Living in the Moment

Lisa Hopkins

This is the Stop Time podcast . I'm your host , lisa Hopkins , and I'm here to engage you in thought-provoking , motivational conversations around practicing the art of living in the moment . I'm a certified life coach and I'm excited to dig deep and offer insights into embracing who we are and where we are at . So my next guest made his Broadway debut as a drifter and beautiful and was a part of the original Broadway company of Frozen before taking on the lead role of Kristoff . Full-time he has appeared off-Broadway as Omar into my girls at Second Stage Theater and recently played Nick Caraway in the Great Gatsby at Paper Mill Playhouse . His film work includes the horror comedy Summoning Sylvia the Sixth Burrow , the Fiji Incentive , and his television credits include the breakout role of Frankie in the Showtime series Fellow Travelers , which is streaming now and looks amazing . I've not checked it out , but I am going to . I'm really looking forward just to sitting down with Noah J Ricketts today . Welcome , noah .

Noah Ricketts

Thank you , thanks for having me .

Lisa Hopkins

It is such a pleasure . Where are you now ? Let's just set the context . What's going on for you right now ?

Noah Ricketts

So I'm literally in Mexico . Yeah , I try to get out of New York when I get a little gloom and doom and stay in some sunshine . I've spent the last nine weeks in a rehearsal space with those horrible overhead lights that make you feel crazy like you're in the hospital all the time , then in the dark theater with spotlights , so I needed some actual sunlight in my life . So I am in Mexico , which has been nice .

Lisa Hopkins

Amazing . How long are you there for ?

Noah Ricketts

I am here for about two weeks , yeah .

Lisa Hopkins

That's wonderful . I'm curious to know where are you in that trajectory . Are you at the beginning of the two weeks in the middle , towards the end ? Where are you ?

Noah Ricketts

I'm only three days in like three or four days in .

Lisa Hopkins

Noah Ricketts

I got a long ride here , which it takes a while for me to lean into relaxation , especially living in New York , so I feel like I need those extra days to like okay .

Lisa Hopkins

Totally , that makes sense . Are you at somewhere where you've been before ? Is it somewhere brand new ?

Noah Ricketts

Yeah , somewhere I've been before . It's probably like maybe fifth time here , which I like too . I don't feel any pressure to do anything or see anything , I can just like hang out .

Lisa Hopkins

I love that . I love that you skip that whole element .

Noah Ricketts

Yeah .

Lisa Hopkins

Yeah , so talk to me a little bit about , well , where are you at energetically right now . It sounds like a bizarre question a little bit , but I'm curious now . I know that you've been off a really busy time .

Noah Ricketts

Yeah .

Lisa Hopkins

And that you're now what I love already . What I'm learning about you is that you know what you need . And so you're giving that to yourself right now . So , yeah , that's great , and I'm just curious to know where are you at , sort of , in terms of are you a think ahead person ? Are you thinking when I get back , like do you have stuff lined up ? Are you leaving it open ? Where do you go from ?

Noah Ricketts

Yeah , I mean , as soon as I get , you know , the plane lands and the wheels are on the ground , it's like I'm off to the races again . So , you know , I feel like energetically , I feel a little bit like I'm empty , like I'm a little bit like like , like , a little bit like the well is kind of empty . I've spent many the last , honestly , last couple of years just like working , working , working , working , working and like giving away a lot of creative energy . And I feel like I'm at a place where I'm attempting to kind of like refill the well of it and kind of give back to myself . And I feel like , as artists like you , give , give , give to projects and this and that and concerts and you know , whatever it may be . But when it comes to , like you know , refilling the well , I don't think we do that enough and definitely not taught to do that . So that's what I'm attempting to do with my time here is kind of give back to self and get back , to get back to me .

Lisa Hopkins

That's amazing and that's huge and is vulnerable , isn't it A little bit ?

Noah Ricketts

Yeah , it is , and I have to be honest , like I'm not sure how to do it , but I'm attempting to do it because I can . I , I , I could feel it coming on the last couple of months , Just like you know , you , when you start giving yourself to these projects , I'm sure you know it's so consuming , Like it's so energetically consuming all of you , like your physical body , your mental energy , everything you've got . And I'd spent the last couple of months like getting this new musical off the ground . So I need a little , I need a little back , you know .

Lisa Hopkins

Yeah , do you give yourself space to acknowledge what you've done and what you've given ? And I under I'm hearing you say that you're you're aware that you do give and give and produce and you know and all of that , but do you actually also give yourself grace for that , for the action of doing that ? Do you know what I mean ? Forgiving of yourself ?

Noah Ricketts

I'd probably say not enough . And it's only in times when I hear someone like you , like when you just read that bio back and I'm like , oh yeah , that and that and that and that , that I that I realized like the length of time and the projects and how much like I've actually done . And so I think it's kind of rare that we stop and look at our lives and like , oh yeah , I did that and I did that and did that and give grace to ourselves . But it is something that I should try and practice more , because I actually don't think I do it very often .

Lisa Hopkins

Yeah , and what do you think about now ? It's interesting . Maybe you've not experienced this , because from my research it seems like it's been . Your trajectory has been very quick , right From the from the moment you got invited to to do the Carol King musical . It was kind of you hit the ground running right , was ? That was like your first time in New York , I think .

Noah Ricketts

Yeah , I was in New York for like a couple of weeks and that's kind of like how that got off the ground .

Noah Ricketts

I mean , I think it's very interesting because , like , what the , what the public sees and what is the truth , as you know , are like two different things . I had been , I had been , you know , preparing and training , like since I was a kid I mean I was a baby , so you know , going to dance class all the time , going to my voice lessons all the time , my acting class , you know , doing the scene work that nobody saw , thank God , and like . So by the time I got to New York , I remember this feeling of just like , oh my God , I'm so sick of talking about it , let's , let's just frickin do it , do it already . You know , you train so much that you just like I'm sick of training , I just want to do the thing I have trained for . And so I was so blessed , like you know , that show , they needed someone super last minute , I literally just like got off the plane and came to New York and it kind of like , you know , rocket launch me into stuff which was wonderful .

Lisa Hopkins

Yeah , and has there been any lull for you , or has it been pretty much straight on one thing after another ?

Noah Ricketts

You know , I think , like it's been , I've had a lot of like one thing after another which is really good , but I think in the in the doing of the jobs , I've always realized that I wanted more , and I think that was kind of like the thing I had to learn during the process . Like you know , I got my first Broadway show and I finally was on Broadway , a goal that I worked like so many , so many decades to like to accomplish . And then I one day I remember being like OK , like what's next ? And I had that feeling which was like a scary feeling because you work so hard to get to like the first step , and then you're like , well , what else do I want with my life ? And then it was from there that I had to .

Noah Ricketts

I realized like I wanted to tell stories . I didn't want to just support in the background and do other you know , support other people's stories . I wanted to be the one telling the story . And so that began this whole kind of another journey that led me to Frozen and , you know , like playing my first principle on Broadway . So I feel like in the job that I've done , I've always gained this understanding of what I wanted to do next .

Lisa Hopkins

Interesting .

Noah Ricketts

Yeah .

Lisa Hopkins

And does that , does that sort of present itself as a kind of bucket list , or is it more of a feeling that there's more that you have to give ?

Noah Ricketts

I think I guess I'd say like a little bit of both . You know , I think you get into these situations that you've romanticized so much in your life and you know , the glitter rubs off and you're like OK , well , I'm the only person responsible for me . And like , what am I leaving behind when I leave this earth ? You know , like what , what is this legacy that I'm leaving behind ? And like , little by little , I've like pieced that thread together and it's gotten bigger and bigger and bigger . So I think that's the kind of understanding I take from it . And the bucket list thing was definitely like at the beginning of my career , you know , I wanted to be on Broadway . I didn't care how it happened , I just needed to make it happen . You know , I wanted to be on TV . I wanted to do it . You know , like things that I wanted to do , that was definitely a bucket list aspect . And then , as I've done them , I've gained a greater , greater awareness of myself and like the contribution I kind of want to leave when I leave this earth .

Lisa Hopkins

Yeah , it's interesting . That is one of my questions , which is you know , how do you , how do you want to be remembered ?

Noah Ricketts

I mean , I think , like unintentionally , I've kind of like started this . I created this path for myself of first like of like , kind of pioneering , you know like , when I was growing up . Like when I look back , I think of how delusional I was to even get into the acting space because I didn't see black gay men on television , I didn't see them in movies , I didn't see their stories reflected on Broadway . I barely saw people of color at that time . And so to like have these two things I was holding at the same time be a real existence in my life and not see them portrayed through my art , my artistry , was a huge challenge and it wasn't until I got into the industry that I realized like , hey , there's this giant gap .

Noah Ricketts

And now , when I look back at the TV and the movies that I was attracted to , it was the niche love stories of , you know , a black gay couple . You know , like it was these little tiny bits and pieces that I was so attracted to and I couldn't find out why . And I'm like , oh well , that's a reflection of me and I think what I want to leave behind is that legacy of like . You know , you can be a black gay man and lead a television series . You can be a black gay man and be different and lead a Broadway show and nothing is a hindrance to you . But you know like you can , you can actually do the thing .

Noah Ricketts

And so I think , as I you know , I've had a lot of young people . You know other boys and girls of color look up to me and I never like aspired for that to be a thing , it just kind of happened . And now that I know that it's a thing , I feel this like great importance to give back to my little self , you know , like little Noah that never had that , and to all the people that are behind me , like working hard to get there . So I hope that answers your question , but that's the word ease is coming to me .

Lisa Hopkins

You know , you kind of . You said that I was I can't remember what word you use but you did say that you were a little bit , you know , delusional . I think you said delusional to think that a gay , you know , and it's interesting because what , the way I see it is , you weren't delusional at all . In fact you were completely undiluted . Because it is delusional to think that those , those people cannot do it . That's delusional . And so to me , what I'm feeling is that you actually came into that later because it sounds like and I could be wrong , but it sounds like you kind of came into it and it happened and you never really thought about that until you got there and people were like , wow , you're the first this and the first that and first other . Is there anything in there that I'm hearing ?

Noah Ricketts

I think you're totally , I think you're spot on with that and I think , like we pick up so much from the world around us and like you know , what we see reflected back to us , and I think , like that's an area that I've picked up and never even explored myself until maybe this , this very moment .

Noah Ricketts

But I mean , you're so right . Like I never set out to be the first , I just knew that I could do the thing , like I , and I didn't know how and I didn't see a path and I then there no one guiding me toward it , you know , besides the teachers that saw talent in me and helped me usher me along Like I just had this unwavering sense that like I can do that thing , and so I just kept making , I just kept trying to put one foot in front of the other and like make that damn thing happen . And I think that would be my advice to anyone . You know , your biggest obstacle is yourself , and that's something I have have learned , and you know , learned and unlearned and relearned and everything in between , and I think that is the important thing . That is a great reminder to myself and a great reminder

Challenging Limiting Beliefs and Embracing Authenticity

Noah Ricketts

to anybody . Listening is like you are your greatest obstacle , and if you feel like you can do this thing , then just you have to figure out the ways to do it .

Lisa Hopkins

Exactly . I mean , you're talking about agency which which is colorblind .

Noah Ricketts

Yeah .

Lisa Hopkins

You're talking about humanity , which is colorblind . Yeah , you're talking about a young human and sexual . All about that is nothing to do with it . You're talking about the feeling of I know , yeah , can do this , but you didn't go , I can do this . It sounds like I can do this despite the fact that I'm black and I'm gay and I'm from Kentucky , and you know all the things that people would tell you Right , and those are their limiting beliefs . Limiting beliefs are things that are , like you said , brought on by society , and then we start going , oh , yeah , I'm going to do that . You know , and it's interesting because I would , I would encourage you to . You know , yes , that exists , those big limiting beliefs exist , but if we play into them by the way that we interact in the world as a black , gay male actor , then you're you're wasting energy , you're you're giving it power .

Lisa Hopkins

You know when you're , you're fighting it and you're , and it's unsustainable . If you're fighting it , right Cause you lose your , why , your , your , why , your , why was not to come into the world and prove something ? If you happen to be approving it along the way , then great , it's just like your . Your why is not to , you know , be wealthy . If you happen to get wealthy doing what you do , then great . But but you want to stay . That's not the goal , right ? Do you see what I mean ? Yeah , yeah , it's so fascinating to me and it's really wonderful to meet you . See , I felt this in you . I felt this , this um , this well , I guess it's agency and this authenticity , this sort of believing in yourself , not despite . There's no caveat .

Noah Ricketts

You know what I think that's like . I mean like , yeah , yeah , I mean I've all like . When I think about my younger self , I mean I've always lived in this , this like world of of like , why not , you know ? And I it was like a big problem growing up , like I would question everything . I'd be like , well , why not , you know ? Like church , school , anything , I would ask the questions . You probably you know that you get slapped on the wrist for asking , and I think that's also like one of the I mean it's like a great quality to have that I that I realized now is that like , why not Like ? Why can't you do the thing ? You know what's holding us back ?

Lisa Hopkins

Yeah , it's your superpower . It's really your superpower , like I feel like . I feel like what it wouldn't matter what you did or where you applied it to , you would be that way . There's nothing to do with the arts .

Noah Ricketts

Yeah , yeah , yeah , thank you . I appreciate that as I become a scientist .

Lisa Hopkins

Well , it's really interesting because and I really do believe that you know the way we do one thing is the way we do everything . So you know , which actually brings me to let me ask you this if you , if you couldn't do or chose not to , so I don't want to . I don't want to imply that there's some kind of you know , you can't do this because that makes you want to fight , maybe . But but if you couldn't , for whatever reason , or there was no arts , what ?

Noah Ricketts

would you ?

Lisa Hopkins

do ? What would you ?

Noah Ricketts

do Interesting . So I I always had this fantasy of it's going to sound silly , but being a plastic surgeon . And it's because it is because I used to sneak in and watch that show , Nip Tuck . I don't know if I remember that show , Nip Tuck . And like I wasn't supposed to watch it and it was super racy , and like I was like , oh , that would be so cool . So I always used to say like , oh , I want to , I want it to be a plastic surgeon . Now I think you know , now I think I would do whatever gives me the most free time and with the biggest financial reward . Like now I think , like it would be something like that , because , like what I love to do , like if I is get lost in the world of wonder and read books and paint things and play the piano for hours and do all that stuff , so whatever would afford me a lot of time and a good amount of money . I think that's what I do . So be fair to that job out you let me know .

Lisa Hopkins

I will . Well , you could create it right . Let me , my God you're . You're an OJ for kids , I'm one , why not ? Why not Exactly ? I mean it's funny because somebody might say I don't know Answer the same question I'm not sure and just get curious , which is there's no right or wrong answers . But you know , it's the fact that you can even sort of you know into it something you know you kind of it's actually pretty specific . You were not sure what the job is , but that's because the job hasn't been created .

Noah Ricketts

Yeah .

Lisa Hopkins

Yeah .

Noah Ricketts

So I feel like it always be , whatever it was , it always be arts adjacent . You know , like I'd always it would be somewhere around there , no matter what I was doing , you know . So that's that .

Lisa Hopkins

I love that . What would you say is your guiding principle , like , is there one that kind of like if you wake up in the morning or feeling down , or whatever ? Is there something that you say , or something that you think , or something that gets you going , or maybe just something , I don't know .

Noah Ricketts

I'll wake up and I feel like that .

Noah Ricketts

You know , like it's certainly a good tip . Yeah , I guess I have a pretty good ritual . Like every morning I wake up and I do my morning pages or my daily journal thing and I feel like , whatever I say in that , no matter what it is , it's the act of kind of like getting out of my head and into my hand , kind of moving , letting the feelings move through . Like that is what kind of like gets me into life and gets me into the day , and like that has been a world of wonder for me because I've discovered things that were causing me anxiety , that I didn't even know were there , and I've gotten creative on the page in a way that just allows me to feel free and feel really flowing . So like I don't know that I have a phrase or something that I look to every day because I feel like that is constantly changing . But I do know that my daily practice is to sit with myself and check in with myself and say like , how are you doing today ? You know , how'd you sleep ? What are we gonna do ?

Lisa Hopkins

You know that type . Yeah , I love that . I love that . I think I asked you in that little form that I sent you . What , if anything , do you think stands between you and who you wanna be ? And you said getting the world on board with my vision of the future , which I thought was interesting .

Noah Ricketts

I do see a world where , like , people are allowed to be themselves and be who they wanna be . And I think sometimes I , like you know being in like these industries you run up against obstacles . You know You're called like . I remember being called like the out of the box choice for a role and I was like there's nothing out of the box about like what skin tone , like you know , like you know . So I feel like what I meant by that is like getting the world to like clear out all of its shits and like accept people for where they're at , who they wanna be that day Maybe they wanna be someone different tomorrow . Accepting people in different positions , like whether it be on TV , whether it be in the valet , like it doesn't matter what it is . But I think , like my vision of the future is a world where anything goes , people are allowed to free flow and be who they wanna be and work without limitation .

Lisa Hopkins

Absolutely . Yeah , I love that I'm with you . I'm sitting in it for a minute .

Noah Ricketts

It feels lovely , doesn't ?

Lisa Hopkins

it no .

Noah Ricketts

I just think it's so true .

Lisa Hopkins

I think it's so true , oh yeah , and it'd be so easy . It's so obvious .

Noah Ricketts

And I think that's what makes it super frustrating . You know , mm-hmm , that people that sometimes I think about the year we're in and I'm like how can we still be so small minded about things ?

Lisa Hopkins

Yeah .

Noah Ricketts

And I think , yeah , and I think critical thinking is like a lost art form in itself . Oh yeah , we are just so full of opinions and labels and boxes that , like we , I think we forget to stop and think . You know like I think again and think again and allow there to be paradoxes and allow things . You know one thing . Maybe you know a whole two things in your hand at the same time , and I think the simple act of that could solve a lot of the world's issues .

Lisa Hopkins

Yeah , you're speaking my language . There's something that I read on Instagram of yours that we can talk about it or not , but I was just curious because it stood out to me and you talked about the hardest year of my life . You said so many dark days , so many . You're talking about 2020 , right ? Yeah , so many sad moments , so much wine . Here's to unimaginable and imaginable change . Here's to moving forward without a path and here's to the reflective moments I never wanted but seriously needed . I love that . It's beautiful .

Noah Ricketts

Yeah , I mean so 2020, . I mean that's the hard year for a lot of people , as we should say yes , it did

Finding Purpose and Overcoming Challenges

Noah Ricketts

.

Noah Ricketts

But I remember like , actually like pre pandemic , I was working on Broadway . I was playing Christoph on Broadway and I had done I mean , I was coming up on like year three of the thing you know , like I was tired and that wasn't including like the three years before doing another show and all of the work for that , you know , working to get to the show . So I was feeling really creatively drained then and actually physically exhausted , you know , my voice was going , my body was going and I didn't have any free time . You know , like eight shows a week plus trying to like keep myself in sync to do the actual job was taking up all my time .

Noah Ricketts

And so I remember , leading up to the pandemic time , I had a panic attack in my dressing room and it was the first time I had ever I really experienced that and it was bad . It was bad and like my beautiful friend , the dance captain of the show , like truly came and calmed me down and it was just that I had been running so fast and so hard and like doing the opposite of everything I talked about , which was like checking in with me . And so I finally did . I said hey . I talked to , you know , disney and I said , hey , I need like six weeks off , like I need like real time to heal and recover and like I am lost , I need to like come back to me . And that is so crazy . But the day that I asked for time off , but I knew I was getting it , pandemic hit and everything shut down , and so I got a text from the universe okay .

Noah Ricketts

The universe really listened and I got a text from our like associate director and he was like man , you really wish that that time off into being huh . And I was like I guess so . And so , you know , we're into the pandemic and you know what was . The short time became a long time and very quickly into that the job I thought I was going back to . We were on a zoom call for two minutes and was pulled out from underneath me and I think it was like I mean , it was like one of the scariest times my life . You know , the world was up in arms .

Noah Ricketts

We were so , you know , germaphobic at that time about everything . We didn't know how things were gonna go and I , the only things I knew or I'm not going back to this job , everything that I worked for has just the carpet's been completely pulled out from underneath me and I had to like sit with that . I had to like get comfortable , being uncomfortable really , and for the first time in my life and because I wasn't running around , I got to think about , like , what I wanna do and I had speaking of bucket list , I had some bucket list things I wanted to do , like I realized like I could no longer go on like doing my art form in the way that I had done it . I needed to do work . That was important , that's had a message behind it , that was for all of the things I listed before and that was like a non-negotiable for me , like I was like life is gonna end , like time is short and that moment was real for me and I was like I have to do things that I wanna do and my activism is doing it through my art form .

Noah Ricketts

And another huge goal that I wanted to accomplish was to be a series regular on television and I was like now is the time I have to make this dream work . And I had nothing to help me out with that , like just me and my by why not ? And that was that moment like sitting with myself and realizing my own dreams and then working step by step to make it happen , and like throughout that I started to get little TV gigs and life started to come back . And it was that dark moment that actually was the greatest moment of my life because it completely changed the trajectory of my life . I stopped apologizing , I was very conscious of how I use my time and I really kind of got clear on my central message of how I wanted to move forward with my career and with my art . So that's what that post about .

Lisa Hopkins

Yeah , that's amazing . Yeah , it is beautifully written , by the way , but it's also so evocative , so thank you for sharing that with us . It's really beautiful .

Noah Ricketts

Yeah , I love that 2020 , woof .

Lisa Hopkins

I know , but I love that , the me and my . Why not Like ? That's the way you roll , right .

Noah Ricketts

Yeah , I think so , and you helped me realize that for sure .

Lisa Hopkins

I feel it , I love it . What would you say is your Achilles heel ? Like what's your weakness ? Do you know what I mean by that ? Like what's your weakness ?

Noah Ricketts

Why no , no , no , no no .

Noah Ricketts

I'm weak on that ?

Noah Ricketts

No , no , I think , like you know , I think my own weakness , I think , sometimes is like my own neuroses , like I think , like I think sometimes , okay , if I don't do a good job of getting the thoughts out of my head , like flowing them through , I spin and spiral and I think in the spin and spiral comes frustration , and comes frustration with the world , and then anger , and then , you know , I lose sight of , like what the point was at the very beginning , and I think that is sometimes what happens to me and I feel like I'm on like this , like world clock , of where that happens , and I've got to get back to self and then I come all the way back around .

Noah Ricketts

You know , I think that that is the thing and it's like , you know , as humans , it's like this whole like relearning the things you already knew , and it's that cycle for me . So I feel like that's what happens , you know , it's like frustration turns into anger . You know I run up against the block and then I , you know , get into my head about things . I'd say that's the thing that I constantly try to work on .

Lisa Hopkins

So what's your definition of living in the moment ? Do you have one ?

Noah Ricketts

I'm not sure I have one . I mean , I know I've experienced the doing of it and I've practiced doing it and I , you know , like I guess I'd say like it's like putting one foot in front of the other and not deciding which step comes next , like letting the universe kind of guide you to that next thing and seeing what comes of a good , bad , different , strange , accepting what it is and flowing with it . And I know for my life , like I've experienced like that gets harder and harder to do the older you get , and so I always try to get back to that . But I don't know if I have a definition , so much as like a feeling of it , and it's definitely something to be practiced , that's for sure .

Lisa Hopkins

Cool , I love that .

Big Goals, Broadway Shows, Energetic Choices

Lisa Hopkins

Hey , what's one big , audacious goal that maybe you haven't put out in the universe yet ? Do you have one ?

Noah Ricketts

I okay , yeah , and I don't know if I can say it , but I , I don't know . I feel like it's to be creative in other realms , beyond like the ones that I'm known for , and to tie them all together in a way . So , like you know , like you know , the fashion space , the jewelry space , the creative art space , like and figure out a way to like pull them all together in a brand or a being or something Like . I think that's like a big , audacious goal that I have , that I am like trying to figure out how to manifest in a way hey , maybe it's that job , that dream job of yours .

Lisa Hopkins

I think it might be that's cool .

Noah Ricketts

Yeah .

Lisa Hopkins

I can see that I thought , oh , I'm going to follow up with that .

Noah Ricketts

Yeah , please do Keep me on schedule .

Lisa Hopkins

Oh my gosh , what's the hardest thing you've ever done ?

Noah Ricketts

The hardest thing I've ever done . You know , I've led some like Broadway shows or pre-Broadway shows and I feel like those are some of the hardest things I've ever done , because you have to know the script in and out , backwards , forwards , upside down , your lines , their lines , everyone's lines . You've got this massive production on your shoulders and you also kind of beyond your duties of like singing , dancing and acting your butt off . You have to kind of be the company man and rile the troops and get everyone inspired and you're the face of this giant thing . And so sometimes those I feel like those are some of the hardest things I've ever done , because I'm physically exhausted and mentally exhausted but still have this really big responsibility to get us to where we need to be as a group , and that type of all-encompassing exhaustion is what makes it so challenging .

Lisa Hopkins

Interesting , so you've done it . Obviously it didn't kill you . So what did you learn ? What did you learn from that ?

Noah Ricketts

I think I learned that I could do it , which was a big thing to learn . Yeah , I remember my first time like leading a show and what was the script ? Like 132 pages and I was off stage for three of them . I learned that I could do it , which was , I think , the most important thing that I could learn , because it's not something that can be practiced so much as something that has to just be done , and when the challenge is put in front of you , you'll figure out a way to rise to the occasion . And that really shifted everything for me , because when I realized I could do it , I couldn't undo it , I could not do it anymore because I have this awareness that I can do this . And that was a great , great feeling .

Lisa Hopkins

That's amazing . I have this thing I call the choice capacitor an energetic choice right ? So the way I see it , there are five energetic choices . The five energetic choices go like this the first one is I can't right . So in your story you get this responsibility and the thought is I can't do this right , but then you push yourself energetically a little bit to the next one . The second energetic choice , which is I have to do this . I have to do this . It's winter , loose , black and white , it's like , because if I don't , I'm going to embarrass myself , I'm going to die and I'm going to let everybody else down whatever it is , but that's I have to , but it's unsustainable . If you go from I have to , it's got some energy behind it for sure , but you can only last that long . That's where burnout exists and eventually you're going to go back down to overwhelm , which is I can't . The third one is just right out . So if you imagine like an arc like this and is is what is I should ?

Lisa Hopkins

Okay , now , this is what made me think of it , because you were talking about , because what I call I should is a little more energetic . You're moving kind of a little bit out of fear and more into possibility , right , but I call I should as I could , with shame . But if you lose the shame , then you're right up here and you've got I could , which is what you just described , and once you're in I could , you can go to the next easily . Not only could I , but I want to .

Lisa Hopkins

And I want to is the next choice . And when you go , I want to , it starts being attached in a good way , not attached connected to your . Why I want to ? Because I want to stretch myself , I want to support my community . I want to , whatever it might be . And once you're in , I want to , and you're already doing it . You're already playing the role , you're already leading the troops , you're there and when you take the moment , you , you , you're right at the right , at the fifth energetic choice , which is I get to , which is choice with gratitude . And so , when you do , I get to do this right and it happens , and I go through these right . What do you think about ?

Noah Ricketts

that I mean I think that's like such a beautiful way to put that whole experience in the context . Like I think I've been through that whole arc in like a single day , like you know , like I , I really do . I think I've , like you know , even in a matter of hours , like I've been through that whole entire fricking spectrum and I love that you just like put into context in a way that you can like I can almost see . I mean I haven't seen you in chart , but I can see it in my mind's eye and I think so much of like what we feel it's . It's hard to know how to verbalize because we , we don't have the tools to , and you know , we don't learn these things as a as a young person , it's only like when we absolutely need them to be fine , people are longer lives that teach us these beautiful things . So I love that it's in a beautiful spectrum form and I think it's so absolutely spot on .

Lisa Hopkins

That's in a way to format it . Yeah , I'm glad to share that with you . I'm glad that it resonated with you .

Noah Ricketts

So fun . Yes , I need that , I need that , I need that chart .

Lisa Hopkins

Yeah , well , that's you , I , it's yours . Yeah , we can play . It's pretty too . I mean , it's quite pretty . It's purple and black . Okay , let me ask you this . Actually , let me ask you this why did you come on the podcast ? Why did you say yes ?

Noah Ricketts

I don't know , because I I feel like , when I looked at the people that you had you had like an array of like great people and I liked the format in which you did this , like the video , like the video , you know , like the I don't know I had , like this I was like , oh , that looks really cool and I liked that it didn't seem like you wanted anything from anyone , which is , you know , something I experienced from time to time . So I just felt like you were interested in that . I love that too , Like I I've always interested in people's stories . I think it's like one of the things that makes us so interesting and unique , like talking to people and figuring out like , why are you here and how did you get here and what do you think about all of this , and that's quite simply like what you do , and I thought that's beautiful and effective and sure why not ?

Lisa Hopkins

I love that .

Noah Ricketts

I also would add to that , like I would say about like space and holding space . It's not , you know , when I do podcasts or I do blogs or whatever , it's always about something like you know , a project that you're doing or promotion or whatever , and I think that's important too . But it's very rare that you just talk to someone and I think that's the most beautiful , one of the most beautiful things we have . You know , the gift of communication

Creative People Finding Community and Authenticity

Noah Ricketts

.

Noah Ricketts

And I think , like as creative people , because there's not so much of this happening like I know for myself , like I have even like the chart we were talking about , where I felt like , oh my God , I can't . And you look around you and you think , well , everybody else could . So I feel single , I feel like I'm the messed up one , you know , in all of this . But it's only until you get vulnerable to someone else who in the same industry or adjacent industries , that you realize we've all gone through this same fricking thing , you know , in our own version of it , and I think , like that communal aspect of being a creative person is something that gets lost in the publicity and the shuffle and the you know and all the stuff . So it's nice to be able to speak to another creative and have creative people listening and realize like they're not alone in all of this .

Lisa Hopkins

Yeah , no , for sure , for sure . Hey , what do you know ? What do you know will stay true about you , no matter what happens .

Noah Ricketts

I think what will stay true is I will always be authentic to myself , authentic to the people around me , think I will always tell the truth and be a truth teller , for better or for worse . I think I will always do my best to give back and uplift others around me , like I've experienced from others . I think those are the things that I will make sure that they stay true , no matter what happens .

Lisa Hopkins

And so when I ask you that , I mean that came so easily and to my listeners like I don't give the questions to my guests before , so he didn't prep that and no , and it's interesting , so it's so ingrained in you . It's not like anyone asks you that on a regular basis . I mean , if I asked you the story about how you broke your wrists and got into show business , you could rhyme that off with your eyes closed , right . But when I ask you a question like that and it comes up so honestly and authentically , actually you're kind of living what you're saying . Does it help ? Like does it help you ? I mean , it's always there . But when I actually ask you just to express it out loud , does that help you reignite a little bit .

Noah Ricketts

Yeah , I mean , I think it like helps me get back to the root of why I'm doing all of this in the first place , or like why I do any of this at all , and just like actually communicating it out loud is a great reminder to myself and , to be honest , like I don't know what comes next in this grand thing we call life . But I do think I do know that if I hold true to those things , they're pillars along the way that won't produce the results that I'd like to see in the world , and I think that's what's most important .

Lisa Hopkins

Yeah .

Noah Ricketts

I'm an internal person . I'm always thinking , especially if I'm in a work environment . I'm always like , okay , thinking to myself , and I think I'm always a little bit worried about how I'm perceived , because I think in those situations I can come off as quiet and I think , maybe standoffish or whatever , because I'm kind of like digging into myself and the task at hand . And so I'm always a little bit worried about that perception of me and I always like now try to verbalize like I'm not a bitch , I'm just thinking . You know what I think . I think silence and I think it's like it can be a scary thing to sip certain people Like you know , like because you don't know where you're standing with someone . But I have learned over the years to kind of verbalize that I'm just internalizing everything that's going on and like that is like part of my process . And you know something I'm working on , like trying to do that and be open to all people and be a little more communicative in this space .

Lisa Hopkins

Let's do . I always finish with this rapid fire . It doesn't have to be rapid , but it can be , and I'm just going to say what makes you and I'm going to say word , and then you can just answer Okay , you ready .

Noah Ricketts

Sure .

Lisa Hopkins

Here we go . What makes you hungry ? Food ? Where did you go in your brain when I asked you that ? What was going on ?

Noah Ricketts

Well , what happened was I , you know , like when I eat , I like will be hungry 10 minutes later . So I'm like what makes me hungry is literally the act of food Like I eat and then I'm like okay , that's hilarious .

Lisa Hopkins

What makes you sad ? Hmm , being misunderstood . What inspires you ?

Noah Ricketts

The possibility of things getting better .

Lisa Hopkins

What frustrates you ?

Noah Ricketts

The blocks to things getting better .

Lisa Hopkins

I knew you were going to say that it stands to reason . Yeah , it's hilarious . No , fair enough . What makes you laugh ?

Noah Ricketts

You . Okay , I'll take that . Yeah , I'm going to stick with that , what makes you angry ? Wrongdoing , hmm , yeah .

Lisa Hopkins

Yeah , and finally , what makes you grateful ?

Noah Ricketts

Reflection .

Lisa Hopkins

Hmm , love that . What are the top three things that have happened so far today ?

Noah Ricketts

I sat by the pool , I had a really good latte and I journaled without stopping .

Lisa Hopkins

Hmm .

Noah Ricketts

So I completely free flowed through that , which was good .

Lisa Hopkins

Oh , I love it . What stops you sometimes when you're journaling , like what interrupts it ?

Noah Ricketts

Uh , monitoring my own thoughts . Hmm , like uh , you know should it , I've got you .

Lisa Hopkins

Yeah , that's how long did you do for today ?

Noah Ricketts

Oh , at least like 30 minutes .

Lisa Hopkins

Oh wow , that's amazing .

Noah Ricketts

Just yeah , just going .

Lisa Hopkins

And do you go back and read it right away or do you just close it ?

Noah Ricketts

Never just close it . That's amazing .

Lisa Hopkins

You never look at it again .

Noah Ricketts

I know , I know I never do .

Lisa Hopkins

Oh , that's so cool .

Noah Ricketts

I have a couple of journals though .

Lisa Hopkins

I was going to say how many do you have ?

Noah Ricketts

I have so many journals because I buy them and I'm like , oh yeah , well , I need that one , or I'm going to need that one .

Lisa Hopkins

Yeah .

Noah Ricketts

But I , like you know , like a bad day journal , I've got like a daily journal and I've got like an inspiration journal . I've got a gratitude journal . I've got a lot of journal I love that .

Lisa Hopkins

I love that . What's something that you're looking forward to today and then long term ?

Noah Ricketts

Today I'm looking forward to getting to the beach and long term , I'm looking forward to things in my life happening , just happening .

Lisa Hopkins

Yeah , fair enough . Yeah , fair enough . No , it's been such a pleasure speaking with you today .

Noah Ricketts

Oh well , lovely . Thank you so much I appreciate it Truly .

Lisa Hopkins

It's been my pleasure . I've been speaking today with Noah J Ricketts . What's the J for James , noah James Ricketts ? I'm Lisa Hopkins . Thanks for listening . Stay safe and healthy , everyone , and remember to live in the moment . Yay , in music , stop time is that beautiful moment where the band is suspended in rhythmic unison , supporting the soloists to express their individuality In the moment . I encourage you to take that time and create your own rhythm . Until next time , I'm Lisa Hopkins . Thanks for listening .