E65: Why Today’s Work Culture Ignores Humanity—and How to Fix It with Vanessa Younts

Vanessa The Vivacious shares her journey from struggle to becoming a voice for humanity 2.0, emphasizing how vulnerability can lead to authentic connection and personal growth. Discover the art of resilience, the power of active listening, and practical ways to build community. 

Vanessa’s insights reveal why embracing openness and compassion is crucial for societal healing and meaningful change. Perfect for anyone seeking deeper human connections and practical tools to lead with empathy.

Connect with Vanessa:

https://vanessathevivacious.com/

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:11

Humanity, what does it mean to be a human today? Today we're diving into something that affects every single one of us, whether we realize it or not. We talk about politics, but not in the way you might expect. Not about which side you're on, but about recognizing that politics shape our everyday work lives. From taxes to the roads we drive on to get to work, these systems impact all of us. But more importantly, we talk about communication, about how hard it is to be vulnerable, about why we desperately need better ways to listen to one another and connect as human beings again. Self-help today can feel overly polished, flowery, and cliche, but real growth isn't always pretty. Sometimes growth looks ugly, sometimes it means sitting in discomfort, sometimes it sucks. We need connection with others more than anything, and to put humanity in front of humanity. Let's roll right in. All right, welcome to the work sucks, but I like it podcast. Today we have Vanessa Junce. She's known as Vanessa the Vivacious. She's a podcaster, filmmaker, video journalist, musician, and podcast host herself of Humanity 2.0. She was previously the managing director and a contributing video journalist with Are You Happy? I just want to say too for you listeners, Vanessa and I met actually at PodMatch in 2026, and we were super excited to get on the show today. So Vanessa, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_00 1:33

Thank you for having me. So excited to be here and good to see you again.

SPEAKER_01 1:36

No, awesome, absolutely. So as you know, Vanessa, how do you define work?

SPEAKER_00 1:42

I define work as it's funny because it has a negative connotation with me when I think of my previous work, but I define it as uh, you know, it's a it's it's a part of your identity almost, but not all of your identity. It's something that takes up a portion of your time, and it's up to you to choose on how positively you feel that time and how fulfilled you feel with that particular period of time. So when I think of work, I think of you know, this this uh this period of time where we are able to decide, you know, how we navigate it and how we fill it and how do we walk away from it too? So it's funny that it that I think negatively.

SPEAKER_01 2:32

Yeah. Well, I hear you though. How do you fill your day then?

SPEAKER_00 2:36

Oh, I fill my day with amazing things now. I work for myself, so I manage my own production company, and I've done so for the last five years uh with normal corporate jobs and also without them. And so my day to day is meeting with clients that could be video, podcast, or film, and then working on my own projects as well. I have two films that I'm working on. I have a book that I'm working on, and then you know, also the podcast. So my day is so creative and then observing humanity and editing humanity in video form. And it's it's beautiful. It's a lot of work, but it's really beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 3:13

But you love it, yeah. So I love your podcast, Vanessa, in terms of like the perspective that you take on with humanity. Why do you call it humanity 2.0?

SPEAKER_00 3:22

That's a great question. So I call it humanity 2.0 because I believe that we can strive to be that 2.0. Right now we're in the 1.0 where we're going through a lot of struggles. There's a lot of issues worldwide, both personal and political and social economic, right? And so we are struggling. And there's a lot of sadness and grief and discomfort. And so I believe that if we were to listen to one another and to communicate and really connect, then we could become more empathetic and more compassionate and we could, you know, develop, you know, answers to some of these problems. And so by that, we'd be able to create that humanity 2.0 where we lead with empathy first and we care about the person next to us. And when we ask someone, hey, how are you doing today? We actually mean it. So that's what I'm looking forward to. I've observed humanity for the last six years now, and I know that it's possible. I've seen it, I have it on, you know, hours of footages on two terabyte hard drives. So I know that it's possible. And so with my show and also my video series, my whole point is to put humanity in front of humanity so that we can see ourselves and we can see this goodness, but also we can share in those tragic moments and say, me too, and then say, I'm not alone. And, you know, let me find my community where we could grow together. But yeah, I really think that that humanity 2.0 is where we're headed.

SPEAKER_01 4:42

So one of the things we say in the show, Vanessa, is that success is not a matter of good luck, it's good skills. Now, from the terabytes of video that you have, what is one skill that you've sort of taken away that you've seen people living this sort of humanity 2.0?

SPEAKER_00 4:58

So I would say that just the art of resilience is what I see. I see people talk about coming from struggles or being in the midst of a struggle, yet they put on this smile. And when you ask them for a message to the world, whether it's about humanity, a message of hope, or it's a message to the world in general, for are you happy? People tend to set aside the difficulty and and really pull from inside and share these really authentic messages because they want other people to be inspired and take away from you know their life experience. So I I would say that there's not one person I've ever looked at that did not have a a piece or if not, you know, a great amount of resilience.

SPEAKER_01 5:48

That set aside the difficulty, I feel like is very hard for people to do. Why is that?

SPEAKER_00 5:55

Well, it's it's difficult because for some it's it's in it's, I guess, entangled in everything. I mean, if you if you have economic struggles, right, at home, then it feeds into what kind of job you have. It feeds in, you know, how far can you go for work? What kind of work do you do? And then also if you have little kids at home, you're worried about how you feed them. If you have, you know, sick elderly parents or maybe you can't afford healthcare, then it's affecting quality of life. So there are some instances where our our problems and struggles can really just, you know, root into all aspects of our lives. And then, you know, for some, um, I I would include myself in this, uh, having grown up in a just, I would say, a struggle environment, I I kind of developed these skills where I would look at things from a, I guess, like a zoom out sort of lens. And I would say, okay, what about this can I fix right now? What can I make a plan to fix? And then, you know, what do I do once I fix that? What's my next move? So I've always had these, these multiple plans or or these multiple frameworks of what I could do to, you know, to fix the now or to fix the later. But I just I I didn't accept that that that position is where I was and that's where I was going to stay.

SPEAKER_01 7:09

How do you manage the emotions with that, right? I guess like as you're trying to sift through all these like some somewhat challenging topics, a lot of emotions come up. What do you how are you handling those as you sort of sift through this?

SPEAKER_00 7:22

Um well, when it comes to interviews, um I I allow myself to be in the moment with the person. So I do allow myself to experience them. But then afterward, when I'm thinking about it and kind of breaking it down, I I establish that that boundary knowing that that's not me. I'm not that person, but I have deep respect and empathy for them. So I learned to kind of put that boundary so that way I don't fall into what it is that I'm hearing. There are tons of editors that I've known in the past where all they did was edit videos and and see these stories and hear these stories and really, really terribly sad stories. And that was a common practice was that okay, you can you can recognize it and you can feel it, but don't let your entire self become part of that particular feeling, if that makes sense. Um in a personal life, I worked as a claims adjuster and I received training on how to separate yourself from a situation. So uh that became some kind of an acquired skill that applied to life as well. So I've thankfully been able to apply some corporate skills into personal life, but I I feel like um at the end of the day, we're all human and we still feel things. And if we can recognize that, you know, those feelings at the end of the day, they're not us, they're not all that we are, and and we can, you know, still function alongside them and we can still embrace them and feel them, but they don't have to encompass our entire being.

SPEAKER_01 8:47

Gotcha. So I'd love to like kind of dive into politics. I know it's sort of a topic that I don't do much on the show, but you know, I feel like, like you're saying, these problems can kind of permeate in other parts of our lives. And let's face it, we're at a very big divide here in the United States of America right now, whether you're a Democrat, a Republican. So what are your thoughts to sort of work through that? And again, keep straight. I love this kind of image in mind. Where's that humanity 2.0? How can we get to that with politics?

SPEAKER_00 9:15

I actually posted a video not, or maybe it was a graphic uh not too long ago. I posted a graphic about listening and how listening is key to everything. And if both sides, all sides, because there's more than just red and blue, but if all sides could just listen, you know, and stop talking and stop trying to push their agenda only because there's not always just one side that's correct. But if we could, you know, listen to one another and maybe pull from all of them and come with a consensus, or even, you know, just allow the other person to talk because they may have a better idea and maybe we're biased because of what side they're on. And so listening is key. That's the first step for us, you know, to heal, to come together, to problem solve. I really think that that is it's the the most difficult thing for people to do, uh, because we also love to hear ourselves talk, right? Sometimes you may find yourself listening to someone and you have an idea on the next thing that you want to say, but you have to fight that and you have to go back to active listening and really hear everything they say so that way you can respond appropriately, but really internalize their message. So uh in in the world of politics, I think everyone could use another course in listening.

SPEAKER_01 10:25

Well, I mean, you and I are practicing this as podcast hosts, right? I don't know about you, but sometimes I'm thinking, oh, I want to take the conversation this way, but nope I gotta pay attention to Vanessa. Definitely have that listening that I'm continually doing myself. Why is it so competitive with speaking today? And I guess like that, I guess I'm just trying to figure out where sort of like the problem is with people listening. Because I just find let's talk politics, it's just very charged emotionally. There's a lot of competition for some reason. What are your thoughts surrounding that? How do we soften that? How do we get to listening amidst the competition?

SPEAKER_00 10:59

Well, I mean, we have to practice at at taking things apart. And there's a lot of noise, right? A lot of political noise. And then there's also a lot of noise that we receive from social media and from other forms of media, right? Their whole premise is to get your attention. And so we're almost wired to be inundated with all kinds of noise. And so I think that we have to kind of peel apart like layers of an onion and kind of get to where we're not, you know, just inundated by noise, but we could actually focus on whatever that core conversation is and and actively listen. So it's, I think that's an art form in itself, is is uh peeling everything away and trying to hone in on just that single conversation.

SPEAKER_01 11:44

Is that a personal sort of journey with the onion? I've heard that a lot, right? You're kind of peeling back the layers.

SPEAKER_00 11:50

Yeah, it is. Uh I mean, we're all onions. We really are. You know, as you know, when you interview people and you peel back all of these layers, and then also at the end of an interview, sometimes you might find someone say, like, oh, I didn't even know I was going to say that. Or, you know, they just talk about things that they never intended to, but then that's another layer of that particular onion. I mean, it's it's beautiful how complex people are, but at the same time, they're also simple in the sense that we all have, you know, commonalities that that we can uh understand and and build on.

SPEAKER_01 12:23

Absolutely. I feel like today, I mean, especially with the work you did with Are You Happy? I mean, people come across as happy. They may look happy, but inside when you ask them, they're not. They actually just like break down. It's very amazing to see for you listeners, go check it out. Are you happy? Watch any of them. And it's incredible to see these stories sort of unfold. Why do you think we put this sort of like armor around our onion?

SPEAKER_00 12:47

Onion armor. Let's see.

SPEAKER_01 12:48

Yeah, yeah, you're right. Yeah, except for under armor, we got onion armor. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:52

Well, if you shop at Kroger, it has onion armor. If you shop at Whole Foods, it's just an onion. No, um that's funny. I we, you know, I think that it has to do with our previous life experience. If you come from a background where maybe you dealt with some really hard things and you had to develop this shell. So that shell grows with you and it becomes thicker, maybe, or maybe you get a therapist and becomes thinner and maybe it goes away. But I think just over time, just like the culmination of life experience, it kind of builds that armor around you. So then as an adult, you have that, you know, and it takes a lot of self-discovery and a lot of uh healing to kind of start peeling back. And maybe it's talking to other people and communing with people like you to peel back those layers. But I feel like we don't talk to each other enough, right? We don't spend enough time in groups and um going out. When um when I decided to kind of venture on my own, um I started going to meetup groups, just meeting strangers, you know, and just kind of communing with people that I've never met before, just because that human interaction is so necessary. And I feel like that contributes to peeling away that armor and softening. But but yeah, I really feel like our life experiences contribute to it. And then maybe for those that did not grow up in difficult circumstances, it's something else entirely different. Maybe it's, you know, feeling like you weren't enough because your parents were, you know, really high performers. Maybe you had social anxiety, maybe, you know, just anything you can pick from, but you're gonna have this armor that develops over time and how we identify it and how we peel it back, that that makes all the difference.

SPEAKER_01 14:33

I mean, I hate to say it, but today, like culturally, you can kind of back this up or disagree. But like when we peel back these layers, it makes us feel vulnerable and then weak. Why is that? Is that a very masculine type point of view? I hate to say, like, why?

SPEAKER_00 14:47

No, I would not say it's masculine. I mean, there are there are plenty of females that also feel vulnerable. I think it's interesting that that's the first place we go with it, you know, because to be exposed isn't necessarily a bad thing and it's not necessarily weakness. It's trusting whoever is around you to be that open. And I think that's kind of powerful because to have that level of trust with another human being, you know, thinking that they're not going to hurt you or they're not going to chastise you for whatever it is that you're trying to, you know, share with them, that's powerful. I think if we were all more vulnerable, then we could really, you know, grow and become stronger. So, so yeah, I would I would identify it as a superpower as opposed to a weakness.

SPEAKER_01 15:31

I love that. I love that. I guess there's like the for me, I when I think about the fear of vulnerability, I think of the extreme scenario of like, oh, someone's recording me and they're gonna put this on YouTube and I'm gonna go viral for the wrong reasons, right? There's kind of that fear, right? Of this vulnerability going the other direction.

SPEAKER_00 15:48

Right. When I was at the uh No Kings protest, I went to two of them, one for Dallas, Texas, and one for Carrolton, Texas. And uh a few times uh some people were kind of scared and they were like, who who are you with? Where are you from? Are you right or left? And I was like, whoa, whoa, I'm independent. I'm independent. It's just me. I'm working with an international service to send it out to multiple outlets. It's it was just, you know, working for myself. So with that, they were like, okay, cool. But I was met with some hesitation a few times for sure.

SPEAKER_01 16:16

But isn't that so interesting that we have to choose sides? Like, why is that? Why it's almost like a team sport almost, you know? Why is that?

SPEAKER_00 16:26

Yeah, yeah, that's a very good question. I mean, we're I guess from a young age, we're kind of taught to make choices, right? Do you want chocolate milk or white milk? Do you want, you know, uh ketchup or mustard? We're we're always making choices. So it and then, you know, being introduced to politics, usually in in high school or or whatever um social clubs you're in, you're you're often put into these groups early on. And sometimes you don't even know why. You just kind of go with the group. When I was in college, I uh hung around with the people from Greenpeace because I thought, oh, animals and environment, cool, let's do this. And I, you know, I didn't really uh give a second thought to what their entire history was. I just saw these really amazing ideals and I went with that. And then um, as I got older and and I started to kind of research both sides, the you know, the Democrat side, Republican, and also the independent side, the liberal side, there is more than two sides. And yes, the other two are more prevalent, but but uh there are some really good thinkers and some really good people um on all sides. So I'm I'm kind of um I'm kind of middle, middle, you know? Like I I really enjoy listening to everyone, even if someone is saying something completely asinine, I still want to hear it and and kind of figure out why they said that. That I think that's the difference.

SPEAKER_01 17:50

No, I agree. I feel like we need more of that today, though. It's like to step back. It's almost like I just picture like two teams going at it, red and blue, and you're sitting on the sidelines, like, oh, that's interesting, and taking notes, you know, here and there. Right. And it's like, why are we even playing this game? But then yes, I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 18:06

It's it's and it's it's it's crazy to even think of it as a game because it's affecting lives. I mean, it's affecting not only our country, but also, you know, worldwide. It's affecting other countries as well. And it's just uh it's it's crazy to me. What I think about every day is, you know, why is the Senate and the the Congress, why, why aren't they doing much, you know, to help alleviate or to to make noise? I understand some of them want to keep their seats, but at the end of the day, there's human lives on the line. So, so you really are kind of beginning to see like who is standing up for humanity and who's not.

SPEAKER_01 18:42

I guess what's crazy, like I feel like I'm not a citizen. I mean, I'm paying my taxes, right? I got them on time this year. But it's like I don't know, like I'm from back from middle school, elementary school, and you start learning about the Senate, you know, the you know, Congress and all these things, you know, the judicial branch and all that executive branch, all these things, right? And I'm like, I'm still trying to jog my memory. It's like, I feel like I don't know anything, but it those things are affecting our work today. They're affecting our lives today.

SPEAKER_00 19:09

Right.

SPEAKER_01 19:09

How do you stay educated and I guess do the work to stay on top of these things? It's almost like a part-time job, you know. You all you have this focus on is okay, I got my full-time job, nine to five, or an entrepreneur, and then all of a sudden you get like politics over here. It almost seems like it's like two types of work. What are your thoughts around that?

SPEAKER_00 19:28

I I think it's important for us to be informed. I remember watching a show, um, uh, the newsroom. Do you remember that, Aaron Sorkin? The show about you know the newsroom. Um what's the one?

SPEAKER_01 19:41

I'm showing I don't know anything. That's a problem.

SPEAKER_00 19:43

Oh, it's a you need to watch it. Oh my God. It's it's about the TV newsroom, and the production stuff is so cool, but the storylines are amazing. But um, the main character of the show talks about in the beginning monologue about how our country used to be so informed, and that's what separated them from what they were now, is that people read and kept up with politics and they had informed decisions and they had uh media that wasn't, you know, driven toward ratings or to, you know, in the agenda, it was about informing the public of what was going on. And because of that, we made more educated decisions and we actually paid attention. Whereas now, you know, we pay attention to whatever is on your reels or whatever is, you know, the the headlines. That's what we're paying attention to, but there's there's so much more. And I think, you know, reading the news is important, watching the news from several sources is so important. That's the key. I mean, some people might just watch CNN or some might watch Fox or CNBC, but you you really should go beyond that, you know, and and look at Al Jazeera or Reuters or all of these other independent um stations that have really good content and they're not biased. They're just putting out news because they want to inform the public. So I I've always been a heavy proponent for having, you know, just multiple sources. And then also reading, you know, we don't read anymore. So that's so important. We just watch things and and I'm I'm guilty of it too, but I have a stack of books everywhere I go. I have a stack of books and uh I try to I try to dive in. I just, you know, it's good for the brain. It really is.

SPEAKER_01 21:15

What's your recent book that you're reading now?

SPEAKER_00 21:18

Uh so I was reading, um I was reading this book by an author that I interviewed. Um, her name is Marita Littower, and it's called Wired That Way. And so it's supposed to go through your personality type and help you identify, you know, and then how to, I guess, perform and and function within that personality type. So I'm kind of like on a not really a self help journey, but just like a self journey, just because I have a lot of like life things going on right now. And so I was reading that. I was also reading um 1929, which is very interesting about the stock market crash. And so um, that's actually more so about the people behind the crash. Opposed to the crash. So that sounded that seemed really interesting.

SPEAKER_01 22:03

Really cool. So I love your point about staying informed. But I guess again, I look at that as like, oh, that's work I need to do outside my job, outside my life.

SPEAKER_00 22:13

True, there is, right?

SPEAKER_01 22:14

And we can go on to commute and stuff. I guess how do you strike the balance with like what is I guess I'm just going to frame it as what is a good citizen today? What does that work look like to be a good citizen today in our country?

SPEAKER_00 22:26

Well, I mean, like like we just talked about, a good citizen is is staying informed, right? Um in the morning, I kind of put the the TV on while I'm getting ready and kind of getting set up so I can kind of listen, you know, and then I'll read some things as well. But I think a good citizen is being informed, but also helping your community. I think it's so important to get out there and and volunteer. And, you know, whatever your hobbies are, there is a volunteer group for that. I spent seven years uh in a community orchestra as a musician. And then I became the president and the program director. And I was committed, you know, for seven years to helping give music to the community and inspiring kids to grow up and be musicians. And that was a huge passion. So I, you know, turned that into volunteerism. Um, I really enjoy this one called Feed My Starving Children, where they package meals kind of like MRE style, you know, like the powdered style, and they send it across the world. And so I pack boxes whenever I can. And I just think it's so important to get involved in the community, both on a local level, but also volunteer for whatever, just because, you know, we need more hands, we need more hearts. But at the end of the day, helping out within your local community and and communing with people and maybe talking to someone that hasn't talked to somebody in a week because they live by themselves. That's that's a huge game changer for all of us, I think.

SPEAKER_01 23:49

No, I love the concept of community. So online or offline? You kind of said offline with your example, but what are your thoughts of online?

SPEAKER_00 23:58

I love both. Because I mean, with with Are You Happy, they they have like four million plus you know followers, and then they had um a Discord community as well, where we would uh host nights where people could come in and hang out. And so I think that both are beneficial. I mean, you'll always hear people say, oh, social media is bad, right? Getting online is bad, but I really don't think that it is. I think that if we could put out more positive content and have meaningful conversations in these online groups, then that kind of you know balances the scales a little bit. Uh, I believe with Are You Happy, you know, their content is so positive and it makes people think about, you know, where they are in life and if they're happy. And then with mine, with humanity 2.0, it makes you kind of look at your humanity and and kind of take stock of where you are and ask yourself, am I a good human? And oh, maybe I could be better. All right. So I'm going to be better. Um, just just putting that positivity in the world, it's gonna, it's gonna uh tip the skills. That's that's a certain thing.

SPEAKER_01 25:01

Love that. So in the spirit of are you happy, Vanessa, are you happy?

SPEAKER_00 25:06

Um, yes. I mean, uh I you know I've only been asked that a few times, even though I did that that series for uh four years. Uh I can't believe that for four years, only a few years. Because I was doing the asking and then I taught the journalists. Yeah. So um I am happy because like I said, I'm working for myself. I had a soul-crushing corporate gig before this. And um, to go back a little further, when I first uh worked with Are You Happy as a contractor and then you know kind of became part of the world, I spent four years doing that. So I was on the road and in at home, but for four years straight, no breaks. During COVID, too. I had COVID while I was posting videos and it was it was an amazing experience, amazing experience. But I was still working for four years straight. So then I had extreme burnout for for I think maybe like a number of months, but ultimately I would say a year and a half, to be honest, because I spent so many months sleeping and just doing absolutely nothing and interacting with no one. And then I decided, you know what, freelancing and having my own company, it's hard. And then and I don't have insurance, so I need health insurance. So I went over to a major insurance carrier and became a claims adjuster there. And I did that for a year. But then in that year, I began to have these terrible physical symptoms, like my face was tingling, I was stressed out all the time. I had nightmares about work, and then I'd have to go back to work and have this living daytime nightmare. So it was awful. And then the humanist in me is like, I can't even help these people who have these dire situations with claims and they're paying so much premium, and I can't even get them a rental car that they desperately need that has, you know, um, what is it, like um handles for um special needs because only a couple companies in the country have it, but this particular carrier won't pay for it. And that was just absurd to me. So I I had to leave. I had to leave. And so I did leave and I cashed out my 401 and I went back to running my production company because I knew that that's where I was most happiest. And uh it's it's been, you know, nonstop ever since. But it's funny because when you work for yourself, I feel like you work harder than when you work for a company. It's yeah, it it doesn't stop. If if you're not working, then the company's not moving. And so you you do a lot of work, but it's it's a different kind of work. It's the kind of work where um you get up in the middle of the night and you go do it because you're just so excited to do it, and then it's fulfilling. And I really enjoy not having someone to answer to. You know, I get to make the rules. I feel like that's been my whole life. Um kind of uh uh I guess like the theme of my life has always been doing whatever it is that I want to do. And if I didn't have the ability or if I didn't have, I guess, the right situation to to where I could be myself and do things as I wanted, then I made it happen. I created it. You know, like I I applied for not applied, I got an internship in a company that didn't have internships. They created it for me. And it was my interview that got them. And in the interview, I said, look, I don't have all the years behind me with experience, but I can tell you that whatever it is that I know how to do, I will rock the crap out of it. And what I don't know how to do, I will learn it, master it, and rock rock the crap out of that too. And I got hired. So so yeah, they built this internship and that turned into a client. And just yeah, I I just feel like my whole life is just, you know, it's just non-traditional. And I thank God for that. I really do. But um looking at in in the grand scheme of things, at what I do now and telling people stories and sharing them, I think that's a blessing beyond belief. I mean, you do it too. You interview people, and isn't it like almost it's it's so it's um it's magical almost to be able to watch people and to be part of their life for 30 minutes, right? And kind of just, I guess, observe, observe how they answer questions and how they sometimes stop and think about it. And with Are You Happy, we would ask them this question at the very end. We'd ask them, um, what's your message to the world? And my favorite.

SPEAKER_01 29:35

Can you I wanted to ask you that? What's your message?

SPEAKER_00 29:38

Yes. Okay, my message. Okay. Um, let me answer, let me finish that last thought and I'll and I'll answer that. So, so the favorite thing was that they would stop and it was almost as though they were taking stock of their entire lives in like 20 seconds. And they had this crease that would happen on their forehead, and it was like this, you know, like that thinking crease, but you you literally watch them relive their lives. And I thought that was so fascinating. So, for me, my message is that we need each other more than we think we do. I I dreamed about living a very solitude life, and then now I find that I don't want that. I really love being around people and and uh spending time with people in all sorts of ways. And I and I find that in other people we find peace, in other people we find inspiration, and in other people we find life. And so that's that's my my message is is uh find people. It doesn't have to be your tribe of people, but just find people and and grow and learn from them.

SPEAKER_01 30:40

What a great message. I mean, that's how you burned out. You said you were by yourself, you were isolated, you were weren't with people, right?

SPEAKER_00 30:47

Well, yeah. I mean, I was with people for, you know, so many hours a day, but then at the end of the day, I was alone. I guess it's a little different, but yes, ultimately I was completely alone because I mean, I was having to film things, having to go here or there. And, you know, when you're out interviewing people, it's not quite the same as being around people all day because your your main objective is to get the interviews and then move on to the next one and keep going. And so, yeah, you're not entirely engaged all the time with people. So, so yeah, it definitely was alone for sure.

SPEAKER_01 31:18

Gotcha. So this is yeah, no, yeah, no, I love it. Um, so this is the work sucks, but I like it podcasts. What is one thing that sucks today, and what are you doing to make it not suck?

SPEAKER_00 31:30

About work? What what sucks about work?

SPEAKER_01 31:32

What sucks about whatever comes to your mind.

SPEAKER_00 31:35

Well, I heard in your head is forming. Yeah, I'm gonna I'm gonna I think crease is coming. Right, you're thinking about it. I heard one of your recent episodes and it was interesting. Uh, I heard the word culture, and I was like, that is such a great freaking idea. It's so true. I mean, companies are so fixated on the metrics and the processes and the SOPs and the you know FAQs, etc. Right. They don't think about the human, they don't think about the the human that's you know working in the office. I remember I remember hearing a story about a woman that passed away on like the 20-something four in a building and no one found her until the next day, but no one knew her either. And so because there wasn't that culture of you know getting to know your colleagues and everyone, you know, coming together, and you know, that that that's why she died alone because no one even knew she was there. But I I really feel that that's missing too, is that that culture of of community. And I think yeah, what sucks, period, is just not considering the human, the person. And you mean you think about AI coming and all of this, you know, discussions whether it's good or bad in the workplace and so forth, and that's gonna be a whole other conversation. But I I really think that we need to focus on humans. We're we're not doing that.

SPEAKER_01 32:55

So, what is the piece that you think to make it not suck? Kind of line with your message almost, right? That we just need each other.

SPEAKER_00 33:02

Right, right. Creating the spaces. I think, well, when I have more of a staff and I have an office, I've had staff before. That was lovely. Are you happy paid for I had editors and interns, and it was wonderful. And now working for myself, it's just me right now. But when I do have staff again, and when I do have an office again, my my thing will always be to create that culture where there is that space for community and for people to know each other further than what their job duties are, but know themselves, know each other as people and how they can, you know, help one another, or or if maybe they have hobbies that they share, they could, you know, enjoy those hobbies together. It's it's so simple, but you know, creating those spaces for community and people to uh commune with others. That's that's that's that would be amazing, would be a game changer.

SPEAKER_01 33:51

That is amazing. So, Vanessa, talk to us briefly about your book that you've been I I maybe you mentioned to me, sorry, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:58

Yes, I did. So I have been working on a book for many years, and you know, you stop and you start and you start and you stop. And so my thing has always been that I have not enjoyed self-help books that start off with, I have a problem, and then, oh, I'm happy. Like they cut out the middle part, they don't talk about the difficulty and the nitty-gritty and the really dirty details that we really need because you need to understand that this is me too. I am not alone. All that ugliness, we need that. And it always gets cut out and it makes me mad. So I decided that I was gonna work on this like anti-self-help, self-help book. And so what I would do is that I wanted to gather stories from other folks in the mental health space, right? People that were patients, people that have um diagnoses, because every every one of them has a story that is needing to be shared so that way other people that suffer from mental illness, or maybe people that don't even know that they do can read those stories and get something from it. And uh I I had intended to have artists who suffer from mental health um issues that they would do the artwork, right? So, like every story, then you have artwork. And I just thought it would be a really amazing collection of stories that could not only benefit the community, but also benefit those that maybe don't even have any diagnoses. So that way they could understand how people feel. Because at the end of the day, you know, knowing and understanding, connecting, talking, all of that is is part of who we who we are. It's who we need to be. And so I call it complications and metamorphosis. And yeah, I've been working on that for years. It takes a long time to collect stories, especially, you know, with folks in that particular space.

SPEAKER_01 35:47

So when can we expect this piece? I really love it.

SPEAKER_00 35:51

Ooh, I well, you know, hold you accountable here. I'll keep oh, please do, please do. Uh I'm also working on some um some video, not videos, uh, some movies. I have a documentary that I'm working on. Um, it's called I Come From Silence. And so that is the journey of finding my tribe that my family comes from, native tribe, and then also finding my father. So that is that is uh one that I'm actively working on. And I just signed on not too long ago as an executive producer for a Mexican horror film. And that is interesting. Let's go. So I'm very busy all the time, but but the I guess the the love for storytelling and and uh embracing humanity, that fuels everything. And whether I'm making $100 or a million dollars, you know, it's the experience has been so enriching, and I've been uh I've been blessed to to still be able to carry on regardless of what my bank looks like.

SPEAKER_01 36:50

If listeners of the show, Vanessa, want to reach out and learn more about your story as you're living it, so where's a good place for them to land?

SPEAKER_00 36:57

Yes. So VanessaThivacious.com has all of my platforms, and then also there's links to link trees, both for myself and for the podcast. So very simple, Vanessa theVivacious.com.

SPEAKER_01 37:10

Well, Vanessa, it was great seeing you again, and thanks for being on the show.

SPEAKER_00 37:13

Yes, thanks so much for having me. I hope you have the best day of your life.

SPEAKER_01 37:18

One thing that really stood out to me with Vanessa is that this idea of needing each other more than we think we do. Even when we crave solitude or independence, there's still something deeply human about wanting connection, community, and understanding. So here's the skill to work on this week. Practice being with other people, really being with them. Allow yourself to experience the person you're talking to instead of just moving through another transaction or liking their Instagram story. Be a human. Remember, success is not about good luck, it's good skills. So to be successful as a human, interact with other humans in meaningful ways, and we can keep working to what Vanessa calls humanity 2.0.