This Is Not Who I Effing Am + Flawsomeness with Kristina Paider

This Is Not Who I Effing Am + Flawsomeness with Kristina Paider

If you’ve ever stood at the edge of something big and whispered “I can’t,” only to hear a voice inside you yell “Like hell you can’t,” this one’s for you.

Meet Kristina Paider: former corporate exec turned badass storyteller, cliff-jumper, and the queen of flawsomeness. She’s helped clients land unforgettable TEDx talks, written screenplays that hit hard, and now she’s handing you the pen to script your next chapter.

In this episode, we talk about:

• The wild moment that made her say “this is not who I effing am” and leap off a cliff (literally)
• How panic attacks in water rewired her life (and what she did about it)
• Why your flaws aren’t a problem, they’re part of your power
• How to stop being an extra in your own damn life and take the lead role
• What she teaches about “bulletproofing” your dreams so they actually happen

This episode might shake something loose. Or it might just be your permission slip to say: I’m done hiding. I’m done shrinking. I’m done waiting.

Timestamp Cheat Sheet:

00:00 She jumps off a cliff

01:31 Who is Kristina Paider

05:36 Her exit from corporate (and what happened next)

25:51 When fear meets boldness

31:24 What is The Hollywood Approach really?

35:22 Panic attacks, cliffs, and calling back your power

43:47 Main Character Energy explained

53:53 Flawsomeness: owning all of it

59:43 TEDx, storytelling, and letting your story lead

Connect with Kristina:

• Website: kristinapaider.com
• Facebook: Kristina Paider
• Instagram: @kristinapaider
• LinkedIn: Kristina Paider

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Transcript

A Beautiful Fix Podcast

This Is Not Who I Effing Am + Flawsomeness with Kristina Paider

[00:00:00] All right. This one's for anyone who's done hiding, ready to step into the spotlight and finally live the story they were always meant to tell, because sometimes the most beautiful fix is reclaiming the pen today on a beautiful fix. I'm joined by Kristina Paider, a standing ovation earning speech writer, a award-winning storyteller, development editor and writing coach with a mighty and tidy stack of screenplays, speeches, books, and media features to her name.

She's helped dozens of clients craft unforgettable TEDx talks. And recently took the stage herself delivering her own TEDx talk. Be your own main character and take the leap in the Dominican Republic. She's also the author of the Hollywood Approach. Script Your Life Like a Hit movie and Live Your [00:01:00] Wildest Dreams where she can combines the art and neuroscience of storytelling to help people shift their narrative and step boldly into their next chapter.

Drawing from her years of experience in global marketing and commercial real estate, Kristina now empowers individuals across 34 countries to live and write their best stories. And when she's not coaching, writing, or helping people leap into their most compelling stories, you can find her diving off waterfalls, traveling off the grid, or making magic as a gift.

Chocolate Chef Kristina, welcome to the show. I'm so glad you're here. Tracy, I'm so delighted to be heres. We're having so much fun today, as you'd all know. Yes. And before we start, I have to tell people how this kind of all came to be. Because it's just one of those beautiful universe moments. I saw a post of Christine, I'm not even on LinkedIn all that much, but [00:02:00] um, I'm trying to get better about staying on LinkedIn and I saw her, um, post in my feed and I thought, wow, she just looks amazing and really interesting.

So I clicked into her profile and I noticed we had over 50. Mutual connections. And it turned out that, well two things. We both worked for the same global commercial real estate company just a few years apart. I missed you by just a couple of years. And then later on that evening, I pulled your profile back up and I was staring at it and I noticed the book in the background.

I turned to my husband, I showed it to him, screamed, ran up the stairs. He was like, what's, what's happening? And I went to my special bookcase. I have books throughout the house, but if the book is in my bedroom, that's a special place. Those are the ones that I go to all the time. And I grabbed your book, ran back downstairs and showed it to my husband and he was like, no way.

I'm like, I have been reading Kristina's book. I had no idea that we worked for the same company. [00:03:00] I, if I'm glad I didn't know. 'cause I probably wouldn't have reached out to you. I was. It's amazing. Amazing. That is, yes. I mean, it is absolutely amazing and, and especially the way that our communication unfolded because you, you actually, I think you either commented or you connected with me on LinkedIn because we weren't even connected at this point.

So somehow my post got served up to you and. I can't remember. We're in the process now. 'cause this was about a, a month or so ago. Yes. But at some point in there, you both asked me on your podcast and realized that you had my book and I, I, I don't remember which one came first. Maybe you do. But that was incredible because, um, it's just so cool to know that, first of all, I was on your special, I'm very honored to be on your special bookcase, but that's this connective tissue that we have and having, because we both worked in marketing, we were both senior VPs.

Yeah. So, which is not easy to do at that company or in that [00:04:00] universe. Absolutely. So just really some interesting, interesting connections. And then we both left our roles and pursued, um, other pastors, other paths and then we came back together. It yeah, it's, it's just, it's amazing. So. You mentioned that we both worked together and we had these global marketing careers for commercial real estate company, the same, um, commercial real estate company.

Can you walk us through a little bit how you, your, your leap from researcher and marketer to screenwriter, author and coach, what was that shift like? Well, I had actually been moonlighting as a screenwriter. My, for most of my marketing career in hotels, so I worked in hotel real estate, which is a specialty, um, real estate category.

And prior to that I worked in hotel technology. So my, and, and the year I began working in hotels was 1997, and that was [00:05:00] the first year I, um, had a headhunter, a corporate headhunter that I had worked with, was like, uh, I had came to visit, I had come to visit her after a job. And she basically said, because of the way I was telling my story about the job she had placed me in, which did not go well, was not in the hotel industry.

It's not even on my LinkedIn profile. Um. We can talk about that at happy hour. But anyway, I wanna hear that regaling her with the stories of what that crazy company was like. She was like, oh my God, you need to write movies. And I'm just like, know what I need? I was 27 at the time. I'm like, what I need is a job that pays my rent and, you know, keeps food on the table and keeps my, you know, airline tickets paid for.

Uh, and so she just kept bugging me. She, she's like, yeah, I know you'll, you'll find it. You're, you're fine. Uh, but she's like, but you really need to write movies. You really need to write movies. Which of course is widely [00:06:00] speculative work. Meaning unpaid work. Um. But she basically stalked me into it. And so I began writing movies, uh, that year as I began my hotel career.

And I did it, um, I did it at night and so I had been writing and I taught a little bit here and there after a while and had been doing courses and conferences and those kind of things. Um, so I was doing that the whole time I was at, I was in hotels and hotel real estate. So Kristina, was that the first time that that idea, that notion popped in your head that you should write movies, was when she mentioned it to you?

Or had you kind of thought about that before? I had, did not have any idea that that was a job, no. However, a upon reflection, I did recall this time in fifth grade when we were given an assignment to, we could write any kind of story we wanted, and the grade would be based on five pages. You get an a. Four pages, you get a B, three pages, you get a C, and so [00:07:00] on.

And I was really into Saturday Night Live. And so I was always parodying the parodies that characters were doing. And I decided for whatever reason to write a parody of my teacher. Yes. The one who was giving the grades. No, I didn't really realize immediately the short fall of that. But the cla, he was a guy who wore plaid pants, short sleeve shirts, bow ties, thick mustache, had some very, um, specific, uh, phraseology that he used.

And of course I managed to capture all of that in my 17 page. Play it. Uh, with him as the main character. And, and when the day came, like, I sort of forgot about that. Like, it was just so natural. My family's very comedic. We always, like whatever's going on, it's like we spin it to the funny and, you know, we're just like comedic genre of people, I [00:08:00] guess you would say.

And so I didn't really think about what I had done or that there might be like a downside to it until the day he was handing papers back and I was sitting in class and all of a sudden I'm like, why do I not have my paper yet? And then I was like, oh, I wonder if maybe I went a little too far with my things.

Maybe he realized I was talking about him because I, you know, gave it like a very fae name. But it was, you know, really literally him. Finally he slaps it back on my desk and I got an a plus plus 17 pages. Uh, and, and so like, I just kinda remember that, you know, it's not really something I was like, oh, wow, I'm a, I'm a big writer now or anything.

Never. I, I don't think I really thought about it again until people began asking me like, have you always wanted to do this and stuff, and it's like, I, I don't know that I want to, I just did. I always just did it. What, what did he say? Were there any notes with the a plus [00:09:00] plus? Did he say anything? I think he redlined it with, with, uh, I think he redlined it with my mistakes as Okay.

As teachers tended to do then. Yeah. And, and that's why when, when writers come to me now, they're a little traumatized by like, what are you gonna say? That's bad? I don't, I don't remember. I just, I do remember seeing the a plus plus. I think it had a couple more pluses on it, and that's kind of all I remember about it.

That's. Awesome. First of all, I love that you love Saturday Night Live and love to laugh. That's my family too. My, my, I have four sons. They were raised in Saturday Night Live. Completely inappropriate. We tried to send them away, they would sneak back around and look. It's just, we love comedy, so that's, yeah.

You know, and I was, I wanted to point out something, there's a thread that I'm starting to hear in these interviews. It's so many times someone else out, you know, taps you and says, Hey, you know, you, you should probably be. And so even though people kind of like you had the experience where you, um, wrote 17 pages, when you only need to [00:10:00] write five, you had someone kind of pull it out of you, like point out something.

We can't always see, I guess is what I'm trying to say, are gifts. Mm-hmm. You know, until someone, but you have to be open to it and say yes to it when someone does tap you and say, Hey, you should, you should do this. But it sounds like she didn't just say it. She also kind of stayed with you and continued to work with you to get you to write.

Your screen. Oh, the fifth grade teacher? No, no, no. The um, the, the recruiter, the corporate, the recruiter. Oh, yes. The corporate recruiter did, uh, and she tracked down the, so not only did she tap me, but then I call it style like Kim d I'm talking about you. Um, I, uh, I call it like, you know, friendly stalking.

She's like, oh, guess what? There's a course. Uh, I was living in Scottsdale at the time. There's a course at Scottsdale Community College, and I'm just like, eh, you know, I was just kind of all like, I don't know what I'm trying to find a job and it's just another thing to do. And I had a degree with like six, um, [00:11:00] emphasis in communication, international public relations, like all these different things.

And I'm like, really? Do I need another way of knowing how to write journalism advertising? I'm like, do I need another? Thing. And she, and then she's like, oh, there's this class. Oh, guess what? This guy, you know, came from UCLA, so he's blah, blah, blah. And she just would call me like every few days and nudge, nudge, nudge.

And it was early July. I will just always remember. And then from there, like the baton was kind of passed because this professor was still friends To this day, we still text each other to this day. Um, just a phenomenal dude. Like he was, uh, he had three screenplays greenlit all at the same time. He held two black belts in different, um, forms of, uh, oh my gosh.

Words failing me karate, TaeKwonDo. Thank you. Yes. He had juujitsu and aikido black belts in both. He was an undercover cop. Uh, he had just led this wonderful, amazing [00:12:00] life and he, you, you couldn't imagine that someone like just hearing those and he was tough. He was so hardcore. Like our first day in class, he gave this speech like Lydia Grant gave at the beginning of fame, if you remember, if you happen to remember that show, you know, she was like, fame costs and right here is where you start pain and sweat.

And he was kinda like that. And like one person left crying, another person like never came back after that class. And I was like sitting there with my big eyes like, wow, this is awesome. Like, this guy really knows this stuff. And I just, um. Had such a respect for his respect. And as I began learning the healing properties and the ancient just, um, legacy of, of storytelling on, you know, sort of through him, but also like through other things that I was interested in at the time, I was just absolutely fascinated.

And of course, I saw what happened in that [00:13:00] very special workshop sitting there on every Tuesday night for four years, um, the craft behind character development and storytelling. And he shared so much of what he learned, um, as an MFA at UCLA. Uh, so I study, I actually studied screenwriting for years beyond that.

I just kept going. The, the class was modeled after. Lou Hunter's 4 0 4 class at UCLA, which is heralded as, uh, the place you go for workshops. So maximum of eight people. You read each other's pages, you all give notes, and you learn how to listen. You learn how to give. You also learn how to receive. You learn how to sit there and be like, okay, one person thinks that these people should be blue, like on avatar.

Maybe we're not gonna listen to that person. Right? But four people or six people are saying, uh, this sounds like a drama. A drama, not a comedy. So either, you know, [00:14:00] as a writer you're like, well, so many people are saying this. Let me think about that. Am I, you know, was this just sort of a healing draft and moment and I need to dial up the comedy now?

Or is maybe this story more of a drama? So you, you just, you learn how to give, you learn how to receive so that, and you learn how to give so that people can receive, uh, notes, feedback, storytelling, and just, I mean, it just really changed my life. It, it changed my life because the UCLA mentality was, and my and Robert's mentality was, learn from as many people as you can and as you want to, and then you make up your own rules.

Mm. So you can learn the rules and then break them. And Yes. And we want you to learn from all these other people. So it wasn't, it was really different from other disciplines that I had growing up, such as religion. Nope. It's this way and only this way. And we're, there's no discussion about that whatsoever.

It was [00:15:00] just sort of open forum. So it, it really, like, I really grew, I think as a, as a human, as a person, as an artist, as a writer. For sure. Of course. 'cause that's such a life skill as well. I mean, in life you need to learn to give and receive. And sometimes receiving is the hardest thing. I'm, I'm curious, was that difficult for you?

Did you have to warm up to that notion? Because I know sometimes as a creative, for me, the last thing I wanna do is share something when I'm. In it and working on it. I wanna keep it close and perfect it before I show it to anyone. So I'm curious how that was for you. Well, for me, I think what I understood was the impossible task of being a selling screenwriter.

So I understood the bigger picture of what was at stake and my, and my professor, Robert, made sure we all understood that. So it's like, yeah, if you wanna create something in a vacuum, this [00:16:00] is not for you. This is a screenwriting is a collaborative process. You need to be able to take different perspectives into account.

And when you step up to pitch your movie, your idea, or your movie, or your script to somebody like getting red, getting something red is even so difficult. But when you're ready for that, you better darn well make sure that. Your material is vetted, meaning you have heard from the guy who wants it to be about blue people like Avatar, right?

You had heard, you've heard the crazy stuff, but you've also heard the concerns like, Hey, I thought this was a comedy and it's not. Do you wanna be hearing that for the first time when you have your one and only chance with someone who could make you a millionaire? No, I don't. So, so that was a very big incentive.

But also there was a style in which UCLA encouraged us to give feedback and, and that is so that you can receive it. And that is, you know, the simple stuff that, that most of us know who are in that world is starting with what works. Starting with [00:17:00] acknowledging the progress, also asking questions, Hey, was this supposed to be a comedic moment?

You know, like stuff like that. I keep using this example just to have some consistency, right? And we're talking about comedy and stuff like that, but, um, yeah. Yeah, no, no, go ahead. I didn't mean, go ahead. Well, I was just gonna say I had this experience. I, it, it reminds me of an experience earlier on when I was a journalist, I was working, um, I worked in television and the newspaper and I got a shot to write a, an article for the business section.

And I was so excited. I was like 23. I was 23 years old working for the Tribune, newspapers in Arizona, wrote this thing up and was waiting for the fee. You know, no one in college, no one at university ever talked about feedback. No one, even in the paper, in my role as a, like a features assistant, talked about feedback.

So the business editor, uh, when she came back and had redlined my article, she even like, changed [00:18:00] some words and made better words. I still remem, I remember how that looked in her hand. I could pick her handwriting out of a lineup today, how that looked. And I just thought, oh, she. What a different word there.

I don't like this. Like, I just remember I did not have the bigger picture about what it is about, like of course, it's about, you know, delighting readers with our word choices and this and this. Yeah. And I felt very, I'm, I'm trying to think. I, I don't even remember what the feeling would be, but like precious, I would say like a little bit precious about it.

A little bit like, oh, I got a bad grade or something. I didn't understand the power of collaboration, the power of having an editor with so many more years of experience, sharing some gems on my piece of work to make it better. Didn't get that because all I received back was a piece of paper with Red, red, red, red.

Sure, sure. Well, and that's ego. Yeah, it's ego. And I think it's [00:19:00] also context and your understanding and having a, having a background, um. And for that, and appreciation for what other collaborators can do for your work. Yes. Well, and you mentioned a concept that you called bulletproofing in your, your book.

I was cracking up because when you talked about your preparation, I love to prepare as well, but the way you prepare took it to a whole nother level. You knew when you were gonna be pitching, um, that the odds, the odds of someone even requesting, I think to see your, your work were, were huge. And then actually reading it, so you really took it to heart and you went to like a local deli or, or, or something like that.

And you, yeah. Pit fire pizza in la. Yes. Yes. And you had people play the role of the person that was going to say this negative thing or that like, so that you were pitching them and they were [00:20:00] just coming for you. And you, by the time you showed up, you had dealt with so many different personalities and attitudes and that you were prepared.

And probably, I don't, I think you said you weren't even as nervous. Oh gosh, no. You know, that like knocked the nerves right out of me because I prepared so much and I read a stat that um, oh no, I'm gonna forget her name. The woman comedian who hosted the Golden Globes this year. Oh, blazer. Yes. I read something somewhere, I don't know if it's true 'cause I did not read it from the source, but I read somewhere that she rehearsed 93 times.

Which makes total sense to me. I'm like, of course she did. Yes. Like she knows the value of that stage. Yes. The gig is not the last gig she wants. That is like a springboard for her to do like all kinds of things. So of course you would rehearse 93 times my screenwriting career coach told me for those pitches.

And those I think happened in [00:21:00] 2015. I was pitching an action thriller movie to 25 managers, production companies, producers, and I didn't know when in my life that I was gonna have the chance to produce or to pitch that many people again. So I was rehearsing like my life depended on it. And by the way, it was a five minute pitch.

This is a five minute pitch. I was so like, and I know myself, I'm a nervous speaker. When the spotlight is on me, I am, I'm not nervous with you. I'm not nervous on podcasts. I'm less nervous now, but at the time, just knowing the stakes, it was the hot stakes moment ever. Like the chance to have that movie purchased huge.

So, yeah, I, um, I, I had rehearsed rehearse. I was rehearsing, rehearsing, rehearsing, rehearsing, and it just was feeling rote and boring and I just, I had the idea while I was sitting there. So, pit fire pizza is this great big. Almost kind of warehouse-y like space in Westwood. They have an amazing [00:22:00] steak salad, amazing homemade ice cream.

Um, amazing pizza also. But they also have like sort of this back room that's kind of open during the day. So I went there and I was just recruiting randoms and just saying, be a jerk hole. Here's what I'm doing. Would you, would you, would you have 10 minutes to listen to me and play the role of a jerk hole?

And they'd be like, okay, sure. And I'm like, here's what you gotta do. I'm like, I'm gonna be trying to make eye contact with you. I want you to look at your phone. I thought of all the things that could derail me. Yes. So I was like, look at your phone, look at your watch, yawn. Lay down and sleep. Get up and walk around the room away from me where you can't even hear me.

Like, just be the biggest jerk you can turn around. Anything you can think and, and, and anything else you can think of. And so people did it. It was funny. Uh, but it was great because somebody. While I was pitching, actually one of the managers looked at his like really literally stopped and looked at his [00:23:00] watch.

Like so obvious it wasn't, it wasn't like one of these where you lean back kind of doing it on the slide, it was full on. Let me put my watch almost face in front of mine and I remember the moments like in those, it's funny, the moments I remember in the pitches, right? I just remember being like, and, and then just sort of like I, the thought came in back in my head like, you're prepared for that.

Keep going. You know what to do. And that is keep going. But I probably paused for a second. Like I'm sure in my mind, like in Slowmo, I was like, ah, mouth open, closed mouth continuum. Yeah, so, so that is bulletproofing and there's so many different ways to do it, right? It's like, think about the idea is think about what could derail, what could possibly derail you.

And either walk through those moments, think through them, write them, journal them, and journal solutions. What do you, what do you do? But of course it's best if you could practice it, I [00:24:00] think. Yes. Not, not everything is practicable, nor would you want, you know, nor would you want to. So, well it's kinda like the idea of, um, getting really comfortable with rejection.

'cause I am uber sensitive and don't have a fear of rejection. But the idea is if you can get to the point where you almost look forward to your next no, like it's no big deal and you know that you're just that much closer to a yes, it's kind of the same concept because then it's not that big of, big of a deal.

Sure, sure. I mean, that is, if the task is, you know, uh, sort of like a pitch or an an office related thing versus like climbing Kilimanjaro or Everest or, yes. Whatever else you might, you know, you might, yes, but, right. Well, and Kristina, I wanna, I wanna jump into your book, but really quickly, just for people that are listening, I, so you're, you're, you're working, you're in research and marketing and hotels.

How did you, what, what did that look like when you actually decided, I am going to leave this, this, this [00:25:00] world that is so, um, what's, what's the word? Like you, it's stable. It's, you're doing exactly what you should be doing it, it looks great on paper. Like, I'm gonna leave this and I'm gonna jump into the unknown.

Can you walk us through that? Sure. I think that, first of all, I had, I lived in Chicago for seven years and I planned to be there one or two. Okay. And the reason I came to Chicago from Scottsdale is because I wanted to go as high as I could in my marketing career. At that time, at at 30, when I left, uh, Arizona, my idea was, well, let me go as far as I can with, um, this career.

And I thought I had a, a mentor there who said, you know, it's not gonna be in Phoenix. It's not gonna be in the Phoenix area. You're, you're gonna need to go to a bigger market because here the, you [00:26:00] know, mainly the jobs are marketing manager. And if you wanna make director, you know, that's gonna be a harder fight here.

But in a bigger city, you'll, you'll have luck. So I took a job as a director of marketing. Um, went to Chicago, planned to be there one or two years, ended up staying seven. Uh, I had an illness about halfway through and I was very reticent to be without formal health insurance. So that was part of it. The other part of it was my grandfather's health was failing and I wanted to be as close to him as long as possible.

So I grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin. That was a four hour drive from Chicago. Okay. So I had, you know, and all my family, that comedic family, I call them the Belgian Mafia, they're like the Belgian version of SNL, were all there. So I got to drive back and forth for holidays and, and things like that. So there were a lot of advantages to being there.

But my intention, my big, my long-term intention was never to be there forever. Like, there was [00:27:00] still this fire like crackling under the, under the scenes or behind the scenes for Hollywood. And you probably know we don't have to be in Hollywood to be working, but I did want that experience, the, the LA experience.

So, um, when I took my final job, the one where we both worked for the same company at different times. I sort of had this goal to be like, well, let's see how, how far can I get? And as soon as I got there, there was like a duality from, from the beginning, like from almost from the beginning. Because in the beginning it was like, woo, I'm setting up this whole department.

I've got like seven different aspects of marketing I'm doing, I'm doing, you know, all these different things. And it's like, as soon as I, it's almost like as soon as I was set, I started feeling the confinement of it. And, and the, the sort of regime of, uh, and someone told me too, [00:28:00] that corporations do this, where they set your, um, reviews and your, um, bonus structure and everything is, is.

Orchestrated for you to continue on. So like your review is yes, July and December. Your bonus is in April. Remember that? And so you're like, oh. So there's like a mentality of, oh, I'm already one third of the way into the year, so I might as well go for another round and I'm on part, meet my goals, you know?

Yes. I kind of, I was in that and I had bought a house. I had renovated a house during this illness and, and I just was like, let me just come out on the other side of this and then, and then go, and then of course I came out on the other side and then it was 2008 and I was asked to give a plan of, um, of who was, you know, who on my team that I would, you know, think could.

Think would, you know, do who we would have to do without in order to shrink the department to continue [00:29:00] on. And I just raised my hand. I said, obviously, pick me. And, um, how about I do some consulting, you know, on the stuff that nobody else can do anyway. 'cause you know, I just thought like, well the reality was I didn't wanna be, I had nothing more, I could not give any more than I was giving, I was already working a bazillion hours, I was doing all these different disciplines and I had no more to give and to let go.

Like my team was so tight, I thought, you know what, these little whipper snappers, not little but young fur, whipper snappers come up and, you know, like do their thing and maybe they have new ideas that they want to, to see happen. Stuff like that. So, so that's what I did. And then, um. That's what happened.

So I exited at the end of 2008 and with a nice old package and moved to LA like a couple months later. I, I'm just, the synchronicities are just overwhelming 'cause [00:30:00] it's, it's sounds kind of similar. Um, and I wanna, I wanna get into your whole story, but very similar. So I, I feel a little better 'cause I thought I was the only person who, who did that, but I did something very, very similar.

So we just continue to have things in common. But, so what inspired the Hollywood approach? So, um, it's such a lot, like, I'm gonna try to give you a very concise answer. The concise answer is, it is inspired by my own life experience at the crossroad of writing great main characters and needing to be my own main character.

Hmm. Short answer. That, um, wow, that's, so you talk a lot about scripting your life and the, the power behind doing that. I don't think enough people think of their life in those terms. We tend to be a little bit like that feather at the [00:31:00] beginning of Forest Gump, which just, you know, or was it, maybe it was the end, you know, where the feather is just slight.

Just, just going. And we tend to do that with our life. But the idea of taking a pen and scripting out what you want your life to be, I think is phenomenal. Which is why I, I purchased, um, the book. Um, so can you talk a little bit about like, when you, if you're feeling, if someone is feeling stuck, how might they start to script out their, their life?

Well. You remember, because I, I'm sure that this program didn't go away while you left. Like part, a big part of, um, and a big anchor in a great way in my professional life was writing smart goals at the beginning of each year with my boss to gather in a very beautiful collaboration. I'm so grateful for, for my, my CEO was so fantastic and really collaborative that way.

And he would, he would, he would often be saying like, that's kind of a lot [00:32:00] kp like, should we, like, should we, like, do you really wanna put this in here because, you know, our bonuses and our rankings were based on that. And so I'd be like, hang, you know, I was on fire. I was in my thirties then. I mean, I was like, come on.

We had plenty to do. But that was such an anchor, um, and such a great anchoring experience to review it together. And because of my background with feedback, I really looked forward to it. I'm like, here's what I did, here's what I didn't do, but I did these other things and I understood the assignment. Mm, feedback.

But like, because we would, um, we would evaluate ourselves and we'd share that evaluation with our boss, and then we'd review it together, and then we would do that twice a year. So for me, that was just such a wonderful prac, wonderful, wonderful practice. So when people come to me, often they're writers because I'm working with writers and speakers, but sometimes it is more in the personal development realm, and they're wanting to script their life, and I've taught [00:33:00] masterclasses on this and such.

I think the thing to really start with is one of two ways you can go with, okay, what are you, what do you want? Or what do you what? Don't you want? Mm. So usually we can identify our problem or our opportunity in one of both ways, depending on where we're at or the circumstances. And I've witnessed over years in my own life and so many other people's lives that that can shift.

Sometimes it really is like, oh my God, I'm having this problem as I described in the book, my big challenge. Um, and other times it's like, I want more, I, you know, things are good and like, I wanna be able to retire sooner. Or I want this experience of building a beautiful home or living in this foreign country.

Or, I mean, you name it, like I've, I've heard so many different things, but it really starts with the clarity as we know from Smart goals. And that's how Heroes movie Heroes and Heroines do it too. We just [00:34:00] don't call it that in the movie industry. Absolutely. And, um. A big part, I think, of making this decision of writing out your life.

You have to overcome some things. And I wanted to talk a little bit about fear, because fear seems to be something that that plays out in, in my life and others, and it's a big part of why maybe we don't, um, move forward or do what it is that we love. But I just wanted to read just a little bit from your book.

So no one, but you knows what it took for you to take the big leap, the single step that changed the course of your life to move onward and upward and a crucial moment. Only you understand the nuances of what will make you take the leap or walk away. Whether you are driven by sheer will or a connection to something else.

Only you know what really and truly deep down in your soul makes you tick when that [00:35:00] moment of truth arrives. Hmm, I just. I love that because you also talk about fear in the terms of it kind of make, keeping you small again. And, um, you know, I, I had a whole, my whole, my first episode is about coming to the edge.

It's, it is that moment when it's time to take that leap. And so I wanted to just talk to you a little bit about it because in your book, if you could share a little bit about your moment of literally standing on the edge of that cliff. I, I, so you talk about you had this fear of water, you started to have panic attacks, even like dipping your toe into a pool or something could bring on anxiety and instead of you giving into it.

You really, um, put yourself into positions where you kind of had to face that fear over and over and over again to the moment where you get to that cliff and everyone is egging you on. They're, they've already made the leap and they're asking you [00:36:00] to, to, to make the leap as well. And you're trying to, and you're thinking about it.

And then you have a moment where you, a, you say, listen, this isn't working. I'm going to turn my head. I'm gonna shift away from the water and I'm gonna talk to you the guide. We're just gonna have a conversation and then I'm gonna make the leap. And then you start with, so what's your name? And the name that he told you was not the name you were trying to hear.

And then you saw it as yet another sign. Um, and it's like, this isn't gonna happen. But then you had that moment of saying, this is not who I am. And then can you kind of take it, take it from there? What happened after you said, this is not who I am. What happened was really, like, once I heard that name, it was the last name on earth I wanted to hear.

Yes. Um, represented like worst moment of my life. And so yes, the alarm bells, then I was already having alarm bells 'cause I'm standing on the edge. I'm looking over at the people below and I'm really [00:37:00] thinking like, okay, this could be the leap to everything. This could be the leap. So maybe a little context first.

Yes. I, I was a water lover my whole life. I was a water skier, certified diver cliff jumper. I led a rescue of two boys, uh, got them out of a riptide safely. So like I was a water baby. And out of nowhere I began having extreme well out of nowhere. I began having panic attacks in the water, only in the water.

Over a 10 year period, they became so extreme that I could not put my foot in a pool. One and number two, the, it would take me two to three days to recover. So, and they escalated really fast once I moved to la. So I was living in Chicago for the first five years of this. Then I moved to LA and that was the second five years.

And I was trying self-administered exposure therapy. I, I really didn't know what to [00:38:00] do. I just, I talk, uh, so talk therapy. I was like, no way. That's not gonna work. And so one key distinction here is that fear is an emotion. Fear is something we manage. It's an emotion. Panic attacks is a nervous system condition.

It's like a seizure or a heart attack where you do not, there is no way to stop one when it starts. You just have to. Go through it. Yeah. You just have to go through it. So, so that's a key distinction. It's not, I didn't know that. Yeah. So it's not about overcoming a fear because that is, that's a different like type of of thing, serious, but a different type of thing because this is happening subconsciously.

Um, so, so that was that. So on the ledge this whole time, and, and the reason, part of the reason I wrote the book is because everyone, people kept asking me, what are you doing in the Dominican Republic? I moved there after this, and they're like, oh, are you a kite surfer or this or that? And I'm like, Nope.

I'm, I'm sort of [00:39:00] like, I'm recovering myself in the water. And I just had, so people had so many questions about what I did because I read about 27 waterfalls and I decided from LA. I decided to do it as self prescribed exposure therapy, and that's why I was there. That's how I got there. That's how I got to that seventh ledge that I was on at that moment You described, so I was already six panic attacks into the day.

I'm looking down over this ledge thinking, okay, this could be the one that knocks it loose. Like I was con, you know, I was like armored up to punch, panic in the throw to punch it back, like get it out of my system. Didn't know how. Um, and, but I was looking down, it was a 30 foot jump, this one, the seventh one, and I thought, okay, either, either it could kick something loose or I plunge in really deep below.

And I have an incident, like I really felt like I was nearing cardiac arrest because it's, it was like having a [00:40:00] heart attack. It was like already having six heart attacks that day. So I thought if I do have one, these people are gonna have to somehow like the, you know, they're in this lagoon pool surrounded by volcanic cliff.

They're gonna have to somehow. He me over the edge, and then someone's gonna have to get up there and start doing CPR. Oh my gosh. So that's what I'm thinking when I'm up there. So that's when I, that's the moment when I'm turned to the guy and I'm like, let's just, lemme just think about something else for a second because this is not a good thought.

And then he said that, and then I was like, oh my God. All the alarm bells were just like, it was like my brain turned into just a cacophony of flashing red lights and alarms and that's all. It's like, it's all I could see. And so that's when I stepped away, but something happened, it's like, it's like an electric current went through me in that step and I heard a voice.

It wasn't a thought, it was a loud voice, um, that said this is not who I effing am. And I thought, wow, first [00:41:00] person F-bomb. I don't know who this is, but they mean business. And in that moment it's like, it's almost like a subconscious pull. I pivoted back on that same foot, stood on the ledge for a second, jumped,

and then I was underwater. I was like, wow, it's so calm. Mm-hmm. So quiet. And like I had this moment where I'm like. Did I just cross over? I'm like, what happened? And then I came up and, you know, spoiler alert, here I am. I I'm fine. But so that incident, so that really moved the needle, um, on the panic attacks for me because that, it really was the outcome I was hoping for.

I came back up, I was breathing normally, and then I could carry on and at least get myself into the ocean without always being like, somebody be all right next to me in case I just like, you know, I never collapsed or anything, but in case I did, I didn't know [00:42:00] what was coming next. But that was, that was what happened there.

And so the book is all about deconstructing, not just that mo, I mean, that was like a small paragraph or early, um, intro chapter, like in a later chapter. But it was about figuring out who I am. And the passage you read is why did you Know Is is about me encouraging other people to. Glean their own self knowledge, um, which I call character, DNA, to glean their own narrative forensics so they can tap into their unique main character energy.

Because we talk about heroes, heroines, main character, energy, and yes, it's cute, nice and all that stuff, but it's also a really badass, multi-billion dollar business. And it is for a reason. It's because stories work on a subconscious level. And if we are, if we are nurturing our own subconscious mind about who we are, [00:43:00] about the clarity of what we want in our life, about our smart goal, or however we wanna say about the specific thing we want, or the specific thing we don't want, and we're crafting our new narrative from there in those tough moments where we.

Consciously think we are going to die or whatever the life or death, um, figurative or literal consequences. If we have done our work that I describe in the book, we, our subconscious can kick in and help push us forward in those difficult moments. We can be pushed forward to where we need to go. And I think I've had lots of years that, that incident happened in 2013, so I've had lots of years to reflect, lots of people asking me questions over this time, what are you doing?

Why did you do that? And what made you, you know, just all these kinds of questions that I may have not have thought about on my own. Um, but certainly I have now. [00:44:00] And that's, that's where I, and you know, that's where I landed with that. So what do you, who do you think that voice was? Where did that voice come from?

I think it is, I think it was my, my subconscious mind, I think. Mm-hmm. At first I thought my ego like, you know, but then you can kind of get into the, and I'm not an expert at, you know, the differentiator between that. Maybe, maybe there's some overlap, maybe there's some crossover, maybe there's not, but, but I, I think that was what I now, you know, I know and have practiced and as I've heard other people's stories and relate how they use my exercises to, you know, shake loose their own, you know, nuggets of information and distinctions of what will help them in their tough moments.

I understand it to be that, um, our subconscious mind makes 95% of our decisions. Mm-hmm. So if we are nurturing our subconscious mind with, I can't do that, I could never do that. I'm [00:45:00] afraid to do that. I don't wanna do that. There's no answer for me and all of this negative stuff. Um. That's not really gonna help us in a moment where we're stuck on the ledge and the alarm lights are going right.

However, what I was doing, I didn't realize it, but that's why I had to write the book because I'm like, I didn't really realize that's what I was doing. But as I look back, my happy place, you know, my happiest happy place is the water. And that's the same is true for my niece and nephew, who I love dearly.

And I had a trip planned with them, um, a couple months after I went there. And they had been, their parents had gotten divorced. It was not an easy time for them. And I, my, you know, goal with them was to just that they always knew there was a happy place no matter what, a place where, and I, I, they could re hit the reset button, a place they could go and, you know, just always have these great memories.

But I was so afraid to go with them because I'm like, well, am [00:46:00] I going to, you know, need to be rescued in these random trip, you know, places we're going. Um, so that was a bigger picture pull for me, and I just thought about all the times we already swam together, the fun things we did. Um, catching my niece as she would jump off the side of the pool.

I, I, you know, I'm that person that always loves to help kids jump, take the, you know, feel safe. Yeah. Do the swims. Like, I love that. It was such a like, beautiful, fun thing to do with kids and, um. I thought about that. I thought about, I thought about all the great, you know, the cliff dive I did the surfing I did in Sydney, this jump I did in Belize, you know, these, these places I wanted to go.

I still wanna swim across the top of the waterfalls in Victoria, in, uh, Victoria Falls. I want to swim in the sea, kelp forest in South Africa, you know, so there's like all these things I wanna do. And so again, it was the clarity, um, and, and getting clear on that [00:47:00] background so that when that moment came, I was nurturing my mind with how much I loved my niece and nephew, how much, what I couldn't, all the great times I had swimming before, all the great times that were to come.

And so I think that's where that like, so you can see like if you're, you know, if you're think about dreams, like it's almost like a dream voice or something like that was the message that came. I was either that or. Um, I don't know, someone, someone's angel or guide above like yelling at me, but the first person was what got me.

Yeah. Like come from within, right? So, and, and your niece and your nephew, they were your why. You also talk about that in the book. I love how your book is structured, where you give great examples from movies, movies that we have seen, Aaron Brockovich and um, Jason Bourne, um, and, and several of them. And you sh you kind of dissect these movies and show how, what you're talking about, how these characters kind of did that.

But you also talk about your why. You have to know your why. So at that [00:48:00] moment, that fear that standing at the edge of the cliff, you think about your niece and your nephew, the upcoming trip, how much you love them, how you want to be strong for them, and then you that, I'm sure that helped you make that leap.

Yeah. And it all happened so fast. Like all of that happened so fast, like, and so that is, I think the importance of nurturing our subconscious minds. Mm-hmm. And really working on our own self-talk. Getting clear on that and that like didn't start like, ooh. So those jumps were in June, June 22nd, 2013. I mean, I didn't just start doing that like May or something, you know, I have been doing that work for a long, long time.

And so I just, I see the whole Hollywood approach, I see tapping into our unique main character energy, a continuum. It's a practice. It's not like, oh, I did that one thing, so now I'm perfect at it and I do it all the time. No, it's a continual practice of being in touch with that. Being [00:49:00] conscious about choosing.

Last year I was like the, uh, post-it note queen, I was posting, um, affirmations because I was in kind of a tough spot and I'm like, okay, what do you know how to, you know, what do you know to do what is gonna help you? And it was, it was writing very specific pointed affirmations and reading them multiple times a day.

It's amazing how these things help because when we. You mean we don't even realize, right? Yes. Sometimes until some moment of truth comes and then like, now you're hearing voices in your head and you're talking about a podcast. It's, it's clarity. If you can get crystal clear around something, it pulls you to it.

It's powerful. Hmm. Well, I, I wanted to share one quote that you had, um, in the book. I just think it's, it's powerful. Um, this is from Joe, and I'm gonna, joy, I'm gonna bot her last name, but Manana manana, the, the QVC Queen Manano. Yes, yes, yes. Who did this Self ringing mop? I loved her, her movie. But I'd loved this quote, and I just wanted people to [00:50:00] hear it.

When you're hiding, you're safe because people can't see you. But funny thing about hiding, you're even, you're even hiding. You're, excuse me, you're even hidden from yourself. I just blotched, but funny thing about hiding, you're even hidden from yourself. That just sat with me because it is so easy to, to hide and to wanna keep yourself safe.

But the idea that you're, you know, you are blocking your own self. You also talk about being, um, your own antagonist. You're, you know, it's typically us. We're, we're typically the ones in our life story that's, that's holding us back. Yes. We are typically, in fact, not Jason Bourne with Yes. Assassins and government agencies and black ops and, and then other Brandos, uh, trying to kill us, just often just our own selves.

Yeah. And also like, I love that you brought up the topic of safety and the concept of safety, because I think often [00:51:00] we have these false constructs of safety. Like one of mine going through that illness would've been working for, for that beloved company, which was a great experience. And on the, out, on the outside.

And even on the inside, you could be like, oh, great, she's a senior vice president of yada, yada, yada. I call it my fancy pants job. Green Amex, she got a nice house. She got this. Yes. Um, and yeah, there was like, and, and insurance. Like, you know, my, the thing I always kept saying was like, oh, I want health insurance.

Which by the way, I never used, because I only used natural medicine. Oh my gosh. You know, you know what I mean? Insurance Yes. Doesn't cover that. Yeah. I was just, it was like, I don't know, you know, like it, but whatever. Like, and it, and it's not, I'm also not criticizing myself even though it might sound like that.

I think it's all information. And just like we do in the movies, when I'm, when I'm writing a movie, it's like there's all kinds of [00:52:00] information and choices for every character and for every path. And so we can just take in the information, we can in real life. We get to gut check and be like, Hmm, is that really safe?

Or does it feel safe right now? And I wanna do it. I like it because I don't know, there's so much uncertainty with everything else. And this gives me a structure of working, you know, from 6:00 AM with the London office to 11:00 PM with the Sydney office. That's fine. But I know what it is. I know the rules, I know how to win at it.

It, you know, gives me my dopamine and whatever else. And you know, and that feels good. And that's okay too. Like, I'm not here to try to make anyone's choices wrong. I'm here to try to make people's choices conscious.

Kristina, can you talk to us a little bit about floss? I don't know if that's a term you coined, but I love it. Flaws, awesomeness. It's when you blend our flaws and our awesomeness. Yes, it's the highly technical, um, combination of our flaws and our [00:53:00] awesomeness. I did not, I wanna be clear, I did not coin the term.

I saw it on a meme somewhere and I loved it. And so does everybody else. Uh, I do. I could not find it's originator. It just, okay. I think it's kind of come into our vernacular. Um, so I'll start by talking about it from the Hollywood perspective. A key thing that is important when we're creating a main character, Harrow heroine, or a har hero.

Harrow or a hero, we're creating that too. Um, what's really important in the construct of a movie is understanding the hero or heroine's flaw and how they work to overcome that flaw in the context of a story. And that's what makes movies. Such a masterclass of life if you apply what I talk about in the book, because it's really, you know, a 90 minute or a two hour masterclass on one specific story, an a story and maybe a b story for that main character.

And how they over [00:54:00] like all these things, like their specific goal, their strengths, their um, superpowers and also their flaws ness. And the hero in any given story must overcome their flaw in order to get their goal. And so that's the one we're talking about. So we can all have a bajillion flaws, um, but it's the one that's stopping us from achieving the goal we're after.

Now, that's the one I want us to be talking about when we're thinking of our, you know, living our wildest dream. Um, and so they are sometimes, now, this is what I found in my masterclasses, that, that people either have a blind spot in their strengths. Or they have a blind spot in their flaws. We don't wanna admit our flaws.

And some people have a, like if we're Midwesterners, sometimes we don't, we can't really see our strengths. That's where it helps to be in a community and, you know, hey, and, you know, dissecting past [00:55:00] stories to be like, what, you know, what made me hesitate, what made me procrastinate? What made me not take action?

And then on the flip side, what moved, what helped me move the needle forward? So I, I do like floss inness because really it is a continuum. Every flaw can also be a strength and a different con context. And every strength can be a flaw in a different context or circumstances. Yes. Um, so it's just really important to think about that in terms of think about our flaws, our flawlessness in terms of the big goal we have now.

What is the aspect of our personality, um, or a, something about ourselves, a trait about ourselves that will hinder us from having super success? Because, you know, we're not talking about like the Hollywood approach to goals and living your best life isn't about, uh, I'm gonna bake a cake this weekend. Oh, okay, so I'm going to [00:56:00] get in the car or put on my shoes, go to a store, get a cake mix, add some stuff.

It's baked. It is really about the obstacles and the flaws. It is not a simple, like, this is about really bigger picture stuff for our, for our life. So, um, that's where. You can have flaws baking a cake. Mine might be I add too much chocolate chip, too many chocolate chips stuff. I don't know. But, um, but it's important to identify that and to really reflect.

And part of what helps us do that is reflecting on past stories, past success stories, even from like, if we can go as far as 20 years or more ago, that gives us a little bit of distance. Like, I, like I, when I talked about the redlining from that business article I wrote in when I was 23, like I remember, but I'm not so close to it that I can see, oh, my, my flaw in that story was I was too.

First of all, I didn't know the game I was playing. I didn't know the bigger, I didn't know the bigger picture. I didn't know what I didn't know. I didn't know the bigger picture. I [00:57:00] didn't have an appreci, you know, I could pick out a lot of things and maybe I'm super independent. Could be one way of looking at that.

I didn't want anyone touch must stuff. So, you know, um, if we look at that and think about, hmm, okay in this story, like, let's say I'm writing an article today, you know, it could be like, well, how would I overcome that? Oh, it's just natural. Then I don't look at red lines or suggested better words as a attack on my, you know, craft or my quality as an employee or what, you know, whatever it, what, whatever you can say about that.

I love it. And um, also when I, when I think about floss ness, I and Hollywood, I've heard, and you can let me know if this is true, that if you wanna make a character unlikeable, make them perfect. But if you want the audience to fall in love with them, show their flaws, show, show the woman who's running late for a meeting and [00:58:00] she spilled coffee in herself and the audience will fall in love with her.

Have you found that to be true? Yes, definitely. In life and in movies. Yes. Yeah. We wanna always be exposing the flaws because that's where the interesting parts are. That's really, I mean, we don't wanna do it. I don't wanna do it myself. I don't, sometimes I think that it can be a blind spot unless I really look and reflect back.

Yes. Yeah. Perfection is clearly over overrated. Um, but Christian, I wanted to ask you a little bit about your Te X talks. What is that? What is that experience like? My TEDx talk is in, um, a month from now. Oh, okay. Yeah. So you've just, you've been training people and coaching them. You're getting great. Yes, I have, I have helped people and trained and mentored dozens of people on their own TEDx talks and keynotes, and this is the first time I have given keynotes and I have given, uh, shorter talks [00:59:00] like this before, but I've never given a TEDx talk myself.

So this is my first, um, my first foray at that. And I am, it is a very interesting experience right now because I am both and often the coach, not only for TEDx, but I'm also working on a big, uh, script project this year. So I have lots of coaches right now, um, in the TEDx arena, in the screenwriting arena.

And it's very, very interesting to be both the coach and the coach coachee. So I'm trying to take my own advice that I give on a daily basis. It's gonna be amazing. And you're, are you going through the Bulletproofing concept with your TEDx talk? I will, yes. So I'm in the last, like three and a half weeks of rehearsal, and I ha my script isn't totally dialed just yet.

Like, I'm in the final, final, final tweaks of the script. And then yes, I will. Absolutely. I'll be grabbing everyone I meet on and off the street in [01:00:00] houses at celebrations be, Hey, do you want us to talk? I think it's important. I think it's great in speaking too, when you are moving your body and you're in all these different locations because you just get used to different STI stimuli around you.

Mm-hmm. But I, that's just me. I, I don't know if that's the same for other speakers. Well, it's going to be phenomenal. Um, I'm sure. Kristina, where can listeners find you or work with you or follow along with you? Um. I am, I have a website with my name and I'm on LinkedIn. I'm active on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

Wonderful. All my, all my name. I think you'll probably have it in the show notes. I, yes. We will include everything in the show notes and links and, um, well, I, I just wanted to end, as we always do with our, what I call a beautiful fix speed round. Um, so what makes you come alive? Adventure. Mm. What's a song that instantly [01:01:00] shifts your mood or makes you feel something?

Stares. New song DJ Play that Christmas song. What? Yes. How do I not know about this? Cher has a new song. Yes. And this was like the number one Christmas song. Last year and maybe the year before. I, I, I don't remember when I, now, now I don't remember when it came out, but try not to have an earworm with that song.

You're welcome DJ play that Christmas song. Okay. Um, is there a book that cracked you open or stayed with you long after the last page? Yes, most definitely. The Artist's Way. Oh, by Julia Cameron. Julia Cameron, absolutely. That's a classic. What's your dreamiest destination? So it's a two-parter, your dreamiest destination and then your everyday spot that just kind of grounds and recharges you dreamies destination.

What I have on one place on my list right now is [01:02:00] Victoria Falls in Africa and swimming across the top of the waterfalls, which is not, not dangerous. I was gonna say swimming across the top of a waterfall. Mm-hmm. Wow. Yeah. Uh, and then my everyday spot. I am on the move a lot these days. Um, so I don't have one particular spot, but I really always love looking at trees and forests.

I know you had a great episode, a great episode on forest bathing. I love being around trees and, um, in nature, but by, in nature I really mean in, you know, around trees. Mm. Have you done forest bathing or forest therapy? Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes. It's beautiful. Oh, it's amazing. It, it is. What's your favorite little indulgence or guilty pleasure?

Something that just brings you joy? Well, I have been a guest chocolate [01:03:00] chef, so I love dark chocolate, and right now I'm playing with the chocolate lavender. Flavor profile. Try to get, try to combine those two inspired by a place I, um, visited in Budapest years ago called, I think it's called Laela. Oh, but don't, I think it's called Laela and it's like a lavender ice cream shop.

Oh. And they had a chocolate lavender flavor that, you know, when you talk about like a book that stays with you, that was like the ice cream that stayed with me. So it's like, I'm trying to remember the last time I was there. It was at least, it was more than six years ago. And I'm still like, oh, it's so good.

So do, so you make your own chocolates? I make chocolate recipes. I wouldn't, I wouldn't, I don't, I'm like, I'm not a confectioner that I make like truffles or something like that. I have a, a signature, um, dish that ironically is called The Chocolate Fix. It used to be featured at, at our top restaurant in the Dr in [01:04:00] Kete.

Oh my gosh. Yeah. And so I play with that recipe from time to time and just. Maybe add different flavors, um, because it's good as pure chocolate. It's like a cross between a mousse and a, like a, like a truffle. Oh, that sounds amazing. I love chocolate. Yes. So good, right? Yes. Another feeling modality along with storytelling.

Let's do it. Well, Kristina, thank you for sharing your story, your courage and the way you help people take the leap, not just in big dramatic ways, 'cause I think that's key. People think of, oh, I've gotta make this big, huge leap. Sometimes it's just those everyday decisions, the tiny, the tiny micro shifts that, that help you get closer to you know who you really are.

So this conversation, it was absolutely a beautiful fix. Thank you so much. What a delight. Appreciate being here. Thank [01:05:00] you.