The Reluctant Leader: What Andor Teaches Us About Purpose

Courtney Pearl (00:04.59)
Right. Welcome to Yes, and land where we say yes to the reality of what you're facing, difficulties and trials. And we say, and the possibility, joy and new chapter still ahead. are welcome today by a wonderful guest. I'm very excited to talk with and to talk in relation to some really interesting topics. I think some hot takes Blaine Nicholas or just Blaine or just Blaine.

Just Blaine or Blaine? Just Blaine. No, literally, Just Blaine. was to say, it like you were saying, they actually say the Just. It is. I'm with it. I had a lot of nicknames for different stuff that I did. I was a pro wrestler at one point, a DJ, so I had all these names. I was at Apple Music. I got thrown into the mix one night, literally DJing, and my host says, what's your name? And I said, what's your DJ name? And I said, Just Blaine.

I was ready to shed all the old, you know, nicknames and all that stuff. So yeah, that's what happened. I was just Blaine and that's what. So just Blaine. So they were visiting with just Blaine. Just and for today, I'm I'm just Ryan for today. I see that. Well, so Blaine currently is the CEO of Ride the Wave Media, but has a long and storied career, including a spin in Hollywood. Yeah.

And if my notes are correct, over 11,000 shows produced is what I have written down here. Is that right? what the internet says. They say I'm one the most prolific creators out there. Not my words, not mine. Not your words. No, but. No, but yeah. mean, look, 11,000. That's I'm going to say somehow I'd have produced over 11,000 shows over iHeart, NBC, Apple, with the biggest names out there. Yeah, unbelievable. Yeah. Well, we are very fortunate to have you today and we are very excited to have you. And to dive into some topics of

Leadership. and that's one of the big things we want to talk about today is Leadership and stepping into leadership. Yeah, even if it's unexpected or maybe even unwanted sometimes a lot of times And so, you know, we'll talk about that a little bit today before we dive fully into that topic Let's talk a little bit more about your career, right? Let's talk a little bit more about Where you started what got you into hollywood in the first place, man? I grew up on a farm in the middle of nowhere where tennessee tennessee we're in tennessee

Courtney Pearl (02:21.476)
Little town called Humboldt, I'm gonna put him on a map right here. So Humboldt, Tennessee, about 10,000 people. What's it close to? Jackson, between Memphis and Nashville. So that's where it is. That's where I grew up and I wasn't one of these people that had like the favorite TV shows, favorite movies. I wanted to know how they were made. Yeah. Like I was like, peel the curtain back, show me what's going on. And that's what led me to it. I realized, you know what? That's a job. That's a career. Yeah, for sure. It's a hard one. Yeah, but it is one.

And you want to find stuff that makes you happy. And I was like, well, this this makes me happy. So what was the first step you took to start pursuing that passion? The very first thing I did, it was I believe the year about 2000 somewhere in there. And my parents said, what do you want for Christmas? I could have asked for the video games and all this stuff. And I remember I said, I want music maker 2000. And they were like, what? And what is this? And it's a DAW. It's a digital audio workstation. It was very early on software.

that Adobe Audition, all these other ones came out later. But that's what I asked for. And I taught myself how to use a DAW. And my first things were I was making mashups of songs. I was doing that whole thing where take a 50 cent track and lay it with whatever else. I was trying that. So I was teaching myself how to use all this stuff. And then I was like, wait a minute. This is what the radio stations do. So.

That's kind of where I lived for a long time was in the radio headspace. I enjoyed it. And then I did end up in radio stations working in Memphis, Tennessee. When I went to college right there, not the college station, I went right down to the heritage station in town, WHBQ, and said, hire me. I don't care what it was for. And I've worked as a street team member straight off. Not fun, not glamorous. I'm the guy that went and set up the tents you see at the car lots and give out the free swag to people.

But as I progressed in that anytime somebody was sick or couldn't show up or didn't Make a shift or just quit because it happens that world will it will beat you down if you can't Step up to it handle it. But anytime that happened here. I am. I'm raising my hand. Hey Not only hey, I'll do it. But hey show me how to do it. Yeah, I'll make sure it done, right? So what what helped you push through and persevere?

Courtney Pearl (04:47.403)
when it was hard and it was difficult stuff when others didn't when others fell off and faded away or quit like what kept you going? I will say a lot of my success was off of

Me feeding off the energy of people saying, you can't do that. Sure. So a lot of it was like, you know what? I'm going to prove it. Yeah. But at the same time, somewhere along the lines, I stopped doing that for them. And it was still the same mindset. But it was for me. It's like, nobody's going to tell me what I can do. You know? Like, I was called bipolar a lot. Because, I want to move to Hollywood. And I'm in this farm. Sure. My nickname was Hollywood.

in this town. the time I got to high school, I was Hollywood and that was a radio name I took later. But yeah, I had all these big dreams and of course they look like big dreams and unachievable to a lot of people who are stuck in that mindset. But I was always thinking bigger. Yeah. And sure, call me whatever you want. But I went to Hollywood. I did everything I've ever said that I was going to do that somebody called out and said you couldn't do or all that. What's what's he talking about? I did it.

Yeah. Well, and what I'm kind of hearing is, you know, the part of the reasons why you're able to persevere is because you were passionate about doing it. You knew you liked those things. You knew that that brought you some energy and like you knew where you wanted to go. So when you had a passion for that, it's kind of if you're familiar with Dr. Angela Duckworth, she talks about grit, right? She's wonderful. Ted Talk wrote a book called Great. Grit is the power of passion plus perseverance.

And that high achievers, she says, through different studies that have been done about high achievers and all this academic literature on it, that she really came up with this theory that like, it's the power passion plus perseverance is what gets you to being a high achiever. And so because you're passionate about it, because it's something you really liked, then it's easier to persevere when it's hard. Because look, if you hate it and it's hard, you're like, I'm out. And let me be real, because all the Hollywood jobs and all the

Courtney Pearl (06:54.93)
Celebrities I worked with this stuff. Sure. There were days we hated it. Everybody. It's a job course. It's a job for sure. So it doesn't really matter. You know, like you have the human instincts. my gosh. Job today. I want to call in sick. my gosh. Three thirty alarm hits three thirty in the morning. No, I don't want to get up. But I did. I every single day, you know, I think that is part of it. And you always have those hard times to like every job, like you said, will always have times that are difficult. And that you have to persevere. You have to like, you know what?

I gotta get up at 330 today. gotta stay extra to this time to make this thing happen, to complete this project or work with this difficult person because this is what is required for this thing that I'm doing. In me, it shifted from, I gotta get up at 332, I get to get up at 330. What made that shift? When I finally realized that sure, I did all this stuff out of spite to be successful, but sure, going back to what you said, I loved what I was doing.

And it wasn't always about me making something creative. I love the experience that you get to give somebody else. That's what hooked me to media, TV, radio, all that stuff was growing up. Like I said, on that farm, when I listened to something, I was getting an experience. Maybe it's more than a song. Maybe it's more than a movie. If you can make sure that you give somebody out there an experience that they're not going to normally get, then that was what gave me joy. was like, sure, I get to get up at 3.30.

to go work with a bunch of rappers in LA. Here's a guy from a farm in rooms I'm not supposed to be in, really. Rooms I wouldn't have normally got to get in. But I did, and I went in there every day, and it was to give that listener, that viewer, that one person at home, it don't matter if it's 10 million or one. I'm always talking to one, because that's all it takes. But I wanted that experience. wanted them to get that experience. Send us hate mail. Send us awful messages. Send all that stuff.

those one, two great comments where they're like, hey man, I was at the lowest this morning. Appreciate what I heard this morning. Even if it wasn't me directly, know, having a hand in that, it makes you feel a type of way. You're like, yeah. What experiences did you have as a kid with music or media that made you feel connected? Where you then wanted to give that to somebody else? I was always that person that was, hey, have you heard this band? Hey, have you heard this rapper? Have you checked this song out?

Courtney Pearl (09:20.794)
I had the biggest collection maybe of different genres of music. And I've said this later on, I didn't realize it then, but I've said it later on that there's not a song or a project or something somebody puts out that I'm like, I don't do that. I try to give everybody the benefit of the doubt because somebody knocking somebody's project. First of all, who are you to knock what somebody else is doing creatively? Right. But

bigger than that to me was that could have been somebody's passion. Their passion project that they put thought into, they've put effort into. like again, once again, I'm saying the other people who most of the time will bash that stuff, they're not doing it. But yeah, that's what kind of got to me, you know? So. Well, you know, it's hard. Like when you're trying to create something, like it takes a bit of vulnerability to do it. That's it.

You putting yourself out there, Like, anytime, this interview we're doing right now, we're putting ourselves out there. For sure. And people can pick apart all they want. I call them thumb thugs. There's a lot of people out there with their thumbs, thugging out on the internet or typing on the keyboard. And you can't do that. Like, it's not your right place, whatever you want to call it, to knock somebody else for something they did creatively. I really will look at, my wife asked me this the other day. She's like, do you really

look at music like that, kind of in a, I guess, unbiased, like you'll give it to, I'm like, yeah, I do. Because somebody surely could have put in way more time and effort than you thought. 30 seconds of you listening and then bashing that might've been a 15 year project for somebody. And once again, who are you to judge that? It's so interesting because I think we all have different forms of art that we gravitate towards, right? And

You know, music, I enjoy music, but I always joke with people that like, I've never really like listened to the words in the songs. And like so many times I don't know the message actually, I just kind of listen to it. I like music, you know, I enjoy it. Art, like somebody who does a great painting, like, okay, I gotta appreciate that somebody did, but I don't connect with art like some people do. But what I do connect with is the theater. That for me, I don't know if it's because I like doing it, I like performing, but...

Courtney Pearl (11:42.943)
theater and theater on Broadway or community theater. Like I have an appreciation for it where I think it's really interesting as you're saying this, I'm connecting with it because there's some people who like hate community theater. It's like, they're no good, right? But like I've got a great friend who he has continued to do community theater since he directed me in a play when we were in 11th grade in high school. And since then,

He has written plays, he has written musicals. He does them in venues here around Salt Lake County and some other places and he continues to do it. And I love that he's doing it and I enjoy seeing what's there and other people just don't appreciate it. They don't have the appreciation for it, but I know, cause I know him, like the work that he puts into that and the work that the cast puts into it and the sense of community that they create in that cast. So it's just so interesting you're saying that cause I'm starting to understand more about myself now that you said that.

What's your favorite play musical? What's something out there? I mean, my all time favorite is, is now Hamilton. Yeah. Yeah. I just love it. Right. Like Lin-Manuel Miranda, I think is a genius. And so like things that he does, I just, anything that he does, I want to see. Oh yeah. As part of why, I mean, some of my favorite Disney movies now are Moana and Encanto. Cause I think there's the move, the music and those are phenomenal. Absolutely. You know, I just can re-listen to those all the time. Funny story about Hamilton. I was at the premiere.

in l.a. when they came to l.a. i was at one of the premier it was the media premiere yeah right there on hollywood boulevard no kidding the main cast and i'm gonna tell you this it was wild because i'm sitting here here's my one of my co-host to my left from from our big boy show and jimmy kimmel behind me and john stamos i think it was one wanted and i'm like what

It's one of those moments you're like, what am I doing? Like, what's happening? What am I doing right in life that I've got like all these people are having this like premiere of Hamilton? And I remember it going so late that we left at the intermission. I was working a morning show. We had to be up at 330. It was like midnight. We were like, we got to get out of here. Oh, man. So yeah, but I was at one of the premieres and Jimmy Kimmel was behind me and John Stamos was right next to us. And I was like, I can do this. Yeah, for sure. Yeah.

Courtney Pearl (14:02.047)
So one of the things that we're going to talk about today is like this idea of leadership and kind of being thrust into leadership. And so from your experiences in, in, in Hollywood and doing the things you were, where did you encounter times where you had to be thrust into leadership, even though you didn't ask for it, you weren't sticking it out, but you had to like step up and take it. think the best leaders out there are the ones who don't want it. Just the ones that either they did step up, you know, they're appointed somehow, but it is the ones who don't want that power.

And a lot of times in Hollywood, if it's, if, if, the mic is coming on at 5 AM, there's not a, you know, Blaine's light. can't do it. No, no, no, no. It's that's a hard one. That's it. mean, I mean, there's different times where like, it's, it's leading on an organization or it's leading on a project or it's leading on something that like somebody just has to step up. Because if you don't.

Like then it doesn't happen. And then like when I, when I have my name on something, I'm not associated with something like I want to see it be successful. I like leadership. like, I like doing things where I can have a say in what happens, but there's other times where you just, you're, forced to take on a role or do things where you weren't anticipating that being the case. And that's where I was kind of going with that. Like I can't be late, but if somebody else is, then I'm not one that you are thrust into the, to the spotlight per se to make that decision.

That's the biggest thing for me was if it had to be made. I knew it had to be made. There's no sitting around thinking, well, somebody else can do this. If somebody else can put the promos out or whatever it is, whatever that thing might be, tiny or big, it did come down to that. So yeah, it was like, I'll do it. Yeah, I'll do it. I'm here. I'll do it. That was a lot of it, too. I'm here. I know what I'm doing. I'll do it. Nobody had to ask.

So what do you feel like are some of the most important characteristics or qualities of like a really good leader, especially ones that you've experienced like in your career? Like I said, the ones that don't want it, if somebody doesn't want it, what do you learn from that? I didn't want it. I never saw the title of boss in this and that, but I always knew that I was looked at as a leader because guess who got happy bosses day cards and I'm not even.

Courtney Pearl (16:26.39)
at that, but I knew people were looking at me as that leader. Why didn't they look to you? I'll tell you why. Because I kept my head down and worked my ass off and grinded. Sure, there's complaints and all that stuff, but most of the time I was putting out the highest quality that I could without any questions asked. was just like, boom, this is me. And a lot of that went back to my own pride. It's like, am I? Just because it's another host, maybe it's a big boy, maybe it's a George Stonvalopoulos, whoever it is I'm working with.

Well, I still was responsible for that. Yeah. My name is still in there somewhere. So was like, I'm going to put the best out that I can. Once again, going back to shorts pride for me, but it's also give the people the experience that they deserve. Yeah. Apple is all about surprise and delight. I worked at Apple Music. You believe that we weren't surprising and delighting people with our show in anything that we could think of, you know, like we tried to do this. So, yeah, that was when you're not seeking out leadership or someone's not seeking it out.

beyond that, what also makes that person a good leader? Because somebody still has to choose to follow them. So they don't want it. And that's kind of step one. That's what we're talking about, right? Being thrust in where they don't want it. But then what actually connects that to actually making them still be a good leader? Because you could have somebody doesn't want it, and then they make them, and they're terrible. Yeah, that's true, too. It's the grit. It's the work ethic. Because most of the time, that's what attracted somebody to want to follow them anyway, to be like them. Not necessarily in a...

Competitive way like they're trying to take that position and a good leader doesn't compete they collaborate. they're working with everybody Even if the people are below them, you don't worry about somebody taking your job. Yeah, you worry about Rise raising them up, you know, whatever that is. So I think why did you care about raising people up that you were leading? Why was that important to you? Once again, it went back to me the pride all of that Sure, my name's on it, but I wasn't the one that was gonna take the credit for it

I took a board op. A girl that was a board op, phone screener in LA, she comes to me and says, I want to be on air. And I'm like, all right. And everybody else blows that off because, you've got no, you've never been on a mic. You can't do this. You can't do that. You've got to start a small market somewhere. You can't start with number two. Right. I was like, why? So I worked with her for like six months. Every day she came in there and it was consistency. That's something else. If somebody if you ask somebody to do something voluntarily, but they are consistent and they will

Courtney Pearl (18:51.59)
do it and it will bring it to you. That's when I knew I was a leader because I wasn't necessarily bossing anybody around. It was like, this is what you could do. This is how you could do it. If you keep bringing me whatever, I'll keep giving you the energy right back and we'll make this happen. That girl ended up being Big Boy's co-host. No kidding. She didn't have to go to no small market and being me or BFA, whatever, know, wherever. Yeah. She didn't have to do it.

and i was thought that i was like that's the old school way of thinking you don't have to there's a different way of paying dues now you don't have to do the same you don't have to have the same path that everybody else had to get where you going and that's what i looked at her you know i was like i saw talent i didn't care about no experience no this and that's what i do with ride the wave media too is i'll take people who have never been in front of a microphone and i said this yesterday bex nelson i took her to

She's a real estate agent in Salt Lake City. And I took her to a red carpet in Hollywood to host it with me. Not because I couldn't find somebody else, but it because I knew she could do it. Nervous as she was, I'm like, you got this. I took another girl, I Courtney Pearl. She was a nobody. She'll tell you that. I'm not the one saying that. She told me yesterday, she said, I was a nobody and now I'm an influencer. Sure, it's not millions, but influencing anybody is an influencer. So I like to take the people who...

I know could do it. And then I got the veterans coming to me too. You know, I got broadcast legends who come to me and ask for advice and I respect that. It's like, yeah, you could do it this way. You could do it that way. I don't ever tell anybody directly. I'm not like, you got to do this. Cause I don't believe in it. Cause that's, that's just for me. When I worked at big boy, I couldn't be, I couldn't be a 30 plus year old

white male from the farm. Sure. What I had to do was think like my demo. So I was a 25 to 34 year old female Latina. But you see what I'm saying? You got to put yourself into a different perspective to be able to look at everything because that may not that content may not have been for me. Sure. There is not one piece of content that's going to touch everybody. Sure. Ever. And make them happy. Definitely true. You know, so that's the way I looked at it. It was like, oh, it's not for me, but is it good?

Courtney Pearl (21:16.261)
Is it good enough? Is it an experience for a 25 year old, 34 year old, Latino female? Because that was the main demo, you know? The demos shift when we go to other places. I gotta put my mind into that type of person. Whenever I make something, I look at, I make an avatar out there of somebody I'm talking to. And I try to do this with everybody. You should do this with your show, Ryan. When you talk to people,

make it somebody that you can actually physically see. Sure. But I do, try to make an avatar of somebody out there. It could be a real person, could not be a real person, but it could be a 25 to 34 year old Latina female. Or when I go to Apple Music and I produce, it's crazy, the Metallica special with James Hetfield and all these guys. I wasn't a, oh, I loved Metallica, but I wasn't the biggest fan, but I knew a guy I went to high school with that was the massive, huge fan of Metallica ever.

Guess who I made that for? Him. Because if I can make it for him and he would like it, covers everybody. You know, it covers the Metallica fans and that's what I'd looked at was... How do you get yourself into that mindset of like finding that perspective? Because I think, I mean there's applications like pretty widespread with that. That if people would sit down and try to understand the perspective of a completely different demographic than they themselves are...

I mean, first off, we'd have probably a lot less fighting in this world, but from a business perspective, you could certainly understand your customers better. It's tough. It's tough. I think honestly, it goes back to my and this is going to shock people out there. My education, my college education. How about that? But I did go into a lot of philosophy classes, psychological classes, media classes. I ended up with two degrees, two bachelor degrees, communications and cultural geography.

Now, cultural geography is demos. So I love to learn about different people and what they do and how they think, what makes them who they are. And that's what I used forever going forward. It was like, all right, well, let me think about, let me think how they think. When do you take that time to think? you have some specific way you do it? Do you go for a walk? Do you find time in a quiet place? Like, how do you go about?

Courtney Pearl (23:41.855)
trying to get into the mind of these other people. It's an instant switch for me. Yeah. If I'm making something and I know it's for somebody else, it's an instant switch. If I'm listening to something and I know it's for somebody else, instantly. And so you can do that because you have some idea of what that avatar is. So you've put some work in to understand that. Yep. OK. Yeah. Whether it's somebody from the other side of the globe that's a different hair color, skin color, everything than you, or whether it's me, whether it's somebody like me, that

wants to hear the most random pop culture stuff, you know, like that's what I'm into, like video games, pop culture, all that, Disney, of course. Yeah. Yeah. So, Well, I think, you know, it's interesting when you bring that up. It's for me, it's kind of like in order to understand and put yourself in the shoes and understand that perspective, you have to do some type of work before. So you have to care enough to actually be curious. Like, OK.

What does a 25 to 34 year old female latina actually like? okay. gotta understand more about the culture of a latina in that demographic I gotta understand about like what does their daily life look like like what what are the things that are important to them? What things are not important to them? And then when you do that work before Then when it comes time to being creative and that creative process like okay switches on because I'm familiar with it. Yeah, that's pretty much it What would you say about like putting yourself in proximity to?

people who are different than you to gain that perspective. As far as I guess, I guess we'll have a personal story from Ryan. So I grew up in Utah. Yeah. Right. A little bit of a bubble here. Right. We have a lot of diversity. I would say I had some perspectives. Maybe they were a little bit off when I decided for my church to serve a mission. I got called to serve in Seattle, Spanish speaking. I just didn't know many Latinos like

Well, I didn't necessarily have a bad opinion. I just didn't know them, right? So I go there and for two years, like religious parts aside, like I'm serving people that are from, you know, Central America, mostly some from South America that immigrated up. I gained a love for those people because I was in close proximity to them that I never would have gotten had I not been in close proximity. I never would have understood like

Courtney Pearl (26:00.912)
what some of these people were sacrificing to go through to come across here, even if it was illegally, right? They're coming across and they're working really hard jobs, right? Or two or three of them. And they're sending money back to their families because they're trying to create a better life for their family. Immigration policies aside, like all those things aside, like I got to know those people and had a love for those people because I was serving them. I was trying to help them. I was...

showing up and trying to bring things to them and do things for them. And it was just so eye opening to me about being in proximity and getting a perspective understanding about somebody else. And realizing we're all one. We might do things differently, but we all are one and we work together to be that one. I kind of had the same type of story. Now know what you're talking about. I grew up in that bubble on the farm in the South, Tennessee.

That's he's definitely that way. Right. Racism is I will say not everybody, not everybody I grew up with was that way. But yeah, you would hear awful things from both sides, from every side, whatever. And I think real early on. Yeah, actually, I was always like, what? Why? Why? Why can't we like these people because of that color and this and that and that? And it didn't make sense to me ever. Of how you could look at somebody and and.

by the color of their skin, not like who they are. I'm like, that doesn't make sense. Judge a book by its cover. Like that's what it was. I had this conversation. Something came up and I've got a, was four years old at the time. He's almost six now, but my four year old, we went into talking about racism and stuff like that. And we basically told him that some people don't like people because of their skin color or the way they look or whatever.

I'll be damned if he didn't look at us dead now and say that's stupid And I was like that a four-year-old gets it it's stupid I went to LA. Yeah, I went to LA and I've said this to a lot of people I said It is not for everybody and you not everybody can succeed out there but everybody should have to go live in LA or New York for one year and Just see what you get out of that bubble you get in that proximity of other stuff and you realize you know what? don't matter what people look like

Courtney Pearl (28:22.935)
We're trying to grind to the day, regardless of what it is, to make it to the next one. Like that's basic functionality of life right there. It's like, let's just make it the next day. Yeah. think, I think to me, I've heard some things recently too about one of the importance of like trying to travel with your kids, to get them exposed to other cultures, other people, other ways of life that I think just make a difference for

our youth, but also for us, right? And just understanding people more. think with greater understanding of somebody else, the greater ability we have to empathize for them. The world lacks empathy. Yeah, it really does. I don't know if that's a mental thing. I don't know what it is out there, but the world overall lacks empathy. And the more we can bring, I think given proximity,

to certain types of people areas whatever it may be it's not just about the people sometimes is is the area here we live here we got brutal weather both sides of the way i came from southern california i'd check the weather after three years you know i a dot you have to look at my go right today like to be seventy five and yes you have to adapt differently we're anywhere else and it's not just normally it's not just about the people may go back to my cultural geography it's like

Well, these people lived here because of this. And then that's how they had to adapt and make a way of life. As we do that, as we have those other experiences, as we increase our empathy, to me, then then we also can bring the table is a greater degree of kindness. When I think about like what some of the things that are that the world lacking and divisiveness that's out there, lack of empathy and a lack of kindness and deep kindness is rooted in empathy.

That's what it is, right? To truly be kind to somebody beyond just what we call, I'm stealing this from Houston Craft, confetti kindness, right? Confetti kindness is great. Saying hello to somebody, it's great. It's wonderful. It's spreading it around like confetti. Excellent. Also, yes and, deep kindness goes beyond that. And you can only have deep kindness for somebody if you can empathize with them and for them in their situation, right?

Courtney Pearl (30:46.819)
to find a deeper way to have a connection and be kind. And to me, that changes the world. It does. I love that. That's the best outlook you can have right there. You know, one of the things I think that movies and media can bring to us is exposure to more of that. It does. Right? It really does. like subtitled movies. Think about that. Yeah. Now they're overdubbed. Now they got the AI voice that's synced up. But we're breaking down barriers with some of the technology out there that will allow us to see into

Yeah. Other civilizations, know, different times, even the other civilization that's across the neighborhood from you, you know, I think a lot of the walls are coming down and I think that's what did keep a lot of this. But what's so interesting about that is, is it should be. Because we have such greater access to information. Yes. And yet then we still continue to see people not bring that in or absorb in.

Perspectives that other people might have and it's almost like they choosing to reject it. I don't know why I don't know either like I said, it's it's something about it's got to be the the human element of stubbornness like Defiance whatever you want to call it We don't know nobody likes getting told what to do. Yeah, you know, so I think maybe that plays into it but at same time it's like I Think one of the things that you had

I actually talked about this in the last episode is it's from Ted Lasso. Do you know Ted Lasso? You remember the dart the dart story where he says be curious not judgmental. Yeah, I guess what that is right. Like if you have all this other content out there, but you're just going to be judgmental of it, then you're not going to get that empathy. But if you're curious, like you were early on, you want to know like I want to how this works. I'm curious about this. I'm curious about that. I want to get in the minds of this 25 to 34 year old.

Female Latina. The curiosity, I think, was a gateway. And that can be the gateway for us to have greater empathy and greater kindness, as if we have curiosity. We don't judge. We try to withhold judgment. And we just get really curious. That's me. It is. Ask questions. Ask questions first. Ask the questions. People will answer them. Back to what you said, the confetti thing. When you say, hey, how are you? If somebody actually says something else other than fine, look them in the eye.

Courtney Pearl (33:08.142)
Talk to them. Now you're showing empathy. You're showing the real human. The confetti, I like that. What did you call it? The confetti? Confetti kindness, Who'd you steal that from? Houston Craft. Might have to scratch that from the record, maybe you could trade it like that. but no, think it is when you see people do that, hey, how's your day? I'm serious. If they say something other than fine, they want to talk. They want to open up. That's a good point. They're giving you a cue. They are.

Take advantage and we don't sometimes many times we miss it. We miss those cues take them big time You know and that's I that's part of leading right? Yeah, that's part of leading out like no one's asking us to do it No, it's same. have to do it. We're saying you know what that that's an opportunity. I can lead in this Relationship and lead in this conversation you never know where that's gonna lead. Yeah, exactly. You never know where a How's your day? Well, you know what let me talk about my day. You never know where that's gonna take you

You never know who you're talking to. You never know the connections that people have. And you could sit there and think, I got nothing in common with this person. By the end of it, holy cow, like you're like, wait a minute. Everybody's got a common denominator. I like to think I'm one of one, but there's no such thing as a one on one. Sure. You can stand out and you do this, but you got a common denominator. I always love when people come to me and they're like, I can't do a podcast. I'm too boring. That's the biggest ego that I've ever heard.

Tell me more. say that you're too boring and no one will listen is a huge ego mistake because sure, it sounds negative, but also you're saying you're the only one in the world that likes whatever you're going to talk about. Not true ever. That's such an interesting perspective. But that's exactly how it is. Same thing if you think everybody in the world is going to listen to your stuff, it's not going to happen because not everybody's got the same flavor. But you're not too boring that no one's going to have that flavor.

And I've always told people, I'm like, you're knocking yourself, but your head's this big. If you think that, it's not true. Yeah. It was interesting as I was thinking about what I wanted to do if I wanted to start a podcast. had somebody give me the advice of like, look, what you've got to remember is like, do something that you like and is fun for you. And even if only a few people connect, those people will connect because there are people out there who have similar interests.

Courtney Pearl (35:31.76)
There's people out there who think along the same lines. And so if you're putting that content out there and you've only got 10 people listening, well, great. Then you have a connection with those 10 people that you wouldn't have had otherwise. I've had 10 million listeners and I've had 10. And I can tell you that 10 loyal, engaged, care about you listeners is better than 10 million. It really, 10 million might bring you some money, but I've had 10 million and never seen a dollar from that either.

10 people who care and will engage with you, because they're not going to stay at 10 forever. They're going to tell somebody else, and they're going tell somebody else, and it's going to organically grow. But it really is. That's all you got to talk to. Like I said, one person. For me, it's only one person. Yeah, it's impact. Yeah. Sometimes it's wide, and sometimes it's deep. Big time. Yeah. Let's go to our next segment, where we like to do tie-ins to.

Mostly to Disney stuff, but can certainly be outside of that but today it's gonna be one of one of Disney's assets Now in the Star Wars universe. We're talking about and or check this out what I brought. My goodness check this out y'all this is These are these are Star Wars Disney pins. Is that what these are? my goodness. my goodness on my Miracles, honestly somebody

I don't even remember when or how but I didn't buy these somebody sent me these and gave me these no kidding ago But they are the Star Wars You probably know more about this than I've got and you've got it on the lanyard too, right? You're they sent me all this stuff man. I've worn this I used to get Disneyland a lot when I worked in LA. I had your SoCal Cheap pass. Oh for sure. The thing is you couldn't go on the weekends But who if you live there you weren't going weekends anyway, it's like Monday through Thursday. but I would get out of work

I go to Disneyland. I was out work at 10 a.m. Go to Disneyland. I go walk around, hit Space Mountain, and go home. So everyone's gonna read this, and I got so many compliments on, I don't know what this even is. You can check that out. Yeah, look at this thing there. But that's pretty cool, right? Star Wars is one of my favorites. Yeah, these are amazing pins. Yeah. Yeah, that's incredible. Yeah, we got BB-8 on here. We got a, we got the fighter. Millennium Falcon, of course. Yeah. Right, there's Chewie. Oh, these are awesome. Yeah, That's stuff there, huh?

Courtney Pearl (37:55.817)
Yeah, there's a whole world there for Disney pins that I'm starting to take a little peek into. It's fun. I had no clue about it. I did because when I lived in Hollywood on Hollywood Boulevard on my way to work early in the morning, I would see people lined up outside the El Capitan Theater. I'm like, what are these people doing? And they were waiting on a release of a pin. I'm like, what is it? Sure. Once again, don't knock anybody for their fandom. I love fandom. I love all that stuff.

So I thought it was cool. I'm like, people are out here sleeping outside on the, I mean, you're in Hollywood. It's not like it's, you just got to move some usual, know, if it's, make sure you're not in somebody else's permanent space. If you're going to sleep on a sidewalk. they've got that piece of the sidewalk. yeah. That's dangerous. But yeah, I see that all the time. was like, this is a, this is cool. I love this. But yeah, the star war stuff is my favorite. Probably. I can't say that cause

The kids movies now and I got children are really starting to hit. Like you said, Moana, that's, that's a staple of my house. Like twice a day, maybe Moana's own. We've watched a lot of Moana. we've watched a lot of inconto. So glad they put the sequel out. Cause I was like, we just need something new. You know, was like, I'm ready. Let's add, you know, four hour replay instead of the, know, that's awesome. With Andor, let's talk about, let's talk about, it relates to this idea of

Leadership and having to step in When it's not something you were seeking it's not something you wanted and specifically as it relates to the main character kind take me through that Yeah, well Cassian Cassian and or I Mean a whole arc with him. He goes from a hydro wallet to hold my beer Like yeah, he's out for himself. That's all it is. It's I'm trying to get like I said earlier trying to get through today trying to get to the next one I'll take a payment for this doing my solo projects

but by the end of it i mean it's not spoilers here he gets his schematics to the best are so here he comes together with a group of people save the world save the galaxy guess like but that's that's what it was in the psych he had to do he had a step up into this leadership role because nobody else is going to nobody told him nobody the way they might say it was like you go cassian you're the leader now no no no he went to the ground and and the most

Courtney Pearl (40:20.637)
And just started to get looked at as that leader, that leader, you know, one of the interesting things about and or is we're we're in a mostly, if I'm not mistaken, a mostly like Jedi free world here. Right. Like he does not have Jedi powers, but he doesn't have the force. Like it absolutely does not. And and yet. Even without that, even without this special thing that helps all the people that have it right, set them above and beyond.

He still finds a way to step in and make this huge impact. Right? And like you said, from a guy that, I he was a thief, right? He's, I mean, he's, he was not a great guy. and finds a way to like step into this different role. What do you think it was that changed that for him? Specifically in the show? Cause my memory may be a little vague on actual, I know a lot of stuff with his mother was like, that was the

the end all be I was like, all right, well, got to, I got to step up here. something it's not about just me anymore. And then I think that started, you know, spreading to others and he starts realizing, Hey, there's people looking up to me for this stuff. So once again, he didn't necessarily want that leadership role, but he was thrust into it. He was any, any, I mean, he grabbed it by the horns, you know, like, And I think that there's in season one, I believe there was this scene or this portion where

He's fulfilling his contract and he's getting paid and he's given this this Basically manifesto so to speak for the rebels, right? Yeah, and he wants to reject it. Yep. No, no, no, I'm not gonna Not for me not for me But doesn't throw it away Right doesn't throw it away And so is this little sliver? That was there of like hey, there's actually a greater purpose There's actually a greater cause here. Yeah

You can act like you're all you are selfish. You can act like it's all really just about you. Yeah, but it's not Right deep down. It's not for you. And maybe that's what he needed, right? He needed somebody to believe that there was something greater in store for him He had to get his he had to find his why yeah And I think that's a huge lesson to take a witness is for anybody out there. You got to find your purpose. Yeah, why? What drags you out of bed no more? What makes you say?

Courtney Pearl (42:42.996)
I gotta get up at 332. I get to get up at 330. And I think that's what it is. I think that's what happened to him. Like, yeah, the arc of his character definitely went from that, like, selfish and then... world saver, you know? Galaxy saver, even bigger than that. And I love that it can just come from anybody, you know? He was an unlikely leader. Totally unlikely. the beginning. He was the worst. Yeah.

To be a leader. mean, he's literally stealing everything. He's a thief, he's this, he's that. He was quick with the trigger finger in a couple situations early on. Yep. Right? One of the least people you'd think like, oh, this guy's gonna be one of the guys who's leading out and effectuating, right, like the takedown of the empire. Yeah. He looks like a bomb. Oh, totally. He looks like a bomb from the beginning. You're like, oh my God, this guy's gonna save the gouts? Like, there's no way. There's no way this is gonna be the guy. What I think is so...

intriguing about him as a character and why I think Andor has done so well is because of that, right? Is because it's like he doesn't have the force. He doesn't have all of the things given to him in life that would put him in a perfect position to be able to help be a leader and make a difference. And yet he does anyways. He's relatable. He totally is relatable. Everybody out there can find something. we don't like very few of us have come from all this like

money and opportunity, right? The vast majority of humans, vast majority of us out there, we had to figure things out. Still are. Most people are living paycheck to paycheck. We don't make a bunch of mistakes. You know? Right? We do things like, well, we weren't, maybe we're super proud of like, okay, well, that wasn't my brightest moment. Right? Well, I sure messed that one up. And yet we still have the potential to do good. And then it's just a choice. It's a choice to say, I'm going to, I'm going to look at that manifesto a little bit longer. I'm going actually consider, is there a greater purpose?

What is my purpose? What can I do to be purpose driven more in my life, in my business, in the things that I do with my family? How do you find that greater purpose? Like, so for you, what's the advice you would give to people about somebody who maybe is a little bit searching for that purpose driven, say, profession? Don't be afraid to pivot. OK. You never stuck. If you're doing something you don't like,

Courtney Pearl (45:08.236)
Quit! And I know that's easy to say. I know that's easy to say, but you don't have to do stuff you don't like. Andor Cassian pivoted. Look at all the things he did. mean, he pivoted as a story arc. He pivoted anytime it was a tough situation. He knew what to do. And it worked out. Because like I said, no spoilers, but the spoilers are there. He saves the galaxy. He gets the schemat- It's the Death Star. We see that in episode four, five, six. know, so I think that's what it is.

Don't get stuck in your ways and it's never too late to pivot to something else. You can even pivot in the same realm of what you're already doing. Sure. You know, maybe you don't like family love. Maybe you like doing a family law podcast with. Sure. You know, it's that sort of thing. And I'm not saying I know Ryan loves his family. I'm using it as an example. Yeah. You can always. Change to get where you want to be if you're not happy. Why?

You know, like if you're not happy one. Yeah, because you know, I I sometimes I'll go back to this when I'm having this kind of similar discussion with people in a lesson that I've kind of learned from Mike Rowe Mike Rowe was dirty jobs. Yeah, dirty jobs guy. I remember listening to an interview with him one time where they were saying like, hey, look, you're going and doing these jobs with people who doing like the most disgusting jobs you'll ever want to encounter. And yet.

They're happy. How is that possible in a world that tells us like, well, you just, you just have to follow the things that are your passion. Well, is somebody really passionate about scooping poop or cleaning up stuff? And he's like, no, it's, it's what you find within what you're doing. Are you finding joy in what you're doing? And if you can't then yeah, move on. But like the people that you're serving or the things that you're accomplishing, right? Can you find the joy in

working really hard and then doing a really good job and looking back like, wow, I did that and I did a really great job at that. And then if you can't find the joy in that, okay, move on, right? Move on and find something else. But sometimes it's like, you've got to find the joy and passion in like a job well done and a mission accomplished in, and you can find that in a lot of places and don't be afraid to pivot. Don't be afraid like, hey, maybe this is a little bit like off of being Pat. Maybe it's a little bit different.

Courtney Pearl (47:33.858)
But if you can find the joy in doing that thing that's different, like pursue it, go after it. think Lutheran in this show, he gives a bunch of speeches. Lutheran is behind the scenes of what, the rebellion and all that stuff. And he's an antiques dealer. But I think he really says in a way that you've got to sacrifice comfort for freedom. And I think that's what it is. It's exactly what you're saying. You've got to, sometimes if you're comfortable in whatever you're doing.

You gotta get rid of that and you'll get a whole lot more freedom. Yeah, but I think he was the best character for that and and and or to represent that that that thought of Yeah, you can't always be comfortable. I'm not comfortable If you get comfortable you're falling behind. I think yeah, I mean if you if you want to do something Meaningful. Mm-hmm. If you want to do something with impact That doesn't lie in comfort

right. People don't make a difference in other people's lives by just doing the thing that's comfortable. We said it. You got to be vulnerable. Like we said that early on in this episode. When you do stuff like this, we are vulnerable right now. It's not comfortable. But we hope somebody out there hears it it makes a difference, a change. I think it's a lot of what holds people back. Is there OK being working their nine to five at a job they hate? I'm not saying there's anything wrong with a nine to five, because once again, you can love what you're doing.

Not necessarily love being a trash man, but you could love having a steady job or whatever it is, whatever it may be. But you got to find that to keep you going and not let it eat you. Yeah, to me sometimes too, it's just the people you work with, right? Like you could, you could be a trash man and if you've got a terrible boss, yeah, it's horrible. What have you got a really great boss? What have you got some really great coworkers that are like those relationships are really fulfilling? Andorra was great about that. Cassian was great about that. He went from this solo.

lone wolf to, and this goes to real life, to any business, you want to build a team that's a ride or die. And when you're saving the galaxy, it really was ride or die. But I think that's the same correlation to real life. Like you want to find them people around you who will go to war for you per se, you know, like not in a bad way, but I'm saying they'll do anything for you. They'll get in the trenches. And people will get in the trenches for me because I'll get in the trenches too.

Courtney Pearl (50:01.883)
It's not, I'm not too big for anything. I don't think anybody should be. I think people know that about you because I think it's, it's really easy for somebody to say as a leader, Hey, I'll get in the trenches with you, but will they actually, does somebody actually believe that they will? Cause if they don't, it's not going to make a difference. You've got to believe that person's being genuine. And that honestly, that comes back to like the empathy and caring about the person. If you care enough about them to know who they are and to know who their kids are to

know, when things are going on in their life, then when you say, I'm gonna get down in the trenches with you, they're like, Blaine is getting it. Yeah. And they'll give you more. Yeah. I've seen it. And it's not a nefarious way to get people to do what you want. But literally, if you just do it, you will get people to follow you. If you do it at the best of your ability. Yeah. You'll see people coming in, you know, you'll get that.

All them jobs in Hollywood I talked about, guess what? I never applied to one of those. It was because somebody saw me working and said, hey, this guy needs to get, Big Boy, the whole Big Boy thing for me literally came from a call and I was told, my God, hey, Big Boy's about to call you. I'm like, what? Like, okay, he hangs up the phone. This guy hangs up the phone. Get a call from Big. That was like, I want to say eight, nine, 10,

At night. I was in the studio at 5 a.m. the next morning. From that call like... kidding. Once again, pivot. Yeah. Be ready to pivot. Not every opportunity is gonna be the best. But you never know until you actually jump in there and do it. If you're too afraid to pivot, then when the actual great opportunities come along, you miss them. Exactly. Because you're too afraid of change. That comfort. You like that comfort. Yeah, because change is not comfortable.

Nope. Like it changes hard. But there's just as much misery in comfort. If you look deep down, just a lot of people are so stuck in it, they don't see that. And it's like. Yeah, that's exactly right. Yeah. And that's the type of people that push that energy off onto other people. And you can see it. And you're like, you can get around people. You're like, that aura, the aura around this person is something's off. know, something's not genuine. Something's off. They're not happy. It's not for us to necessarily.

Courtney Pearl (52:25.763)
Make them happy. That's not that's not it either. There's a difference in but you can invite them That's it. There's a difference of being there for people or trying to force them to feel a certain way You can't do that to people know because then once again, you're projecting your cell phone to them. That's how you want to feel. No, no, no, no Not everybody's the same flavor once again, you know, yeah, so yeah, love it. Okay, so let's let's move to our this or that segment Yeah, okay, so i'm gonna give you two things and you tell me if it's this or that you tell me what your opinion is, right?

Hopefully controversial and you may have to justify some of your responses But here we go. All right episode four or episode five five five K Four tells you what's coming and five gets it done. That's to me. It's like all right We got the calm before the storm and four it's awesome. Don't get me wrong Yeah, I mean if you think about it when the movie came out and that's the only Star Wars you Oh, it's the greatest movie ever made sure

Until episode five comes and I think that's what it like. Strikes Back is phenomenal. It is. So good. It is. So many iconic moments that we have seen now become even more iconic moments because of all the twists and turns that we've gotten written into different storylines for Andor, Rogue One. I love it because you've got this series that came from one movie. And now you can put on a

If you tried to put on a chronological rewatch of everything, it would be the most insane thing ever. you would have, you'd be watching episode, what is it, five or whatever, and Boba Fett would be seen. And then you'd have to stop that episode and you'd have to put the Boba Fett series on to find it. And I'm like, this is wild how they're stitching together a complete galaxy. they really are. For sure.

I don't think they've had too many missteps either. I know it's kind of right now it's a little slow. For me Solo was very mediocre that movie didn't land for me at all. It's hard to have somebody else be Harrison Ford. I think there's a lot of cash grab going on too and I think Disney might have wanted to make some of the money. There probably was but other other one-offs like honestly where Andor really comes from Rogue One was absolutely phenomenal. One of the best movies in the franchise. You know what Andor is a standalone standalone

Courtney Pearl (54:47.601)
Because if you take the sci-fi aspect out of it, is the best espionage spy TV show there is. It really is. And it's not overly done with the sci-fi stuff. So a lot of people are like, oh, I can't watch Star Wars. It's sci-fi. This is the one for you. And or you could watch as an espionage, true crime, whatever you want to call it. All that stuff goes into that. And I think it does stand apart. For sure. OK, next is or that. Darth Vader.

or Emperor Palpatine? Vader. Vader. I mean, Vader never, I mean, I love Palpatine and I love all the powers and I do get hyped up when I see Palpatine, but there's just something about Vader. is. He's absolutely iconic. Never going away. They can make as many more big bads as they want and it's going to be hard to touch. And I think a lot of it, they... He's one of the greatest villains ever in movie history. Ever. And it's just, it's so good. To me, he's up there.

And it's different genres, but he's up there with the Freddie Krueger's and the Michael Myers. You know, you see these and you're like, oh yeah, I know who that is. Oh yeah. Instantly. K2SO, BB8 or R2D2? R2D2. Oh, OK. I had an R2D2 growing up, a toy chest, and it was amazing. Yeah, and it was on the wheels and it was made of cardboard. Particle board is awful. But I remember that and I love R2D2. I mean, K2SO.

With Andor, that was awesome in season two when we get to see where he comes from. And then into Rogue One, you're like, yeah, I know who he is. And BB-8. I really like BB-8. I love BB-8. They did a really good job in the newer ones of making him a really fun character where they chose more interaction. I think with R2-D2, they had to kind of work into that. like, is this going to work? Are people going to buy into having this little machine have a personality? But with BB-8, they knew that it would. And I just thought they executed on it well.

Yeah, BB-8 was more of the mascot. Yeah for that movie and R2-D2 I think he's got the you know, he's showing the hologram. Yeah without R2-D2. Yep. Do we have a Star Wars movie? Do we have you know, seriously like cuz help me Obi-Wan you're my only hope. I love it. I've always talked about getting that tattoo don't me just because I mean I've got tattoos and stuff but I was like, you know what? I'd get that right there right there and people would love it. Okay spend a day as an Imperial Tech

Courtney Pearl (57:15.089)
Or as a rebel spy? Rebel spy, all the way. Of course, right? Of course. No doubt about it. Would you rather be chased by a Thai fighter or interrogated by Dejra? I thought Dejra was kind of hot. So there might be... My wife... No, she did too though. My wife thought, you know, we like Dejra. I think Dejra though, to me, represents this strong female.

who has to overcome. You're not supposed to like Dejra because she's in that Imperial ISB. She's over there. You're not supposed to like her. But at the same time, when you're watching this, you feel for her. You're like, oh, she's just doing her job. She's doing her job, and she's doing it well. And she's overcoming, sure, the chauvinistic stuff and all that. But I do. think she's got get used to her character. Yeah.

Okay, and or or Mandalorian That's tough They're two different. They are like I said, you got the espionage spy type stuff and then you got Mandalorian it is to me Star Wars essence, know, like yes, that's it's got everything in there. It's the formula from Star Wars at its finest It really is the Star Wars in me that Star Wars nerd in me would say Mandalorian. Mm-hmm. Just because Like I said, it feels a lot of those gaps, too

It feels a lot of gaps and you're like, man, this is awesome. Yeah, they did a great job with that. And for me, very unexpected. I didn't think that I would like it at all. And then I watched and I was blown away. I thought the same about Andor. Yeah. Because I knew it was not going to be as heavy on the sci-fi and this. And I was like, I'll give it a chance. Yeah. Ben straight through that. You know, it's like waiting for the next episode. was amazing. Yeah. OK, now we're going to do rapid fire. All right. So just first thing that comes to your mind. OK. Favorite Disney movie. Aladdin.

Came out of my birthday. I saw it was a birthday party. Oh yeah. Favorite Disney song? It's a Small World. I love that song. Oh really? I love that ride. If we go to Disneyland or Disney World anytime, that's my first ride I hop on. My wife and I. We're getting along. We're going to It's a Small If we ever go to Disneyland or Disney World together, you and your wife can go with my wife.

Courtney Pearl (59:35.505)
And I will skip it. You don't like it. All right. No, but my wife loves it. She always insists on going. It's a staple for me. I don't know what it is. her too. It is for her too. I don't get into the Disney movie until I get there and I hear that song. So I have to change that answer to, yeah, it's a small one. That's awesome. Favorite Disney princess? Probably Moana. Moana, she's Yeah, Moana's got to be up there because... Yeah. Favorite Disney villain? Jafar. Oh, he was a good one. Yeah. a very good one. Maybe even in The Lion King, you got...

Couple villains in there. Yeah, the like you get scars scars are really good villain. I was talking about the hyenas I like the hyenas the hyenas are funny I love it. So maybe I don't know maybe that's that's my in liking in the song be prepared I think may bring a lot of fun to that song. Yeah, cuz there's like he's like, we're gonna kill the king No, King. No, King. He's like, no, no, it's like there's gonna be a kick. It's gonna be me Yeah, but they had that really good like banter back and forth the hyenas are great in that. I love it. Yeah, how about

Stepping away from Disney a little bit just in general your favorite book life's worth fighting is carrying cross. He's a wrestler. Just got it's a new book That's not his real name, but that book is incredible and it was released in the time that he was Released from WWE from the top to top. Mm-hmm, but it's life is fighting Carrying cross that's not his real name. Like I said, that's up there, but it's just that's my recent You know, there's a lot of life lessons in it you can learn. Yeah, and this guy's a real talk

Like he's... Okay, I'm gonna have to figure that one out. Yeah. gonna delete it. Yeah. last two questions. And again, this is just general, so not Disney specific, because you are a Hollywood guy. Yeah. Favorite movie? That's tough, man. I know. I knew I'd ask you hard one. It's gonna have to be Pulp Fiction. Pulp Fiction? Yeah. Alright. I got a lot of ties to Pulp Fiction. Not, not... I mean, I was too young to work on it. Not that, but I've got a lot of personal memories. My wife and I... LA dating.

Online. That was me for two years. You're going to hear some nightmares. It's that. But my wife and I met on Tinder. No kidding. And in one of her pictures, she was Halloween costume and it was Mia Wallace. And it was the cocaine. She even had the blood on her nose. She looked just... And I was like... Oh my God, this girl for me. This girl for me. we connected. And the first thing I ever said to her was, that a Mia Wallace costume? And she still remembers that to this day. She's like...

Courtney Pearl (01:01:59.249)
I like this guy. You know, was like one of those. got he got my costume. I like that. I think Pulp Fiction because I always thought it was one of my favorite movies anyway. Tarantino, the whole works. Tarantino is finest. Sure. So, yeah, that's got to be. Yeah, love that. We went from Disney to Pulp Fiction. I know. Right. If you're a family, if you're under the age of. You know what I'm It was just powdered sugar. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Don't look down. Last last rapid fire question, because you were in the music industry.

Favorite song of all time? Favorite song? man, there's a lot. You know what my favorite song might be? And I could say the John Lennon imagines and all that stuff. I'll give you one kind of off the cuff and it's The Tunnel. Okay, I don't know it. It's by the Azimuth, I believe. Okay. And it's The Tunnel. And there's something about that song that every time I hear it, it's not your typical song. That's all I'm gonna say. But yeah, I would say The Azimuth, The Tunnel.

And I believe that's the name of the... You've heard it somewhere. Some rappers have sampled it since then, but I think that's probably... And it's one of those, I don't even know what the lyrics are. Sure I do, but it's not that it relates to me or anything. It's just something about the arrangement in all of this that I love that song. It's about eight minutes long too. So that's up there. Well, that's going to be Homeworkers 7 number one for me is Listen to the Tunnel. Yeah. All right, so kind of closing reflection.

I always like to end things with some actionable takeaways. So if we were to say to the listeners or viewers, like, what's a takeaway they could have for maybe somebody who's feeling ordinary or under qualified or stuck and needing to kind of take that first step to either choose leadership or to pivot, what piece of advice would you give to them to actually do that? Pick what you want to do and just do it.

Don't talk about it. You don't have to lay it out for anybody else. If it's in your head and it's something you believe in, no talk, just do. Yeah. So classic Nike, just do it. Just do it, man. And sometimes that's just really all it takes because a lot of us have lots of ideas and ideas all the time. But if you don't actually take any action ever, then you're never going to build the life you want. Never.

Courtney Pearl (01:04:19.289)
Take it out for step. So really like my notes here were like what was the first step they can take and what my take away here is like Take the first step take it like just take that dude. I think it's great advice. If you're making content put it out It's never gonna be perfect. Yeah, it's never gonna be your version of perfect or anybody else's Stop sitting on stop waiting and put it out. What's the worst that happens? Yeah, somebody hates it love when I get hate comments because you just because even knows you still know you're doing something that's making an impact It's a difference of some sort

Yeah, for sure. yeah, just man, just put it out there. Just do it. Okay, just do it. Take that first step. Thanks, Blaine, so much for hanging out with us today, for chatting, chatting with us. Loved hearing some of your stories about Hollywood and different things you've experienced, your ability to kind of take it respective from people to try to understand them, put yourself in their shoes and their minds. I think that really does bring a greater degree of empathy that we can bring to the table, greater kindness that this world needs.

a lot more of. So I really appreciate you being with us. Thank you for joining us for Yes and Land, where we try to honor the real story and experiences that you have in your life, and then hopefully invite you into that next chapter to fill it with possibility, hope, and connection. Thanks.