Camera Ready & Abel

Decoding Success with Matt LeBris

Sometimes the universe brings you the person you absolutely need to speak with in that moment, and that’s what happened when I connected with my guest for this episode, Matt LeBris, host of the top 1% globally ranked podcast Decoding Success which is hyper-focused on delivering value through decoding others’ success.

 

Matt insists he’s not great at math but he shares two powerful equations:

Events + Perspective = Outcome

Knowing How to do something + the Courage to do it = What you really need

 

Key takeaways:

• We can't control everything in life but we can control our perspective
• Work with deliberate intention and act as if what you want is already happening
• The work never ends
• Don't waste time worrying about things that don't matter in the end
• Small daily steps yield big results

Matt LeBris is a born and raised NY’er with the hustler's spirit. A Forbes 30 Under 30 nominee, Matt previously worked with Daymond John of Shark Tank and lives the mission to positively impact one life every day. 

Learn more about Matt and the Decoding Success podcast at hoo.be/decodingsuccess.

Mindset with Tai Beauchamp

I was well into my adult years before I really started to understand how much choice I had in setting my mindset.

Mindset is defined as an established set of attitudes held by someone. It’s all about the way you think and feel about someone or something. This is typically reflected in our behavior, whether intentional or not. You can attach an infinite number of descriptors to mindset, including abundant, courageous, loving, positive, negative, fearful, or closed. The one I never connected until this powerful conversation about Mindset with Tai Beauchamp, is choice.

So many takeaways!

• Mindset is consciousness + intention
• Mindset is a choice
• Redirect anxiety to anticipation
• Be inspired by the mountaintops and then look at the cracks in the ground and be inspired there
• Ask how do I show up differently? 
• How you begin is half the win

Tai is the creator and host of the popular Instagram live series Morning Mindset with Tai, a daily live session aimed at spirit, heart and mind which has grown into a global community since launching two years ago.

Tai is also a former beauty and fashion magazine editor of O, The Oprah Magazine, Seventeen, and InStyle as well as an established serial entrepreneur and TV host who has hosted her own shows on TLC and GSN. Last summer, Tai hosted and produced Lens of Culture, a travel show created for millennials of color on CleoTV. A true multi-hyphenate committed to the upliftment of women, in 2019 Tai launched Beyond Ready, a purposeful development platform that partners with corporations, organizations, and brands to support the professional and personal growth of its employees. 

In April of 2020, Tai further expanded her entrepreneurial footprint joining Brown Girl jane, a plant-based wellness and CBD company, as Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer. In partnership with two fellow Spelman alumni, Tai endeavors to not only shift the perception of what wellness means for women of color but is committed to providing education and access to natural products and services that meaningfully support women in actualizing wellness for themselves. 

Tai can be found online at Taibeauchamp.com and @taibeau across social platforms. Join the Brown Girl jane tribe at BrownGirljane.com and Instagram via @itsbrowngirljane.

Join Morning Mindset with Tai Monday-Friday 6:30am PT/9:30am PT on Instagram Live.

From the archives:

BBA on Morning Mindset with Tai.

7 Ways to Make an Entrance originally posted on The Tai Life

Rock N Roll Spirit with Allison Hagendorf

Rock N Roll Spirit is difficult to define but you know it when you feel it. 

I sure felt it when I met my guest for this episode, Allison Hagendorf, the first time she walked into my TV Hosting class at TVI 20 years ago. Allison brings her Rock N Roll Spirit to everything she does. That includes: 

• a trailblazing attitude and mindset
• a singular vision free of distraction
• relentless perseverance
• the will to go above and beyond (again and again)
• being comfortable outside your comfort zone because blazing trails is often scary

Allison's career is long and impressive. She is an accomplished music journalist, media personality, and influencer and the host of The Allison Hagendorf Show, a weekly video podcast featuring interviews with some of the most globally iconic musicians and tastemakers. 

Allison is the former  Head of Rock at Spotify and started her career as an A&R executive at Columbia and Epic Records (after talking them into creating a position for her), before transitioning to TV host and music journalist, interviewing artists and covering music news for Fuse Television Network and The CW’s music-competition show The Next, as well as The X Games on ABC and ESPN. In 2012, Allison became the Official Host of Times Square New Year’s Eve for over one million revelers and over one billion global livestream viewers.

Visit Allison at allisonhagendorf.com and follow her at @allihagendorf on Instagram and TikTok and listen to The Allison Hagendorf Show on iTunes or your favorite podcast platform.

Failure with Ben Currier

Embracing failure has been a throughline in many of the success stories shared on Camera Ready & Abel but this is the first time it has taken center stage.

According to experts on the interwebs, failure is defined as a lack of success or the inability to meet an expectation. I'm thrilled that here to discuss with me is Ben Currier, the self-proclaimed world's number one failure, who is the host of the ironically successful Failure Guy podcast, which Chartable ranks in the 99.8 percentile for global reach - certainly a marker of success.

Ben says he is amazed how much failure people can endure and still succeed.

Ben spent the last 15 years in corporate America financially forecasting billions of dollars across multiple industries. He is an extremely talented Excel guru, 4-time Microsoft MVP Award Winner, and creator of an enormously successful online Excel training (rated one of the six Best Online Excel Classes per Investopedia.) 

Despite these successes, Ben has been fired from every job he's had since graduating college. This has inspired him to investigate how to get better at dealing with failure, rather than avoiding facing the reality of his problems. 

Key takeaways:

• Turn setbacks into success
• The ultimate failure is failing to learn from failure 
• When we change our energy we change our lives
• Try new things and get proficient at them before moving on
• You (really) can learn to paint with Bob Ross

Learn more about Ben and the Failure Guy podcast at www.failureguy.com.

Overcoming Challenges in Media, Your Career, and Life with Jane Hanson

My guest for this episode is legendary New York broadcast journalist and 9 time Emmy Award-winner Jane Hanson who shares her blueprint for how to thrive by successfully overcoming challenges in media, your career and life.

Jane grew up in rural Minnesota with no contacts in news or entertainment, and arrived in New York with determination, a strong work ethic and the best advice she ever received from her aunt who said the secret to a long, happy life is your ability to change your attitude.

Jane is also a much sought after speaker and communications coach whom I've been following for ages, and it was her LinkedIn post on women owning their space that made me say, I have to talk to Jane Hanson!

Jane's key takeaways:

• listen more (listening is the key to a great interview)
• make eye contact
• stop playing it small and start taking up space
• language matters especially body language
• change your attitude
• consider other perspectives
• ask questions
• develop relationships and allies

Key words:

• tenacity
• grit
• perseverance
• discipline
• adaptability
• work ethic

Learn more about Jane’s work at www.janehanson.com or visit her on social media at:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/janehansonofficial

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janehansontv/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/janehanson

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/JaneHansonTV

Tapping Into Your Talent with Vinnie Potestivo

Tapping Into Your Talent is the heart of the Camera Ready and Abel podcast and I'm thrilled to have my dear friend and co-conspirator Vinnie Potestivo here to break it all down and celebrate my 100th episode!

Vinnie shares with us how to leverage your talent by identifying your strengths, weaknesses and interests to build a career you can sustain and grow. Identifying into your talent can start with a simple question:

What are you good at and interested in doing?

Tapping into your talent means practicing and developing your skills:

• Plant seeds - some ideas taking longer to grow than others
• Reflect, revisit and re-assess
• Set specific goals
• Learn from others
• Stay motivated and persistent 
• Think how your audience could best experience you based on available technology
• Remember shareability is more valuable than visibility

Vinnie is an Emmy Award-winning media advisor who helps people and their business get seen and heard. Vinnie and I met years ago when he was a television network executive at MTV Networks where he discovered talent & developed new ways to support their goals. Pioneering how brands and business owners could contribute to their public narrative, he helped them become hosts, stars, and producers of their own tv series.

As an advocate for independent creators, Vinnie hosts "I Have A Podcast®" and serves as the editor-in-chief of ihaveapodcast.com, a premier destination for indie podcasters looking to advance their careers. He also shares valuable creator economy business strategies, insights, and experiences with co-host Judi Fox on "Let's Talk Social Audio.”

Monetize Your Mastery with Nicole Sellars

Mastery is comprehensive knowledge or skill in a subject, and to monetize is to earn revenue from it. Sounds simple. But if it were really that easy everyone would already be doing it...so I'm thrilled Nicole Sellers - seasoned media trainer, entrepreneur, producer, journalist, television host, and actress is joining me on this episode of Camera Ready & Abel to discuss how she built a thriving business on monetizing her mastery.

First, to monetize your mastery you must identify what your marketable skills and expertise are. Nicole insists you have more than you realize!

If you are having a hard time pinpointing your special sauce, Nicole suggests you start by asking yourself:

• What am I passionate about?
• What do I have experience in?
• What lights me up from the inside?

Then ask yourself:

• What value do I bring? 
• What can be monetized?
• Who is willing to pay for it? 
• What are my points of differentiation?

Caveat: you aren't really serving anyone if you are trying to serve everyone, so niche down.

One of your most important marketing assets is your bio and Nicole  offers her free, downloadable workbook, Craft Your Killer Bio, at https://tvhostingacademy.com/

Nicole is also very generously offering Camera Ready & Abel listeners a 50% discount on her course Business Bootcamp for Hosts with the promo code BBA50

Amplify Your Expertise with Laura Fravel

What is expertise? And why do you want to amplify it?

According to my guest for this episode, Executive Communications and Leadership Coach (and former television producer), Laura Fravel, your expertise is your experience, knowledge and perspective delivered with personality and purpose.

Laura urges us to lean into what we enjoy doing in order to do it well and always, always think about our clients/audience:

• What do they need to be inspired by?
• What do they need to be educated by?
• What would entertain them?

The one thing you can do today is start sharing your thought leadership on relevant platforms...that's rocket fuel to spread your expertise, and remember: Your perceived weaknesses can actually be your strengths or your differentiating factor.

Laura has helped executives from Adidas, founders from TechStars, and led trainings for Warner-Bros Discovery.  She brings 20 years of TV-media and storytelling experience (and adventurous spirit from 15 years with National Geographic) to help amplify your expertise and your voice. She is on a mission to help executives and entrepreneurs spread their brilliance like wildfire.  

Check out Laura’s post  Everyone should have a 12 year old business coach and to learn more about her work visit https://laurafravel.com/.

The Power of Persistence with Baker Machado

A wise person once said to me luck is what happens when preparedness meets opportunity and persistence and my guest for this episode, Cheddar News anchor, Baker Machado, is living proof of this. 

In this lively, fun episode Baker recounts how he hit roadblocks and heard no time after time yet persisted instead of quitting and giving up on his dream of working on camera. 

When he got rejected from journalism school he tried again.

When he was told there was no place for him in the broadcast department and the campus television station he chose radio to gain experience and was named National Radio DJ of the year.

When he didn't get his dream internship at E! he continued for more than two years to make connections there which led to his first big break as a reporter there.

Persistence pays off when you:

• are clear on your goal(s)
• continue to study and prepare for opportunities
• know your value
• focus on building relationships
• show up generously

Baker anchors Cheddar's morning program, Wake Up w/ Cheddar and he appears on hyper-local News12 networks and gas stations across America on GSTV (so keep your eyes peeled).  Before joining Cheddar Baker spent five years as a reporter for E-News in Los Angeles and covered major entertainment news stories and interviewed more a-list celebrities than he can count. 

Follow Baker on Instagram at @bakermachado. and on twitter @bakermachado.

Timing with Marta Ravin

No matter what industry you're in, no matter what your dreams and goals are, timing matters.

As my guest for this episode, my dear friend, executive producer, creator and showrunner, Marta Ravin says, timing and reading the room really relate to one another.

Timing is a combination of:

• emotional intelligence
• intentionality
• being clear on the result you want
• listening
• patience
• storytelling
• keeping your audience top of mind whether that's one person or a million.

Marta started her career as a standup comedian - talk about timing! - eventually working as a writer and on camera talent for MTV, VH1, Comedy Central and NBC before transitioning to producing and heading up celebrated live events, series and specials for MTV, Bravo, Nickelodeon, We, Oxygen and VH1, including MTV's Total Request Live, Nickelodeon's Kids Choice Awards, and VH1's Love and Hip Hop reunions. Marta has also created and developed original formats like Long Island Medium, and most recently launched The Sharpton Sisters on Fox Soul.

Learn more about Marta’s work by visiting her website at www.martaravinproductions.com.

Aspire Higher with Ken Lindner

To aspire means to seek to attain or accomplish a particular goal, and to aspire higher is to dream bigger and to soar.  It's also the name of a book by Ken Lindner, one of the world's most respected and successful broadcast agents, and in this episode Ken makes it clear that it all comes down to the power of choices and making decisions.

Key takeaways:

• Our life choices and decisions impact our feelings of self-esteem, self-love and self-image
• Talent is potential and the key to realizing potential is making great choices that go along with the talent.
• Eyesight isn’t necessarily insight
•  Find your advocates and allies
• You will grow when you are ready to grow

Strategy is essential to making good choices and Ken, a star tennis player in college, shares this wonderful anecdote about how he once beat Arthur Ashe in a tournament, then ranked 5th in the world:

I had seen him play in a tournament and I actually charted out how he hit his shots, where he hit his shots...I knew where he was gonna go and I knew that when I would approach on his backhand nine times out of ten, he was going to go down the line on his attempted approach. He didn't like changing it up to go cross court. So the problem was I sort of ambushed him because I knew everything about him. He knew nothing about me and I was very comfortable. I was good enough at that time to execute my game plan well enough to win the set.

Ken is the founder and CEO of one of the world’s most well-respected and successful television news and hosting agencies, Ken Lindner & Associates, Inc. (“KLA”). He is also the founder of Positive Life Choice Psychology™ and the Positive Life Choice Psychology Lifestyle™. In addition to Aspire Higher, Ken is the author of CAREER CHOREOGRAPHY™: Your Step-by-Step Guide to Finding the Right Job and Achieving Huge Success and Happiness.

Learn more about Ken’s work at https://positivelifechoicepsychology.com/.

Make It Your Own with Sean De Simone

To make something one's own is to take something and adapt it to oneself and is absolutely essential in the camera ready universe.

Whether you are auditioning for a project and reading the same script as everyone else or interviewing for a job and meeting all of the same qualifications as every other applicant, how you make it your own determines if you make it to the next round and ultimately get hired.

Here to discuss is my dear friend, casting director, coach, actor, documentary filmmaker, and four-peat champion on Camera Ready & Abel, Sean De Simone, who has strong opinions on the subject, having cast all of the hosts on QVC and HSN for the past 15 years.

Sean describes it as, "when someone is making it their own for me is when I like kind of sit up straight and like I start to listen a little bit more and my clients start to get a little bit more excited when we see people sort of breaking away from what we think they think we want to see and they are just being themselves."

Key takeaways:

• Play to your strengths
• Adapt to the situation
• The personal is professional
• Identify ways to connect personally to the content
• Use I Statements

Join us for our HOSTING FOR HOME SHOPPING & BRANDS WORKSHOP Feb 11& 12, 2023 and visit Sean at Sean De Simone Casting follow him on Instagram and his lively Facebook Group.

If you're not sure what your superpowers are, check out my favorite personal branding tool, the HOW TO FASCINATE ASSESSMENT.

Travel-Transform-Thrive with Kathy McCabe

If I had a dollar (or a euro) for everyone who's ever told me they want to host a travel show, I would've recorded this episode of Camera Ready & Abel from my villa in Italy instead of my office in Brooklyn.

My guest for this episode, Kathy McCabe, is here to share how she did something truly remarkable, how she made her dream a reality and turned her passion for Italy into the Dream of Italy newsletter, magazine, podcast and PBS Series distributed to 97% of the United States (and the number one watched program of any genre distributed by American Public Television on Amazon Prime.)

Kathy is a beautiful example of the transformational power of traveling, following your dream and thriving in life.

Key takeaways

• Build a community, not an audience.
• Gather emails and communicate directly with your audience.
• Own your content as much as you can
• Show up consistently
• Be tenacious and committed - and believe that it's possible
• Your reputation and your track record matter a lot - especially in fund-raising

Visit Dream of Italy and listen to the Dream of Italy Podcast (which The New York Times recommends as one of “13 podcasts for wandering souls.”)

Connect with Kathy on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

My Word of the Year 2023: Refinement with Barbara Barna Abel

I wish I knew who came up with the brilliant notion of replacing the traditional New Year's Resolution with one single word to focus on for the coming year. I'd like to thank them. 

Your word is an organizing principle or theme, perhaps even your annual north star, instead of a decision/goal you may or may not stick with (the data says overwhelmingly we don't stick with them). 

I chose refinement because it's the right word for where I am at the moment: making improvements by making small changes that make a significant difference.  

A few important takeaways about choosing your word of the year:

• Make sure your word connects with you emotionally
• Don't get stuck in The Shoulds choosing a word that sounds good but doesn't feel right
• Give yourself permission to change your word if you discover it's not really working for you (being adaptable is key to survival and success)
• Give yourself space to let your word find you (there are signs all around you)
• It's okay to carry over your work from last year if there's more work to be done or you feel you can still go deeper (or revisit an older word)

If you need a prompt to find your word, hit the googles for support. Here are two websites I found with hundreds of ideas: WildSimpleJoy and HappinessIsHomemade.

I would love to hear what word you choose! Drop me a note here and share.

Wishing joy, health and abundance in 2023!

Think Like a Producer with Brian Balthazar

In my years as a casting director and talent development executive, I've observed that many of the most successful hosts and performers understand how television production works and how their part of the show (or segment) fits into something larger than themselves.

I saw this first hand when I booked my guest for this episode, Brian Balthazar, on Page Six TV back in the day, and he was always so great because he knew how to make good TV. 

It's a treat to have him discuss and share actionable insights on how to think like a producer because Brian has built an impressive career simultaneously in front and behind the camera as a television host, producer and network executive.

Brian is the executive producer and founder of Balthazar Entertainment, specializing in compelling lifestyle programming including Christina on the Coast and Tough Love with Hilary Farr for HGTV and My Dream Kitchen with Carla Hall on Food Network. Brian oversaw the launch of the fourth of Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda where he later became a beloved guest dishing pop culture and trends, was a co-executive producer of The View and was a vice president at Discovery Networks (now Warner Brothers Discovery) where he oversaw mega hits like Flip or Flop and my favorite, Love It or List It. 

Key takeaways

• Production is not personal (even though it often feels that way)
• Never go to a pitch meeting with only one idea (your idea isn't that unique)
• If you are pitching yourself as talent, start self-producing examples on social media 
• There is not one right way to succeed. Find the way that is right for you.
• Be grateful for the opportunities

Follow Brian on Instagram at @brianbalthazar…trust me, he’s a fun poster!