work, like not feeling like there's a place for us if we come back after maternity leave or something like that, so. Is all of that and I think we're really now seeing a push for that like because of these conversations because we're like after the I talked about this to like the pandemic was so unkind and that's like we putting it nicely to mothers right but now we're like coming back like A little bit pissed off, a little bit more ambitious, like more ambitious than ever. And like, like this can't happen again. You saw what it did to us. I mean this is, and so I think that's it too, like having these kinds of conversations to change the workplace, to change at the federal level for child care, like we need these things to be successful. And so I think any mom who's thinking or maybe watching this and be like flexible. I can't manage another thing in my brain like you want me to be now flexible for this and this and this is like, just remember that the way things are set up right now, it's like it's really not to help you. You're to help you to succeed. So just keep that in mind, like give yourself a little bit more grace as you're like navigating this whole A hundred percent. And I would say when I was coaching marketing executives for the last 12 years, and I was coaching on purpose, both men and women. So although I was talking with a lot of working moms, I wanted to just see how the conversations were different between working moms and working dads as an example, right? And what I noticed was that for women, there was this like major investment in like that one job, that one good. boss, that one company that lets them go work from home one day a week, that they would then burn themselves out to keep that job at all costs, not at no cost, at all costs. And so I was calling that career trauma. And I was seeing that. So vividly because moms are going to put on a game face, you're at the office and you're like, I'm here to resolve stuff within this timeframe. So I could go back home and do my stuff again, right? The second and third shift. And I think this flexibility, it's why I decided to leave the corporate setting. Although I have my MBA, like the MBA in a corporate setting. Matters a lot, quote unquote, obviously there's now some dilution there, but in the entrepreneurial space, it does not matter a bit. So why did I do that? I did that because this was pre pandemic 12 years ago. I did not find the flexibility that I desired, which was to work from home one day a week on a Friday with a full straight up Excel communication plan that I put out there to my former boss. It wasn't possible. And so for me, I said, what, okay, I'm in a position where I have the credentials. How can I make this work for me in an entrepreneurial setting? And the last 12 years as an entrepreneur, I've noticed a very similar dynamic. So you talk about flexibility in the corporate space, which is something that each mom has to work out for herself and be her own advocate for, but in the entrepreneurial. space, the same sort of factors are at play, right? Because what entrepreneur out there has not been on as an example, Instagram 24 seven to keep up with the algorithm. So inflexibility and flexibility,  those two ideas are huge when it comes to having an imagination, one that can be productive and can produce useful. Ideas, right? And at the end of the day, even as an entrepreneur, I had noticed mom's falling off what I call the cliff. Okay, so the 1 thing that we can all do to figure out how to find some. Some, some air to breathe as moms working moms is take it onto ourselves, figure out for ourselves what we want and what we really, really need in terms of flexibility and in terms of using all the resources that we do have, which was something you mentioned in your journalism video, right? What do you have and figuring out how to make lemon sorbet out of lemons. Right, right. Who doesn't like lemon sorbet?  Everybody. Everybody. And I want to ask you, too, as an entrepreneur, how do you set boundaries for yourself, like, so that you don't burn out? Like, because I, I know that a lot of us struggle with that because, like, I'll be like, scrolling  just to like, like, what's happening? Is there something timely I need to. to figure out and, and I work, I have my own brand, but I'm working for other brands and all of this. So tell me how you have you, how you've managed that. Yeah, I think it's really about figuring out, okay, what is it that I want? Like, do I really want to display my family on Instagram? Do I really want to build up engagement to a point where this weekend I'm going to be like in a coma on my bed? And, and totally wiped out, like, what do you want? Because here's the thing, the trend is right. So a lot of people talk about hustle culture. Don't do it. I gotta be honest. I don't know how to actually produce the Instagram results that are quote, unquote, necessary in order to get the reach that they say I should have. But what I do know is early on in my career, I remember this was, yeah, 12 years ago. I was Exploring social media. I don't even remember if Instagram existed. The point is this, I was pushing out, let's say like one piece of content a day, which back then it was like, wow, I was a new mom. I had one boy, he was a baby and I didn't have like full time childcare. Let me be clear, which I think makes a big difference. And I remember one person who now is a. Telling me, Melissa, you should go crazy on social media. You should just like kill it on social media. And I remember just thinking to myself, oh my God, I'm dying here as a new mom. I'm like not sleeping. I'm like barely learning how to nurse and now I'm supposed to go on social media. More, this is before those scheduling tools, really. And I remember thinking to myself, I'm going to have to miss the boat. I have to miss the boat. And I'll be honest, I missed the boat. And am I taking full responsibility for having quote unquote missed the boat? I am. So for me, the way that I manage my boundaries is I have to play it in the moment. What do I need right now? If my agenda. If my values, if my needs are like top to my priority list today, I have to pick them. Even if it's at the detriment, at the detriment of my business or at the detriment of what the other world says I should be focused on, because I can't make myself want something that someone else wants. I can't do it. Yeah. I try. Trust me.  I can't. I love that, actually. I think that's, that's super, that's super important because I think I beat myself up, too, about missing that social media boat. Like, I was there, I was watching, but I was like, I can't, I couldn't do it. It didn't feel right for me. And now I feel like, in so many ways, I'm playing catch up, but also, I'm like, this is where I'm at. Like, I'm just gonna be authentic, share what I want to share in the moment, and not really... Put too much into like a strategy because I'll, I'll die. That's not even a joke. We will actually die if we like, like, like a book marketing launch plan. Like this is like the verge of,  but you did it. You're doing it. I did it and I'm doing it. And I'm so appreciative, Bethany. Like, I am so grateful to like all the mom authors that have come before me. I am. So, so, so grateful, Bethany.  I mean, I, something that I also like love to talk about is like this unified power of mothers. Like we don't realize how powerful we are as a collective. So anytime I see a mom out there doing this, like I'm like, yes, let's do it. But how can I help you? What can we do? And we're going to get you on my podcast too. So that stay tuned for that. So this is not the end.

You have a dream.  Maybe it is a dream for a non-profit or business. Maybe it's a way of life so radically different than the one you're living now. Whatever it is, you can see it. Feel it. Taste it. You literally dream about it. But how do you get THERE from where you are right now? Diane Bell knows. Diane is a multiple award-winning independent filmmaker who has hard-core studied the art of manifesting the life of your dreams and now teaches it in her most recent passion project, the Art of Intentional Manifestation (AIM) From the Heart. In this episode, Diane shares her INCREDIBLE story (no, really, it's wow) of growing up in a humble Scottish family, getting A-list actors to be in her films, and buying the home of her dreams in Spain.  She shares her money story, where she was blocked from earning more money most of her life, and the decision that changed everything.  She addresses exactly what she teaches in AIM From the Heart, breaking down some lesser-known pieces of the creation process.  The interview had me literally shaking! Listen to "Going All In On Your Dream" with Diane Bell and turn creation mode ON. Download Diane's free e-book: Why Your dreams aren't manifesting and what exactly to do about it: https://www.dianebell.com/opt-in-4217e07c-1a28-4239-bb95-e2d03bf85778   Join the AIM From the Heart Online Community: https://www.dianebell.com/offers/odfj9Cvy/checkout   Follow Diane on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aimfromtheheart1/   Explore my 3-month 1:1 comprehensive money mentorship, WEALTH, for rebellious entrepreneurs and creative revolutionaries who want to add more zeros to their earnings with both inner transformation and financial strategies: https://ishavela.com/wealth/   Download my free 5-module minicourse, FLEX, on nervous system capacitation so you can actually make space in your body to receive what you desire: https://ishavela.com   Book a free, 30 minute clarity call: https://book.ishavela.com/clarity   Follow me on IG: https://www.instagram.com/isha_vela   Access free content on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@isha_vela

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 3, 2023 is: embezzle • im-BEZZ-ul • verb To embezzle is to steal something (usually money) that you have been entrusted with. // The company's senior accounts manager embezzled thousands of dollars from her employer. See the entry > Examples: “In the courtroom, [courthouse dog] Ollie stands with those testifying as they take the oath to tell the truth and curls up at their feet behind the witness stand.... He comforted a woman in her 90s who had to testify against her son. He was accused of forging documents and embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from her over a long time.” — Diane Bell, The San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Apr. 2023 Did you know? English is full of verbs that mean “to steal” (such as pilfer, rob, swipe, plunder, filch, and thieve). But when it comes to stealing property (and in this context, money is a kind of property) that has been entrusted to you, embezzle wins the prize. The word most often refers to theft of company or government funds that one has charge of, and embezzlement is therefore a hallmark of white-collar crime—that is, crime committed by so-called “white-collar” workers. In the 15th century, around the time that embezzlement entered English (the ultimate root is Anglo-French besiller “to steal, plunder”), it would have also been possible to say that such plunderers “bezzled” company cash, but bezzle is now considered obsolete.

‌Radically Speaking: Feminism Reclaimed edited by Diane Bell and Renate Kleindiscussed by Renate Klein and Diane BellA live webinar on Sunday 23rd April 2023 10am UK time.

Life After Winning Sundance with Diane BellI always talk about not counting on the "lottery ticket" mentality that so many filmmakers today count on. Winning Sundance is not a distribution plan. Well I was involved in a project, written and directed by Diane Bell, that did just that. It won not one but two awards at Sundance. She didn't count on winning, hell she didn't think in her wildest dreams that she would even be accepted. Here's the story.In 2010, 16 feature films were selected out of 1,058 submissions to be screened in the US Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival. Diane Bell's OBSELIDIA was one of them. It was made for less than $140,000, it had no movie stars in it, and none of the cast or crew had connections to Sundance. And yet it was picked out of the slush pile, and selected to premier on this world stage, alongside movies that had cost 100 times as much with big name movie stars and recognized directors.OBSELIDIA, premiered in the US Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival 2010, where it won the Alfred P. Sloan Award and the award for Excellence in Cinematography. It was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards 2011, including one for Best First Screenplay. It won acclaim at festivals around the world, including being named as Best of Fest at the Edinburgh Film Festival, Best Narrative Feature at Ashland Independent Film Festival, and winning the Youth Jury Prize for Best Film at the Valladolid Festival, Spain.If you ever wanted to know what it was like to be accepted and win awards at the Sundance Film Festival sit back and enjoy on conversation with Diane Bell.

Today's guest is returning champion writer/director Diane Bell. Diane and I go way back. I had the pleasure of working on her first feature film OBSELIDIA, which won two awards at Sundance. The film makes it's IFHTV Premiere this week.

Life After Winning Sundance with Diane BellI always talk about not counting on the "lottery ticket" mentality that so many filmmakers today count on. Winning Sundance is not a distribution plan. Well I was involved in a project, written and directed by Diane Bell, that did just that. It won not one but two awards at Sundance. She didn't count on winning, hell she didn't think in her wildest dreams that she would even be accepted. Here's the story.In 2010, 16 feature films were selected out of 1,058 submissions to be screened in the US Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival.  Diane Bell's OBSELIDIA was one of them.  It was made for less than $140,000, it had no movie stars in it, and none of the cast or crew had connections to Sundance.  And yet it was picked out of the slush pile, and selected to premier on this world stage, alongside movies that had cost 100 times as much with big name movie stars and recognized directors.OBSELIDIA, premiered in the US Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival 2010, where it won the Alfred P. Sloan Award and the award for Excellence in Cinematography. It was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards 2011, including one for Best First Screenplay. It won acclaim at festivals around the world, including being named as Best of Fest at the Edinburgh Film Festival, Best Narrative Feature at Ashland Independent Film Festival, and winning the Youth Jury Prize for Best Film at the Valladolid Festival, Spain.If you ever wanted to know what it was like to be accepted and win awards at the Sundance Film Festival sit back and enjoy on conversation with Diane Bell.

Through the eyes of a native storyteller and experiencer of human emotion, tune in for powerful insights of the human conditions and the things that keep us moving forward.  If you have any questions about this episode or want to get some of the resources we mentioned, head over to LesleyLogan.co/podcast. If you have any comments or questions about the Be It pod shoot us a message at beit@lesleylogan.co . And as always, if you're enjoying the show please share it with someone who you think would enjoy it as well. It is your continued support that will help us continue to help others. Thank you so much! Never miss another show by subscribing at LesleyLogan.co/subscribe.In this episode you will learn about:Your inner child is how you find your voice Keep going, you'll get to your destination.‘No' isn't scary Rejected that leads to something better The importance of finding the right people Process of publishingWriting despite dyslexia BIO: Maggie Daniels is a poet, writer, and director passionate about storytelling through her raw perspective. She was born and raised in the bible belt. The notorious culture of southern grit and charm shines through her words giving readers a sense of home and familiar comforts. Maggie's work reflects the mountains of emotion one can experience with life, love, & loss in a way that is deeply honest and healing for those reading. Her mother used to tell her she was a magenta girl living in a khaki world, that analogy shows through in her work as a unique take on the human experience. Episode References/Links:Maggie Logic WebsiteFollow Maggie on InstagramSupport ‘Swimming'  If you enjoyed this episode, make sure and give us a five star rating and leave us a review on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podchaser or Castbox.ResourcesWatch the Be It Till You See It podcast on YouTube!Lesley Logan websiteBe It Till You See It PodcastOnline Pilates Classes by Lesley LoganOnline Pilates Classes by Lesley Logan on YouTubeProfitable PilatesSocial MediaInstagramFacebookLinkedInEpisode Transcript:Lesley Logan 0:09  All right, Be It listener. I've got someone special for you, Maggie Daniels is here. And I was really intrigued by her for a variety of reasons. But you're going to understand in a moment when she starts talking, but I actually find people who can take time to write very interesting. I think everybody, at some point has thought, "Oh, maybe a write a book, or might be nice to sit down and write something down." And then inevitably think we're not writers. We don't know what we're doing. And and then we get in our head, and then we think, "Oh, I can't do this." And we get impostor syndrome around it. So I just wanted to bring on Maggie to talk about how she got to where she is, and give you some advice along the way. So thank you for being here. Maggie, can you tell everybody who you are and what you're writing about?Maggie Daniels 0:51  Thank you so much for having me today. Yes, I'm, I'm a poet, writer, director. I use poetry for like the micro moments of emotion to process like what I'm feeling in the moment. And then I use screenplays to like, dive deeper into my psyche, like through the characters, like, "Why did this trigger me? Why do I feel this way?" And I am really glad you brought up the imposter syndrome and the insecurity because I had that for years, like I've been writing my whole life. And I never considered myself a writer. Isn't that crazy?Lesley Logan 1:25  That's that, it's crazy. And also, like, I completely understand it. (Maggi: Yeah.) You know,Maggie Daniels 1:29  Yeah. And it was one of those things I didn't go to college, I grew up very dyslexic, in a small town in the south, so I just didn't, internally, I just had this voice that wasn't mine in my head that said, "You know, you don't know enough words, you're not smart enough. Like, there's someone else with that job already." Like, you know what I mean? (Lesley: Yeah) And I remember my mother in law sent me this book. And I can't remember the exact name of it, but it had it had magic in the title, where it was like, a pun on words, like creativity is literal magic. And ideas, bounce around, like, if you don't use them, they'll go away and find someone else that will. And the crazy thing is that everyone's capable of it. Every human being, I feel like we were here to be creative not to work and pay bills and die. I feel like our soul needs to express itself in many forms, whatever that may be. And a lot of people don't realize that creativity isn't just making art, creativity is anything that drives you, and makes you want to get up and do something and make something like that could be crafting, that could be engineering, that could be anything making rockets. (Lesley: Yeah) Whatever drives you to want to create something, is I feel like the basic necessity of our souls.Lesley Logan 2:57  Ah, I mean, agreed. And I actually think like, that's becoming more and more something that a lot of people are talking about, like we're all born to be creative. And I think a lot of people that, "Oh, it's those left brainers or those right brainers" or whatever side of the brain it is. We'll go back to the neurologist who is on the show for that. But I don't, we weren't given like only half a brain, we have a whole brain, we can use it. And we we all have this ability to be creative. And I want to go back to the that voice in your head. Because I, I think that we all have that voice. And some of us have the volume turned up louder (Maggie: Yeah) on that voice and others. And it is, it's that voice that holds back some of the most amazing people out there. Because every single person has a story that can help somebody else like we learned through story, right? We learned, we don't remember, like statistics, but we remember the story that was told around the numbers. And that kind of helps us there. We can visualize that story. So, how did you get that voice volume to turn down enough for you to attempt what you're now doing?Maggie Daniels 3:58  Oh, man, it was a lot of different things. I really want to say I had to do with a lot of different influences. Gary Vee is one of them. I don't know him personally, but just following him on social media is a very positive mindset in person. And a lot of his like personality and his branding is he just puts out positive just, that's his vibe. And always he's just reminding the public like, "Hey, that voice in your head isn't you? Like, don't listen to it, like find the one that's you in there." And I was emotionally, physically and sexually abused as a child. So I had a lot of different voices in there. And it took me a while to tune out to remember which one was mine, but I kind of went back to like my five year old self, and that inner child, and I feel like that's how you find your voice, is it's your inner child, (Lesley: Yeah) and just have to listen for him because they're, they're quieted by all the noise. And the best advice I ever got was from my mentor, dir... film director and writer, Diane Bell. She told me do, "What you want, the rest is noise. So, listen to your inner child, that's your voice. And just go back to an age where you really felt your personality, like, started or like rounded out to your core to who you are." And for me, that was five years old. And from then on, I was who I am. And yeah, I feel like find that age, and that's your voice and you and you just whatever you're doing in life is to protect that part of yourself. Like, think of it as a separate entity, almost like your inner child is someone that you need to treat that you wish that you were the adult in your life kind of thing. (Lesley: Yeah) Like that you were there to protect them. And I feel like that's the first step of healing.Lesley Logan 6:02  Yeah, I think we also like, you just said that, like, we also like protect, sometimes we do things to protect them so much that it's actually holding us back. Like, (Maggie: Yes) does things help to get you to survive and get to this point. And then (Maggie: Yes) you know, and I think that's, um, I think that's really interesting. Like, I was talking with my own therapist, but I was like, when when the pandemic happened, I like fe... like was like, it was almost ease like, like, the world crashing down. And like, everything canceling on my calendar... (Maggie: It was relatable. I was like, "What is in my world?") Oh, I totally get this survival mode, check, guess what, but then, a few months later, when we moved and all this stuff, and, and she's like, "You know, you don't need to be in that mode anymore." And I was like, "Oh, I'm still driving in that mode." (Maggie: Yeah) And so it's like, it's so good that we can tap into that, it's so good that we have the ability to protect ourselves when needed, because, you know, sometimes you're walking down the street with like, maybe somebody you want to, like, have a contract, book deal, (Maggie: Yeah) or a screenwriting thing with and someone steals something at you, you don't exactly always get to just go eff off, whatever (Maggie: Yeah) you might have to like, just ignore that that happened to you. So it's good to have that ability to put those protectors up. But we also be able to take them down.Maggie Daniels 7:10  Yes, yes. And the key to that is, I feel like in a way you you find your inner child voice, you protect them, you let them know that they're safe with you. And then you show them that they don't have to be afraid anymore. And I (Lesley: Yeah) feel like that's a process of delayering all of that. (Lesley: Yeah) And I'm not sure where I am on that process. (Lesley laughs) But I have found so much relief with writing, especially with my film once I got done with the first draft, I really felt like things I've been holding on for years I just placed on the characters like they have to carry that shit. Now it's not mine. And it, ah I can't even describe it. It's just such a relief.Lesley Logan 7:51  So I find this really fascinating. So okay, first of all, because I lived in LA and so I was around people who everybody's writer, everybody's director, ever... And I I would love to hear your how you got into doing that. Because that is also like, that's there's like 1000 stories that people tell themselves every day in Hollywood. And they actually have the access and the means and the agents and like, "I don't know where you live right now." But like how how did you get about to writing, writing this film, and then getting it put together and where it is now?Maggie Daniels 8:23  Well, honestly, it was, it's been a long time coming. I've been working on it for about 10 years, because for so many of those years, I had that voice blocking me. And I it's like Donnie Darko, if you haven't seen it, there's this like thing that comes out of his chest, and he follows it. And that's how I feel with writing. I'm just being pulled from my chest. And I feel like there's so much pressure, if I don't write, I'm gonna burst. And that's really what motivated me to really keep the interest and really like work through the hard... the hardness of it. And once I sat down and really wrote the script, when I knew what I was doing, I had to sign up for a writing class because I was really insecure. I looked up the formatting, but I didn't know if like I had it right. And I booked a class with the writer, Diane Bell, and she changed my life. And it was the first time that someone came up to me and was like, "You get it. This is good. Like this is better than good. Like, this is something." And so I don't know having that outside voice and growing up being like emotionally abused. I've never had those like compliments. So it was like hard to process at the time. But it's it's really changed my life and the whole like the rest is noise that she always reminds me of it really is. I've I've had some highs and lows on this project, but it just keeps getting better. (Lesley: Yeah) And if you just keep moving forward. I like to think of it. It's an old old Christmas movie cartoon about Santa Claus that they play on ABC Family every year, I forget the name of it. But it might be Kris Kringle, but he has a song with the Father Ice. And it's one foot in front of the other. And if you just put one foot in front of the other, soon, you'll be walking across the floor, you put one foot in front of the other soon, you'll be out the door. And I feel that plays out in life, if you just keep going, you'll get to your destination.Lesley Logan 10:25  Oh my gosh, this is amazing. I feel like I'm like, so grateful for this conversation right now. Because you know, when you're in the middle, when you know all these things, like you know, all these things, I mean I know it. I know you have one foot, but sometimes you like get stuck. You just get stuck (Maggie: You do.) in your own head, (Maggie: You do.) you tell yourself a story and you're just like stuck in your own head. And like the story I'm telling myself right now is like, there's just like, we're not, we don't have enough time. (Maggie: Yeah, yeah.) And I, this is a story I'll that will come up, like, pretty much every other year. And it becomes like the thing. And it's such an interesting thing. Because I think a lot of people who are listening this will blame themselves because they should know better. (Maggie: Yeah) They like ... (Maggie: I feel that way sometimes too.) "I should know better. I tell my clients this. I tell my, I tell my kids, this. I, all these things," we read the books, (Maggie: Yeah) and but you, you know, we're not perfect people you (Maggie: No) cannot like and sometimes that voice that you thought you turned down found a way to like, untie hands (Maggie: tic tac) and it goes 'tick, tick, tick.' Let me, if I just do it a little bit at a time, they won't notice, they won't (Maggie: Yeah) notice the volume going up. And you know, I think it's um, it's so important to just remember that you are going to get in your own way. And it's so important that when when someone comes into your life in a moment to just say that one thing or there's a song playing like, like, it's, it's happening to help get you out of it. And if we just pay attention a little bit, we can go, "Oh," and then be forgiving, that we may be took a little longer to (Maggie: Yeah) remember that.Maggie Daniels 11:59  Yeah. I'm slowly learning that the word 'no' is not scary. It's not scary. Every 'no' leads to a better yes. (Lesley: Yeah.) You just have to get through it. And if if you find it hard to motivate yourself, find a community. (Lesley: Yeah) Even if it's just one person where you're like, "Hey, my weekly checkup. How's it going?" (Lesley: Yeah.) You it's really about community. And it's the whole who you know, not what you know, really in life who you know, really changes the game. (Lesley: Well you ...) For creativity or anything.Lesley Logan 12:38  I have to I want to go back to the fact that you like signed up for a class because I think (Maggie: Yeah) this is really key. I really like (Maggie: finding people) finding people. So here's the thing, I just interviewed this guy who John Molluro, Mollura. And he was a rocket scientist, who is a photographer, and he is now like he like he has been for many, many years, full time photographer, like, that's his thing, right? (Maggie: Yeah) That's how he pays his bills. And I had asked him, I said, well, like how, like, give me some like, "What your BE IT action item?" and he said, "You have to invest in your idea." (Maggie: Yeah) Like you have to hire someone. And that ... (Maggie: ... doing) Yeah, and that's where people get stuck. Because they'll tell themselves, "I don't have the money ... I don't have this or (Maggie: Yeah) this is why should I spend money on this as just a writing class." (Maggie: Yeah) Like people will say that as opposed to like, it's, you know, not something that like makes sense. But (Maggie: Yeah) if you invest in an idea that you have. You like first of all, you get someone who had more information than you have, there are few more steps ahead. And you're literally showing your brain and the universe and the people around you, "This means a lot to me."Maggie Daniels 13:45  Yeah. I spent my last like $300 on that workshop at the time. I had nothing to my name. And I just went every every week. And it gave me so much life and it's it's literally changed my life. And I don't want to go back to not pursuing my dreams. And the thing is people don't feel comfortable asking for help, ask for help. No one knows what they're doing. Everyone use Google for spellcheck like c'mom. Like we're in an age of it's so easy to find your community because of access online. Like you can find somebody that matches your energy, that you can communicate with, that's going to have the answer, you're looking for. Just pat get get through that discomfort if you're like shy, intimidated, like everyone's awkward, you know what I mean? But if you're just being genuinely yourself, the whole fake it till you make it, is it's expired. Everyone wants kindness, everyone wants a genuine authenticity. So just be yourself and ask for help.Lesley Logan 14:49  Yeah ... yeah, well and I read the the book - Rejection Proof this year and Oh, Maggie put it on your book list. I mean, like you mentioned like, 'no isn't a bad thing.' He went on 100 day like rejection journey. And he came up with like creative ways like to get rejected so he can get over his fear of rejection, because that's what people have the fear. That's what's holding them all back. And we and I definitely want to get into your poetry because I think like that right there. Like every time you get up and speak poetry, I feel like it's like comedians, anyone who does stand up, like you're just putting yourself up there to be rejected, because not everyone's going to like what you do anyways. So anyway, but the book he like, did crazy things like he knocked on people's doors in Texas on a super on like a football Sunday. I was like, "Hey, can I go in your backyard and take a picture of me kicking a ball?" And like, people were like, "Yeah." You'd be surprised. Like, I had said earlier in the year, I want the specific person on my podcast, if you know, her, helped me out. And then I was just like, "I'm just going to ask her myself." And she said, (Maggie: Yeah) "Yes." And I'm interviewing her next week. So like, I think, we pre reject. We like put the rejection there before it's even even happened before like it can even happen and then we build up this, this event that's going to happen that even if people actually reject your idea won't be as bad as you just dream up in your head.Maggie Daniels 16:13  Dude and it always can even lead to something better. Like don't even if you get rejected by someone don't burn that it's not a burn bridge is professionalism. Like it's not a burn bridge, you can still maybe spark a friendship, like my favorite rejection that I've experienced so far. Because I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't know it was like, not appropriate till just like send someone your script. (Lesley laughs) I didn't know that. So I was just sending people my script that I thought vibed with the story. (Lesley: I love you.) Yeah. (Lesley: Love that so much.) Poems and shit. I didn't know. And so at the time, it was during the pandemic, and the comedian, Byron Bowers was doing like, Zoom meetings. And it's just like six or seven of us from around the world that met every week. And we all like, had like trauma problems, and we all bonded on trauma and stuff. And one day, he was talking about city life, and it reminded me in my film, so I just sent him the quick dropbox link on Instagram, DM, and he immediately sent me back like a whole lawyer response, like, 'blah, blah, blah.' And yeah, totally professional it's fine. But my heart went into my ass, okay, like I was so just cringe embarrassed. And then my husband was like, "Oh, it's no big deal. Like, that's just like what it is. It's just professionalism." He just reminded me and I breathed it out took some dabs. I was like, "okay, namaste." And then the next morning, I just hopped on the group chat, and it wasn't like one awkward or anything. It was just like, keep pushing. And long term like six few months later. I was in LA, we go on a hike. We ended up becoming really great friends. Like, really awesome, dude. I love comedians now. Comedians are like, my favorite human beings. Comedians and musicians have (Lesley: Yeah) have the best souls, I swear to God. (Lesley Yeah) But yeah, so that experience for me, just makes me not scared of 'no' anymore, because now he's like, I just I appreciate his friendship. Like, you know what I mean?Lesley Logan 18:15  Well, and also like, I think it's, I think it's so great that you just showed up because you didn't make it a thing. And I (Maggie: Yeah) think like, the things are only there because we make things ...Maggie Daniels 18:27  Exactly, I made it up in my head. He didn't have any thought. And you know, like, there was nothing registered.Lesley Logan 18:33  Yeah, he sent you that response. Because probably there like if he reads that. And then somehow he makes a film and you're like, "Hey, I have that line on my thing."Maggie Daniels 18:41  I know. I'm ... he explained it to me, it's a thing. It's a thing. (Lesley: It's a thing. It's a whole thing.) I didn't know.Lesley Logan 18:45  Yeah. And so you know, but like, I love that you shared the story. And I loved how I love how the story has progressed in your life, because it is something we can all remember, you know, (Maggie: Yeah) like, some like, I just think it's interesting. We, I think anybody listen to this, who has held themselves some whoppers. I think you should go into writing because (Maggie: Yeah) look at what, look at the stories you've made up ...Maggie Daniels 19:08  And you know what's crazy? Is S                                                                                          wimming probably wouldn't have happened if I didn't keep going to that Zoom meeting. Because we talked about some really deep stuff. And one day he started talking about like, writing writers, and he was just asking, because he knew some of us wrote poetry in the group and wrote whatever, then he knew I was a writer because I embarrassed the shit out myself. And he was asking, you know, like, how many times a day do you write and that was the conversation like, if you like and I said how often I write. He was like, "Oh, that's pretty. That's pretty like that's like, above average." You know? I was like, "Yeah, I do have a lot sitting around like, I should just like what am I doing? I'm just sleeping on it." So like, because of that conversation with Byron like that week I got Swimming together and ended up publishing it later in the year. And when we went on that hike in LA, I brought him a copy. And there's actually a poem I wrote about the Zoom meeting. It's called Zoom. And Swimming, it's called the Zoom. But yeah, it's I haven't kept showing up and getting that creative input and inspiration from my own community of related minds. (Lesley: Yeah) I don't think I would be on this interview right now talking about my book.Lesley Logan 19:08  Well, let's so let's talk about that. So so Swimming is your book. (Maggie: Yeah) And so and you know, and y'all can get it. We'll put it in the link in the in the notes below. But how? Okay, so you just started, like, you went to these meetings. (Maggie: Yeah) And he, he told you like, "Oh, you're writing more than the average person." (Maggie: Yeah.) And it's so again, we go back to like, we talked about this a lot in the podcast for those been listening for a long time. We keep talking about surrounding yourself with people, like you have got a community around like you, you put yourself in a creative network, and you showed up. (Maggie: Yeah) And you not only do you get feedback, but you get ideas. (Maggie: Yeah) And so, so not only had had that not happened, you wouldn't have this book. So what made, what was the process? And like, how, how did you talk yourself into publishing? Because putting it all together, as one thing, (Maggie: Yeah) put it out for the world to read is a whole other thing.Maggie Daniels 20:56  Yeah. Okay. So first, I went to Google, because that's my best friend. And I Googled, like, "How to Self Publish?" And I didn't want to do to do Amazon because everything like Amazon to me, it's just books get lost, I mean, their number one retailer for books, I don't hate on ... I love the Amazon. But I just didn't ...We love Amazon, too. We got stuff on there, too. (Maggie: I just didn't want ...) In case Jeff is listening. Don't worry, Jeff.Yeah. I just didn't want to get lost in the massiveness of it. (Lesley: Yeah) I just wanted it to be a book only thing. So I looked into Barnes & Noble. And Barnes & Noble, if you go through Barnes & Noble Press, you can publish, self publish. And so they (Lesley: I didn't know this.) the book. Yeah, it's amazing. They print the book. And they don't take that much. Like I told my cousin has been an author for many decades. And she only makes a couple cents. And she's got trilogies, she only makes a couple cents. And I make like almost $4 per book through Barnes & Noble Press.Lesley Logan 22:25  And also, y'all just so you know, when you see like, self publishing is, like, when it first came out, we're like, "Oh, yourself," like, it was a thing. But now like, (Maggie: Yeah) a lot of writers are self publishing. Because when you go through a publishing company, there is a lot more input on what you're writing. (Maggie: Yep.) And you have to sell whatever amount pass your advance before you start getting paid on it. So it's, anyways, it's really is like six one way half a dozen other of course, if you get published by a publishing house, you know, obviously, there's other things (Maggie: Yeah) can happen for you. But we self published, I did it through Amazon. And, you know, we on the we don't do the Kindle version, that's where we, so that's where ...Maggie Daniels 23:09  I couldn't figure out the formatting to save my life.Lesley Logan 23:11  Well. And also like, you I couldn't price the book at a place that would get me more than 99 cents. And I this was like, I this the actual everything that went into this, my team, myself everything, like I just, I want you to value this book, because I want you to read it. And I do believe that when you pay for things like your class, (Maggie: Yeah) it was like your last $300. I do believe that. Because from my own experience, like (Maggie: Yeah) I paid for college, so you better believe was in fucking every class. (Maggie: Yeah. Yeah.) I was like, "This class is cost me $700. I'm not fucking missing.") (Maggie: Yeah, exactly.) So I, um, so I just really wanted my book because it's for for business people to actually be something that they read. (Maggie: Yeah) So we print through Amazon. And then if you want the e-book, you get it through our site. So it's just just a little bit more under our control. But I think that's so cool. So (Maggie: Yeah) like, y'all, all she did was go to her best friend Google, 'how to self publish', and then did some research. And now you're, Barnes & Nobles that's a big fucking deal.Maggie Daniels 24:09  I know. I feel classy as shit everytime I say it. Yeah. But Barnes & Noble and I got picked on. I couldn't read as a kid. Okay, I learned how to read through reading poetry. It just clicked for my brain. And so to be in Barnes & Noble, it just blows my mind.Lesley Logan 24:27  Can we talk about that? Because you were were dyslexic. Correct? (Maggie: Yes. Yeah.) Yeah. And so that again, just another story we can tell ourselves about reading and writing. And you are a script writer, a film writer, and you have a book and and tell me, so what about poetry? Because like, that is that one I think is the most the writing genre that most people are misunderstood about what poetry actually is. And I think more people can be poets than we think.Maggie Daniels 24:52  Oh, man, the thing I love about poetry is there are no rules. And I think that's what drove, well, I didn't get go to college. I'm sure there are rules. I follow up poets that are in college on Twitter and don't know what the fuck they're talking about. So sorry in advance. (Lesley laughs) But to me growing up, I got the impression that there are no rules and poetry. And I used to get in arguments with English teachers, because I would get pop quizzes during Poetry Month. And they'd be like, "How is this line supposed to make you feel?" And I'm like, "You can't fucking do that." You can't like you can't, you know there's no correct answer in that. (Lesley: Right) It's gonna make you feel how it makes you feel. And it's already done it's work for the writer. So don't worry about how the writer wanted it to be. It's done (Lesley: Yeah) its work for them. It's all about how it makes you feel in the moment. And I would get really heated about that. But poetry just it clicks for my brain. My mom was really passionate about tutoring me after school and I had tutors during school. Hated it at the time, I would come home and be like, "It's killing me." Yeah, that was really dramatic.Lesley Logan 25:56  Yeah, that's hard. Oh, that has to be hard. I mean, like, nowadays, if you have if you're dyslexic, there's like the schools are ready for it. But I don't know (Maggie: Yeah) how old you are. I feel like we're about the same age and like, my uncle was dyslexic. He's a doctor. Right. (Maggie: Yeah) But like, he really struggled because no, people just thought he was like he couldn't read.Maggie Daniels 26:14  Yeah, they just want to put you in on the short bus.Lesley Logan 26:16  Yeah. They're like, "Oh, there's something wrong with this kid. He can't read." It's like, "No, he can't... He's dyslexic."Maggie Daniels 26:21  Yeah, I just can't read it at the level there reading at, it's fine. And then I learn all this stuff. And then you grow up. And then professional businesses are spelling shit wrong. I'm like, "What was this even for?"Lesley Logan 26:33  I know. I do whenever I see an error. And I think I was reading one of Oprah's recent books. And there I've read the sentence three times. I'm like, "That was the wrong word. That there's something wrong with this word, like it's missing an R or something's (Maggie: Yeah) wrong here." And I was like, and I laughed so hard. I was like, I am, you know, like, obviously, you don't want to have the, like, you could put the wrong word with the wrong meeting. So you (Maggie: Yeah) definitely have the right meaning in there. But you can also spell word wrong, and it's gonna be okay. Because people's brains are just scanning anyways.Maggie Daniels 27:03  So, you know, I went over with a toothpick, my book Swimming so many times, but there's still one misspelled word and it eats me alive. I won't say it ... But that's my bad.Lesley Logan 27:16  You know, maybe, but it's also a part of the poet, poetry of it, right? It's part of the creativity of it.Maggie Daniels 27:21  Yeah, whenever I send my script for edits to my producer, he's like, "So many edits and my ..."Lesley Logan 27:29  Well, we had another writer on and she said, was worried about grammar (Maggie: Ah fuck them, fuck grammer.) And somebody said, somebody said, there's but that's why there's writers and there's editors.Maggie Daniels 27:40  Editors. Yeah. That's not my department.Lesley Logan 27:43  Yeah, just like, you know, so oh, my goodness, Maggie, you are really awesome. I mean, you know that but I really, I really do love this authenticity that you you bring up and I think I've even if somebody listen to this is not a writer doesn't want to be a writer, like you can relate so much to your story, which is like, we all have had times in our life where we didn't think we're good enough. And we all need people to remind us that what we have is good. (Maggie: Yeah) And it's and it needs to be out there. And I'm just so grateful for the angels that were put into your life to make sure that you did this so that you could share your story with our listeners today. Because they need to hear you, they need to hear this.Maggie Daniels 28:23  Definitely, definitely makes you feel a little less alone in the world when someone says something that makes sense to you.Lesley Logan 28:31  Yeah, well, we're gonna take a quick little break and then we're gonna find out how people can find you, follow you and read all of your work. (Maggie: Awesome.)All right, Maggie, where do you hang out? Are you on the socials? Where can people get to read more of your work in here and what are you up to?Maggie Daniels 28:48  maggielogic.com has all the links to my socials. Instagram is at @maggielogic, and you can buy Swimming at barnesandnoble.com. I'm currently sold out on maggielogic.com. I gotta order some more books. (Lesley: Yeah) But you can also check out the really awesome audio book on all music streaming services, Spotify, iTunes, YouTube, Amazon Music, all of them. It's really awesome. I teamed up with the composers Corey Campbell and Jenna Desmond out of Charleston, South Carolina and Mike Henderson and out of Colorado for recording studio. And it's masterpiece. I'm reading it and my my friends joke with me. They're like, "Who'd you, who'd you get to read your book." And I was like, "Me, I say it that in the beginning. And it's me." (Lesley laughs) I was in character. And that was the first time I read the book from cover to cover. And it was it was it was it took its toll. I did take some breaks. It was emotional. So shout out to voice ... voice-over artists. It's a lot.Lesley Logan 29:51  Yeah, that's that's a skill that I think a lot of be like, "Oh, I should like I should be a voice-over person." Like ...Maggie Daniels 29:57  It takes a lot out of you. It really does. (Lesley: Yeah) It really does. (Lesley: Yeah) It was fun. It was fun. It was fun.Lesley Logan 30:02  I hope that you do more work. I hope that you, I hope this is first of many, and (Maggie: Oh yeah. I got two more books coming out.) Ah, okay, keep us posted on that. (Maggie: Will do.) I definitely, I'm really excited about what you're doing. Okay. So before we let you go, BE IT action items, bold, executable, intrinsic or targeted steps people can take to be it till they see it. What do you have?Maggie Daniels 30:24  Definitely, number one, find your people because when you have your low days, you need that extra motivation and always show up for them and they'll show up for you. And number two, I would microdose your tasks. So just like working out 10 or 20 sounds a lot but you can do five and five sounds a lot, you can do four. So like just a couple minutes a notepad if you'd like to write or I just sometimes just write notes on my phone, you always have your phone on you. If that's your genre, you know if you want to write but yeah, just microdose your tasks and yeah.Lesley Logan 31:01  I like that. I like that a lot. Okay, Maggie, you're amazing. Thank you for being here and thank you for sharing your story and all that you're up to. I'm leaving very inspired. I hope everyone listening is, well how are you going to use these tips in your life. Tag @maggielogic, tag the @be_it_pod. Let us know and please share this podcast with someone. If you don't know how to share it on the on the gram, I get it like not everyone's a professional, social media person then text it, screenshot it, send it however you can because not only does it help our our guests out, it helps the podcasts up but most importantly helps all of the people in your life out. You know if everybody is getting this powerful inspiration dose each day, then the world is a much better place. So until next time everyone, Be It Till You See It.Transcribed by https://otter.aiSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/be-it-till-you-see-it/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

I've come to realize that while the central themes of this podcast have been creativity, courage, and curiosity, the deepest core of this is our identity. Today, I'll be covering how some of my guests have uncovered their truest identities, whether you can truly change your identity, and what this whole identity crisis and searching is really all about.  You'll be hearing 10 excerpts from my last 100 episodes that I carefully curated because they've meant something to me, and I surmise, they can change the way you think about getting to know yourself. When it comes to our personal evolutions of who we are, I have noticed three types of moments that truly make an impact on our identities.  The first type is how traumatic experiences can put our identities in question. Such as Cepee Tabibian, Co-Founder of She Hit Refresh, who lost her two parents back-to-back and decided to leave a good Texan life for a great Spanish existence (Episode 45), and Marshall Dun, who after losing his brother to suicide, he learned how to trust himself and detach his identity from the allure of external desires and riches to become a spiritual leader. (Episode 60). The second type is those expansive moments that stretch our identities. For instance, Raphael Rowe leveraged the world of media and journalists to help him clear his name so he could eventually become a journalist himself for the BBC and on the Netflix series Inside the World's Toughest Prisons (Episode 89). The James Beard Award Recipient, Gabriele Corcos, also stretched his identity when he started out as a percussionist, then decided to become an entrepreneur, then farmer, and eventually, a politician (Episode 47). The third type is those rising moments such as when World Rugby Hall of Famer Phaidra Knight felt this push to greatness from her family, she decided to rise up to the challenge – including the challenge of expectations (Episode 17). Also, when I interviewed James Altucher back in Episodes 5 & 6, I knew I had to rise up to the occasion if I wanted to become a podcaster and interview my first multimillionaire. So I had to step up to the plate and figure it out.  You can be told to be someone by everyone and you can perform for everyone else's claps. However, ultimately, it is not until you decide to learn about what you want, and who you want to be that you will begin to truly live your life. It's that journey, which many of us avoid taking, that we can ever become who we were meant to be. You cannot watch someone else on their journey and expect to get to know yourself and change. You just have to be willing to take meaningful steps in your own evolution and feel every emotion that comes your way. My plan is to delve into these emotions next. So what emotions would you like me to feature in my next 100-podcasts? Any ones that have been a struggle? I want to hear from you! And, if you want to learn more about my Courage Makerspace online mastermind program and how it can help you boost your courage, I'm only a DM or email (Melissa[@]melissallarena.com) away.  Highlights Jonathan Arons, Episode 4 Music: You will surely get to know yourself when you are pissed off. Jonathan Arons uncovered that music was his muse and he was able to leverage his sensitivities as a child in order to find the courage to be who he has become today. Art or music is all about feeling. It's the most universal way to connect with anybody from any walk of life.  David Roberts, Episode 18 Joy: You get to know yourself when you are elated or when you have access to an experience or an emotion that makes you feel like joy is personified. New York Times bestselling illustrator David Roberts talks about imagination in this interview.  Michelle Ghilotti, Episode 7 Grief: Former Starbucks and Nike advertising executive turned entrepreneur Michelle Ghilotti decided to create an expanse during a period of her life when she had the option to recoil after losing loved ones in her life. She decided to grieve in the community while also acknowledging how other people experienced grief in their own ways. Sree Sreenivasan, Episode 11 Ask: You will get to know yourself when you have to be vulnerable and ask for help. Sree Sreenivasan, former Chief Digital Officer of New York City, used the power of social media to leverage his network and ultimately realized that people want to help.  Jeff Bollow, Episode 78 Love: You will get to know yourself when you let love in. Award-winning filmmaker Jeff Bollow shared his perspective and sense of humor on being an older dad. He offers up a metaphor for how having a son and this new identity as a dad has changed his perspective, quite a lot.   Beth Comstock, Episode 65 Mama's Love: You will get to know yourself when you let love in as a mom. Former CMO of GE, Beth Comstock talks about how being a mom helped her as a people leader. She talks about learning how to ask for help because you can't do everything. Ask your partner, your kids, and your colleagues for help. Diane Bell, Episode 21 Opportunity: You will definitely get to know yourself when doors get slammed in your face, especially if you're exploring or making your way into a new identity. Award-winning screenwriter and director Diane Bell talks about how she was going to do a movie with Mickey Rourke and then all of a sudden, she got an email that could have shattered heard, but didn't. Victor Hanning, Episode 68 Senses: You get to know yourself when you let yourself become absorbed by your senses. Witness how rockstar Victor Hanning came up with his sad songs, and how he leveraged his emotions, even sad and dark emotions to create something of beauty. And it has helped him evolve as a human as well. Muyambi, Episode 51 Passion: You get to know yourself when you can finally start to think beyond yourself. Muyambi, founder of a nonprofit called Cycle Connect talks about how we can all be passionate about issues beyond our borders. He provides practical steps in getting started with your cause-based journey. Suzy Batiz, Episode 67 Trust: You will definitely get to know yourself when you find someone who can actually see you for who you are. Self-made female millionaire, Suzy Batiz talks about how you don't have to have other people trust to look at what you've done. What can you do now without the trauma attached to it?  Courage: Get to know yourself by letting yourself see yourself for who you have become. And that takes courage. Allowing yourself to be courageous is how you let your emotions enter your life, and ultimately, guide you.  Change: Keep what you love about yourself and accept or change what you may not like very much. Make that change without shame and resentment.  Links to continue to learn from: Episode 5: https://www.melissallarena.com/james-altucher-2/ Episode 6: https://www.melissallarena.com/james-altucher/ Episode 45: https://www.melissallarena.com/cepee-tabibian-founder-of-she-hit-refresh-talks-about-traveling-aboard-building-a-global-community-for-women-and-creating-a-new-identity-episode-45/ Episode 60: https://www.melissallarena.com/how-to-find-your-higher-purpose-marshall-dunn-episode-60/ Episode 89: https://www.melissallarena.com/from-prisoner-to-presenter-raphael-rowe-gives-a-behind-the-scenes-look-into-the-netflix-show-inside-the-worlds-toughest-prisons/ Episode 47: https://www.melissallarena.com/gabriele-corcos-talks-about-continuing-to-dream-technology-and-agriculture-and-why-its-never-too-late-to-change-episode-47/ Episode 17: https://www.melissallarena.com/phaidra-knight-on-the-importance-of-equality-and-feeling-limitless-episode-17/  The 10 Episodes: Episode 2: https://www.melissallarena.com/jonathan-arons-2/ Episode 18: https://www.melissallarena.com/david-roberts-talks-about-imagination-following-our-childrens-lead-and-feedback/ Episode 7: https://www.melissallarena.com/michelle-ghilotti/ Episode 11: https://www.melissallarena.com/sree-sreenivasan/ Episode 78: https://www.melissallarena.com/award-winning-filmmaker-jeff-bollow-on-expanding-your-imagination-exponentially-episode-78/ Episode 65: https://www.melissallarena.com/granting-yourself-permission-to-explore-beth-comstock-episode-65/ Episode 21: https://www.melissallarena.com/diane-bell-screenwriter-and-director-talks-on-overcoming-obstacles-embracing-creativity-and-how-to-stand-out/ Episode 68: https://www.melissallarena.com/the-life-and-times-of-a-rockstar-with-the-former-frontman-of-the-jangletones-victor-hanning-episode-68/ Episode 51: https://www.melissallarena.com/muyambi-cycle-connect-social-entrepreneurship-episode-51/ Episode 67: https://www.melissallarena.com/suzybatiz-shares-the-wisdom-the-cherishes-for-giving-her-the-freedom-and-ability-to-trust-herself-and-accept-whatever-comes-her-wa-episode-67/  About Melissa Llarena Melissa brings a makerspace mindset that is laser-focused on creatively making space for courage for those with a big message to share with the world. A makerspace is a collaborative workspace with very different tools meant for making things fueled by active imaginations. In a makerspace, the goal is to inspire new creations. In Melissa's program called Courage Makerspace ™ we are making space for courage in your daily life so that you can become an incredible thought leader who has the courage to connect, communicate, and create something incredible that will have an impact on the world.  What makes Courage Makerspace™ different is that it uniquely brings an interdisciplinary and creative approach to high-performance coaching. This online program is based on psychological principles, the art of storytelling, and incorporates proprietary experiential tools that harness the power of our imagination. Melissa has infused proven strategies and insights that have empowered clients around the world.  Her background includes a psychology degree from NYU, an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, and she holds a Transformational Coaching Academy certificate based on Tony Robbins principles and Landmark Education insights. She is a native New Yorker who has lived/worked in Paris as well as London, and courageously relocated to Sydney, Australia with her family. Want to be a COURAGEOUS human who is fulfilling their life purpose? If you intend to become a thought leader and have the courage to accomplish your life purpose faster than you've imagined possible, book an appointment with me in the next 24 hours. We're going to assess where you are on this confidence journey, then we're going to put our heads together and come up with a step-by-step game plan to define how you can rebuild your courage when you need it. Book this free session by going to http://www.melissallarena.com/sessions. Love An Interview With Melissa Llarena podcast? You can now support my time in producing the show with Patreon If you find that the podcast inspires you and you'd like to help support this labor of love, please consider supporting me on Patreon for a couple of dollars per month. You'll get early access to my video-recorded episodes featuring unreleased guest insights; your name and/or business will be mentioned during an episode.  You'll also see how I have connected with powerful world leaders so that you can network more effectively in any field or help you pitch hard-to-reach guests on your own platform. Then if you are feeling extra generous for only $10/a month, you'll get everything previously mentioned plus be invited to my monthly LIVE 30-Minute “Ball Juggling” Group Calls where I'll field your business or work-life questions, podcast/guest questions, and share with you courage hacks and imaginative tips so you can feel sane, level-headed, and stay on track pertaining to your upcoming goals. Want to continue the conversation? Find me on Instagram! You can read my daily mini-blogs centered on the same three topics that my podcast features: creativity, courage, and curiosity. I believe that without all three it would be impossible to solve the challenges we were each uniquely made to solve. Wouldn't you agree? I'm easy to find on Instagram @melissallarena Rather keep it professional? Let's connect on LinkedIn. I encourage every single podcast listener to connect with me.

Special Edition: The Life Sciences and Healthcare sectors are transforming faster than ever, and there is no-one more central to that transformation than their ultimate customers: patients. This is a special episode brought to you by Shrinivas Anikhindi, author of our Life Sciences editorial Second Opinion, who has taken a deeper look into this transformation with the help of expert guests Paul Simms and Dr. Diane Bell about their experience with this transformation and their advice on how to get it right. Clips included in this podcast for the purpose of commentary fall under Fair Use policies. Fair dealing for criticism, review or quotation is allowed for any type of copyright work. Clips: King's Fund, University of Exeter, Harvard Business School.

Collectively, moms have confronted a lot of uncertain moments historically. Some of us have gone to give birth with a plan and had to make adjustments. Others thought they were going to adopt a particular child and then the legal system changed her plans. Yet, 2021 felt a little different. It was the year that according to one Reuters article about 2 million moms were pushed out of the workforce.  The article that I am referencing is this one entitled: Pushed out by pandemic, women struggle to regain footing in U.S. job market, by Jonnelle Marte and Aleksandra Michalska. In this article, you can witness how two moms who were featured are thinking through their career options, childcare constraints, and whether they will return to the workplace anytime soon. Despite this episode being a dedication to those 2 million moms who were impacted by the pandemic, this episode is an important one to bookmark whether you are a mom or not. Here’s why: You too will feel the impact from such a void in the workplace. You have to admit there is something unique about a mother’s touch: be it her care, conviction, or deep-seated loyalty. If it’s easier for you to get what I am referring to. Do this: Think about whatever you may have felt from a maternal figure in your life. It’s that tenderness, warmth, or concern.  That is exactly what will be missing in the products and services that will no longer have the benefit of being ideated, sold, or enhanced by a mom. Realize that moms are the ones who not only care about the here-and-now but moms are all also already tied-into and invested in what will bear fruit tomorrow. All moms want the best for their children. What will ultimately be missing or what is at stake are the “best” innovations and solutions to problems that must be solved. The best answers to meaningful questions will be at stake. Answers provided with the best intentions. Offerings making good on the promise to deliver the best experiences. Seems like a void worth filling? Don’t you think? Tune in. This conversation is worth your time. Too few moms will share what’s on their mind and fewer will reach out to you for help. Listen to this episode so that you can be a better friend or advocate during any mom’s career journey. And if you are a mom then welcome fellow warrior. There’s a lot to cover here. Share this episode with three moms who left their workplaces (voluntarily or not) yet wish to return because they know they have yet to unleash their greatest potential. What’s that saying? A mom’s job is never done? Yep, that mom who has more to accomplish in her career. She needs to hear this episode. Highlights Invitation: Join me on a 60-minute complimentary breakthrough session if you’d like guidance around these themes. This week my calendar is reserved for moms in marketing. Focus: How to courageously make a bold career transition with the help the strangers Fear: Why hesitation happens especially for nurturers who tend to look out for others. Story: What if only you knew something important? Would you withhold the information? Action: How to make sure you will boldly ask for help despite fears of rejection. Self-Esteem: How to rediscover and believe in your worth if you've ever felt undervalued in any job market Resentment: What if you undervalue yourself because of a resume gap? Being Low-balled: Whose fault is it? Credit: What if you pursue a junior role? Assumptions: How can hiring managers stop themselves from making assumptions about moms? Courage: What other podcast guests can you listen to who are moms? Curiosity: How to ask better questions that you’ll want to use to make better career decisions? Questions: What to ask to ascertain whether you will be happier in a new employer. Unexpected: Will exceptions be made for the right moms? Ask Now Or Regret Later: Keep probing the right people. Commercial Self-Confidence: Undervalue yourself and expect to be undervalued. Ask For Help: Sign-up for a complimentary breakthrough session with me. Be ready for your next best career move. It starts today.   Schedule your complimentary breakthrough session for job searching marketers. Book time on my calendar and get ready to get the clarity you need to attract the best employers.   Ready to pivot into a new marketing full-time role this year?   Register for a complimentary masterclass entitled: The 5-Step Strategy Marketers Use To Pivot Into Their Dream Marketing Career (Without Undervaluing Themselves)!   Other podcast episodes featuring moms   Hear How Michelle Ghilotti, a Former Starbucks and Nike Advertising Executive Turned Entrepreneur Decided to Live More Courageously, Episode 7     Caitlyn Elf, Registered Dietitian and Mom, Shares How to Make Eating a Learning Experience Even Snacking in Isolation, Discusses Changing Careers From Marketing Into Nutrition, and How To Keep The Peace During Family Dinners, Episode 19   Diane Bell, Award-winning Screenwriter and Director Talks Openly On Overcoming Obstacles, Embracing Your Creativity, And How to Stand Out, Episode 21   Tana Douglas, Rock N’ Roll’s First Female Roadie, Talks About the Evolution of the Music Industry, Being a Roadie, and Taking Control of Your Future, Episode 41   Leesa McGregor, Author, Talks About Teaching Children and Adults How to Reconnect with Our Hearts and Minds, Episode 46   Michelle Florendo, Decision Engineer, Talks About Decision-Making, Good vs. Bad Decisions, and Identifying Your Desired Outcome, Episode 48   Should College Pedigree Matter? Apparently Not. First-Generation College Graduate And Lifelong Educator Alicia Jackson-Warren Makes The Case Hiring Managers Need To Hear, Episode 53   How To Lead In An Era Of Movements, Generosity As A Paradigm Of An Inclusive Activity Celebrated Worldwide, Asha Curran, Co-Founder Of GivingTuesday, Episode 55   Suzy Batiz Shares The Wisdom She Cherishes For Giving Her The Freedom And Ability To Trust Herself And Accept Whatever Comes Her Way, Episode 67

Bit of a long episode this week because there's so much ground to cover! We talk investors, grants, crowdfunding, and more. We reference Diane Bell's excellent film financing podcast ep a few times: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-40-raising-money-for-your-indie-film/id1494061399?i=1000493278693 Email: BreakingOutofBreakingInPod@gmail.com Follow: @BreakingOutPod Subscribe: BreakingOutPod.substack.com Music: KelseyRauber.com Art: KaileeCristina.com Editing: instagram.com/ezra.li

Crishon Jerome is a self-proclaimed “ARTrepreneur,” who takes pride in fusing his creative passions with his desire to become a successful businessman. While earning a B.A. in Government from Georgetown University, Crishon began exploring his gifts as a performing artist. He got his first taste of professional dancing with Cirque du Soleil. By pursuing his professional dance career, Crishon has traveled to places such as Spain, Italy, Portugal, Canada, Turkey, Egypt, Greece, Germany and Japan, where, despite cultural differences, he discovered dance to be a universal language.   When Crishon is not traveling for dance or directing his own projects, he spends his time enjoying fatherhood with his 7-year old daughter, Ella and expanding his company, CRōME, which focuses on creating immersive experiences in Fashion, Entertainment, Events, and most recently Virtual Reality. According to Crishon, CRōME speaks to those who believe in "achieving excellence.” He wants the brand to be a platform to educate and inspire new generations of individuals to pursue their dreams bravely and unapologetically.    Despite the challenges that he has endured throughout his life, including growing up impoverished and losing his father to gun violence at an early age, Crishon strongly believes in embracing adversity and evolving from the lessons learned.    Whereas some believe, “You Win Some, You Lose Some,” Crishon says “You Win Some, You Learn Some!” and when you learn, you still Win. So really, it’s all a Win-Win when we take the time to receive the lessons embedded within our obstacles.   As Crishon continues to grow CRōME, he finds it helpful and healthy to take his time these days. He maintains harmony through meditation, working out, running, and walking in nature. Crishon has this message to share with the world: “I believe that we all have the power to create the life that we want. There is nothing beyond our reach, and our success starts with self-love and a belief in our ability to overcome adversity. To me, obstacles are not designed to distract, deter, defeat or destroy us. Instead, I view obstacles as opportunities for us to honor the commitments that we have made to ourselves and our loved ones.” You’ll are in for an incredible conversation filled with a sense of peace and calm despite a high-energy career in an ultra competitive dance career, and unwavering commitment to excellence from an accomplished businessman who figured out how to break into his field of choice through a semi-backdoor; he “crashed” a dance audition with legendary dancing icon Frank Gatson, Jr. and landed a spot on the VMAs.    Highlights: Dancing is a fluid career filled with lots of movement and a constant sense of doing (9:15) Are you only as good as your last job? Not in dance (9:49) Crishon tunes in with his intuition by stepping out in nature and what being mindfully conscious of energy means. (10:29) How to focus on what is in your control (12:49) Georgetown provided a difficult experience rather than challenging, and this didn’t fit Crishon’s vision (15:09) How Crishon went from government studies to an opportunity with Cirque du Soleil during his freshman year (16:15) After college, a friend encouraged Crishon to follow his dancing career rather than government work (17:07) Crishon crashed an audition for the VMAs with Frank Gatson Jr. to dance for Frank Ocean. (21:00) Crishon has been facing challenge  head-on since being a kid, it’s who he is (27:47) Crishon’s time on Colbert in 2016 was an interesting and “cheeky” experience (34:42) Why Crishon is always ready and how being prepared is important (37:46) How to be present and bring a sense of peace with you even when your plans don’t happen (40:20) Crishon’s sweet message to his daughter so that she too will be ready. (43:33) What VR can look like and how his events/activation business has pivoted recently. (45:53)   Links to quench your curiosity: Learn more about Crishon’s company and its Instagram  Catch Crishon on Instagram You Do You by Sarah Knight What is the 30 Days of Excellence that Crishon & I are both participants of? Listen to my interview with Diane Bell - she, too, gave herself “permission” to be creative

Melissa Llarena is the host of An Interview With Melissa Llarena a podcast featuring weekly interviews with creative down-to-Earth experts (including Gary Vaynerchuk, James Altucher, a Sundance film winner Diane Bell, mega-celebrity photographer Nigel Parry, NYT-children's book illustrator David Roberts, and others including Gabriele Corcos a James Beard Award recipient) who are obsessed about what they do, openly reveal their tough career decisions, and whose stories will ignite a fire in your belly to help you build YOUR own out-of-the-box career. Be sure to visit her website to download for free her 9 tips to feel hopeful, empowered, and limitless on your career + life journey! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lenzomedia/support

"Nobody knows anything - So trust your heart and have the courage to follow it." - Diane Bell

Conoce más sobre los bienes raíces y estrategias para invertir. Nuestra invitada especial es Diane Bell de la tituladora WFG.

"before you can expect other people to bet on you, first you have to bet on yourself" - Diane Bell

Diane Bell-McKoy is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Associated Black Charities (ABC), a non-profit which focuses on education, policy design and innovative transactional and transformative strategies to eliminate the impact of structural racism and its adverse economic outcomes on the African American community.

Diane Bell is an award-winning screenwriter and director, who growing up didn’t think that was possible. In this episode, she shares how she overcame personal and professional obstacles in order to become a screenwriter. She describes how affirmations helped her, what she learned about embracing creativity (and how you can embrace yours), as well as, talks about how to stand out from the crowd, especially if you are in a sea of like-minded professionals. Diane also leaves us with some insightful and profound thoughts and questions, like, “How far are you willing to go to make it happen?” Diane’s first feature, OBSELIDIA, premiered in Dramatic Competition at Sundance, where it won two awards, and went on to play at festivals around the world and be nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards. Her second film, BLEEDING HEART, a drama starring Jessica Biel and Zosia Mamet, premiered at Tribeca, and is widely available on Amazon Prime and Hulu. Diane’s most recent feature, OF DUST AND BONES, has also been featured in festivals. Diane started her career in film as a screenwriter (before that she was a philosophy student and a yoga teacher), and she has written numerous commissioned and optioned scripts, including two with renowned director John McTiernan (director of Die Hard and The Hunt for Red October). Diane has been lucky enough to be a participant in the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, as well as the Women in Film/Sundance mentorship program, from which she learned tons.In addition to writing and directing films, she is passionate about sharing her knowledge to empower and inspire other filmmakers. Diane loves helping others break through their obstacles and achieve their dreams. Since 2014 she has taught workshops on how to make a successful indie film, and is thrilled to share this material in her book. If making movies is your dream, don’t let anything stop you! Tune in to hear Diane’s thoughts pertaining to: How she went from thinking this was impossible to I am possible even in show business. (4:43) When Diane realized cinema could be a possible career path, her first interest in writing screenwriting, and the negative doubts she battled. (7:06) How yoga helped her build a new sense of self before becoming a filmmaker. (9:25) Diane shares her original Mickey Rourke idea and later how she decided to go to the Cannes Film Festival and sought out Mickey Rourke to give him her script. (11:31) A key question for all scriptwriters (and even professionals of all industries): How far are you willing to go to make it happen and invest? (16:42) Diane details the ups and downs of her first feature-length film. (16:51) What courage has to do with creativity and how our natural state is to be creative, not afraid. (19:08) Diane talks on the envious nature and criticism of artists’ work. (22:46) How to get to a place of feeling as though you and your work matters. (27:18) The affirmation that helped Diane get through writing her first screenplay. (28:47) The process of screenwriting, working through the first draft (aka the vomit draft), and how to know when you're done. (34:08) Diane talks about emotionalizing affirmations. (35:52) One of the many lessons she’s learned as a screenwriter, including, how the world receives her work is not in her control. (45:59) An insightful piece of advice for screenwriters and directors: make the movie, not for fame or for money, to make the movie you want to make. (56:08) I asked Diane: In this market of content overload, how do you make yourself stand out? This same idea is one I’m asked as a career coach to marketing professionals so I was curious if Diane had any insights that are transferable across our audiences.  Hear what Diane says to a marketer whom I coached and is interested in producing her own film and is hoping to stand out. Links Follow Diane on Instagram Get to know Diane. Shop Diane’s book, Shoot From The Heart

* How Diane got started. * First film 2 awards at Sundance.* Meeting and having John McTiernan as a mentor.* Dealing with Producers* Her online filmmaking programme

Diane Bell is an award-winning screenwriter and director. Diane's first feature, "Obselidia," premiered in Dramatic Competition at Sundance, where it won 2 awards, and went on to play at festivals around the world and be nominated for 2 Independent Spirit Awards. Diane's second film, "Bleeding Heart," a drama starring Jessica Biel and Zosia Mamet, premiered at Tribeca, and is widely available on Amazon Prime and Hulu. Diane's latest feature is "Of Dust and Bones." Diane started in film as a screenwriter (before that Diane was a philosophy student and a yoga teacher) and has written numerous commissioned and optioned scripts, including 2 with renowned director John McTiernan (dir: "Die Hard" and "The Hunt For Red October"). Diane Bell has been a participant in the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, as well as the Women in Film/Sundance mentorship program. Diane was recently a finalist in the NBC Female Forward Directing initiative. In addition to writing and directing films, Diane Bell is passionate about sharing knowledge to empower and inspire other filmmakers. Since 2014 Diane has taught workshops on how to make a successful indie film and has written a book about how to create an indie film, "Shoot From the Heart." "I love helping others break through their obstacles and achieve their dreams. If making movies is your dream, don’t let anything stop you!," Diane Bell. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/americanfilmmaker/support

In this very first episode, I briefly introduce myself and then begin a five part series on the keys to success as a screenwriter, filmmaker, or other human on a creative path. The first key is linked to the title of this podcast - following your heart will always keep you straight. Go to www.dianebell.com for more information.

Diane Bell’s first film as writer/director, Obselidia, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival 2010 in Dramatic Narrative Competition and won two awards, the Alfred P. Sloan Award and Excellence in Cinematography. She was selected for Sundance Screenwriting Lab 2011, with STEM, for which she was awarded the Sloan Development Fund at the Tribeca Film Institute. Her second film, Bleeding Heart (film), premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2015. It stars Jessica Biel and Zosia Mamet. On October 1, 2018, her guide to successful independent filmmaking, “Shoot from the Heart” was launched. Learn more about her at https://www.dianebell.com/ and on Instagram @dianebell, and find her book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Shoot-Heart-Succesful-Filmmaking-Sundance/dp/1615932887. For 10% off her Shoot from the Heart class visit tinyurl.com/shootfromtheheart and use the code powers10. To find out more about Laura and her work please visit her website at www.laurapowers.net. You can also find Laura on twitter @thatlaurapowers, on Facebook @thatlaurapowers, and on instagram at laurapowers44.

Diane Bell’s first film as writer/director, Obselidia, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival 2010 in Dramatic Narrative Competition and won two awards, the Alfred P. Sloan Award and Excellence in Cinematography. She was selected for Sundance Screenwriting Lab 2011, with STEM, for which she was awarded the Sloan Development Fund at the Tribeca Film Institute. Her second film, Bleeding Heart (film), premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2015. It stars Jessica Biel and Zosia Mamet. On October 1, 2018, her guide to successful independent filmmaking, “Shoot from the Heart” was launched. Learn more about her at https://www.dianebell.com/ and on Instagram @dianebell, and find her book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Shoot-Heart-Succesful-Filmmaking-Sundance/dp/1615932887. For 10% off her Shoot from the Heart class visit tinyurl.com/shootfromtheheart and use the code powers10. To find out more about Laura and her work please visit her website at www.laurapowers.net. You can also find Laura on twitter @thatlaurapowers, on Facebook @thatlaurapowers, and on instagram at laurapowers44.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all! Christmas is a time of giving and I want filmmakers out there to think of themselves this Christmas. Give yourselves a treat. So, to that end, I've listed Podcasts and Books that I feel are great for filmmakers. Podcasts:Film Pro Productivity Hey Indie FilmmakersIndie Film Hustle Filmmaking Stuff Podcast The Filmmakers Podcast Books:Story by Robert McKee On Writing by Stephen King Anything by Syd FieldThe Writer’s Journey by Chris VoglerJoseph Campbell’s The Hero of a Thousand FacesWriting a Great Movie by Jeff KitchenHow to Write a Movie in 21 Days by Viki KingSave the Cat by Blake Snyder. However, any filmmaker who really wants to treat themselves should pick up Diane Bell’s absolutely brilliant book, Shoot from the Heart. All of these books are available wherever books are sold. Merry Christmas to all and to all Filmmakers a great shoot!

Today's guest is returning champion writer/director Diane Bell. Diane and I go way back. I had the pleasure of working on her first feature film OBSELIDIA, which won two awards at Sundance. The film makes it's IFHTV Premiere this week. Here's a bit about Diane.Diane Bell is a screenwriter and director. Made for less than $150k, her first feature film, OBSELIDIA, premiered in Dramatic Competition at Sundance and won two awards. The film went on to win further awards at festivals around the world, and to be nominated for two prestigious Independent Spirit Awards. Her second film, BLEEDING HEART, a drama starring Jessica Biel and Zosia Mamet, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and is widely available. She is currently in post on her third feature, OF DUST AND BONES.She has written numerous commissioned and optioned scripts, including two with renowned director John McTiernan (the director of Die Hard and The Hunt for Red October). In addition to writing and directing films, Diane with her producing partner Chris Byrne is a founder of the Rebel Heart Film Workshop program, in which she teaches step by step how to make a standout indie film. She also teaches at Denver's Lighthouse Writer's Workshop. She is passionate about sharing her knowledge and honest experiences of filmmaking so that up and coming filmmakers can make better movies and create sustainable careers.“The biggest advice I can give you for your shoot, if you want to make a standout film, is to be fully present in the moment when you are filming.” – Diane BellIn her quest to help filmmakers follow their dreams she has written a new book called Shooting From the Heart: Successful Filmmaking from a Sundance Rebel.If you dream of making a movie but don't know where to start or you're afraid that your film will end up being yet another unseen indie, this is the book for you. Based on the real-life experiences of Sundance award-winning screenwriter/director Diane Bell, SHOOT FROM THE HEART will guide you through the process of making an indie film successfully ― from writing a stand-out script to raising finance, from getting the most out of your shoot to planning a profitable release.Broken down into sixteen essential steps, this book provides you with a clear, actionable, real-world plan for turning your filmmaking dream into your reality. The method in this book is available to anyone, anywhere. You don't need a ton of money or industry connections, you just need to be willing to do the work of each step.In this book, you'll find ass-kicking inspiration and motivational tips for the long journey filmmaking is, as well as the practical knowledge and insider's information you need to make it happen. SHOOT FROM THE HEART will empower you to trust your creative instincts and leave you with no excuses for not making the best film you can. This guide is the only one you need if you seriously want to stop talking about making movies and actually make a great one. At the end of each chapter, Diane provides a thoughtful reminder to her readers:“Be grateful for the journey you are on.”We discuss her Sundance experience, her horrible Hollywood experience after Sundance and so much more. Enjoy my inspirational conversation with Diane Bell.

I’m thrilled that award winning filmmaker Diane Bell is on the show today. Her first film, Obselidia won at Sundance in 2010 and she’s gone on to make two more feature films. We talk about her films but we also discuss her brand new book, Shoot From The Heart. This book truly changed my life and I know it will certainly have a great affect on you. You can make your film, with Diane’s book, you’ll have absolutely no more excuses. Listen to this podcast, buy Diane's book and then make your movie!You can follow up on what Diane is doing on her website: www.DianeBell.com. You'll find links to Amazon where you can buy her book. You can also follow her on Instagram at DianeBellFollow me on Facebook @howtheydiditpodcast and on Twitter @hfilmmaking. You can also follow me on Instagram at HowTheyDidItFilmmaking

Diane Bell is an award-winning director and screenwriter who's first feature film "Obsoledia" premiered and won at The Sundance Film Festival. Her second film "The Bleeding Heart" starring Jessica Biel, debuted at The Tribecca Film Festival. We talk about how she got her start as a screenwriter working for the director of Die Hard, and why it is so important to "Shoot from the Heart" which is the title of her live workshop and her book for indie filmmakers. Special Thanks to: Diane Bell @dianebell1 Hosted by: Timothy Patrick Guest: Diane Bell Theme Music by: Ryan Stuber For more Indie Film Grit, follow us on Twitter @indiefilmgrit

Join Rebel Diane Bell for tips on reaching Sundance. If you would like learn more about Carole Dean and From the Heart Productions please visit www.FromtheHeartProductions.com.        

Diane Bell is a screenwriter and director of several indie films. Her first feature, Obsolidia, premiered in Dramatic Competition at Sundance in 2010 and won two awards. Her second film, Bleeding Heart, is a drama starring Jessica Biel and Zosia Mamet, which premiered in 2015. She is currently working on her third feature, Of Dust and Bones, which tackles the aftermath of violence. In addition to writing and directing films, Diane is a founder of Rebel Heart Film Workshop Program, which can be found at RebelHeartFilm.com. Here she teaches how to make an indie film stand out step-by-step. The most valuable thing she has learned and that she likes to pass on in her instruction is to always trust your heart and to never back down from what you love.

Diane Bell-McKoy is the president and CEO of Associated Black Charities, which is not, as the name would lead you to believe, an association of black charities. Rather, it’s a public foundation that focuses on addressing racial disparities in Baltimore and across Maryland with an emphasis on economic equity and the workforce. Before Diane came to Associated Black Charities in 2007, she was a senior fellow at the Annie E. Casey Foundation and led the nonprofit that managed Baltimore’s Empowerment Zone. Diane talked about our culture’s misplaced emphasis on heroes and sheroes, and some of the challenges that come with working for a charity with “black” in the name. A Washington native, Diane discussed the importance of building relationships in Baltimore, what it means to be a civic leader and pushing back against the limitations people try to place on her.

Life After Winning Sundance with Diane BellI always talk about not counting on the "lottery ticket" mentality that so many filmmakers today count on. Winning Sundance is not a distribution plan. Well I was involved in a project, written and directed by Diane Bell, that did just that. It won not one but two awards at Sundance. She didn't count on winning, hell she didn't think in her wildest dreams that she would even be accepted. Here's the story.In 2010, 16 feature films were selected out of 1,058 submissions to be screened in the US Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival.  Diane Bell's OBSELIDIA was one of them.  It was made for less than $140,000, it had no movie stars in it, and none of the cast or crew had connections to Sundance.  And yet it was picked out of the slush pile, and selected to premier on this world stage, alongside movies that had cost 100 times as much with big name movie stars and recognized directors.OBSELIDIA, premiered in the US Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival 2010, where it won the Alfred P. Sloan Award and the award for Excellence in Cinematography. It was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards 2011, including one for Best First Screenplay. It won acclaim at festivals around the world, including being named as Best of Fest at the Edinburgh Film Festival, Best Narrative Feature at Ashland Independent Film Festival, and winning the Youth Jury Prize for Best Film at the Valladolid Festival, Spain.If you ever wanted to know what it was like to be accepted and win awards at the Sundance Film Festival sit back and enjoy on conversation with Diane Bell.

To watch our collection of filmmaking/directing videos, please visit Youtube here: https://bit.ly/2TMZC7T Diane Bell & Chris Byrne didn't have any connections to the Sundance Film Festival in 2010 when their film OBSELIDIA was selected and ended up winning two awards. They reveal the distribution offers they turned down along with the ones they accepted as well as the biggest mistake a filmmaker can make distributing a movie. They talk about how they made their movie for $100,000, offer advice on cutting costs of a film budget and whether they think there is a sustainable future for independent filmmakers. LEARN ABOUT REBEL HEART FILM http://www.rebelheartfilm.com WATCH THE VIDEO VERSION WITH DIANE BELL & CHRIS BYRNE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAKbo3ADtfM CONNECT WITH DIANE BELL & CHRIS BYRNE http://www.rebelheartfilm.com https://www.facebook.com/rebelheartfilm https://twitter.com/@dianebell1 CONNECT WITH FILM COURAGE http://www.FilmCourage.com http://twitter.com/#!/FilmCourage https://www.facebook.com/filmcourage http://filmcourage.tumblr.com http://pinterest.com/filmcourage SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FILM COURAGE YOUTUBE CHANNEL http://bit.ly/18DPN37 PROMOTE YOUR MOVIE, WEBSERIES, OR PRODUCT ON FILM COURAGE http://bit.ly/1nnJkgm SUPPORT FILM COURAGE http://www.patreon.com/filmcourage

Presented by Professor Diane Bell on 24th June 2014.Turning the anthropological gaze on Australian society and the institutions that purport to 'protect and conserve the past', Diane Bell brings us up to date with post Hindmarsh Bridge Ngarrindjeri culture. The women have been vindicated, the State has apologised. However, the legacy lingers. How has the potent intertwining of gender, race and class inflected what can be known of Ngarrindjeri culture? Can self-authored accounts be trusted? What is the role of 'engaged research'?

Indie director, screenwriter, and Sundance rebel Diane Bell says it's time to stop waiting around for someone else you produce your script. Her new book 'Shoot From the Heart: Successful Filmmaking from a Sundance Rebel' gives you all the info you need to get started, the rebel way. GET REAL INDIE FILM[CAST] is hosted by filmmaker and author Jeffrey Michael Bays (www.borgus.com), and filmmaker Forris Day, Jr. Show Notes:1. Diane's website: www.rebelheartfilm.com Tweet us @borgusfilm or email info@borgus.com Special Thanks to Diane Bell Hosts: Jeffrey Michael Bays & Forris Day, Jr. Hitch20 Theme music by Radoslav Zdravkovic Suspense With a Camera: https://www.amazon.com/Suspense-Camera-Filmmakers-Hitchcocks-Techniques/dp/1615932739 Follow us on Twitter @borgusfilm

Marketing is the thing indie filmmakers tend to be afraid of or don't fully understand, so they procrastinate.  Sundance rebel Diane Bell says hiring a Producer of Marketing and Distribution (PMD) early in the development process is the key to success. Diane wrote 'Shoot From the Heart: Successful Filmmaking from a Sundance Rebel' and offers classes online. GET REAL INDIE FILM[CAST] is hosted by filmmaker and author Jeffrey Michael Bays (www.borgus.com), and filmmaker Forris Day, Jr. Show Notes:1. Diane's website: www.rebelheartfilm.com Tweet us @borgusfilm or email info@borgus.com Special Thanks to Diane Bell Hosts: Jeffrey Michael Bays & Forris Day, Jr. Hitch20 Theme music by Radoslav Zdravkovic Suspense With a Camera: https://www.amazon.com/Suspense-Camera-Filmmakers-Hitchcocks-Techniques/dp/1615932739 Follow us on Twitter @borgusfilm