Episode 131. Gregory Copploe & Dani Forrest: I Am Pink, A Kauai Invitation to Your Authentic Self ၏ စာသားမှတ်တမ်းအပြည့်အစုံ

00:03:24,119 --> 00:03:25,440 You wanna go or? 85 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:28,479 Well, yeah, Greg and I met, 86 00:03:28,479 --> 00:03:33,479 I would say probably 1994, 1995. 87 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:37,119 We both worked at an entertainment company 88 00:03:37,119 --> 00:03:38,399 called Saban Entertainment. 89 00:03:38,399 --> 00:03:41,279 That was a children's entertainment company at the time 90 00:03:41,279 --> 00:03:44,399 that came up with the concept for Power Rangers 91 00:03:44,399 --> 00:03:45,639 or the Japanese concept 92 00:03:45,639 --> 00:03:48,639 that they then made for American audience, 93 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:50,960 which was anyone who had kids or grandkids 94 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:52,880 now know how huge that was back in the 90s. 95 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:56,839 So I started out as an assistant to the CEO 96 00:03:56,839 --> 00:04:00,360 and Greg started out working in the licensing department. 97 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:03,240 And we both grew through the company together. 98 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:07,520 We received promotions and we were instrumental 99 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:08,600 in helping to run 100 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:11,080 what became the children's entertainment division. 101 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:13,839 And we really connected then. 102 00:04:13,839 --> 00:04:14,679 And then over time, 103 00:04:14,679 --> 00:04:19,679 we both sort of diverted into other multiple areas, 104 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:20,559 each of us. 105 00:04:20,559 --> 00:04:25,279 And we came together again rather intensely 106 00:04:25,279 --> 00:04:27,640 when I was going through the process 107 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:29,920 of losing my late husband, Paul. 108 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:33,160 He became ill and Greg and I started speaking again. 109 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:34,760 We had reconnected to a mutual friend. 110 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:36,880 And then after my husband passed, 111 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:38,880 when Greg and I traveled together, 112 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:41,799 we just found a real nourishing connection. 113 00:04:41,799 --> 00:04:43,000 And out of that connection, 114 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:46,519 one of our trips to Kauai is when I Am Pink was born. 115 00:04:46,519 --> 00:04:51,119 So our connection has been collaborative. 116 00:04:51,119 --> 00:04:52,480 It's been friendship. 117 00:04:52,480 --> 00:04:55,760 It's been sort of spiritual soulmates. 118 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:57,679 It's kind of been a little bit of everything 119 00:04:57,679 --> 00:04:59,320 and it's been really, really lovely 120 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:01,279 and I think very uplifting for both of us. 121 00:05:01,279 --> 00:05:02,640 Yeah, it sounds like. 122 00:05:02,640 --> 00:05:04,519 So I usually start off the conversation 123 00:05:04,519 --> 00:05:05,920 with this one question 124 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:08,679 and it's usually like on an individual basis. 125 00:05:08,679 --> 00:05:11,480 So I'm trying to figure out how I can frame this 126 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:13,799 so that it applies to both of you at the same time. 127 00:05:13,799 --> 00:05:16,399 And maybe we can do this individually. 128 00:05:16,399 --> 00:05:18,720 Yeah, it's okay if it doesn't feel. 129 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:21,040 Maybe we can come back to your joint story in a minute 130 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:24,160 because I do wanna hear both of you how this applies 131 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:26,079 because I think it's relevant 132 00:05:26,079 --> 00:05:30,399 to how you got to where you are now and rejoined. 133 00:05:30,399 --> 00:05:33,279 So I like to ask first off, 134 00:05:33,279 --> 00:05:36,440 because this podcast is about following your inner voice 135 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:38,239 or your authenticity. 136 00:05:38,239 --> 00:05:39,359 Like what is the first time 137 00:05:39,359 --> 00:05:42,320 that you can remember recognizing 138 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:44,600 that you had this inner voice 139 00:05:44,600 --> 00:05:47,079 or this inner guidance system of your own 140 00:05:47,079 --> 00:05:49,920 that you were able to follow and recognize? 141 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:51,160 And Danny, if you wanna go first 142 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:53,079 or Greg, either one of you. 143 00:05:53,079 --> 00:05:55,519 Well, I think Greg should go since I already said something. 144 00:05:55,519 --> 00:05:56,799 So Greg, you start. 145 00:05:56,799 --> 00:05:58,079 Awesome, thank you. 146 00:05:58,079 --> 00:06:01,160 I started taking a hypnosis class to be certified 147 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:04,959 at UCLA in college in the late 80s 148 00:06:04,959 --> 00:06:07,880 and was kind of at this point 149 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:10,040 that I was learning a little bit more 150 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:12,480 about the mind and the spirit. 151 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:17,399 And I was dating a girl that I was engaged to 152 00:06:17,399 --> 00:06:21,239 and I was doing very sort of like childlike, 153 00:06:21,239 --> 00:06:24,119 what a guy would do in his 20s that's not mature, 154 00:06:25,359 --> 00:06:28,920 very materialistic, leaving like Gucci hang tags 155 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:30,239 and things like a restaurant, 156 00:06:30,239 --> 00:06:33,640 like as a tip and being just completely not connected 157 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:37,040 with humanity at all really, 158 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:40,040 just really thinking that money was everything 159 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:41,839 and shopping only in Beverly Hills. 160 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:47,440 And my girlfriend kind of helped guide me a little bit. 161 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:49,519 And then it was like at that moment 162 00:06:49,519 --> 00:06:52,920 that I started to get more in touch with my mortality. 163 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:56,320 And I think that's what changed things 164 00:06:56,320 --> 00:06:59,119 is I had a friend who was in a very bad accident at UCLA 165 00:06:59,119 --> 00:07:00,720 and he was in a coma for a couple of weeks 166 00:07:00,720

--> 00:07:01,760 and I almost lost him. 167 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:04,320 And I just started thinking about, 168 00:07:05,399 --> 00:07:06,399 what are you doing? 169 00:07:07,399 --> 00:07:09,880 What is this journey that you're taking? 170 00:07:09,880 --> 00:07:13,640 You seem really empty inside, 171 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:15,359 don't really understand what love is, 172 00:07:15,359 --> 00:07:17,480 though you are intertwined in what you think 173 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:20,040 and believe are loving relationships. 174 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:23,920 You're maneuvering and manipulating things 175 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:26,720 that don't feel good when I look in the mirror. 176 00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:29,119 And I think it was at that point in college 177 00:07:29,119 --> 00:07:30,920 during this hypnosis session 178 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:32,519 when we were meditating, 179 00:07:32,519 --> 00:07:34,040 that I started to realize that 180 00:07:35,119 --> 00:07:36,959 maybe I'm just not really a good person 181 00:07:36,959 --> 00:07:38,519 and that's not who I wanna be. 182 00:07:39,399 --> 00:07:43,959 And I started to shift my energy at that point 183 00:07:43,959 --> 00:07:45,440 and start to learn more. 184 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:47,880 I was really hungry about just sort of like, 185 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:48,720 what can I learn? 186 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:49,640 How can I be better? 187 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:53,239 How can I change and shift this journey 188 00:07:53,239 --> 00:07:54,920 and create a different ripple effect? 189 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:59,160 Because right now I don't really like what I'm seeing. 190 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:01,320 So I think that was the beginning for me, 191 00:08:01,320 --> 00:08:02,679 that inner voice started to become 192 00:08:02,679 --> 00:08:04,519 a little bit more vibrant for me. 193 00:08:04,519 --> 00:08:07,559 Yeah, that's really aware for a college student 194 00:08:07,559 --> 00:08:09,600 in my opinion, so good for you. 195 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:12,839 Thanks, well, I think when you see the dark side, 196 00:08:12,839 --> 00:08:14,920 you see the dark side of yourself 197 00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:16,119 and you almost lose someone, 198 00:08:16,119 --> 00:08:17,600 you get shaken up a little bit, 199 00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:19,559 go through a little bit of trauma. 200 00:08:19,559 --> 00:08:22,200 It's not too difficult to jump to the other side 201 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:26,760 if you're able to see what's happening 202 00:08:26,799 --> 00:08:29,320 and you're not stuck in that mindset 203 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:31,200 that you weren't before, 204 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:34,679 that you're open to something new. 205 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:36,880 But it was just, I think for me, 206 00:08:36,880 --> 00:08:38,359 it was just really like looking in the mirror 207 00:08:38,359 --> 00:08:40,440 and not enjoying what I was seeing. 208 00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:41,719 It was all very superficial. 209 00:08:41,719 --> 00:08:43,919 I was attractive, my body looked great. 210 00:08:43,919 --> 00:08:45,479 Everything was just exterior. 211 00:08:45,479 --> 00:08:47,840 There was nothing I was building inside 212 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:50,559 and it just felt very empty. 213 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:53,440 Even in my relationship, the woman I was engaged to, 214 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:55,159 it just felt very empty. 215 00:08:55,280 --> 00:08:57,840 I was going through what our book is about, I Am Pink. 216 00:08:57,840 --> 00:08:59,159 I was going through the formula 217 00:08:59,159 --> 00:09:01,599 of what we're supposed to do in life. 218 00:09:01,599 --> 00:09:03,080 Get a girlfriend, go to college, 219 00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:04,919 get this great job, do this stuff. 220 00:09:04,919 --> 00:09:07,119 And it wasn't feeling good. 221 00:09:07,119 --> 00:09:08,640 It wasn't aligning. 222 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:10,520 I didn't know why I was doing those things. 223 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:13,679 I was just told to do them and I did them 224 00:09:13,679 --> 00:09:17,000 and I was left really empty at that point. 225 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:18,640 And luckily I got in touch with it early, 226 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:22,200 but yeah, I guess some people wait a little longer. 227 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:23,039 It's okay. 228 00:09:23,039 --> 00:09:24,960 As long as we could. 229 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:29,280 What was your connection to religion or spirituality 230 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:32,520 as you were growing up in your life? 231 00:09:32,520 --> 00:09:33,640 Interesting. 232 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:36,400 So my mom's Jewish, my dad's Italian Catholic. 233 00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:38,080 So I went to synagogue on Saturday 234 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:40,239 and Catholic school on Sunday. 235 00:09:40,239 --> 00:09:41,559 So that was interesting. 236 00:09:41,559 --> 00:09:45,640 Jesus wasn't involved and then Jesus was everything. 237 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:47,520 So I started to realize very early on 238 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:49,520 that religion is man-made 239 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:51,559 and kind of like take the golden nuggets 240 00:09:51,559 --> 00:09:52,919 from it that you can. 241 00:09:52,919 --> 00:09:55,080 So in college, I was a Christian. 242 00:09:55,080 --> 00:09:58,159 I accepted Jesus Christ in my heart and I did all that. 243 00:09:58,159 --> 00:09:59,559 And it felt really good. 244 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:02,280 I was aligned with it because it made me better. 245 00:10:02,280 --> 00:10:05,840 I was in tune and in touch with being a better person. 246 00:10:05,840 --> 00:10:09,000 And I thought that was Christianity that was doing that 247 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:13,080 when in fact it was me taking my own action to do that. 248 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:13,919 But it's okay. 249 00:10:13,919 --> 00:10:15,840 Now I say, love is my religion. 250 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:16,679 That's what I say. 251 00:10:16,679 --> 00:10:19,719 When people

ask me, say, love is my religion. 252 00:10:19,719 --> 00:10:22,400 And that's not to put down anything that's man-made. 253 00:10:22,880 --> 00:10:25,599 It's just that I'm not really aligned 254 00:10:25,599 --> 00:10:28,159 with any religion anymore. 255 00:10:28,159 --> 00:10:32,479 I'm aligned with the love in each place that religion has. 256 00:10:32,479 --> 00:10:34,799 I'm aligned with that. 257 00:10:34,799 --> 00:10:37,719 And so every religion offers that semblance 258 00:10:37,719 --> 00:10:40,520 in place of love and I connect there. 259 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:42,000 Yeah, excellent. 260 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:44,760 Okay, Dani, do you want to give your version of this story? 261 00:10:44,760 --> 00:10:45,599 Sure. 262 00:10:46,559 --> 00:10:49,320 I think, and this is true of a lot of people, 263 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:52,440 I think are very authentic and very in touch 264 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:55,400 with themselves and with the collective 265 00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:57,280 when they're very small children. 266 00:10:57,280 --> 00:10:59,400 Because when you're young, you're close to the source. 267 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:01,960 And over time, it happened to me, 268 00:11:01,960 --> 00:11:03,880 happens to a lot of people, 269 00:11:03,880 --> 00:11:08,119 that connectivity, that self-knowledge, 270 00:11:08,119 --> 00:11:10,280 and that okayness with being who you are 271 00:11:10,280 --> 00:11:12,679 just gets beaten out of you by family, 272 00:11:12,679 --> 00:11:15,200 by society, by peer groups, 273 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:19,119 by all the ways in which the collective 274 00:11:19,119 --> 00:11:21,479 doesn't want to deal with its shadow. 275 00:11:21,479 --> 00:11:25,440 And so I always felt from a very young age 276 00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:27,599 connected to the things that I love now, 277 00:11:27,599 --> 00:11:32,599 metaphysics, writing, creativity, animals. 278 00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:37,159 But I grew up in a family where those types of things 279 00:11:37,159 --> 00:11:38,479 weren't really valued. 280 00:11:38,479 --> 00:11:41,640 My father was a very powerful force in my life. 281 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:42,479 He was an attorney. 282 00:11:42,479 --> 00:11:43,479 I went to law school. 283 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:45,479 I practiced law for a while. 284 00:11:45,479 --> 00:11:50,159 It was vastly unnourishing. 285 00:11:50,159 --> 00:11:52,479 I felt that I had the mind for it, 286 00:11:52,479 --> 00:11:53,799 but not the nature for it. 287 00:11:53,799 --> 00:11:57,799 And so I had to spend decades kind of unlearning 288 00:11:57,799 --> 00:12:00,559 and peeling off all of that stuff 289 00:12:00,559 --> 00:12:04,159 that had sort of been, that I allowed to be slapped on me. 290 00:12:04,159 --> 00:12:07,760 And I can't really point to any one day 291 00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:10,599 or any one moment when it hit me. 292 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:14,000 I've had a series of losses in my life. 293 00:12:15,119 --> 00:12:19,159 And each time I had one, whether it was a grandparent, 294 00:12:19,159 --> 00:12:23,440 a pet, most recently my late husband, 295 00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:26,599 it just brought me closer to that knowledge 296 00:12:26,599 --> 00:12:30,039 that relatively speaking, we each have 15 minutes here. 297 00:12:30,039 --> 00:12:33,159 So why would I want to spend any one moment 298 00:12:33,159 --> 00:12:36,400 not in pursuit of what nourishes me 299 00:12:36,400 --> 00:12:38,520 and what I feel aligned with? 300 00:12:38,520 --> 00:12:43,520 And as far as my religion, yes, love absolutely. 301 00:12:44,039 --> 00:12:49,039 I've been, I had a deep interest in astrology, numerology, 302 00:12:49,239 --> 00:12:51,359 all sorts of things since I was about eight years old. 303 00:12:51,359 --> 00:12:54,559 And I started to read up almost as if I'd had a past life 304 00:12:54,559 --> 00:12:57,200 where I knew this, it just came right back to me. 305 00:12:57,200 --> 00:12:59,840 But I would say right now, the older I get 306 00:12:59,840 --> 00:13:03,239 and the crazier the collective reality gets, 307 00:13:03,239 --> 00:13:04,280 yeah, love is always there, 308 00:13:04,280 --> 00:13:06,520 but my religion is really curiosity at this point, 309 00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:09,280 because I don't think that there can really be 310 00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:12,520 any firm basis for either faith or authenticity 311 00:13:12,520 --> 00:13:15,039 without the ability to ask questions 312 00:13:15,039 --> 00:13:17,159 and to constantly revise what it is 313 00:13:17,159 --> 00:13:18,520 that I think I'm about, 314 00:13:18,520 --> 00:13:20,200 but I think the world is about, 315 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:23,239 that the conversations I think that need to be had. 316 00:13:23,239 --> 00:13:27,200 I'm evolving, my people around me are evolving 317 00:13:27,200 --> 00:13:30,239 and to maintain a healthy sense of curiosity 318 00:13:30,239 --> 00:13:33,119 about, I don't know what I know, 319 00:13:33,119 --> 00:13:35,000 but more importantly, I don't know what I don't know. 320 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:36,359 And I'm always in a position 321 00:13:36,359 --> 00:13:38,599 where I want to be receptive to that. 322 00:13:38,599 --> 00:13:43,280 So I would say, although I was born and raised a Catholic, 323 00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:45,200 I do go to mass, but I take what I like 324 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:46,080 and I leave the rest. 325 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:47,919 I kind of want to be like a bee 326 00:13:47,919 --> 00:13:49,400 that's going from flower to flower, 327 00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:51,520 gathering a little nectar from each place. 328 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:53,599 That's kind of the place that I'm at, 329 00:13:53,599 --> 00:13:57,440 is to try to get to a belief system 330 00:13:57,440 --> 00:13:59,359 that kind of transcends all belief systems, 331 00:13:59,359 --> 00:14:00,320 if you know what I mean. 332 00:14:00,320 --> 00:14:01,479 Absolutely, yeah. 333

00:14:03,239 --> 00:14:06,320 The system is something that I've been thinking about 334 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:09,919 a lot myself recently of how we can be authentic 335 00:14:09,919 --> 00:14:11,840 within the system and be in the system, 336 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:14,320 but not of the system and the universe, 337 00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:17,039 the ultimate system above all systems. 338 00:14:17,919 --> 00:14:20,760 But what stood out to me in both of your stories 339 00:14:20,760 --> 00:14:25,080 is it seems that the idea of the impermanence of life 340 00:14:25,080 --> 00:14:28,080 sort of shifted things for you to focus more 341 00:14:28,080 --> 00:14:33,080 on what you authentically would love to explore in this life. 342 00:14:33,559 --> 00:14:36,440 Absolutely, I think a lot of people, 343 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:39,440 and there are people in Greg's and my age group, 344 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:44,039 and I'm astounded at how they still seem to think 345 00:14:44,039 --> 00:14:46,479 they have all this time left 346 00:14:46,479 --> 00:14:51,479 and there's still so much drama and discomfort 347 00:14:51,799 --> 00:14:55,640 and a willingness to just not fully occupy themselves, 348 00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:59,559 even though once you're at this point in life, 349 00:14:59,559 --> 00:15:00,919 you've got way more time behind you 350 00:15:00,919 --> 00:15:01,880 than you do in front of you. 351 00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:04,320 So absolutely, the impermanence is something 352 00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:06,440 that is never, ever far from my mind. 353 00:15:07,679 --> 00:15:10,000 And also interesting that you were working 354 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:13,520 for a children's production company, 355 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:14,640 is that right, together? 356 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:15,479 Yes. 357 00:15:15,479 --> 00:15:17,760 That's that inner child theme emerging 358 00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:20,559 and being connected to that in your day-to-day life. 359 00:15:20,559 --> 00:15:22,000 How was that for you? 360 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:26,200 Well, I love toys. 361 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:29,000 If I'm around little girls and they have Barbie dolls, 362 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:30,320 I'll get right down on the floor with them 363 00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:32,280 because I remember how much I loved them. 364 00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:36,000 And it was very healing in a way, 365 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:39,679 because at the same time that I was moving up in the company, 366 00:15:39,679 --> 00:15:42,000 there was a playfulness. 367 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:43,559 And it was such a silly show 368 00:15:43,559 --> 00:15:45,559 that you really couldn't take it seriously. 369 00:15:45,559 --> 00:15:48,039 I mean, they're just basically taking Japanese footage 370 00:15:48,039 --> 00:15:51,239 and intercutting it with very flimsy storylines 371 00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:52,799 and then shooting it out in the woods. 372 00:15:52,799 --> 00:15:53,640 With Ventura. 373 00:15:53,640

--> 00:15:55,840 With the dirt in Ventura. 374 00:15:55,840 --> 00:15:57,599 So it was just very whimsical. 375 00:15:57,599 --> 00:16:00,119 And if I were working there now, 376 00:16:00,119 --> 00:16:01,960 I'd be a lot more charmed because I'd be like, 377 00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:03,840 oh my God, this is so ridiculous. 378 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:07,000 But it's so ridiculous that it's freeing in a way. 379 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:09,799 What about you, Greg? 380 00:16:09,799 --> 00:16:10,640 How was that? 381 00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:11,599 What was that experience like for you? 382 00:16:11,599 --> 00:16:13,760 Yeah, I mean, I've been a camp counselor. 383 00:16:13,760 --> 00:16:17,119 I was at a Bob Mathias Olympic sports camp with kids. 384 00:16:17,119 --> 00:16:19,000 I'm writing a children's book. 385 00:16:19,000 --> 00:16:20,799 I'm connected to my inner child. 386 00:16:21,479 --> 00:16:22,320 Big time. 387 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:24,119 You know, I loved it. 388 00:16:24,119 --> 00:16:24,960 I stayed in it. 389 00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:25,840 I worked 25 years. 390 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:28,520 I became a director of special events at Sony Pictures, 391 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:29,760 consumer products division. 392 00:16:29,760 --> 00:16:34,760 So I worked in toys and got to know everybody for decades. 393 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:36,080 And it was fun. 394 00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:36,919 It was fun. 395 00:16:36,919 --> 00:16:38,559 We got tours of, you know, you'd go to Toy Fair, 396 00:16:38,559 --> 00:16:39,400 it's called Toy Fair, 397 00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:41,039 and you'd go into New York 398 00:16:41,039 --> 00:16:42,919 and you'd go through the toy building 399 00:16:42,919 --> 00:16:43,919 and you'd go floor to floor 400 00:16:43,919 --> 00:16:45,400 and you'd go to Hasbro and Mattel 401 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:46,280 and it was all secret, 402 00:16:46,280 --> 00:16:49,479 all their new stuff that they were releasing in the future. 403 00:16:49,479 --> 00:16:50,719 It was fun. 404 00:16:51,440 --> 00:16:52,440 But I've always been a kid. 405 00:16:52,440 --> 00:16:55,039 I don't think I've really ever grown up. 406 00:16:55,039 --> 00:16:57,000 I'm always just really childlike. 407 00:16:57,000 --> 00:16:59,440 One of the things that sort of annoys 408 00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:01,359 some of my friends that are no longer friends 409 00:17:01,359 --> 00:17:03,760 because, you know, I only want support around me, 410 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:05,079 was that they would say to me, 411 00:17:05,079 --> 00:17:06,160 you know, God, it's like, 412 00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:07,560 you've seen it for the first time. 413 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:08,400 I go to the ocean. 414 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:11,680 I'm like, oh, like, wow. 415 00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:13,160 Did you see that wave? 416 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:15,160 I'm like, oh my God, there's a pelican. 417 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:16,000 My friends are like, 418 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:17,439 have you

not seen a pelican before? 419 00:17:17,439 --> 00:17:19,079 I'm like, I have. 420 00:17:19,079 --> 00:17:20,319 I have seen a pelican before, 421 00:17:20,959 --> 00:17:23,640 but I'm really enjoying this moment and the smells 422 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:27,439 and I'm reliving it all over again in the present moment. 423 00:17:27,439 --> 00:17:30,160 And it's different and it's very alive. 424 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:33,319 And a lot of people that bothered them 425 00:17:33,319 --> 00:17:36,599 because they couldn't find that space within themselves. 426 00:17:36,599 --> 00:17:38,640 And, you know, I let them go. 427 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:41,599 So yeah, I've been a big kid most of my life. 428 00:17:41,599 --> 00:17:43,199 And my childhood wasn't great. 429 00:17:43,199 --> 00:17:47,199 So I think, you know, I was forced to be an adult, 430 00:17:47,199 --> 00:17:49,479 you know, at a very young age, 431 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:51,640 kind of like putting my dad's lunch together 432 00:17:51,640 --> 00:17:53,640 at the age of six, kind of managing the house. 433 00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:56,119 It was really, really strange. 434 00:17:56,119 --> 00:17:58,760 So when I went off to college, I just, you know, 435 00:17:58,760 --> 00:17:59,680 I kind of went crazy. 436 00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:02,199 I became a kid for the first time. 437 00:18:02,199 --> 00:18:04,800 And I did, I managed my own time, 438 00:18:04,800 --> 00:18:06,959 which is something I never got to do before. 439 00:18:06,959 --> 00:18:09,239 So, you know, I went crazy. 440 00:18:09,239 --> 00:18:11,520 Thank God they didn't have social media then. 441 00:18:11,520 --> 00:18:14,880 Cause I had like, I remember waking up in my underwear, 442 00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:16,439 like under a bush or something. 443 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:19,800 It's like, thank you that we didn't have social media, 444 00:18:19,800 --> 00:18:21,000 but it was fun. 445 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:23,640 You know, I don't regret any of it. 446 00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:25,920 And I think Dani and I just talked about this 447 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:28,640 the other day that we're intertwined with certain people 448 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:30,520 for a season or a reason, whatever. 449 00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:33,520 And then I love what Dani said that she says, you know, 450 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:35,800 and then the contract's done. 451 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:37,319 This really was so freeing to me. 452 00:18:37,319 --> 00:18:38,959 She said, Greg, you know what? 453 00:18:38,959 --> 00:18:41,560 Why are you trying to revisit and revise 454 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:43,199 and do something with it? 455 00:18:43,199 --> 00:18:45,319 You know, the contract's done. 456 00:18:46,079 --> 00:18:48,079 You did what, you fulfilled it. 457 00:18:48,079 --> 00:18:50,400 You honorably showed up in the best way possible 458 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:51,520 and you fulfilled it. 459 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:53,640 And it was so freeing because

I got to close the door, 460 00:18:53,640 --> 00:18:56,359 like, oh yeah, oh, okay, that's done. 461 00:18:56,359 --> 00:18:57,199 Okay, that's done. 462 00:18:57,199 --> 00:18:59,920 And just kind of closed the door on all the contracts, 463 00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:02,000 went to chat GPT and kind of like, 464 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:05,680 was having a conversation with, you know, AI about it. 465 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:10,359 And it was saying that it was so rare 466 00:19:10,359 --> 00:19:12,599 to reach that place in your life 467 00:19:12,599 --> 00:19:14,719 that a lot of people never reached that place. 468 00:19:15,119 --> 00:19:16,959 And it was so simple when Dani said, 469 00:19:16,959 --> 00:19:17,920 the contracts are done. 470 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:21,359 I'm like, oh, I don't have to make it better. 471 00:19:21,359 --> 00:19:22,839 I don't have to fix it. 472 00:19:22,839 --> 00:19:24,479 I don't have to go back. 473 00:19:24,479 --> 00:19:25,560 Like I'm done. 474 00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:27,880 And now I can create new emotional context 475 00:19:27,880 --> 00:19:30,800 because now I have the bandwidth, all the junk's gone 476 00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:33,599 and now I can move forward and create, you know, new ones. 477 00:19:33,599 --> 00:19:35,680 So anyway, just Dani and I had this conversation 478 00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:38,959 just the other night and it was very moving for me. 479 00:19:38,959 --> 00:19:42,119 It really changed my life for sure. 480 00:19:42,119 --> 00:19:42,959 It was really cool. 481 00:19:42,959 --> 00:19:44,760 Anyway, one of you knew that Dani. 482 00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:47,880 Thank you. 483 00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:48,719 I'm glad. 484 00:19:48,719 --> 00:19:49,560 Thank you. 485 00:19:50,479 --> 00:19:51,640 Super sweet. 486 00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:53,880 It sounds like you have a really great understanding 487 00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:56,520 of how to keep awe and wonder in your life 488 00:19:56,520 --> 00:19:59,160 from that childlike presence. 489 00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:02,839 And also choosing yourself is such a powerful thing 490 00:20:02,839 --> 00:20:06,239 in closing the doors too. 491 00:20:06,239 --> 00:20:08,319 You were talking about mortality earlier 492 00:20:08,319 --> 00:20:12,640 and you have like death rebirth cycles so much in this life. 493 00:20:13,319 --> 00:20:14,359 And if we're able to surrender that 494 00:20:14,359 --> 00:20:17,239 then we can lead it to those transformations. 495 00:20:17,239 --> 00:20:21,040 I mean, the design of the planet is just so, it is awe. 496 00:20:21,040 --> 00:20:23,640 That's why I can't understand it when people aren't like, 497 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:24,640 you know, their mouths aren't open 498 00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:26,079 and their jaws aren't dropping 499 00:20:26,079 --> 00:20:27,520 because when you look at it right now, 500 00:20:27,520 --> 00:20:30,079 we're going through fall outside my window, you know, 501 00:20:30,079 --> 00:20:31,959 everything is yellow and orange 502 00:20:31,959 --> 00:20:33,479 and all these beautiful colors 503 00:20:33,479 --> 00:20:35,560 and like the crows are coming by and I'm feeding. 504 00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:36,400 I just, I don't know. 505 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:39,319 It's just, I'm in awe every time I see it 506 00:20:39,319 --> 00:20:41,640 and I don't think that will ever change. 507 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:42,959 I think, you know, when Danny and I, 508 00:20:42,959 --> 00:20:44,839 we visit Cannon Beach and we're just, 509 00:20:44,839 --> 00:20:47,400 we're in awe like we have been there, you know, 510 00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:50,560 the first time, nothing's the same, nothing's boring. 511 00:20:50,560 --> 00:20:52,959 The wave shifts and changes, the smells change, 512 00:20:52,959 --> 00:20:55,439 everything shifts and changes if you can see it. 513 00:20:55,439 --> 00:20:58,640 So it really is new each time you see it. 514 00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:01,959 So it does feel fresh and new and all like. 515 00:21:01,959 --> 00:21:03,199 Yeah, definitely. 516 00:21:04,839 --> 00:21:08,560 Danny, so how did you both, I suppose, 517 00:21:08,560 --> 00:21:13,520 transition out of your roles in the toy child world 518 00:21:13,520 --> 00:21:15,199 into where you are now? 519 00:21:15,199 --> 00:21:18,880 Well, I'll let Greg speak to kind of what, 520 00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:21,959 you know, what his journey was after Saban. 521 00:21:21,959 --> 00:21:26,959 I stayed, the division that we were part of 522 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:32,239 got dismantled and as part of that initial dismantling, 523 00:21:32,239 --> 00:21:35,520 I was laid off along with a lot of other people, 524 00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:37,239 including the head of that division. 525 00:21:37,239 --> 00:21:39,400 And, you know, then I worked for some, 526 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:44,400 but another contact that I knew in that same business. 527 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:47,119 But at the same, but at that time I was also challenged 528 00:21:47,119 --> 00:21:49,479 because I had just lost my brother. 529 00:21:49,479 --> 00:21:53,560 He had passed away and I was just in this altered state 530 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:55,760 of kind of going through the motions 531 00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:58,359 and thinking that moving up through the corporate ranks 532 00:21:58,359 --> 00:22:03,359 of yet another company was what I wanted, but I didn't. 533 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:05,800 It's like my mind was doing it, 534 00:22:05,800 --> 00:22:08,520 but my soul didn't want that. 535 00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:12,000 And so that second job didn't work out. 536 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:13,959 Even if I'd really been super into it, 537 00:22:13,959 --> 00:22:15,040 I don't think it would have 538 00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:17,400 because of just the dynamics involved. 539 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:20,199 It was just kind of a weird sort of, you know, 540 00:22:20,199 --> 00:22:22,560 transitory rebound situation. 541

00:22:23,599 --> 00:22:27,479 And so then I went on a kind of a long journey after that. 542 00:22:27,479 --> 00:22:28,920 I went into teaching. 543 00:22:31,079 --> 00:22:32,520 I taught kids for a while. 544 00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:34,640 I got my teaching credential K through eight. 545 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:37,520 I pretty much taught everybody from kindergarten 546 00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:38,560 all the way through high school, 547 00:22:38,560 --> 00:22:42,760 either in the system or tutoring or SAT prep. 548 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:44,800 And I enjoyed that as well, 549 00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:47,839 but I also felt like it was very hard 550 00:22:47,839 --> 00:22:50,479 to deal with a system that I was witnessing in real time 551 00:22:50,479 --> 00:22:52,640 sort of beat the creativity 552 00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:54,839 and the meaning out of kids' lives. 553 00:22:54,839 --> 00:22:58,079 And I really couldn't sign on to that also, 554 00:22:58,079 --> 00:22:59,920 although I did get to work in a special program 555 00:22:59,920 --> 00:23:01,959 that really was encouraging for kids. 556 00:23:01,959 --> 00:23:06,599 But I always knew I wanted to be a writer. 557 00:23:06,599 --> 00:23:11,599 And when I met my second husband, my late husband, 558 00:23:11,719 --> 00:23:15,119 he was working at a job in Vegas. 559 00:23:15,119 --> 00:23:17,959 He was working on Let's Make a Deal with Wayne Brady, 560 00:23:17,959 --> 00:23:20,160 the first season they filmed at the Tropicana Hotel. 561 00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:22,439 We actually lived in the Tropicana Hotel. 562 00:23:22,439 --> 00:23:25,560 So I had all this time. 563 00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:28,839 I was able to say goodbye to the last law job, 564 00:23:28,839 --> 00:23:30,119 saying, hey, you know, my husband's moving. 565 00:23:30,119 --> 00:23:32,239 I'm not gonna just let my guy on his own in Vegas. 566 00:23:32,239 --> 00:23:33,920 What woman does that? 567 00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:36,199 And I went with him and I had this time 568 00:23:36,199 --> 00:23:38,599 to really start to reconnect, 569 00:23:38,599 --> 00:23:41,800 to grieve the loss of my first marriage when it ended, 570 00:23:41,800 --> 00:23:44,040 to revisit what I'd gone through with my brother 571 00:23:44,040 --> 00:23:46,400 and to just start to connect to the person I wanted to be. 572 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:48,719 And that started a whole new journey. 573 00:23:48,719 --> 00:23:52,400 I got more involved in wellness and yoga and Pilates 574 00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:54,000 after Paul passed away, 575 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:57,040 got certified as a yoga instructor. 576 00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:02,040 And I felt like a different kind of path started to meet 577 00:24:02,599 --> 00:24:07,079 so that I could really teach wellness, 578 00:24:07,079 --> 00:24:09,400 but also live it by aligning myself 579 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:11,000 with what my soul had always wanted to do 580 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:13,119 since I was like six or seven years old. 581 00:24:13,119 --> 00:24:15,439 So I would say it took like 20 years 582 00:24:15,439 --> 00:24:18,560 to get from that path that I was on with Greg 583 00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:21,319 onto one that I felt would be more sustaining 584 00:24:21,319 --> 00:24:23,319 for this part of my life. 585 00:24:23,319 --> 00:24:26,400 And that's a big part of the work that I do 586 00:24:26,760 --> 00:24:27,920 with other people. 587 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:32,920 And when I teach, whether it's doing counseling one-on-one, 588 00:24:33,239 --> 00:24:36,760 I work with people who have had addiction in their family. 589 00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:39,280 It's like, there's no textbook that says 590 00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:41,359 you have to have it all together by a certain point. 591 00:24:41,359 --> 00:24:42,920 We're always reinventing ourselves. 592 00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:45,000 I am a living example of reinvention 593 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:48,359 and of taking the slow boat to alignment. 594 00:24:48,359 --> 00:24:52,439 So I would say that that path that I was on, 595 00:24:52,439 --> 00:24:53,959 it took me a long time 596 00:24:53,959 --> 00:24:58,239 and it went on a lot of little side streets and cul-de-sacs, 597 00:24:58,239 --> 00:24:59,920 but I'm really glad that it did 598 00:24:59,920 --> 00:25:02,640 because all of those cumulative experiences 599 00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:04,760 has made me who I am now. 600 00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:07,199 And I hope to keep going that way. 601 00:25:07,199 --> 00:25:09,040 I hope to keep exploring. 602 00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:11,319 Yeah, so you mentioned writing. 603 00:25:11,319 --> 00:25:14,439 Was writing something that was always a part of you? 604 00:25:14,439 --> 00:25:15,280 Yes. 605 00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:16,119 Yeah. 606 00:25:16,119 --> 00:25:18,239 I started writing little books 607 00:25:18,239 --> 00:25:19,880 when I was probably eight or nine years old 608 00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:22,959 on the line paper and doing illustrations 609 00:25:22,959 --> 00:25:24,520 and slapping the staples together. 610 00:25:24,520 --> 00:25:26,400 That was just kind of my thing. 611 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:28,599 I majored in English at college. 612 00:25:28,599 --> 00:25:33,239 I did a series of short stories for my honors thesis. 613 00:25:33,239 --> 00:25:37,119 And then, you know, the whole law school corporate, 614 00:25:37,119 --> 00:25:39,959 you know, let's move up in the world bandwagon came along. 615 00:25:39,959 --> 00:25:42,000 And I jumped on that even though my thesis professor said, 616 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:43,680 what are you doing? 617 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:46,040 And I'm like, oh, you know, I'll just do this. 618 00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:49,479 And, you know, but the writing always called me back, 619 00:25:49,479 --> 00:25:50,599 always called me back. 620 00:25:50,599 --> 00:25:53,760 And I had almost finished my first, 621 00:25:53,760 --> 00:25:55,359 my solo book at the time, you

know, 622 00:25:55,359 --> 00:25:57,719 Greg and Pink came along with Pink. 623 00:25:57,719 --> 00:26:00,199 And so that just kind of set me going. 624 00:26:00,199 --> 00:26:01,920 And here I am, I'm still doing it. 625 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:03,839 Yeah, the writing was an anchor for you. 626 00:26:03,839 --> 00:26:04,680 It sounds like. 627 00:26:04,680 --> 00:26:05,920 Yes. 628 00:26:05,920 --> 00:26:09,000 How did I not know that you lived at the Tropicana Hotel? 629 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:10,959 For how long did you do that, one year? 630 00:26:13,079 --> 00:26:15,880 We lived, probably for seven or eight months, 631 00:26:15,880 --> 00:26:16,719 we lived there. 632 00:26:16,719 --> 00:26:18,719 And then the show came back and then was in Los Angeles 633 00:26:18,719 --> 00:26:20,920 and he only worked on it for the first season. 634 00:26:20,920 --> 00:26:23,880 But yeah, I was a Vegas girl. 635 00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:26,839 It was interesting to like explore life off the strip. 636 00:26:26,839 --> 00:26:28,599 I can't picture that, I'm trying to picture that. 637 00:26:28,599 --> 00:26:30,280 Was that, that was off the strip, right? 638 00:26:30,280 --> 00:26:31,880 It's in the downtown Vegas, right? 639 00:26:31,880 --> 00:26:32,719 Tropicana. 640 00:26:32,719 --> 00:26:33,640 No, no, Tropicana was on the strip. 641 00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:35,680 Now they've torn the whole thing down now. 642 00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:37,439 So they're gonna put something else up. 643 00:26:37,439 --> 00:26:39,760 But yeah, it was right there by McCarran Airport. 644 00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:40,880 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 645 00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:41,719 You were right. 646 00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:44,119 Cool. 647 00:26:44,119 --> 00:26:44,959 Yeah. 648 00:26:44,959 --> 00:26:46,800 Okay, Greg, your turn. 649 00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:50,640 Yeah, so I stayed in entertainment for a while. 650 00:26:50,640 --> 00:26:53,599 Dani, Dani was amazing in entertainment too. 651 00:26:53,599 --> 00:26:57,560 She was a director at Saban and ran big meetings 652 00:26:57,560 --> 00:26:58,400 and kind of held everything. 653 00:26:58,400 --> 00:27:01,560 And she was kind of like the right hand of the president. 654 00:27:01,560 --> 00:27:03,119 Really, she orchestrated everything. 655 00:27:03,119 --> 00:27:06,959 And she worked, started as an assistant for Haim Saban. 656 00:27:06,959 --> 00:27:08,800 So I just kind of wanted to add a little bit of that, 657 00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:11,680 that she was always kind of like pretty high level. 658 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:13,319 And it was her choice to go on a different journey 659 00:27:13,319 --> 00:27:14,160 and that's all good. 660 00:27:14,160 --> 00:27:16,599 Entertainment's really hard and it can spit you out 661 00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:20,680 and chew you up and you don't feel good about a lot of it. 662 00:27:20,680 --> 00:27:22,199 But I stayed in it. 663 00:27:22,199 --> 00:27:25,880 I went from Saban to Sony Pictures. 664

00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:28,239 And that's where I became a director of special events 665 00:27:28,239 --> 00:27:30,920 for Sony Pictures Consumer Products. 666 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:32,920 And I did all the toy fairs and licensing shows 667 00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:36,719 and all the, everything that was event related. 668 00:27:36,719 --> 00:27:38,560 And I went on to work. 669 00:27:38,560 --> 00:27:39,800 I was kind of tired of entertainment. 670 00:27:39,800 --> 00:27:42,000 I moved to San Diego to La Jolla and went, 671 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:44,520 worked for Upper Deck and I worked with athletes. 672 00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:46,520 So I produced and was a director of special events 673 00:27:47,280 --> 00:27:48,119 for Upper Deck. 674 00:27:48,119 --> 00:27:50,439 So I worked with LeBron James and Derek Jeter and all that. 675 00:27:50,439 --> 00:27:52,319 And I have to say it was a lot more fun. 676 00:27:52,319 --> 00:27:55,000 Athletes are really kind of down to earth, 677 00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:57,319 humble, a little bit shy and kind of awkward 678 00:27:57,319 --> 00:27:59,560 and just fun to work with. 679 00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:01,680 They don't lead you around by a leash 680 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:05,040 and they don't need gummy bears from Germany in their room 681 00:28:05,040 --> 00:28:07,239 and all this weird stuff that I was doing 682 00:28:07,239 --> 00:28:08,839 when I was at Sony. 683 00:28:09,719 --> 00:28:14,719 And then I just, I found myself unemployed. 684 00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:17,079 The great recession kind of came along 685 00:28:17,079 --> 00:28:19,439 and I was really struggling. 686 00:28:19,439 --> 00:28:23,319 And I answered a really bad ad in Craigslist 687 00:28:23,319 --> 00:28:28,319 for a licensee to run a paint and sit program in Seattle. 688 00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:30,319 And they offered drink tickets and stuff. 689 00:28:30,319 --> 00:28:32,000 It was really cheesy ad. 690 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:33,040 And I also painted. 691 00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:35,560 So in 2001, when my dad passed away, I started painting. 692 00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:37,680 So I became a pretty good artist as well. 693 00:28:37,680 --> 00:28:39,439 So I had the event background, the art background. 694 00:28:39,439 --> 00:28:42,680 I thought this might be a nice merger together. 695 00:28:42,680 --> 00:28:44,280 And I went to the interview. 696 00:28:44,839 --> 00:28:45,760 I didn't want to, but I figured, 697 00:28:45,760 --> 00:28:46,599 there's an exit door. 698 00:28:46,599 --> 00:28:49,359 If I didn't like it, I could just exit and call it a day. 699 00:28:49,359 --> 00:28:51,199 And the owner was there. 700 00:28:51,199 --> 00:28:53,160 And I arrived early and I was all dressed up 701 00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:54,439 and just really kind of prepared. 702 00:28:54,439 --> 00:28:57,040 Like if I'm gonna go, I show up a hundred percent. 703 00:28:57,040 --> 00:29:00,599 And we connected and I ended up getting that gig. 704 00:29:00,599 --> 00:29:03,359 So I became a licensee in Seattle 705 00:29:03,359 --> 00:29:05,640 for a company, a paint and sip company. 706 00:29:05,640 --> 00:29:08,680 And I built that business into a half a million dollar 707 00:29:08,680 --> 00:29:11,920 business, which is kind of shocking when I look at it. 708 00:29:11,959 --> 00:29:13,640 Yeah. And then during the pandemic, 709 00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:16,439 I just, I kind of redid it all over again 710 00:29:16,439 --> 00:29:18,400 under my own brand. 711 00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:20,719 There were a lot of things about the paint and sip. 712 00:29:20,719 --> 00:29:24,199 I wanted my brand to be more spiritual, more uplift, 713 00:29:24,199 --> 00:29:29,160 more kind of life coach with paint or art therapy. 714 00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:32,239 And so I was able to kind of just reinvent that 715 00:29:32,239 --> 00:29:33,239 and do that. 716 00:29:33,239 --> 00:29:34,920 And it's been really great. 717 00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:37,439 And, you know, just everything creative, you know, 718 00:29:37,439 --> 00:29:40,880 writing, painting, you know, event planning, 719 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:43,119 all that stuff kind of falls in my wheelhouse. 720 00:29:43,119 --> 00:29:44,359 Cool. Just for the listeners, 721 00:29:44,359 --> 00:29:46,920 would you be able to explain what a paint and sip is 722 00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:47,839 a little more? 723 00:29:47,839 --> 00:29:50,640 Yeah. So a master artist will walk you through a painting 724 00:29:50,640 --> 00:29:53,680 during a two hour event and you take home your masterpiece. 725 00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:56,719 So you select the painting like on a website 726 00:29:56,719 --> 00:29:58,000 and then we'll walk you through it. 727 00:29:58,000 --> 00:29:59,439 And we'll talk about, you know, 728 00:29:59,439 --> 00:30:01,880 while you're feeling a certain way, be kind to yourself 729 00:30:01,880 --> 00:30:03,839 and we'll teach you how to mix and whatever. 730 00:30:03,839 --> 00:30:06,800 But you do walk away with a version of that painting 731 00:30:06,800 --> 00:30:08,959 that you've created and we take photos and stuff. 732 00:30:08,959 --> 00:30:11,199 And that's basically the event. 733 00:30:11,199 --> 00:30:13,040 We do a lot of private events 734 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:15,400 and a lot of corporate team building stuff 735 00:30:15,400 --> 00:30:17,920 where you might have a large painting 736 00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:19,800 that's divided up into 20 canvases 737 00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:21,280 and they each paint a little bit 738 00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:22,959 and they all come together and create the, 739 00:30:22,959 --> 00:30:23,959 you know, the big painting. 740 00:30:23,959 --> 00:30:24,920 So super popular. 741 00:30:24,920 --> 00:30:27,079 I'm starting to hit high season now. 742 00:30:27,079 --> 00:30:28,319 So I'm starting to feel it. 743 00:30:28,319 --> 00:30:31,079 I have like, I personally have four events a week, 744 00:30:31,079 -->

00:30:33,880 but I have another six that my other artists are handling 745 00:30:33,880 --> 00:30:35,599 and I can see kind of like, 746 00:30:35,599 --> 00:30:37,599 things are kind of like going up there, 747 00:30:37,599 --> 00:30:38,439 which I'm glad, 748 00:30:38,439 --> 00:30:41,040 because this summer was just completely dead. 749 00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:44,760 I was going out of my mind, which was good. 750 00:30:44,760 --> 00:30:46,479 So I got to focus a little bit more on my book 751 00:30:46,479 --> 00:30:48,239 and more on painting, 752 00:30:48,239 --> 00:30:50,119 but there's always some avenue of creativity 753 00:30:50,119 --> 00:30:52,640 that I can kind of, you know, go to, 754 00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:54,319 yeah, entertain myself. 755 00:30:54,319 --> 00:30:57,680 Yeah, so how did your paths converge again 756 00:30:57,680 --> 00:30:59,880 and how did you end up working together? 757 00:31:01,560 --> 00:31:02,880 Dan, do you want to take it? 758 00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:06,439 Yeah, well, like I said, 759 00:31:06,479 --> 00:31:07,880 Greg and I reconnected, you know, 760 00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:10,119 during my late husband's transition. 761 00:31:10,119 --> 00:31:11,719 I would say this is probably, 762 00:31:11,719 --> 00:31:15,719 it was 2017, he passed in 2017. 763 00:31:15,719 --> 00:31:19,560 And the following year, you know, we'd been talking 764 00:31:19,560 --> 00:31:22,160 and he said, you know what, you know, 765 00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:24,079 there's this really great place I love to go to, 766 00:31:24,079 --> 00:31:27,239 Cannon Beach, and I think you need to, you know, 767 00:31:27,239 --> 00:31:28,880 start getting out a little more and go there. 768 00:31:28,880 --> 00:31:32,239 I mean, I had been taking trips with, you know, 769 00:31:32,239 --> 00:31:33,239 my folks and people, 770 00:31:33,239 --> 00:31:37,560 but I hadn't seen Greg in, I don't know, 771 00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:38,959 20 years at that point. 772 00:31:38,959 --> 00:31:41,439 So he says, yeah, just fly up, you know, 773 00:31:41,439 --> 00:31:43,040 I'll pick you up, we're just gonna go to Cannon Beach. 774 00:31:43,040 --> 00:31:45,079 So we hadn't seen each other for 20 years. 775 00:31:45,079 --> 00:31:47,479 So I fly up to Seattle, he picks me up 776 00:31:47,479 --> 00:31:50,359 and we drive to Cannon Beach and on the way, 777 00:31:50,359 --> 00:31:52,280 it's kind of like no time had passed. 778 00:31:52,280 --> 00:31:53,119 It's like, oh, hey, how are you? 779 00:31:53,119 --> 00:31:53,959 Okay, blah, blah, blah, blah. 780 00:31:53,959 --> 00:31:55,959 And we're, you know, talking nonstop the entire time. 781 00:31:55,959 --> 00:31:59,520 We spent, you know, three, four days there. 782 00:31:59,520 --> 00:32:03,079 And we went back again to Cannon Beach, you know, 783 00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:04,800 last year. 784 00:32:04,800 --> 00:32:08,199 But we had such a good time together. 785 00:32:08,199 --> 00:32:10,079 And frankly, when you get

older, 786 00:32:10,079 --> 00:32:12,040 it's really precious to find somebody 787 00:32:12,040 --> 00:32:13,560 that you could actually travel with 788 00:32:13,560 --> 00:32:16,560 because I like my alone time and my space. 789 00:32:16,560 --> 00:32:17,400 And so does Greg. 790 00:32:17,400 --> 00:32:18,239 It's like, oh my God, 791 00:32:18,239 --> 00:32:20,079 we could actually like respect each other's space and time 792 00:32:20,079 --> 00:32:21,560 and still have lots to say to each other. 793 00:32:21,560 --> 00:32:22,719 We like to do the same things. 794 00:32:22,719 --> 00:32:24,119 And, you know, we like to be active. 795 00:32:24,119 --> 00:32:25,719 We like seafood and all this stuff 796 00:32:25,719 --> 00:32:29,199 that a lot of would be deal breakers between other people. 797 00:32:29,199 --> 00:32:33,199 So after Cannon Beach, the first time he says, 798 00:32:33,199 --> 00:32:34,479 I think I loved it. 799 00:32:34,479 --> 00:32:35,319 I love the beach. 800 00:32:35,319 --> 00:32:36,160 We've got to go back. 801 00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:37,560 I said, yeah, but it was very windy there. 802 00:32:37,560 --> 00:32:38,920 And the sand felt like needles. 803 00:32:38,920 --> 00:32:42,479 And, you know, how about like a tropical place? 804 00:32:42,479 --> 00:32:46,079 And my late husband and I had gone to Kauai a lot together. 805 00:32:46,079 --> 00:32:47,839 And Greg's like, well, what about Kauai? 806 00:32:47,839 --> 00:32:49,079 I said, oh, I don't know. 807 00:32:49,079 --> 00:32:50,040 You know, I was there 808 00:32:50,040 --> 00:32:51,520 and I scattered my husband's ashes there. 809 00:32:51,520 --> 00:32:53,280 I'm thinking maybe I'm done with that place. 810 00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:54,959 And he's like, no, I don't know. 811 00:32:54,959 --> 00:32:57,319 So we actually went back to, 812 00:32:57,319 --> 00:32:58,520 we went to Kauai together, Greg. 813 00:32:58,839 --> 00:33:00,359 We stayed in a different part of the island 814 00:33:00,359 --> 00:33:01,880 and it was a completely different experience. 815 00:33:01,880 --> 00:33:02,959 It was like a new island to me. 816 00:33:02,959 --> 00:33:07,880 And we just had these very intense spiritual experiences, 817 00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:10,479 nature experiences there together. 818 00:33:10,479 --> 00:33:13,520 And we went again a couple of months later. 819 00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:14,400 We loved it so much. 820 00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:17,719 And after that second trip, 821 00:33:17,719 --> 00:33:20,920 I think Greg was inspired to put together a story 822 00:33:20,920 --> 00:33:24,760 about finding oneself, but using Kauai as a backdrop. 823 00:33:24,760 --> 00:33:27,520 And so in 2022, I think it was, 824 00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:29,520 he sent me a draft, a very rough draft 825 00:33:29,520 --> 00:33:30,760 of a story he'd put together. 826 00:33:30,760 --> 00:33:34,640 I was in Kauai at the time with my fiance and some friends. 827 00:33:34,640 --> 00:33:36,640 He didn't even, Greg didn't even know I was there. 828 00:33:36,640 --> 00:33:38,719 But like I tell everybody, that island, 829 00:33:38,719 --> 00:33:41,680 whenever I'm there, it always asks me to do something. 830 00:33:41,680 --> 00:33:43,000 I have to process something. 831 00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:45,079 A lot of it's unpleasant, inconvenient. 832 00:33:45,079 --> 00:33:46,800 I have to face up to certain realities. 833 00:33:46,800 --> 00:33:50,400 But this last trip, the island said, okay, 834 00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:51,839 there's something that needs to be birthed, 835 00:33:51,839 --> 00:33:52,839 to create a story, 836 00:33:52,839 --> 00:33:55,160 something that you need to be involved with. 837 00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:57,040 And I didn't think that at the time 838 00:33:57,040 --> 00:33:59,119 because I just gave my opinion on it. 839 00:33:59,119 --> 00:34:00,880 And, you know, eventually Greg said, 840 00:34:00,880 --> 00:34:02,439 well, let's just, you know, work on it. 841 00:34:02,439 --> 00:34:03,280 You could edit it. 842 00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:04,839 So I started editing it 843 00:34:04,839 --> 00:34:06,599 and then it became more than editorship. 844 00:34:06,599 --> 00:34:07,880 And he said, you know what? 845 00:34:07,880 --> 00:34:09,280 I think it's time for a co-write. 846 00:34:09,280 --> 00:34:12,959 And we just started throwing chapters back and forth. 847 00:34:12,959 --> 00:34:15,360 And that's how I Am Pink was born. 848 00:34:15,360 --> 00:34:19,320 That's how the collaboration became alive. 849 00:34:19,320 --> 00:34:21,040 And that's what we've done so far. 850 00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:22,679 There'll probably be more in the future. 851 00:34:22,679 --> 00:34:23,520 I hope there will be, 852 00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:26,959 but that was the genesis of our work, 853 00:34:26,959 --> 00:34:31,840 not just as friends, but as creative collaborators. 854 00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:35,399 It's really profound, like the transformation 855 00:34:35,399 --> 00:34:37,239 that that location has given you 856 00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:39,479 of the death and birthing process. 857 00:34:39,479 --> 00:34:40,320 That's- 858 00:34:40,320 --> 00:34:42,199 Yes, it is. 859 00:34:42,199 --> 00:34:43,040 Yeah, and we started over. 860 00:34:43,040 --> 00:34:45,040 I mean, I thought I was done with the book 861 00:34:45,040 --> 00:34:46,080 and I wanted Danny to help me. 862 00:34:46,080 --> 00:34:47,679 And Danny's like, oh, you know, 863 00:34:47,679 --> 00:34:49,560 if we really want to go in this co-author thing, 864 00:34:49,560 --> 00:34:50,719 then, you know, we have another year. 865 00:34:50,719 --> 00:34:53,040 I'm like, another year? 866 00:34:53,040 --> 00:34:56,120 I'm like, oh no, like, I don't want to do that. 867 00:34:56,120 --> 00:34:58,239 And then I thought about it and she's like, 868 00:34:58,239 --> 00:35:00,760 well, you know, do you want it to be better? 869 00:35:00,760 --> 00:35:01,840 Do you want it to be deeper? 870

00:35:01,840 --> 00:35:02,919 Do you want it to be, you know, 871 00:35:02,919 --> 00:35:05,320 we can work on it for three years, 872 00:35:05,320 --> 00:35:06,840 but I think, you know, a year would do it. 873 00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:09,840 And so we really started over chapter by chapter, 874 00:35:09,840 --> 00:35:12,239 kind of breaking it down, looking at it. 875 00:35:12,239 --> 00:35:14,800 Danny introduced, you know, some more characters, 876 00:35:14,800 --> 00:35:17,959 you know, the rhetoric, the feeling, the vulnerability. 877 00:35:17,959 --> 00:35:20,679 Having two people now share vulnerability 878 00:35:20,719 --> 00:35:23,800 was very different and just deeper. 879 00:35:23,800 --> 00:35:26,000 So I could see how far I could go 880 00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:27,959 and then Danny would whip something back to me. 881 00:35:27,959 --> 00:35:29,800 I'm like, oh, you know, 882 00:35:29,800 --> 00:35:32,080 there's a female perspective of vulnerability 883 00:35:32,080 --> 00:35:34,760 that I don't have and I really liked that. 884 00:35:34,760 --> 00:35:38,560 The character was female, like this is making sense. 885 00:35:38,560 --> 00:35:41,239 So yeah, it was really, really cool. 886 00:35:41,239 --> 00:35:44,439 We collaborate well, we understand each other well, 887 00:35:44,439 --> 00:35:46,320 we respect each other. 888 00:35:46,320 --> 00:35:49,719 There's just kind of an unconditional understanding 889 00:35:49,719 --> 00:35:52,879 that we have and we lift each other up 890 00:35:52,879 --> 00:35:54,000 and make each other better. 891 00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:54,840 It's really wonderful. 892 00:35:54,840 --> 00:35:56,040 I'm really lucky. 893 00:35:56,040 --> 00:35:57,360 Yeah, it sounds like you were able 894 00:35:57,360 --> 00:35:58,879 to push the edges together. 895 00:36:00,280 --> 00:36:03,600 Yeah, they were really like bumpy edges. 896 00:36:05,320 --> 00:36:07,879 So we got to smooth out a little bit. 897 00:36:07,879 --> 00:36:09,439 So what is the premise of the book 898 00:36:09,439 --> 00:36:13,320 for the listeners of the story and how it came to life? 899 00:36:14,560 --> 00:36:15,760 Well, the first- 900 00:36:15,760 --> 00:36:17,080 No, go ahead. 901 00:36:17,080 --> 00:36:22,080 Well, the premise of it is the fact that so, 902 00:36:23,439 --> 00:36:25,360 and I think I spoke to this a little bit, 903 00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:27,239 I think we both did when it came to authenticity, 904 00:36:27,239 --> 00:36:32,239 is that so many of us are socialized by the collective, 905 00:36:34,719 --> 00:36:36,560 by things that we're not always aware of, 906 00:36:36,560 --> 00:36:37,959 but sometimes things we are aware of, 907 00:36:37,959 --> 00:36:42,959 society, family, to follow a very formulaic path in life. 908 00:36:42,959 --> 00:36:46,479 You get an education, you have a great job slash career, 909 00:36:46,479 --> 00:36:48,879 you get married, you have kids, you get a house, 910 00:36:48,879 --> 00:36:52,639 and

then you get a bigger house and you go on vacations 911 00:36:52,639 --> 00:36:56,679 and you have all the trappings that society says 912 00:36:57,479 --> 00:37:01,399 are markers of happiness and success. 913 00:37:01,399 --> 00:37:04,159 And so the protagonist of the story 914 00:37:04,159 --> 00:37:09,159 is somebody who has really done the work toward that, 915 00:37:11,040 --> 00:37:13,760 but hasn't found anything other than imbalance, 916 00:37:13,760 --> 00:37:17,560 exhaustion, resentment, and ill health. 917 00:37:17,560 --> 00:37:22,560 And so he just one day kind of flouts 918 00:37:23,040 --> 00:37:25,760 what the CEO of his company is telling him he has to do 919 00:37:25,760 --> 00:37:27,280 and says, I need to take a vacation, 920 00:37:27,280 --> 00:37:28,320 I've never had a vacation. 921 00:37:28,320 --> 00:37:31,959 And he takes a few days and he goes to Kauai. 922 00:37:32,840 --> 00:37:36,959 And like I've kind of hinted before, 923 00:37:36,959 --> 00:37:40,679 the island held for him a lot of lessons, 924 00:37:40,679 --> 00:37:44,239 a lot of messages, a lot of invitations. 925 00:37:44,239 --> 00:37:48,000 And while those aren't the same types of lessons, 926 00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:50,840 invitations, and urges that every single human being 927 00:37:50,840 --> 00:37:52,639 would have, the whole thing is a metaphor 928 00:37:52,639 --> 00:37:56,199 for what can happen when you open yourself up 929 00:37:56,199 --> 00:38:00,840 to the power of saying yes, and the power of trusting, 930 00:38:00,840 --> 00:38:03,479 and the power of being intentional 931 00:38:03,479 --> 00:38:05,080 about how you wanna feel, 932 00:38:05,080 --> 00:38:06,959 but also having the kind of faith and trust 933 00:38:06,959 --> 00:38:11,479 where you can let the universe sort out the details. 934 00:38:11,479 --> 00:38:14,679 And he meets a very powerful teacher there, 935 00:38:14,679 --> 00:38:18,800 a love interest and other people who helped to lift him up 936 00:38:18,800 --> 00:38:23,080 through that very bumpy journey that he takes 937 00:38:23,080 --> 00:38:25,159 toward coming home to him himself. 938 00:38:26,879 --> 00:38:28,280 Yeah, and there were parts of it, 939 00:38:28,280 --> 00:38:29,959 there are parts of it, Whitney, 940 00:38:29,959 --> 00:38:31,959 that are obviously very real. 941 00:38:31,959 --> 00:38:33,879 You take things, you take your life experience, 942 00:38:33,879 --> 00:38:35,040 you pour it into a book, 943 00:38:35,040 --> 00:38:37,040 but there was a woman there, 944 00:38:37,040 --> 00:38:40,600 the first time we saw her, I saw her on the beach, 945 00:38:40,600 --> 00:38:42,199 she looked kind of like a witch, 946 00:38:42,199 --> 00:38:44,320 like her hair was kind of broken, 947 00:38:44,320 --> 00:38:45,639 and she just, I don't know, 948 00:38:45,639 --> 00:38:46,879 there was something really mysterious 949 00:38:46,879 --> 00:38:49,360 and very different and off about her. 950 00:38:49,360 --> 00:38:51,959 And I remember like feeling, 951 00:38:51,959 --> 00:38:54,800 just my antennas kind of went up when she was around, 952 00:38:54,800 --> 00:38:57,280 and she walks by me and she says, 953 00:38:57,280 --> 00:39:00,560 pink, and like leaves, 954 00:39:00,560 --> 00:39:02,120 and I'm like, oh shit, am I sunburned? 955 00:39:02,120 --> 00:39:03,600 And like looking around, 956 00:39:03,600 --> 00:39:05,560 and like, I don't know where she is, 957 00:39:05,560 --> 00:39:08,040 like she's gone, it was really strange. 958 00:39:08,040 --> 00:39:10,439 And then Danny and I went back the second time, 959 00:39:10,439 --> 00:39:13,879 true story, I just, this really freaks me out. 960 00:39:13,879 --> 00:39:16,919 Well, the island, it's so like incredible. 961 00:39:16,919 --> 00:39:18,679 But anyway, we're in the middle of the Pacific 962 00:39:18,679 --> 00:39:20,879 at this one beach, 963 00:39:20,879 --> 00:39:25,879 and this woman like pops up like from under the water, 964 00:39:25,959 --> 00:39:28,199 and it's this woman, 965 00:39:28,199 --> 00:39:31,639 she's like, isn't the ocean so healing? 966 00:39:31,639 --> 00:39:35,239 And I'm like, oh my God, Danny, there's that woman. 967 00:39:35,239 --> 00:39:37,719 So it's like, we went in April and we go back in July 968 00:39:37,719 --> 00:39:38,760 and we see the same woman, 969 00:39:38,760 --> 00:39:43,719 it's just, so she ends up being a protagonist in our story. 970 00:39:43,719 --> 00:39:47,239 But there was a lot of real life things 971 00:39:47,239 --> 00:39:49,080 that happened on that island 972 00:39:49,080 --> 00:39:53,280 that are just like so crazy to even like, 973 00:39:53,280 --> 00:39:54,919 believe that they happened, 974 00:39:54,919 --> 00:39:58,040 that it just infused what I think 975 00:39:58,040 --> 00:39:59,439 is a really beautiful book. 976 00:39:59,439 --> 00:40:01,919 But it's more than just letting go, 977 00:40:01,919 --> 00:40:03,800 it's really like Danny said, saying yes, 978 00:40:03,800 --> 00:40:05,959 and then taking a different path, 979 00:40:05,959 --> 00:40:09,159 not having the answers, not knowing where you're going, 980 00:40:09,159 --> 00:40:12,120 having all that insecurity and vulnerability and uncertainty 981 00:40:12,120 --> 00:40:13,959 and still walking down the path. 982 00:40:13,959 --> 00:40:16,040 That's where the rewards and the gifts are. 983 00:40:16,040 --> 00:40:17,840 And everybody talks about it, 984 00:40:17,840 --> 00:40:20,199 but, and it sounds nice, 985 00:40:20,199 --> 00:40:21,800 but we don't do it 986 00:40:21,800 --> 00:40:24,760 because it's super, super uncomfortable. 987 00:40:24,760 --> 00:40:26,760 And we don't know if we're going to go further down 988 00:40:26,760 --> 00:40:29,000 and it scares, just scares us. 989 00:40:29,520 --> 00:40:31,919 So this character does that. 990 00:40:31,919 --> 00:40:34,159 He gets a lot of rewards within that. 991 00:40:34,159 --> 00:40:35,719 He's scared too. 992

00:40:35,719 --> 00:40:38,080 He goes to cry on that vacation. 993 00:40:38,080 --> 00:40:39,159 He doesn't come back. 994 00:40:40,679 --> 00:40:42,919 Yeah, he doesn't come back to his other life. 995 00:40:42,919 --> 00:40:46,040 He stays there and repurposes, 996 00:40:46,040 --> 00:40:48,239 reimagines a whole new existence 997 00:40:48,239 --> 00:40:51,719 and becomes an actual real important person on that island. 998 00:40:52,639 --> 00:40:53,840 You know, and has no idea 999 00:40:53,840 --> 00:40:55,679 that that's about to all happen to him 1000 00:40:55,679 --> 00:40:58,560 only because he said, yeah, I'm open to this journey. 1001 00:40:58,560 --> 00:41:00,679 That's the only reason why it happened. 1002 00:41:00,679 --> 00:41:01,560 Yeah. 1003 00:41:01,560 --> 00:41:03,639 I really loved the word that you said, Danny. 1004 00:41:03,639 --> 00:41:05,360 Invitation stood out to me 1005 00:41:05,360 --> 00:41:09,639 of being a really prominent theme of the book. 1006 00:41:09,639 --> 00:41:11,760 And I really loved the way that felt 1007 00:41:11,760 --> 00:41:14,879 of being given the invitation 1008 00:41:14,879 --> 00:41:19,040 to explore a different path, a different way. 1009 00:41:19,040 --> 00:41:23,800 Well, I feel that we are all being given invitations, 1010 00:41:23,800 --> 00:41:26,360 but we make a lot of excuses 1011 00:41:26,360 --> 00:41:29,639 because the invitation doesn't come in the way 1012 00:41:29,639 --> 00:41:31,040 that we think it should 1013 00:41:31,040 --> 00:41:34,360 or with the timing that we think it should. 1014 00:41:34,360 --> 00:41:39,360 But I think the important thing about invitations, 1015 00:41:41,320 --> 00:41:45,040 like, you know, the invitation from Greg 1016 00:41:45,040 --> 00:41:46,919 to go to Cannon Beach 1017 00:41:46,919 --> 00:41:49,399 or the invitation to go to Kauai 1018 00:41:49,399 --> 00:41:51,239 when I felt like I was done. 1019 00:41:52,239 --> 00:41:54,520 I kind of now am guided invitationally 1020 00:41:54,520 --> 00:41:56,399 by how I want to feel. 1021 00:41:56,399 --> 00:41:59,439 And if a suggestion sparked something in me, 1022 00:41:59,439 --> 00:42:02,800 that's like, huh, here's a possibility. 1023 00:42:02,800 --> 00:42:04,320 Instead of saying, oh, I'm stupid. 1024 00:42:04,320 --> 00:42:05,479 Why would I think that? 1025 00:42:05,479 --> 00:42:07,800 Oh, I have, I got this obligation. 1026 00:42:07,800 --> 00:42:09,239 I got that obligation. 1027 00:42:09,239 --> 00:42:14,239 And I think the more we say yes to the invitations, 1028 00:42:14,360 --> 00:42:18,080 the more we get other invitations 1029 00:42:18,080 --> 00:42:22,520 and the more we increase our capability 1030 00:42:22,520 --> 00:42:25,439 of saying yes through all the noise 1031 00:42:25,439 --> 00:42:30,439 that everything puts on us and get us to say no. 1032 00:42:31,280 --> 00:42:35,439 I think people tend to see invitations more as demands 1033 00:42:35,439 --> 00:42:40,439 instead of like

a door opening into a possibility. 1034 00:42:43,040 --> 00:42:46,840 And like I said before, we don't know what we don't know. 1035 00:42:46,840 --> 00:42:49,719 There's such a vast possibility out there, 1036 00:42:49,719 --> 00:42:52,159 a vast amount of information 1037 00:42:52,159 --> 00:42:54,399 that could become really intensely relevant to us 1038 00:42:54,399 --> 00:42:55,479 if we just walk through that door. 1039 00:42:55,479 --> 00:42:57,280 But so many people, 1040 00:42:57,280 --> 00:42:59,560 they're happier staying in the hallway. 1041 00:42:59,560 --> 00:43:01,320 Oh, I don't want to go through that door. 1042 00:43:01,320 --> 00:43:02,320 What's behind there? 1043 00:43:02,320 --> 00:43:04,560 Oh, I think I'll just stay here. 1044 00:43:06,520 --> 00:43:08,919 And there are a lot of people that they get, 1045 00:43:08,919 --> 00:43:10,840 they're empowered by saying no. 1046 00:43:10,840 --> 00:43:12,919 They collect and gather invitations. 1047 00:43:12,919 --> 00:43:14,199 And they're like, oh, that's not good enough. 1048 00:43:14,199 --> 00:43:15,040 That's not good. 1049 00:43:15,040 --> 00:43:17,800 And they feel very powerful being able to say no. 1050 00:43:17,800 --> 00:43:21,399 It's really interesting how they're stopping their life 1051 00:43:21,399 --> 00:43:23,760 or waiting for the better one to come along, 1052 00:43:23,760 --> 00:43:24,639 whatever that means. 1053 00:43:24,639 --> 00:43:25,479 I don't know. 1054 00:43:27,120 --> 00:43:28,199 I don't know what that means either. 1055 00:43:28,199 --> 00:43:30,120 Yeah, I don't know. 1056 00:43:30,120 --> 00:43:31,840 Perfection, all these things that we're attaining, 1057 00:43:31,840 --> 00:43:33,719 it's like, I don't know what that is. 1058 00:43:33,719 --> 00:43:35,239 I was explaining to someone the other day 1059 00:43:35,239 --> 00:43:38,800 that perfection was actually different with every person, 1060 00:43:38,800 --> 00:43:39,840 that their happy moment, 1061 00:43:39,840 --> 00:43:42,399 their greatest moment or whatever is unique to them. 1062 00:43:42,399 --> 00:43:43,479 And it's not universal. 1063 00:43:43,479 --> 00:43:46,080 And people are like, wow. 1064 00:43:47,080 --> 00:43:50,360 We can't actually use that term universally. 1065 00:43:50,360 --> 00:43:54,280 So how did writing the book invite new invitations 1066 00:43:54,280 --> 00:43:55,560 for the both of you? 1067 00:43:57,320 --> 00:44:01,040 I feel like writing the book wasn't, 1068 00:44:01,040 --> 00:44:04,360 it was an invitation again that I wasn't expecting. 1069 00:44:04,360 --> 00:44:06,600 And I would have, 1070 00:44:06,600 --> 00:44:09,399 I never thought that I'd be a co-author 1071 00:44:09,399 --> 00:44:11,639 or even an editor on it 1072 00:44:11,639 --> 00:44:15,719 because I'm very respectful of artists 1073 00:44:16,399 --> 00:44:18,679 and I would never wanna tell anybody how to do their art, 1074 00:44:18,679 --> 00:44:19,560 how to do their idea, 1075 00:44:19,560 --> 00:44:21,840 how to do their writing, their painting, whatever. 1076 00:44:21,840 --> 00:44:24,840 But Greg really invited me. 1077 00:44:24,840 --> 00:44:29,840 And what that invitation communicated to me from him 1078 00:44:30,040 --> 00:44:31,639 was trust. 1079 00:44:31,639 --> 00:44:36,639 He trusted me with the story and with the characters. 1080 00:44:37,280 --> 00:44:41,560 So I think when we talk about invitations, 1081 00:44:41,560 --> 00:44:44,280 we talk about trusting where it's come from, 1082 00:44:44,280 --> 00:44:48,239 but also trusting ourselves to step up. 1083 00:44:48,239 --> 00:44:52,080 And being invited into that process with Greg, 1084 00:44:52,080 --> 00:44:57,080 it was a very, very healing experience for me. 1085 00:44:57,239 --> 00:44:59,120 We were just coming out of the pandemic, 1086 00:44:59,120 --> 00:45:03,439 which caused me personally a lot of anxiety. 1087 00:45:03,439 --> 00:45:04,719 It re-triggered a lot of stuff 1088 00:45:04,719 --> 00:45:06,120 that I probably hadn't processed 1089 00:45:06,120 --> 00:45:08,840 from having lost my husband a couple of years before that. 1090 00:45:08,840 --> 00:45:12,800 And so I just felt that delving into the story 1091 00:45:12,800 --> 00:45:16,080 of a yearning soul 1092 00:45:16,080 --> 00:45:19,199 and the people who stepped forward to help him 1093 00:45:19,199 --> 00:45:20,520 and to help him heal 1094 00:45:20,520 --> 00:45:22,600 was kind of a beautiful art imitating life 1095 00:45:22,600 --> 00:45:23,760 of how this project 1096 00:45:23,760 --> 00:45:26,639 and Greg had stepped into my life and my space 1097 00:45:26,639 --> 00:45:28,760 to invite me into a healing journey. 1098 00:45:30,040 --> 00:45:30,879 Beautiful. 1099 00:45:30,879 --> 00:45:31,719 Greg? 1100 00:45:31,719 --> 00:45:32,560 Yeah, and as an author, 1101 00:45:32,560 --> 00:45:35,360 I mean, you have to show up differently. 1102 00:45:35,360 --> 00:45:37,760 So you get invitations to do book signings 1103 00:45:37,760 --> 00:45:39,520 and you get invitations to do podcasts 1104 00:45:39,520 --> 00:45:42,520 and all of a sudden people look at you in a different way 1105 00:45:43,239 --> 00:45:44,439 and even with my business, 1106 00:45:44,439 --> 00:45:45,439 people would come up and say, 1107 00:45:45,439 --> 00:45:46,719 oh, I read your book. 1108 00:45:46,719 --> 00:45:48,360 Like I was at Expedia the other day 1109 00:45:48,360 --> 00:45:51,959 and the organizer read my book or read our book 1110 00:45:51,959 --> 00:45:55,639 and it was just kind of cool. 1111 00:45:55,639 --> 00:45:58,239 So you do get, 1112 00:45:58,239 --> 00:46:01,760 it opens the world up in a different way 1113 00:46:01,760 --> 00:46:04,719 that you don't have to be ready for, 1114 00:46:04,719 --> 00:46:07,080 but I don't think that would happen in either way 1115 00:46:07,080 --> 00:46:07,919 if you didn't write a book. 1116 00:46:07,919 --> 00:46:11,040 And I think just kind of putting

yourself out there, 1117 00:46:11,040 --> 00:46:12,800 being a bit vulnerable and dangling 1118 00:46:13,840 --> 00:46:16,959 and some of the invitations that we wanted didn't come too. 1119 00:46:16,959 --> 00:46:18,560 That happens too. 1120 00:46:18,560 --> 00:46:21,040 The expectations that we had of what was gonna happen 1121 00:46:21,040 --> 00:46:23,760 because the book won awards and things. 1122 00:46:23,760 --> 00:46:26,080 Oprah had written to me a long time ago 1123 00:46:27,239 --> 00:46:29,959 and we thought she was gonna take, 1124 00:46:29,959 --> 00:46:31,879 she said she was waiting for it or something 1125 00:46:31,879 --> 00:46:34,639 and it's a long story, but it really was her. 1126 00:46:34,639 --> 00:46:36,879 And then I never heard from her again, 1127 00:46:36,879 --> 00:46:37,879 it's this whole thing. 1128 00:46:38,000 --> 00:46:41,600 And it's just, I think what Danny and I learned was 1129 00:46:41,600 --> 00:46:44,919 show up and you get more invitations. 1130 00:46:44,919 --> 00:46:45,760 Yeah, I think so. 1131 00:46:45,760 --> 00:46:46,959 So we're just walking through, 1132 00:46:46,959 --> 00:46:48,879 yeah, we're walking through the door, yeah. 1133 00:46:48,879 --> 00:46:50,360 I'm curious because you're both 1134 00:46:50,360 --> 00:46:52,840 kind of in the entertainment production space 1135 00:46:52,840 --> 00:46:55,439 or have been, do you envision this as a film 1136 00:46:55,439 --> 00:46:57,479 at any point, your book? 1137 00:46:57,479 --> 00:47:02,479 Oh, I absolutely do envision Pink as a wonderful film. 1138 00:47:03,840 --> 00:47:06,280 I think it could be very, very adapted 1139 00:47:06,320 --> 00:47:08,280 or very well adapted to that. 1140 00:47:08,280 --> 00:47:10,800 But realistically speaking, 1141 00:47:10,800 --> 00:47:15,800 whether you've got an idea for a book, a TV series, a movie, 1142 00:47:17,040 --> 00:47:19,840 there's so much out there. 1143 00:47:19,840 --> 00:47:24,840 My fiance is a musician and there's like 100,000 songs a day 1144 00:47:25,840 --> 00:47:27,360 being uploaded onto Spotify. 1145 00:47:27,360 --> 00:47:28,679 I mean, how are you gonna stand out? 1146 00:47:28,679 --> 00:47:30,600 You need to have a champion that, 1147 00:47:30,600 --> 00:47:33,399 kind of like an Oprah type person. 1148 00:47:33,399 --> 00:47:37,239 So yeah, I do see it as a movie, 1149 00:47:37,239 --> 00:47:39,360 but I just feel that the more we continue 1150 00:47:39,360 --> 00:47:42,719 to put ourselves out there, talk about the book. 1151 00:47:42,719 --> 00:47:44,239 I don't know who's going to be listening 1152 00:47:44,239 --> 00:47:46,439 to this podcast or other podcasts. 1153 00:47:46,439 --> 00:47:51,199 I don't know who's going to be scrolling through Audible 1154 00:47:51,199 --> 00:47:54,080 or Kindle or Amazon and see it and connect and go, 1155 00:47:54,080 --> 00:47:56,600 you know what, I have the connections and the capabilities. 1156 00:47:56,600 --> 00:47:58,239 I'd like

to get behind this. 1157 00:47:58,239 --> 00:48:01,959 So I do see it as that, but at the same time, 1158 00:48:01,959 --> 00:48:05,520 I don't need to, we've come to the point 1159 00:48:05,520 --> 00:48:07,320 where we don't need to concern ourselves 1160 00:48:07,320 --> 00:48:10,919 with what comes and who it comes from. 1161 00:48:10,919 --> 00:48:12,959 Just seeing the possibility, I think, 1162 00:48:12,959 --> 00:48:14,080 for us at this point is enough. 1163 00:48:14,080 --> 00:48:15,280 I mean, we've given birth to something 1164 00:48:15,280 --> 00:48:16,239 that we're both really proud of 1165 00:48:16,239 --> 00:48:17,600 and whatever happens with that, 1166 00:48:17,600 --> 00:48:20,159 how that baby grows up, whatever. 1167 00:48:20,159 --> 00:48:22,239 But we brought it into this world 1168 00:48:22,239 --> 00:48:25,239 and I think we're both very, very happy and pleased 1169 00:48:25,239 --> 00:48:27,600 with what it's done for us individually 1170 00:48:27,600 --> 00:48:31,679 and for what it's added to kind of the collective. 1171 00:48:32,080 --> 00:48:34,760 And I think maybe because of our background, 1172 00:48:34,760 --> 00:48:37,120 it does have a kind of a cinematic feel to it. 1173 00:48:37,120 --> 00:48:40,040 95% of the people that read it all agreed 1174 00:48:40,040 --> 00:48:43,639 that they felt that it was very movie-esque. 1175 00:48:43,639 --> 00:48:45,040 Like, oh, I see it as a movie. 1176 00:48:45,040 --> 00:48:47,040 And we had some big news. 1177 00:48:47,040 --> 00:48:49,360 We were launching Danny and I and someone asked, 1178 00:48:49,360 --> 00:48:50,760 oh, you finally got the movie deal. 1179 00:48:50,760 --> 00:48:52,679 Like people really think it's a movie. 1180 00:48:52,679 --> 00:48:54,760 And that helps the energy of the whole thing 1181 00:48:54,760 --> 00:48:57,120 is they really believe that it's movie-esque 1182 00:48:57,120 --> 00:48:58,919 and Danny and I do too. 1183 00:48:58,919 --> 00:49:02,760 So, again, it's a matter of showing up 1184 00:49:02,760 --> 00:49:04,679 and having no expectation. 1185 00:49:04,679 --> 00:49:08,159 It really is important to not to try to drive everything 1186 00:49:08,159 --> 00:49:10,479 from a human standpoint, to be a little more spiritual 1187 00:49:10,479 --> 00:49:13,760 and just allow that flow to happen. 1188 00:49:13,760 --> 00:49:16,280 Because when you get in the way of that flow, 1189 00:49:16,280 --> 00:49:19,320 you stop all the rewards and all the gifts. 1190 00:49:19,320 --> 00:49:20,159 Definitely. 1191 00:49:20,159 --> 00:49:23,280 So you're surrendering for the invitation to come in. 1192 00:49:23,280 --> 00:49:24,120 Yes. 1193 00:49:24,120 --> 00:49:26,840 Yeah, and it's not easy to do, but yeah. 1194 00:49:26,840 --> 00:49:28,360 And it feels good that way. 1195 00:49:28,800 --> 00:49:29,639 Danny and I are a lot more free 1196 00:49:29,639 --> 00:49:31,840 and we're enjoying showing up and doing podcasts 1197 00:49:31,840 --> 00:49:34,320 and other things with no expectation. 1198 00:49:34,320 --> 00:49:36,719 We're just like, hey, we're just showing up 1199 00:49:36,719 --> 00:49:38,239 and that's really it. 1200 00:49:38,239 --> 00:49:40,360 And we both agreed on those terms. 1201 00:49:40,360 --> 00:49:42,479 That was the contract that Danny and I had 1202 00:49:42,479 --> 00:49:45,000 between each other is, hey, Danny, let's just show up. 1203 00:49:45,000 --> 00:49:46,159 Okay, that's all we're gonna do. 1204 00:49:46,159 --> 00:49:47,000 We're just gonna show up. 1205 00:49:47,000 --> 00:49:47,840 Great. 1206 00:49:47,840 --> 00:49:49,199 And it's been nice. 1207 00:49:49,199 --> 00:49:50,040 It really has. 1208 00:49:50,040 --> 00:49:53,199 We just, it's over and we go do our thing or whatever, 1209 00:49:53,199 --> 00:49:55,399 but we don't like it on the phone and wonder, 1210 00:49:55,399 --> 00:49:56,760 is that gonna take us somewhere? 1211 00:49:56,760 --> 00:49:58,719 It doesn't need to take us anywhere. 1212 00:49:58,719 --> 00:50:00,040 It needs to have a ripple effect 1213 00:50:00,040 --> 00:50:02,560 for the people that need to receive it and that's it. 1214 00:50:02,560 --> 00:50:03,479 Yeah. 1215 00:50:03,479 --> 00:50:05,280 Well, thank you for showing up. 1216 00:50:05,280 --> 00:50:06,120 Yeah. 1217 00:50:06,120 --> 00:50:06,959 Of course. 1218 00:50:06,959 --> 00:50:07,879 Our pleasure, yeah. 1219 00:50:07,879 --> 00:50:10,679 So if more people can discover your book 1220 00:50:10,679 --> 00:50:13,399 to get you closer to these invitations, 1221 00:50:13,399 --> 00:50:14,679 where can we guide them? 1222 00:50:14,679 --> 00:50:17,840 Gregorycoppola.com is probably the quickest place. 1223 00:50:17,840 --> 00:50:21,000 There's under author, Danny has a bio there too. 1224 00:50:21,000 --> 00:50:22,719 So there's other books that I've written, 1225 00:50:22,719 --> 00:50:24,840 but I Am Pink is kind of a highlight there. 1226 00:50:24,840 --> 00:50:26,040 So they can click on it. 1227 00:50:26,159 --> 00:50:27,239 They can buy it on Amazon. 1228 00:50:27,239 --> 00:50:29,399 It's a Barnes and Noble, kind of all over the place, 1229 00:50:29,399 --> 00:50:31,239 but that's one stop shop. 1230 00:50:31,239 --> 00:50:34,959 So Gregory, and then it's just C-O-P-P as in Paul, 1231 00:50:34,959 --> 00:50:39,320 L-O-E.com, and they can go there and find it. 1232 00:50:39,320 --> 00:50:40,159 Yeah. 1233 00:50:40,159 --> 00:50:41,120 Yeah, I'll put those into the show notes 1234 00:50:41,120 --> 00:50:43,080 so people can click on them really easily. 1235 00:50:43,080 --> 00:50:43,919 Oh, great. 1236 00:50:43,919 --> 00:50:45,080 Thank you. 1237 00:50:45,080 --> 00:50:47,760 Is there anything in either one of your minds 1238 00:50:47,760 --> 00:50:50,159 or your hearts that you feel like you would love to share 1239 00:50:50,159 --> 00:50:52,199 that we haven't gotten to yet? 1240 00:50:52,320 --> 00:50:57,080 Um, I think I would just really like to

share 1241 00:50:57,080 --> 00:51:02,080 that I'm very interested in people having the courage 1242 00:51:02,320 --> 00:51:05,479 to, you know, see invitations for what they are, 1243 00:51:05,479 --> 00:51:07,399 to say yes, to trust, 1244 00:51:07,399 --> 00:51:11,760 to have the courage to just keep evolving. 1245 00:51:11,760 --> 00:51:14,520 I think we have the permission, 1246 00:51:14,520 --> 00:51:17,520 we have the ability to give ourselves the permission 1247 00:51:17,520 --> 00:51:19,600 to be whoever we want to be in any given moment. 1248 00:51:19,600 --> 00:51:21,560 It doesn't have to be, you know, 1249 00:51:21,560 --> 00:51:25,639 what is recognizable to peers or family of the past. 1250 00:51:25,639 --> 00:51:27,840 We all have that capability. 1251 00:51:27,840 --> 00:51:29,280 And I think the obligation, 1252 00:51:29,280 --> 00:51:32,199 if we want to be vital to reinvent, 1253 00:51:32,199 --> 00:51:34,639 to keep learning and to keep growing. 1254 00:51:34,639 --> 00:51:38,679 And I think that is a major message of I Am Pink. 1255 00:51:38,679 --> 00:51:41,639 You just don't know the ways in which 1256 00:51:41,639 --> 00:51:44,280 that door is going to open. 1257 00:51:44,280 --> 00:51:48,879 And if you just have the courage to step through it 1258 00:51:48,879 --> 00:51:51,280 so, so much can happen. 1259 00:51:51,280 --> 00:51:54,760 And I hope that's what people would get from the book. 1260 00:51:54,760 --> 00:51:55,600 Yeah. 1261 00:51:55,600 --> 00:51:56,439 Yeah. 1262 00:51:56,439 --> 00:51:57,280 Go ahead. 1263 00:51:57,280 --> 00:51:58,120 Yeah. 1264 00:51:58,120 --> 00:51:58,959 Go ahead. 1265 00:51:58,959 --> 00:51:59,800 No, no, no. 1266 00:51:59,800 --> 00:52:00,639 No, no, no. 1267 00:52:00,639 --> 00:52:03,679 I just wanted to share that just like hearing your story 1268 00:52:03,679 --> 00:52:06,239 and like the starts and the stops 1269 00:52:06,239 --> 00:52:08,199 and the deaths and the transformations 1270 00:52:08,199 --> 00:52:10,600 and the new beginnings that I've heard from you 1271 00:52:10,600 --> 00:52:13,360 that I can tell that like you are very courageous. 1272 00:52:13,360 --> 00:52:16,919 And so I imagine that comes through very strongly 1273 00:52:16,919 --> 00:52:17,760 in your work. 1274 00:52:17,760 --> 00:52:20,360 And so I think that's great. 1275 00:52:20,360 --> 00:52:22,360 Well, I appreciate that. 1276 00:52:22,360 --> 00:52:26,800 And I think 99% of anything is showing up, 1277 00:52:26,800 --> 00:52:29,439 just showing up and to do it scared, 1278 00:52:29,439 --> 00:52:34,239 do it messy, do it anxious, do it depressed, 1279 00:52:35,879 --> 00:52:37,879 do it with your cat having just died, 1280 00:52:37,879 --> 00:52:39,959 which is where I am right now. 1281 00:52:39,959 --> 00:52:43,479 I mean, my 19 year old cat 1282 00:52:43,479 --> 00:52:45,719 literally expired during this podcast. 1283 00:52:45,879 --> 00:52:47,760 I'm telling you that right now. 1284 00:52:47,760 -->

00:52:48,800 And I was prepared for it. 1285 00:52:48,800 --> 00:52:50,560 And I had her right next to me. 1286 00:52:50,560 --> 00:52:52,719 And it was a very kind of sudden thing. 1287 00:52:52,719 --> 00:52:54,600 Although when a cat's 20 expected, 1288 00:52:54,600 --> 00:52:56,959 but you just have to show up and understand 1289 00:52:56,959 --> 00:52:58,719 that the world doesn't expect perfection. 1290 00:52:58,719 --> 00:53:02,959 And in fact, the world I think is very encouraged 1291 00:53:02,959 --> 00:53:07,959 by imperfection because perfect gets in the way of the good. 1292 00:53:08,399 --> 00:53:12,560 And so I would hope that people will keep just showing up. 1293 00:53:13,239 --> 00:53:15,560 I feel like courage is just fear 1294 00:53:15,560 --> 00:53:17,479 that said it's prayers, you know? 1295 00:53:17,479 --> 00:53:21,439 And so I've been through so much 1296 00:53:21,439 --> 00:53:23,199 and I just would hope that other people 1297 00:53:23,199 --> 00:53:27,439 can make space for themselves to just exist 1298 00:53:27,439 --> 00:53:32,439 in and with the mess and to find some sense of gratitude 1299 00:53:32,600 --> 00:53:36,040 and joy within whatever circumstance we find ourselves. 1300 00:53:36,040 --> 00:53:37,840 Cause life just pivots on a dime. 1301 00:53:37,840 --> 00:53:39,239 I will tell you that. 1302 00:53:39,280 --> 00:53:41,120 Yeah, well, I'll see you in that. 1303 00:53:41,120 --> 00:53:41,959 So thank you. 1304 00:53:41,959 --> 00:53:43,000 Yeah, yeah. 1305 00:53:43,000 --> 00:53:43,840 Yeah. 1306 00:53:43,840 --> 00:53:44,679 And Greg. 1307 00:53:45,560 --> 00:53:47,919 I just, I mean, it's the same thing about, you know 1308 00:53:47,919 --> 00:53:50,239 not taking the path and nothing happens in that life 1309 00:53:50,239 --> 00:53:52,520 that you never get to see it. 1310 00:53:52,520 --> 00:53:54,840 And I talk about someone who passes away and she goes 1311 00:53:54,840 --> 00:53:57,520 so, you know, this place and this being comes out 1312 00:53:57,520 --> 00:53:59,639 and says, you know, hi Barbara, you know 1313 00:53:59,639 --> 00:54:02,879 you really love to sew and you wanted to be a seamstress 1314 00:54:02,879 --> 00:54:04,320 but you became an accountant. 1315 00:54:04,320 --> 00:54:05,719 Like what happened with that? 1316 00:54:05,800 --> 00:54:09,679 And she says, well, you know, I didn't believe 1317 00:54:09,679 --> 00:54:11,919 that I could find sustenance within that. 1318 00:54:11,919 --> 00:54:13,679 So I didn't do it. 1319 00:54:13,679 --> 00:54:14,840 So I didn't believe. 1320 00:54:14,840 --> 00:54:15,760 So she cuts it off. 1321 00:54:15,760 --> 00:54:16,760 She doesn't follow that road. 1322 00:54:16,760 --> 00:54:18,280 She doesn't go down that path. 1323 00:54:18,280 --> 00:54:20,639 And then the being says to her, well, you know 1324 00:54:20,639 --> 00:54:22,760 had you trusted or had you gone down that path 1325 00:54:22,760 --> 00:54:24,239 just to see what it would have been like 1326 00:54:24,239 --> 00:54:25,719 this is what your life would have been like. 1327 00:54:25,719 --> 00:54:27,719 And now you have a totally different life. 1328 00:54:27,719 --> 00:54:30,280 She wins an Academy Award as a costume designer. 1329 00:54:30,280 --> 00:54:31,199 These are real things. 1330 00:54:31,199 --> 00:54:34,199 They sound funny, but because, you know 1331 00:54:34,199 --> 00:54:35,439 she didn't go down that path. 1332 00:54:35,439 --> 00:54:37,320 She'll never get to experience that life. 1333 00:54:37,320 --> 00:54:38,840 And it's a totally different life. 1334 00:54:38,840 --> 00:54:40,159 She lives in Malibu. 1335 00:54:40,159 --> 00:54:42,399 She's in the Hollywood, you know, in the business. 1336 00:54:42,399 --> 00:54:46,479 It's just, you know, we got to try to go down 1337 00:54:46,479 --> 00:54:48,560 a different path that lives within our heart. 1338 00:54:48,560 --> 00:54:50,719 That's speaking to us, that has some passion 1339 00:54:50,719 --> 00:54:54,040 and, you know, sensibility there that we have to trust. 1340 00:54:54,040 --> 00:54:57,520 If we don't do that, we end up living not a full life 1341 00:54:57,520 --> 00:54:59,879 I believe, and not the life that we were meant to believe. 1342 00:54:59,879 --> 00:55:00,760 And what's going to happen? 1343 00:55:00,760 --> 00:55:02,040 Like, I always say to people 1344 00:55:02,040 --> 00:55:04,280 how far down are you going to go? 1345 00:55:04,280 --> 00:55:05,479 How far down are you going to go? 1346 00:55:05,479 --> 00:55:06,439 Are you going to lose your house? 1347 00:55:06,439 --> 00:55:08,719 You're going to not have a place to stay or, you know 1348 00:55:08,719 --> 00:55:13,719 we, most of us, luckily, most of us don't go that far down. 1349 00:55:13,879 --> 00:55:16,000 We still have the basics, the food and the house 1350 00:55:16,000 --> 00:55:18,080 or we move in with our daughter or son 1351 00:55:18,080 --> 00:55:20,120 or whatever the case may be. 1352 00:55:20,120 --> 00:55:22,879 But for some reason in our minds, that thing 1353 00:55:22,879 --> 00:55:26,959 that failure or whatever is just too devastating to confront. 1354 00:55:26,959 --> 00:55:30,600 And we'd rather just flatline and just be comfortable 1355 00:55:30,600 --> 00:55:33,840 and then find out later on when we pass away 1356 00:55:33,840 --> 00:55:35,560 what our life was supposed to be. 1357 00:55:35,560 --> 00:55:37,239 I don't want to be that. 1358 00:55:37,239 --> 00:55:38,639 You know, I'm really trying to get in touch with 1359 00:55:38,639 --> 00:55:40,879 even if it's difficult, really trying to get in touch 1360 00:55:40,879 --> 00:55:42,479 with what's that, you know, what is that going to be? 1361 00:55:42,479 --> 00:55:44,520 What does that mean to me? 1362 00:55:44,520 --> 00:55:48,280 You know, even if it's not something that I have designed 1363 00:55:48,280 --> 00:55:51,120 you know, I just, I think we have to listen to the messages. 1364 00:55:51,120

--> 00:55:53,719 And if we're not, then we're not being of service 1365 00:55:55,080 --> 00:55:56,040 universally. 1366 00:55:56,040 --> 00:55:58,679 Yeah, definitely to ourselves or the collective, right? 1367 00:55:58,679 --> 00:56:00,120 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 1368 00:56:00,679 --> 00:56:01,520 I mean, that's really it. 1369 00:56:01,520 --> 00:56:04,600 I don't know why I got that message so late in life. 1370 00:56:04,600 --> 00:56:07,439 I don't know if that's just wisdom or, you know 1371 00:56:07,439 --> 00:56:10,840 if someone gets it earlier than I did, but you know 1372 00:56:10,840 --> 00:56:12,840 if you haven't reached that point 1373 00:56:12,840 --> 00:56:15,439 all you have to do is sit down, figure out what that thing 1374 00:56:15,439 --> 00:56:18,520 is and then just start nurturing it and go down that road 1375 00:56:18,520 --> 00:56:20,399 without so much fear around it. 1376 00:56:20,399 --> 00:56:22,000 You don't have to make it into a full-time job. 1377 00:56:22,000 --> 00:56:23,959 You can do it part-time, you can do it on the side 1378 00:56:23,959 --> 00:56:26,320 you can do it, let it evolve, just kind of show up 1379 00:56:26,320 --> 00:56:29,199 a little bit, take a little bit of action 1380 00:56:29,199 --> 00:56:31,560 and see what happens with that. 1381 00:56:31,560 --> 00:56:34,679 You'll know, you'll know what you need to do with it. 1382 00:56:34,679 --> 00:56:36,879 Yeah, that may be a little curiosity. 1383 00:56:37,879 --> 00:56:38,919 A little bit, yeah. 1384 00:56:38,919 --> 00:56:40,800 I think curiosity is great and you touched on that. 1385 00:56:40,800 --> 00:56:42,919 I think it's, you know, it's a beautiful thing. 1386 00:56:42,919 --> 00:56:46,280 Curiosity in religion, curiosity in all things. 1387 00:56:46,280 --> 00:56:48,120 Yeah, thank you so much. 1388 00:56:48,120 --> 00:56:49,959 So I usually wrap up the conversation 1389 00:56:49,959 --> 00:56:53,120 with one last question and it can be simple 1390 00:56:53,120 --> 00:56:57,120 or it can be a little bit longer, it doesn't matter. 1391 00:56:57,120 --> 00:56:59,000 But if your inner voice had a billboard 1392 00:56:59,800 --> 00:57:01,040 what would it say to the world? 1393 00:57:03,320 --> 00:57:07,800 Mine would say trust, would say trust. 1394 00:57:07,800 --> 00:57:09,040 That's it, one word. 1395 00:57:10,239 --> 00:57:13,399 Nice, my billboard, show up. 1396 00:57:14,800 --> 00:57:17,760 That's it, show up, walk through the doors 1397 00:57:17,760 --> 00:57:19,679 for God's sakes, don't worry about it. 1398 00:57:19,679 --> 00:57:21,600 There's an exit door, show up. 1399 00:57:21,600 --> 00:57:24,719 Yeah, well, thank you both so much for trusting me 1400 00:57:24,719 --> 00:57:26,159 and showing up today. 1401 00:57:26,159 --> 00:57:27,159 Thank you. It's been a pleasure. 1402 00:57:27,159 --> 00:57:28,520 Yeah. 1403 00:57:28,520 --> 00:57:29,800 So thank you. 1404 00:57:29,800 --> 00:57:30,639 Thank you. 1405 00:57:30,639 --> 00:57:31,479 Thanks Whitney. 1406 00:57:32,560 --> 00:57:34,399 Thank you so much for joining me this week. 1407 00:57:34,399 --> 00:57:36,000 If you're listening and you like what you hear 1408 00:57:36,000 --> 00:57:39,280 please consider subscribing and rating this podcast 1409 00:57:39,280 --> 00:57:42,760 as it really helps get this podcast out to other people 1410 00:57:42,760 --> 00:57:44,879 who might be interested in hearing it 1411 00:57:44,879 --> 00:57:46,800 but don't know about it yet. 1412 00:57:46,800 --> 00:57:50,120 And also if you'd like to contact me or reach me 1413 00:57:50,120 --> 00:57:55,000 you can reach me at unconditioningpodcast at gmail.com 1414 00:57:55,000 --> 00:57:58,120 or unconditioningpodcast on Instagram. 1415 00:57:59,120 --> 00:57:59,959 Thank you so much. 1416 00:57:59,959 --> 00:58:04,360 And until next time, stay tuned in to you.