This episode of Camera Ready & Abel is brought to you by the phrase, How to Create Opportunity and Make Money.  My insightful - and delightful - guest is talent agent Blair Taylor, CEO of Taylor Talent Services, who has been innovating and creating opportunities for his clients for over 25 years. Blair has built a successful career by accessing opportunities untapped by traditional agents. He has represented commercial actors and spokespeople for national and international campaigns for some of the world's most recognizable companies, including McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Chevy, Trucks, and Verizon, as well as direct response campaigns and celebrity endorsements for folks like Robert Hajek of Shark Tank and NFL, legend Joe Montana, plus several of the Kardashian Jenner clan, including Kim, Chris, Kylie, and Kendall. Key takeaways: Invest in relationships, they have an invaluable return on investment. Break the rules…gently. Having followers and influence are not one in the same. Gaining followers is a result of the quality of your work and having influence means you have a subject area expertise. The entertainment business is like an iceberg- all the work is underneath the glitz and the glam. Connect with Blair at taylortalentservices.com. Listen to Blair discussing where to find TV Hosting Jobs with Nicole Sellars https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqzO0qYe3hk  Listen to me discussing mastering auditions and million dollar deals on Lights Camera Cash with Nicole Sellars https://camerareadyandabel.podbean.com/e/lights-camera-cash-with-nicole-sellars/

This mini episode is brought to you by the phrase, Measure Your Inchstones, which was a gem that Angela Marie Hutchinson shared with me on her episode of this podcast. We all know about milestones, even if we forget to mark them. A milestone is defined as an action or event marking a significant change or stage in development. Angela opened my eyes to the beauty and power of measuring your inchstones, the small, incremental essential steps you take daily, weekly, monthly, and even yearly that move you forward in a meaningful way toward achieving your goals. Focus on this: Progress is success. I hope you enjoy this reminder as much as I did! Angela Marie Hutchinson is a showrunner, screenwriter, producer, television host, working mom and former talent agent. Want to hear more of her insights?! READ her book, Create Your Yes- http://createyouryes.com/ WATCH her TEDx talk, Create Your Own Yes, When You Keep Hearing No- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8XQ6N94aZc LISTEN to her full Camera Ready & Abel episode- https://camerareadyandabel.podbean.com/e/create-your-yes-with-angela-marie-hutchinson/

This is one of my favorite asking for a friend episodes. When Nicole Baker - host of the Imperfect Success podcast and a coach who helps high achievers ditch perfectionism, cut out hustle culture, and start achieving their goals with fun, fulfillment, and a whole lotta free time - connected with me, I immediately thought, this woman has wisdom I need to hear. So many highlights and takeaways to Unsubscribing from Perfectionism: Perfectionism is often the root cause of procrastination Our success often = our worth = trapped in hustle culture You can’t get to 100 without steps 1-99 Learn to take up space and own that space with joy! Your schedule is the secret to getting more done in less time (and the secret to learning to say no) The past does not equal the present unless you live there - change is always possible. Nicole walking through in detail how she identifies and implements her weekly milestone goals in service of her big Everest Goal is a gift at 36 min. Nicole is the CEO of Life Coach Baker and the host of the top 2.5% globally ranked podcast Imperfect Success. Learn more at www.lifecoachbaker.com/

On this episode of Camera Ready & Abel the highly engaging Kim Rittberg teaches how to crack the code of creating social video that gets noticed. Because as Kim says, if you're hiding from the camera, you're hiding from clients. Kim's simple strategy is based on her Four Cs: Confidence Concise Consistency Creativity and she gives a big permission to let go of perfection, focus on value and don't get hung up on all the technology. Keep it simple with a ring light and a microphone and easy, user-friendly apps like CapCut and InShot - or outsource! Kim is a digital marketing strategist, social media and video expert, an on-camera media coach and public speaker with a proven track record and 500 million video views. Kim formerly launched and ran the video unit for US Weekly and is now the Founder & Principal at Henry Street Media which helps companies, individuals and publishers of all sizes expand their brand and maximize revenue through unforgettable content and communications. Learn more about Kim and her services and download her Top Ten Tips to Create Awesome Video at www.kimrittberg.com.

The topic of relationships come up often in my conversations on Camera Ready & Abel. This is no surprise since media and entertainment are relationship-driven industries. People like to work with people they know and trust to to get the work done on time, on budget and well executed. It's also a fact that media and entertainment are referral driven businesses, and people recommend people they know, like, and trust. So I've pulled together a best-of featuring snippets from my conversations with Emily Grace, J.D. Durkin, Buki Elegbede, and Matthew Hoffman who all advanced their careers in MAJOR ways by nurturing relationships that turned into opportunities because of the people who knew them.  Career coach and Sundance award-winning actress, Emily Grace, tells us how she got her break as an actor, in the role that won her the award at Sundance, without an agent! J.D. Durkin, host and reporter at the New York Stock Exchange for the financial news site The Street who previously created the Washington Bureau for Cheddar News when he was their White House correspondent explains how he came to Washington as an outsider with zero contacts and developed key relationships by being patient and doing simple things that no one else seemed to be doing. Television host, producer and journalist, Buki Elegbede, moved from behind the camera to in front when he won PBS’ Create Cooking Challenge and it was the relationships that were formed there that helped launch him to the next level and create Table For All with Buki Elegbede which was nominated for multiple Emmy awards this year! TV host, media personality and popular narrator, Matthew Hoffman, got his big break when he was invited to audition to be the official narrator of the US version of the UK TV smash Love Island. Matthew was competing with household name talent and felt there was absolutely no way he was ever going to book the job, but he was so honored to be invited to audition that he decided to go all out for it, not to get hired, but to maintain his relationship with the casting team and production company so that they would call him again for the next opportunity. Matthew's story inspires me every time I listen to it. Matthew, like Buki, knows his being industrious is a superpower. My conversations with Emily, J.D., Buki, and Matthew are bound together by the phrase, Relationships: It’s Who Knows You!  If you are looking for help tapping into your super-powers and advancing your career, I am here for you! Please send me a note via my website abelintermedia.com and be sure to download my free ebook, 12 Tips for Success on Camera.

My dear friend, Sean De Simone, is back on the podcast and we are discussing the phrase, Play to Your Strengths. This comes up in all areas of our business from coaching to casting to the courses we teach. My favorite definition of Play to Your Strengths is: Do what you are able to do well, instead of trying to do other things. Sounds simple but so often we waste energy on trying to conform to a narrow ideal - The Shoulds - that we miss the opportunity to highlight our unique value and what makes us stand out. Preparing for this episode I stumbled on playtoyourstrengths.org, a not-for-profit with a mission to help people thrive in life - my kind of people! - and they say understanding your unique strengths empowers you to greater success; working within your strengths produces energy and passion.  If you haven't met Sean, he is a casting director and TV hosting coach who has cast all of the hosts for QVC and HSN for the past 15 years and works with major brands in the beauty, fashion, cook and tech spaces. Key takeaway: Identifying your strengths is not bragging. It's smart, strategic and helpful.

Camera Ready and Confident is a rebroadcast of my guest appearance on Vinnie Potestivo's I Have a Podcast two years ago, shortly after the launch of Camera Ready and Abel. Vinnie is my dear friend, co-conspirator and Emmy Award-winning media advisor who helps people and their business get seen and heard. Vinnie and I met years ago when we were talent executives at MTV Networks.  Listening back to this episode I can hear how far I've come as a podcaster which is reminder that consistent practice pays off. In our conversation we take a trip down memory lane about our years at MTV Networks, and then get down to it with tips and insights on how to be camera ready and confident, including:  breaking through your fears breathing practicing out loud taming your gremlin developing the stamina to be on camera If you're looking for help with how you can be more confident and camera ready, please shoot me a note via my website abelintermedia.com. And be sure to download my free ebook, 12 Tips for Success On-Camera (And Off). Listen to more episodes of I Have A Podcast with Vinnie Potestivo at ihaveapodcast.com.

This episode of Camera Ready & Abel is brought to you by the phrase Daily Disciplines. According to success.com being a high performer is the result of your daily disciplines. Here to discuss is my friend, journalist, J.D. Durkin, who opens up and shares the personal details of how developing his daily disciplines with intention helped him navigate his career, work through challenging times in his life and evolve as a human being. J.D. is a host and reporter at the New York Stock Exchange for the financial news site The Street, the investment app Public, and a regular guest on CBS News. He previously served as the White House and Capitol Hill correspondent for Cheddar, and anchored a nightly national news show after hosting and co-creating the documentary series The Pivot Counties. He is a moderator and host at various fintech and business conferences, including Collision, Politicon, and Web Summit in both Brazil and Portugal. Before his time in Washington, he was Senior Editor for Mediaite.  Key takeaways: Understanding urgency vs importance Having the time vs making the time Loving the climb up the mountain Study those who have gone before you Everyone's trying to figure it out (you're not alone) The will to win is a mindset Every battle's won before it's even begun Get more J.D. at www.instagram.com/jd_durkin + www.linkedin.com/in/j-d-durkin

I get asked all the time by clients and students Am I allowed to say that?? It used to be we were afraid of causing offense or being inappropriate, now add to that the very real fear of being canceled. I'm very happy to have this timely conversation with a bonafide expert on the subject, Karith Foster, who is a diversity engagement specialist and creator of the groundbreaking INVERSITY™ methodology and other signature programs.  Karith is also a humorist, author, television and radio personality, producer and entrepreneur who's been on all sides of this issue and is revolutionizing the way we address issues of diversity and leadership. Key Takeaways: Deepen the impact of DEI by adding Belonging Call someone in versus call someone out Choose: You can be perfect or you can be happy Remember: If you can laugh at it, you can get through it. + C.A.R.E  Conscious Empathy Active Listening Responsible Reactions Environmental Awareness.  Learn more at www.inversitysolutions.com + https://www.instagram.com/karithfoster/