AI-powered
podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Molly Bloom on How to Reach True Fulfillment (Replay)
Tom Bilyeu's Impact Theory
From Hardship to Hustle
In this chapter, the speaker shares their inspiring journey of transformation and resilience in the face of adversity, likening their life experiences to that of a startup. The discussion focuses on navigating the creative industries, the significance of storytelling, and the mindset required to overcome personal challenges and achieve success.
00:00
Transcript
Episode notes
Speaker 1
And so when I realized just, you know, how sort of decimated my life was, I was like, okay, well, you're now the startup. And so I looked at it from that perspective. And so I did a ton of research about the publishing industry and about Hollywood, because to me, the only thing I had left or the greatest thing that I thought I had left in terms of a monetizable asset was the story. And I also felt if told in the right way, the story could create a platform and then I could someone would hire me, you know, I could get a job again or at all. so you know it was a very sort of strategic execution of I'm going to write the book so that I can own my IP and then I looked at Hollywood and I'm like this is tough this tough industry right in terms of like getting things done like you can have this amazing package and it still fails there's so many places of where things fall apart. But then I started realizing that if you have content, which I believed that I did, and you have a writer that's a good bet, right? Like if you look at Aaron Sorkin's track record, he's a great bet, right? Like everything he does is successful, has awards, nominations, gets made, makes noise. And so, you know, there was a category of those type of people for me that I was really shooting for. And Aaron was at the top. And so I started kind of pursuing that, like trying to get a meeting or whatever. And most people laughed me out of their office or said things like, let me just give you a little piece of advice, sweetheart. Do you know how many people don't want this movie made? Like this movie will just get crushed. No one's going to make this movie. And I was just like, thanks for the advice. You know, can you get me a meeting with Aaron Sorgan or not? You know? And, and so finally, you know, I, I met a, an attorney and he introduced, or he said, I can ask him for a personal favor. But he was like, but if he doesn't like it, that's it. Right. It's got to resonate with him. So I get a meeting with Aaron and I fly to L.A. and then I walk in and, you know, I pitch Aaron. I give it all I got to tell him my story. And I mean, I talk about this a lot, but because he's just so great with words, he sits back in his chair and he gives me this amused expression. And he's like, well, I'll tell you one thing. I've never met someone so down in their luck and so full of themselves. And I'm like, so are you in, you know? And he was. And so, you know, this this thing that generally doesn't happen like that was was a very orchestrated strategic plan on my part. Um, but there's also, you know, luck, luck plays part there. Um, if Aaron wouldn't have liked the story, you know, then I would have just moved on to someone else. But I, I just, I was really sure I wanted it to be him. You
Speaker 2
should know the following three numbers. 37,000, 25, 1. 37,000, that is the number of businesses which have upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle. 25. NetSuite turns 25 this year, so you know that they know what they're doing. They've been around for a long time. That is 25 years of helping businesses do more with less, close their books in days, not weeks, and drive down costs. One, because your business is truly one of a kind. So you're going to need a customized solution for all of your key performance indicators in one efficient system with one source of truth, which you will get from NetSuite. Manage risk, get reliable forecasts, and improve margins. Everything you need to grow, all in one place. Right now, download NetSuite's popular KPI checklist designed to give you consistently excellent performance, absolutely free at netsuite.com/theory. That's netsuite.com/theory to get your own KPI checklist. netsuite.com/theory.
Speaker 3
Why take one vacation with the family when you could take all of them? With Royal Caribbean, you don't just go to the beach. You visit a private island and race down the tallest water slide in North America. You don't just go for a road trip. You ATV and zipline through the jungle. You don't just go somewhere new. You rappel down waterfalls and discover ancient temples. Because this isn't just any vacation. This is all the vacations. Come seek the Royal Caribbean. Chips Registry, Bahamas.
Speaker 1
Dreaming of a better sleep? Tossing and turning is not your destiny. And Ollie is here to help. Ollie invites you to sink into sweet, sweet slumber. To improve your mental and physical health and overall wellness. More than just melatonin, Oli's ingredients help you unwind your mind for a delightfully dreamy drift off. Sleep is on the way at Oli.com. That's O-L
Speaker 2
dot com. Yes, that. So I always want the everything I do to be an instruction manual for success, especially for people who don't think they can be successful. And there were so many moments in your story where it's like giving up is the obvious option and maybe the most logical option, but, but you don't. And so you said that that was highly strategic. I want to talk about how you process through that strategy. So there's nothing in your background that I came across that would make me go, oh, you're you're sort of an obvious choice to be an entrepreneur. And yet you act with a lot of entrepreneurial tendencies that are very impressive. So, you know, you have a rebrand exercise. The bottom has fallen out. You're a felon now. Sort of logically, it's all over. But you sit down and you say, what's my monetizable asset? How do you even begin to think to ask the question, what's my monetizable asset? Like, how are you beginning to put that worldview together that tells you this is doable? OK,
Speaker 1
well, I have like kind of a two part answer for that. First of all, I think it had a lot to do with being in survival mode. Define
Speaker 2
survival mode. I've heard you talk about this. Okay.
Speaker 1
So having to move back in with your mom at, you know, in your thirties, having not only no money, but no bank account, you know, the fed seized all my assets, my bank accounts were closed. I couldn't even open a bank account. Not that I would have a dollar to put in it. Right. Being crushed under this debt to the IRS and the DOJ and having the tabloids tell your story in the most reductive way, basically saying that you're like some girl in a tight skirt that serves drinks at a poker game when in actuality, I was the owner operator and the bank, you know, and the finance arm and addicted to drugs and alcohol. I mean, that's a big one. And just basically being super finished, you know, so survival mode, I think, is comprised of this state where you have nothing to lose and you can't live like that, right? That's not a life. And so two things happened in survival mode. One, I got pretty fearless. And two, I had this for the first time in my life, this strange brand of pure confidence because no one expected anything from me. And so I think a lot had to do with that. Now, when I got out of crisis, my normal mind came back in and I desperately wanted to return to crisis mode mind without the crisis. And so what I did is I like pursued that with everything I had. I started reading a ton of books. I spoke to people that I respect in all different fields, spiritual people, neuroscientists, psychologists, elders I respect in a 12 step program. And I just through trial and error cycled through these different sort of ways to return me to this liberated, fearless, confident mindset because it was so powerful, you know, and it was so effective. And so the answer to that is, I think you've got to figure out a way to get your own self out of the way. Because the only thing that's ever stood in between myself or anyone else and their ultimate dream is themselves, right? There's going to be obstacles, of course, but you can navigate them unless you think you can't. So the two things, you know, there's just like a couple of things that I've found if I practice on a daily basis that I can stay sort of in that flow mind, right? And it's interesting. One of them is meditation. And, you know, a lot of people and like, you know, meditation is stigmatized as this is as a very spiritual practice or a practice to, you know, like calm you down or whatever. And I think those are great applications for it. But in my experience, meditation is an absolutely critical performance tool because it allows you to train your mind.
Get the Snipd
podcast app
Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
AI-powered
AI-powered
podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover
highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode
Discover
highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode
Save any
moment
Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways
Save any
moment
Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways
Share
& Export
Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more
Share
& Export
Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more
AI-powered
podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
AI-powered
podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover
highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode
Discover
highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode