I Burned the Ships | Here's What It Cost Me

"How's the pod?"

That question came up at a recent farewell party for a former colleague - and it cracked something open. So it's time to pull back the curtain on the part I've avoided talking about the most: MONEY.

How much I paid in startup fees. Whose money it was. The trigger that catches me off guard. And a response to a comment that got wedged under my skin about how I'm able to do what I'm doing financially.

It's uncomfortable. It's honest. And by the end, it's EMPOWERING.

I'm also revisiting two earlier conversations that still speak to me today: Lynn Mull, who left Wall Street to reinvent as a Holistic Career Coach and talks about financing your dream, and Sean Turi of Turi Productions - my headshot photographer, who captured the look of this podcast's cover - who taught me what it means to burn the ships and never look back.

If you've ever wondered what it actually costs - financially, emotionally - to walk away and build something of your own, this one's for you.

For more financial advice from Lynn: Click here.

If you need that PUSH to start from Sean: Click here.

Lean into the turbulence.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Consider me your co-pilot for reinvention. Welcome aboard, friends. I'm Reagan Medji, a multi-Emy award-winning journalist who left my TV news career in 2025 to bet on myself. And it turns out I'm not the only one. Unscripted turbulence is for anyone who feels their life has been split into a before and an after. Take what lands, leave what doesn't, and please like, follow, and or subscribe. It helps more than you know. Wheels up, let's get into it. All right, we have an informational podcast, a motivational podcast today, my friend. Welcome to Unscripted Turbulence. Today is gonna be a good one. And I'm all in my fields today. Before we get to why, the quote of the day today. Burn the ships. That's right. I will get into why and what that means very shortly. Okay, so a little bit of my feels today. I'm recording this a couple days a week before the drop. Um, and last night I was invited to a farewell party for a dear friend at WABC at Channel 7, Eyewitness News here in New York City. She is leaving. She is leaving, and she is going on to her next chapter. My friends, after 30 years, I think it's 30 plus years, as an on-air local TV news reporter, anchor, and she is moving on and betting on herself. And I am thrilled. Now, I'm not saying everybody's gotta leave local TV. I'm not saying that. What I am saying is those who choose to do that and they choose to move on, I am thrilled. And everybody has their own story, everybody has their own reason why they do it. Um, but I just I love it. And I think also to open up a little bit more, I love the idea of people getting to a point and wanting to. I don't know. If you're a fan of Megan Kelly, you love her, you don't, whatever, but there's a quote that she says, what's actually the quote or it's the title of her book, Pilot Got It for Me. And it's it's a really good book, actually. It's called Settle for More, right? So I feel like when people get to a point where they're going to settle for more and they pivot and they move on, I am so excited. I just love it. I love it. I love I love reinventions. I I love when people say, I'm done, I can't do it anymore, and I'm going on, I'm moving on. Aw, anyway, so yes, I saw a lot of my old TV friends last night, and it was just, oh, it was just so great. And I I love them. I love my TV friends, and I've said it before, I'll say it again, and I'll say it to eternity. When you work in local TV news or in TV news in general, it is when you are with those people, it is it is a camaraderie like none other. Now, my father was a police officer. I have heard tales that it's kind of like that. Uh, the camaraderie effect, uh, law enforcement, sure. Um, but I they're just staying in my lane here. It oh, there's nothing like the friendships you make in TV news. I mean, they because the the shit you see and the shit you go through together. Anyway, so I saw I saw a lot of people last night, and it was just so great. I don't know, should I name this drop some people? I mean, anybody on channel 7 Eyewitness News was there. So, from what I understand, they had uh uh for the going away party for my dear colleague, Lauren Glassberg. She is uh they had a the the company had a little farewell party for her at the at the station. And then there was the after party that I went to. Um, and I saw oh my god, the hugs I got. Oh I mean Lee Goldberg. Now that I named one, I have to name everybody. I'm gonna do my best. I'm not gonna be able to name everybody. Joe Torres, Stacey Sager. I just, and then the camera peeps and the editors, you know who you are, lots of you. Just hugging, hugs, and kisses, and I miss you. And oh, it was just I love it. I love, I love it. Yes, you may not be in TV news anymore, Reagan, but you are still loved. It was wonderful, which brought me up to a quote that my friend Dana Brewington, Godwink Dana, told me. What was it, two weeks ago? Yeah, that podcast where she said, quote, leave a place with people not wanting you to leave. I'm pretty sure after last night I did that. Now, listen, not everybody loves the Reagan, but those who came up to me yesterday, like Michelle Charlesworth, Nina Pineda, I just, and then my assignment desk guy, Mark Crudell. If there's someone who like the success depends on this person, the success of WABC depends on this person, it's Mark Crudell. He is the assignment desk. He knows everything. And there's a guy over at Fox 52 that knows everything. Peter Bunan, everything. Those desk people. It's not like they're like cave people or basement people, the desk people. They're like the dispatch. They're literally like the air traffic control in the newsroom. They will, they know everything. They know why you're going to a location, though, how you're gonna get there, the back roads, the side roads, um, when you're gonna get there, who you're gonna meet, what you're gonna say to them, what they're gonna say to you, the stuff that you're not supposed to know, but they know, so now you know, but you can't say on TV. Like they know everything. Yes, and they did. They they also knew my cycle. Ew. Whatever. Try getting stuck in a live truck and having your time of the month. Yeah, think about that. Men's, you don't get it. Women's, you know what I'm saying. But yeah, so I saw all my people last night and it was just wonderful. The one thing that they all asked me, how's the podcast? So I thought this is a good time to talk about the podcast. The podcast, the podcast. Yeah, so I started reflecting because we are about to come up to a year. Now I have something planned for the one year, which would be August 1st. That's a Saturday. Hopefully, I can pull this off. It's gonna be a treat for all of you. It may or may not work, but I'm gonna try. I didn't know if I was gonna make the announcement, but now I am. Details coming up. Stay tuned. So I started thinking about the podcast. And, you know, everybody's just curious. Like, how's it going? What's the hardest part about it? Is are you making money? Just sponsors and all this kind of stuff, right? So I thought, why don't I make a little listeroo to tell all of you what it's like, what it's been like. I will be celebrating, as you know, one year of the podcast launch when it started. Saturday, August 1st, 2026 will be one year. I think it was a Friday, August 1st of 2025, whatever the day of the week, but that was when it started and it launched. So I started doing the timeline. I wrote this down because I I am kind of also inspired by my friend Jackie Um Davilos, who is the uh TV news reporter turned pastry chef. If you haven't been following her, you have to because she's like laying it all out. So I thought that's a good idea. Why don't I lay it all out? And I'll probably do a shorter thing for the socials, not so much the podcast, but um just about the costs associated with doing a podcast. Okay, so I left ABC slash local news. Let's just call it local news at that at this point, right? I left April 1st of 2025. That was when I signed off for the final time. Then from that point, it was time to think, okay, what is the next step? Side note, I did get an offer at Foxweather. Did not take it. I just, it wasn't gonna line up with where I was going, i.e., the podcast. Like, I need if I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do this. Like I have to pour all of my efforts into this podcast. So I got approached by the weather channel. Um again, just it just wasn't time to go back to TV. And I was asked also last night, yeah, so like, do you think you're done? Listen, the right for the right price, anything is possible.

unknown 10:24

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 10:25

But but you also see how the news industry is going, and I'm not quite sure I want to sign back up for that. I am feeling more fulfilled, put a pin in that with what I'm doing. So back to what I'm doing, the podcast. So leave ABC, sign off from local news April 1st, 2025. Then it's time to figure out what are we gonna do. So Pilot was like, you need to, you need to get an LLC. And the LLC is basically to put to it's a legal protection. So if, you know, at that point I knew I was gonna do a podcast. So let's say something is said in the podcast, somebody hears it, doesn't like it, tries to sue me, they're gonna sue my company, my little corporation. They can't sue me as Reagan Medgie, right? So the company's name is Moe Productions. Now I failed you because I wanted to show you who Moe is. And I guess I could step out of the frame and show you who Moe is. And I can also pause this, but I don't feel like doing that either. Moe is a stuffed animal I have had since I was born. And I thought, you know what? I I first thought I wanted to name my my LLC, you know, Reagan Medgie Productions or something. And Pilot brought up a good point. He says, well, if you do that and somebody buys your company, they're gonna buy your name. And I thought, oh, that is a really smart caution. I, you know, pilot really is showing his colors as a businessman. So I said, okay, why when I'm mulling it over, thinking, what do I do? What do I do? Moe Productions LLC. Because I feel like Moe represents my my childhood, my youth, my roots. So I will never get bigger than my britches. This is like I want to be able to go back to the core of who I am. I really want to get MOE. Should I get Moe? Now, if you're watching this, I mean, it is it is like a jungle gym in here, trying to get to this stuffed animal. So I'm gonna step out of the frame and I'm gonna quickly get this. Now, if you're watching, you're gonna see I am wearing a nice shirt and I'm wearing running pants because you can't. It's party on the bottom and on the top. Okay, hang on a minute. We're gonna move this away. We're gonna move this away. Hopefully, this thing doesn't fall on me here. Yeah, everything's oh complicated.

unknown 12:53

Sorry.

SPEAKER_01 12:54

Here we go. We are coming back, coming back into frame. Okay. I don't know what you saw when I moved out of the frame, but maybe I do have a uh future and only fans. Okay, so Moe is making his grand entrance. Are you ready? This is Moe. This may or may not be a dog toy, but when you're little, you don't know the difference. So I still have my little friend. This guy is what my company's named after, Moe. Look at him. Has Moey seen better days?

unknown 13:33

Nah.

SPEAKER_01 13:34

Moe's aging just like me. He's losing some of his fur. I'm my hair's turning gray. It's all good, right? So this is what my production company's named after. Moey. Oh, and he's very, very pleased to be making such a debut. You're gonna hear more out of Moe than you are out of Pilot. Okay, Moey. Maybe I'll put Moe in the background here. Right by the Emmy. I'll move the Emmy over. Alright. There we go. Okay, there we go. He's part of the he's part of the backdrop now. So figured out Moe Productions April 28th. So quick timeline. Left local news April 1st, April 28th, figured out Moe Productions LLC. Now I had to basically pay a lot of money to get this figured out, to start an LLC, and I went on Zen business. So that cost me $750 to start my LLC. Then I had to figure out a podcast name. I cannot tell you how complicated that was. For a good month, every day, every day. I thought it was gonna be Lead Up to the Leap. It was gonna be Reagan reinvention. I didn't even know. The Reagan Medji show. And then I figured out unscripted turbulence. I went back into text messages. That was created May 12th, which is also my brother's birthday. Happy belated and early birthday, Ethan. Then I had to figure out the domains like websites and all that kind of stuff. I also got unscripted turbulence trademarked for five years. That trademark cost me a whopping $925. Mm-hmm. May 15th, I visited Gotham Production Studios, which is where I tape my interviews when I, you see, in like the interview in person. I go to that studio. That's in Manhattan. If you're not familiar, if you're familiar with Manhattan, it's the Garment District. If you're not familiar with Manhattan, it's like lower Manhattan. Kind of. Now those who are in Manhattan or New Yorkers will argue me for the sake of everything, if people are not from Manhattan, if it's like the second lower part of Manhattan. So okay. Then I went to BH. Now BH is kind of well, where is it on 30, 34th-ish? So that would be kind of like near Hudson Yards, right? So anyway, it's like the western part of Manhattan. And they have anything and everything you could want for like technical equipments, cameras, lighting, microphones. So I went there because I knew that what you're seeing now is my podcast nook in my bedroom in my apartment. And I figured I want to have a setup here for my solo episodes or for episodes where I can go remote. This was a cost-saving measure. I will get into the finances, into my finances a little later. Please stick with me on this because it's very interesting. So I wanted to get some equipment just so I had something. Long term I could save money. So I don't have to go to the podcast studio because that's a cost every time. For the equipment, it was $2,400. That's the microphone I'm speaking into. That's the camera I'm looking into right now. I didn't even add the laptop. I had to get a new laptop this year. And that's not including the beautiful mic flag you see right here. That says unscripted turbulence on the microphone. The costs, there are a lot. That's also not including subscriptions, like my editing subscription that I have. We've all heard about me editing and sitting. I still need to get a walking pad, so that's gonna go in there too. A standing desk. Haven't done that yet either. Um, and then a podcast hosting site. I use BuzzSprout. There's a lot that I learn on as I was going. So the I I never really listened to podcasts until the point I started one. Okay. So I was really starting from like ground zero here. So again, all this stuff, right? So when you want to do a podcast, you have to think about the theme, and you got to think about the name, you got to think about all that. So the theme I figured I wanted, I should talk about something that I knew the most about, which was the courage to walk away from something that no longer serves you. I've done it several times in my life, and I thought there must be something to this. And here's a weird story that I have that I thought about, and I might even still have it. When I was younger, I went to some gift shop. I must have been in my teenage years. This is when I started getting into the woo-woo movement, and I found a bracelet, and it was, I think, tiger's eye gemstones or something. And each bracelet in this gift shop had a meaning and a intention and a meaning. This one I got, I'm not kidding you when I tell you, it was tiger's eye, it was a brown, kind of a little bit orange in it, maybe a little amber. And I looked at the tag of what it was representing. Courage. Can you believe that? I'm just gonna I'm gonna put that there. I'm gonna put that there for you, okay? So as I'm thinking, all right, well, I know I can talk about courage in the podcast, walking away from something, and then talking about other people's reinvention stories. Reinvention just kind of kept on coming up, coming up, and I thought I'm on to something. And then um the name unscripted turbulence. Like I said, May 12th is when I figured that one out. So I'm like, okay, so all this is kind of lining up. Now I have to get, oh, that's right, a podcast cover. So I had luckily I had a friend who owns a company in Pennsylvania, Three Seed. I talked about them before, John Mulder, one of my early mentors. And they, I, I signed, I signed up with them, or I had them, I hired them to create the podcast cover art that you see when you look for my podcast. But I needed a picture, right? So I thought, you know what, this is a good time for me to get headshots. I haven't had headshots in a while, like real professional headshots. So I I was looking everywhere, I didn't know what to do. So, you know, you ask friends, and you would think that I would know. I'm in this industry, right? No. Well, I did find out one friend is married, my friend Valerie is married to Giorgio, who is an actor, and he knew people. So he recommended this guy, Sean Turry. So I looked up Sean, and his bio was so cool, and he had been in modeling and acting and then created this company. And I thought, you know what, I'm gonna sign up for him. So really crazy is that I got my headshots for this podcast on July 14th, 2025. I mean, I like wasted no time because I knew the longer I waited to launch my story and the stories of others, but specifically my story to kick off my podcast, the less relevant it would be. That's just how the world works. Okay. So I had to get moving. So I got my headshots all excited. So excited. And so I the way it worked is I had to schedule a meeting, like a Zoom, and we sat down and chatted, and he was so extraordinary. We talked, I think about like five minutes on the headshots, and then for the next 45 minutes, we just talked about life. And this is what just gets me so excited about what I do in podcasting land because I cannot tell you as a TV news reporter how many people's stories I had to pass over, push aside, not include, not circle back because that their story wasn't the story I was covering. I found I I there are so many people out there that have so many incredible stories that TV news reporters find out as we're trying to get sound bites, and we can't include them. So my podcast is a remedy to that. So Sean is an example. I went there for headshots. I got out a lot more. In fact, he became, he, he was one of my first interviews on my podcast. And I've been resurrecting my old interviews and pulling out the best highlights because I wanted to return, like I did with my journal for all of you. Open up the book, where did it all start? I wanted to return to the beginning of the podcast to make sure that I'm not going away from my mission. And I'm not. I'm really impressed with my early work. I will say that. And I could also hear in my voice my nervousness, my fear a little bit, my trepidation, because I'm still trying to crack out of the buttoned up version of a TV news person, right? So I pulled a clip from Sean. I actually pulled two. This first clip um is such a moving clip and will further explain burn the ships. Take a lesson.

SPEAKER_00 24:01

If you want to make an impact on this world, which I do, you have to do something that moves you. And you have to give it your all. I think when you start doing plan B's, there's a military saying it's burn the ships. And there's a famous, I think it was a Spanish commander, he they were going to battle, they brought the ship they sailed to where they're gonna battle, and he said, Burn the ships, because I want no option to retreat. And so that's a military saying, burn the ships, like no plan B. We all get killed or we win. And there's something to that because you force yourself through difficult times because it's easy to quit, which is why I do these extreme fitness things once in a while, because it gets you to the place of why am I doing this? I should like just stop. There's no reason, no one's here. It's easy to quit. And you it's important to flex that muscle to know what that feels like and looks like when you're in that moment and to push through it. And if you're doing something that means something worthwhile to you, you it's it's easier to get through those moments because the goal is greater than the difficulty.

SPEAKER_01 25:08

The goal is greater than the difficulty. Mind blowing. You have to go back and listen to his podcast. He's a walking motivational speech. He went, he went through some real turbulence in his younger years, and his story is for anyone who was dealt a rough hand when they were young, or to be argued, dealt a rough hand at any point, and realized that they couldn't carry that weight any longer, and went and got help. It and that's just scratching the surface, and then the the valuable lessons he learns out of it. So, a little bit more about burn the ships. I reached out to my boyfriend Claude. I wanted to make sure I got this right. So, the story behind Burn the Ships, because I didn't ever hear it before, maybe some of you have. So, Hernan Cortez was a Spanish conquistador sent by the governor of Cuba in 1519 to explore and trade along the coast of Mexico. Cortes had bigger plans. He landed with about 600 men, went off script. Well, that sounds familiar, and set his sights on the Aztec Empire. Legend says he burned the ships behind them. No retreat, no plan B, just forward. Now here's the real story. He didn't burn the ships, he had his most loyal men quietly sink them in the night, then blamed it on shipworms. Either way, burned or sunk, the message is the same. When you take the exit off the table, you stop asking should I? and start asking how. Some doors you don't walk through halfway. You close the one behind you first. And like Sean said, burn the ships. So one can say I burned the ships. And I only say that because it would have been easier for me to dock my ship, see if this podcasting thing was okay, and then like get scared because maybe I'm not making the money I want, or thinking like, oh, maybe, maybe these, you know, the deadlines once a week are are really taxing because I can't do this, and and my ass is getting fatter because all I'm doing is sitting down and and gaining weight because I have to edit and do all these things I didn't even think were like the things I had to do. And then I could have got back on the ship, which is local news. Or I could have burned them and said, you know what, we are moving forward. And that's exactly what I did. The ships burn. So now I did not burn bridges, it's different. So finances. Let's pivot on that one because I mentioned that earlier. Um, the cost of having a podcast. Now, when you decide you're gonna do something, it is very important to have runway of money. I have a runway of money. I am not a trust fund baby. I didn't necessarily leap. I walked away. One can argue I did leap, however you say it. And finances are a huge part of this to make sure that you're gonna actually be able to, I don't know, do it on your own for a while. And how long is a while? And if you, you know, are good with your money and you have to be very responsible, it could take you a far way. The runway could be very long. So, as I am going through the rig and roll and that question that everybody asked me last night, how's the podcast going? A bigger question was, well, what about the finances? It is so not easy, okay? I am not making nearly as much money as I did when I was in TV, and I wasn't even really making as much as I thought I would. So, but I was able to save because I remember being told when I was younger, starting out in this industry, save aggressively. So I have a runway of money, and I just money is all I think about right now. Like, how am I gonna I'm gonna do this? It's not a matter of, oh my God, I'm gonna have to get a part-time job. It's more of like, no, I'm gonna do this and I'm gonna figure a way out. Because remember, I burned those ships. So I went back into my old episodes, and I and I remembered this episode that spoke to me so deeply, and I know it's gonna speak to you. It's my friend Lynn Mull. Now, to make sure I'm right with this, so she worked on Wall Street in finance, and she too pivoted her life to be a holistic career coach. She's the real deal. And I have known her since I was in elementary school. Now she's my friend's older sister, and she is just phenomenal. And when I first started this podcast, I knew I needed to have her on prior to the podcast for a couple of years. I had been checking in with her because she had already left Wall Street, and I knew she didn't. She started this new career coaching and this holistic thing. And I and I I just, you know, when you're drawn to somebody for answers, like I was with Dana Brewington, Godwink Dana, Lynn's another one. So I I needed to touch base with her and ask her all the things specifically about finances, because she knows money and she understands money. And I want to share with you a clip on how to have a better perspective of your finances should you choose to do something as wild as me and burn the ships. So here's Lynn Mole.

SPEAKER_02 31:53

Take a lesson. We talk about the leap online, we talk about the leap. There's probably thousands of books out there written with the title Take the Leap. I think it's bullshit. People, most people are planning. Even those that are getting laid off, most people have a clue it's coming. Whether it's the industry, whether your new boss doesn't really, you're not gelling, you sort of know it's coming. And so this preparation mentally and financially can make it a lot easier. And you have to be realistic. I always tell people to plan for a year. What would a year look like? COVID taught me, forget this five-year, 10-year. Yes, we can all dream and have these big goals. I want a house near water with some great trees. Okay, great. I don't know what that looks like or how I'm gonna get there. But the financial piece is also where are you right now? So, just like I talked about, well, what do I know really well? I know project management, I know behaviors. Okay, what's the next step? I really like talking to people and mentoring them. Okay, so let's go to coaching certification. You start to do, you start to peel it apart and you do it the same way with finance. So, one thing that I've added into my coaching is we do values, which we talked about, I don't know, five years ago now. What are your core values today? What what makes you tick? What's your vision? You still want to be out and interviewing people. Okay, put that on your on your vision. You go down, but then what are your priorities? So this is where it gets uncomfortable. I need to make X amount for my fixed costs. I need to make rent. I need to, and then you look at your variable costs, like the water bill, whatever it is you're spending at Sephora, whatever you're for me, it's books, whatever your pieces are, that's nuts and bolts. You can go on any app, any budgeting app, you can probably do it in your banking app. But there's something else behind that. Part of it is knowing what who you are with money. This is a big theme with me, is stop asking for help. So you're gonna be like, what are you talking about? I called you, that's why we're here. I know. What? I know. Mike drop. We often go externally for advice. So you're gonna maybe gonna go to your parents for financial advice, your cousin who's in financial services, you're going to ask your neighbor who you heard, works at a bank, whatever the case may be. We try to find these experts to either support our story or help us in some way. But before you do that, and this also applies to going for a new job, you know, hey Susie, what should I do for a living? I, you know, they're like, I don't know. I'm trying to get my kids on the bus or I'm trying to get to dinner. I don't know what you're talking about. Like it catches people off guard. First, get clear with yourself. So for me, what do I need to do with my finances? I got clear on myself. Okay, I didn't exactly know how to be most efficient with my taxes. Okay, what do I need to do? Then I am asking a direct question. Hey Reagan, do you know a great accountant for small business owners? Then you can reply very succinctly to me and say, Oh, I know of two names. Or job-wise, hey, I'm really looking into writing and publishing a book. Very succinct, very clear, and you're not asking for as much feedback because people can only give you their own interpretation versus I need help with, or do you know a? Or I'm looking, like my friend who was looking at cardigans. I need to work with a fashion designer. Do you know anyone who's consulting right now? Then you start to see action, then you start to see the clarity tumbleweed. All these people start to come into your life, just like the space we're in.

SPEAKER_01 35:41

Oh my gosh, wow, that's clarity tumbleweed. That's so right on. Because the space we are at came from a clarity tumbleweed ask. Right. When I asked my girlfriend about podcast spaces, and she says, I know someone who, and that's how I got here. And look where we are at now. So that pod episode aired in August. No, was it August? No, September. I believe it was September of 2025. And yeah, look where we're at now. So I do want to make a mention of something because it was brought to my attention. Somebody commented, and it was not one of those of you who love me. Oh, I'm ready to take my earrings out on this one. This person has been voted off the island. If there's one thing that triggers me, the number one thing, other than the constant question of, are you going back on TV? Is well, at least you have a pilot to support you. Okay, so my runway of money that I am using on this podcast is money that I made. The blood, sweat, and tears, the 20 years of the live shots, the long days, the overtime, the undertime, the chasing storms, the haircuts, the having to look good, the every everything, everything, everything, the everything of being on TV. All of the money I am spending on this podcast is from my runway of money, from my money I earned, from my money I saved, the microphone I'm speaking into, the camera I'm looking at, the podcast studio I rent, the clothing I wear for this show, everything, the subscriptions, the investment into higher learning, the investment into a new laptop, everything you see and hear and experience from this podcast is not only my time, my talent, my skill, my effort, it's also my money. It's not my pilot's money, my pilot, like I own him. But you know, one can argue certain days. Yeah, so it is also not lost on me. My partner, the pilot. He makes decent money. Now one can argue when I went to school for broadcast journalism at Temple University, go owls, I was led to believe that I would be making more than what pilot is making right now at this point in my career. And I know many of you that resonates. The TV news industry has pivoted, it has adjusted, it has changed, and is not as lucrative as it once was. I have been very transparent about what I made, contracts, the money isn't there like it once was. I sit with that often. I do, because I was led to believe that I would be able to be financially more stable than I am right now. So when somebody says, Well, at least you have pilot, really? So yes, pilot is paying the bills. That's what a partnership is. But when it comes to this, this is mine. It's money, it's intentional money. It's money that I saved that I am reinvesting in me. Now, the money I saved, the runway is getting shorter. But I will tell you, the money that I saved, I thought it was gonna go for a rainy day fund, a house or a medical emergency. You know, you're told those things. I did not have on my bingo card FYI two years ago that I would be starting a business, starting a production company. Like that was not what I thought this was gonna be. Like that money was gonna go for this. So there is a beauty and a magic to all of how this is unfolding. I know I'm still gonna have somebody, some numb nut out there saying something. Say it, I don't care. Because the truth of the matter is I'm talking about it. And every day I think about my money that I don't have, the runway that's getting shorter. Is it a plan word for unscripted turbulence? Quite possibly. Every day I think about it. But I'm also utilizing my time to build this business, to do things that not many of you, a lot of you don't know I'm doing, to try to build more and more and more. I'm not gonna release everything because I don't want to show all my cards just yet. Some things are better left unsaid in private until they're fully developed, if you know what I'm me. So those of you who find this really insightful, you're welcome. I'm more than happy to share. But I planned. And just like Lynn said, you have to plan if you're gonna do this, if you're gonna reinvent, whatever the reinvention looks like for you. And again, it doesn't have to be a career. It could be getting out of a really troubled marriage, it could be moving out of your house, it could be relocating to a different country, whatever it is, you just have to plan. So listening back to her really like made me feel so much better about where I'm at and what money means to me. Money, money to me is an energy exchange. Like all the energy, and I just think to myself, all the energy I put into the money that I made. Like, there's no way that energy that I'm money energy I'm spending right now is not gonna come back. Because I believe in what I'm doing. Like I truly, truly believe. And more so than anything, this, what I'm doing, is fulfilling. Like Sean Turry says.

SPEAKER_00 42:37

But for me, fulfillment, not happiness, fulfillment comes um through pursuing something worthwhile to me. And that includes that by default, that includes the roller coaster of ups and downs. But that's life. Like, I mean, come on, let's take a bite out of this while we're here, right? Like maximize what you can do while we're here. Like have fun. Yeah. Fall on your ass hard, try to win big, you're gonna lose big, get back up.

SPEAKER_01 43:04

Like it's the getting back up, because I feel like some people don't know how to get back up.

SPEAKER_00 43:08

So it takes a conscious effort and a belief, you really have to believe yourself. It sounds very cliche, but like no one's gonna be as big of a cheerleader as yourself. You may have family support, but at the end of the day, when I know mom and dad might believe in you, or maybe they don't, but let's say they do. When you're busting your butt, you go to bed by yourself or your spouse. It's only you that's gonna make it happen.

SPEAKER_01 43:31

And I am making it happen. Because I burned the ships. Why don't you burn yours, my friends? All right, we'll see you next week. Bye. Burn them all down.