EP#15 - Comedian and Movie Star, Milana Vayntrub’s Biggest Leaps

Hi, my name is Milana Vayntruv and I'm here on the Big Leap podcast. You may know me as lily from the AT&T commercials or from.

Love on Netflix or this is us on NBC. I'm all over the place, honestly. But this podcast episode was so cool and moving to me because we got deep and shallow, we got weird and we got real and talked a little bit about creativity, talked a little bit about self sabotage, a little bit about procrastination, a little bit about succulent gardens. And I got some wonderful advice from Mike and Gay that I'm going to take with me and I'll let you know how it goes.

Wonderful. Well, this was such an important one for me, of all the ones we've done, because I felt like I was able to really get inside the mind and heart of a brilliant actor. And it's a profession and a craft I admire tremendously. And I admire the people who can do it really well. And I feel like I got to know Malana at a deep soul level and also had a wonderful time to see. See her world through the eyes of an actor. And that really, that was, to me, one of the most moving parts of today.

And for me, what I have found is just her depth, her creativity, but also she's so quotable. So you're going to walk away with some really, really good ideas and be able to observe how you think about your thinking. So this episode of the Big Leap is super special. I guarantee you, you're going to absolutely love it and you're going to love Milana. So let's dive in and start the show.

Well, we're very interested in big leaps, and we have a guest who has taken some very big leaps. And so I'm very keen on hearing what Melana has to say about what were some of the big leaps that you took early in your life. Pivot points where you met a person and then jumped to a different level or had something happen which catapulted you to a different level. And so reflect on that a little bit, if you would.

It's hard to know when to start with early life stuff, because.

I'm from Uzbekistan, which is.

Part of the former Soviet Union. I think I come from a long line of people who have taken big leaps, just.

Being a migrating Russian Jew. And so I. I think the first Big Leap was probably coming to America when I was 2 years old. And not that that was my choice or my doing, but I think it instilled a sense of adventure and that change is okay, and that with risk comes upward momentum.

And I have parents who, I think taught me that I work well under pressure and that.

If I really spend time looking for something, I will find it, you know, and so that's a little bit of the mindset that was kind of built in early on that informed a lot of my decisions later. And, you know, my mom put me into acting when I was, like, five, six years old, even though she didn't even really speak the language fluently at that point yet. But there was a kind of confidence in me being naturally outgoing and me mimicking things on tv. And I think that, again, instilled this idea of big leaps and risk taking.

So, you know, kind of like starting to go on auditions as a kid, I think might even be considered a big leap.

Yeah.

You know, Mike, I know that you work with Tony Robbins, and I actually one of the. One of the things that comes to mind is being at a restaurant and talking to somebody who is like, you should do, like, a stranger at the next table who's like, you should do Tony seminar. It'll change your life. And I did when I was, like, 22 maybe.

So that was last year.

What?

That was last year?

Yeah, last summer. And I, you know, a decade ago. And.

I think that was the moment that was a big part of, again, re instilling this idea of taking big risks. And that's kind of where I realized that my industry, which is acting, writing, directing, has a lot of gatekeepers, and there's.

This system in place that makes it so that you constantly need to be asking permission to be working. And that doesn't work for me. So it was actually after one of Tony's seminars that I realized that I needed to start creating my own work and that I had a lot of limiting beliefs around why one shouldn't or one couldn't.

And I started a YouTube channel, which was just me and my friend making videos on her couch, inviting friends over, and we were just idiots together in a way that totally launched my career.

I created this web series, her and I created this web series called let's talk about something More interesting. And then started just inviting friends. And then we got a little bit of traction and started inviting fancier friends. And eventually we had Bob Odenkirk and BJ Novak and Matt Damon on our couch. And through that, I got the attention of a great manager who then got me a great agent and then helped me get work all over the place. So that was a big one for me, was kind of believing in myself enough and also kind of realizing that I could do hard things.

I love that. One thing I want to just add because our mutual connection is Joel Zadak, and.

Who is an amazing guy, represents some incredible comedians, including you. And I remember him saying something along the lines of the kind of person he looks for is a triple threat. Someone who can act, write and produce. And before we got on Today, one of the things I did, I did a little research and of course I watched that unbelievably uncomfortable mock interview you did with Matt Damon, for example. And your YouTube channel is called Live Prude Girls, which is funny as hell as. Um. But I. When we come back, because I know Gay's got a couple of burning questions he wants to ask, but one of the upper limits questions I want to ask you about is, is really refining that skill set and becoming a triple threat and what it took, especially when you had that breakthrough from Tony. But Gay, go ahead and ask the question you had then we'll come back to this one.

Well.

I was wondering how you deal with rejection. And let me give you some context. I had a while back, a very famous screenwriter came up to visit and he was saying he was thinking about quitting even though he's had many hit movies because he can't stand the rejection. And it was just mind boggling to me. This is a guy in his 60s who's done some epic stuff, but now is getting beaten up so badly in the rejection process that he's calling it quits. And so someone in the early stages of your career, what's that like? Do you still experience that? How does that work for you?

Totally, yeah. I think I really relate to your friend who's a writer in their 60s, because.

When you work in a creative industry, which you could argue startups are creative industries where you're creating something that is an extension of yourself.

That was birthed from you. It feels like it's very much tied into your identity. And when that's rejected, it can feel like you're rejected. And two things give me solace. One is it's not. I'm. I'm not being rejected. This idea is being rejected and there will be more ideas.

And then the second is more of a spiritual perspective where I believe that what is for me won't miss me and that even if I am struggling for a couple years, then that is a part of my path. And how do I find gratitude for the lessons that come in that moment, which is honestly kind of an annoying thing for me? To say, but because I.

Achieved success pretty early on. But I still am always pitching things that are rejected all the time. Joel will tell you I'm auditioning for things I don't get. I'm writing shows that don't get picked up.

But I'm really proud of the work that I'm doing. And maybe another something that a 30 something can offer, a 60 something person is. And something I hope that I retain is not necessarily that I am about like collecting accomplishments or even collecting wealth, but really about growing in my experiences and from my experiences and knowing that everything that comes to me is really just preparing me for the next thing. Even if that's rejection or if that's a great part. Even in that moment, I'm trying to think about what are the lessons I can gain from this so that I am better equipped for whatever my next challenge, experience, growth, opportunity is.

That's a great way to hold that kind of experience. And also, I liked another thing you said about kind of making a distinction between the rejection is not about me at the being level, it's about something I'm doing or the work itself. So I think that's a great way to handle that particular situation.

Also, I was wondering along the way in the Big Leap, we talk a lot about upper limit problems where you get to a certain place and then something happens and knocks you back down a little bit and then you come to another level. And I just wonder if you experienced that kind of thing in your progress along the way in your career.

Yes. And you know, I almost feel like it's.

Not to, not to be too self deprecating, but I almost feel like it's narcissistic for me to think of myself that way that like my career always needs to be moving upwards or that there is even.

Such a thing.

As a plateau because I am not here to be a career.

I love that.

Yeah, I am here to grow and contribute. And.

I think that my career is an avenue, one of the avenues for me to do that.

But yes, there have been many times where I have worked like crazy and then not worked for a certain period of time. And I think actually that's the reason that my manager, Joel, our mutual friend, wants to only represent triple threats. As he says, it's because we end up more than not creating our own opportunities. In fact, a lot of the projects that I'm proud of.

Most of the projects that I'm proud of, I've had a creative hand in, in some way. And so when I'm not Given opportunities. Because, you know, as we covered this, this business that I'm in is a lot about asking, sometimes even begging. So when that's not happening for me, I'm writing and I'm editing and I'm researching and I'm like talking to weirdos in the subway. You know, there's another thing that's boiling.

That reminds me, speaking of subways, one of my favorite roles, the name of your role in Ghostbusters was Subway Rat Girl. That's a great thing. Yes, that's a great thing to have on your resume that you were Subway Rat Girl.

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Very proud of it. I'm surprised I wasn't nominated.

All right, I got one for you, which I do want to get back again to becoming a triple threat. But I'm curious right now where, as you're developing your skills and talent. So one thing that I really hear is asking permission, really to be on someone else's platform, because that's what the entertainment business offers. But right now, specifically in this pandemic time, like, I'm friends with a lot of comedians and I've been working with them and of course a whole bunch of them are completely out of work and they're finding new avenues, new ways to express themselves. And you look at the, in a way, the disillusion of the traditional studio business, like 50% of of LA is out of work right now. So a lot of people in Hollywood, we have the ability. And you already did this. It's part of the way. As far as I can tell, you launched your career, which was you started producing, directing, starring in your own stuff on YouTube that got some ATT. And then now, like late night TV, everyone's producing out of their homes. You know, the. The. What was necessary to be Hollywood was big production, big studio, big audience, and now the world got flat again. So I'm curious what your perspective is of what you see in terms of big opportunities, but also what are the limiting factors that you see in front of yourself and for the creative industry.

Big question. I know, but I'm curious what your interpretation of the now is and how that's going to affect you in the future.

Yeah, it's interesting that you said the world got flat because I actually think what happened is we have, like new celebrities. The world just got shaken up. We are experiencing talent in different ways, without the hype, without the bright lights and the costumes, where, you know, SNL was great during the pandemic. Like, we got to see people rise and shine during that time. Where they maybe didn't have opportunities in other ways.

I think John Oliver, there are people who are working from home and killing it. Jimmy Fallon is so fun to watch from home.

And then also local celebrities. And by that I mean they're right here.

There are people that I follow on Instagram, on Twitter, on TikTok who have millions of views and most people don't know their names. And they are celebrities and they are killing it, but they are doing it in different circles. So I think a little bit of what's happening and this was happening before the pandemic, but maybe the pandemic is escalating. It is just that gatekeepers are being removed.

And we no longer need studios in the same way. We definitely still need studios. And I cannot wait for them to come back and I cannot wait for people to be employed again. I pray for that. But.

I think that this evolution of creators was happening before the pandemic.

Did that answer your question?

Yeah, no, it definitely helps. Can't help. This is a short one. Who are you following right now that people might not know about? Who you think are unfound, uncut gems that excite you and you feel haven't been discovered yet or have, but aren't mainstream?

Well, I'm gonna just call out my friends here.

Go for it.

My friend Akilah Hughes hosts this podcast called what a Day.

And she's also on Twitter and she's just hilarious and insightful. And.

She'S a young black comedian who is helping people see their world in different ways through comedy and through journalism.

Chloe Feynman is somebody that I follow. She's also on snl, so I wouldn't say that she's unfounded because she's definitely been found. But there are so many people. God, I wish I had. This is the other problem, I guess, is that in scrolling, there's less retaining because the content is shorter.

But, like, there are 20 year olds that I follow on TikTok who are focusing, who are teaching other kids about manifestation, about past lives, while also doing choreographed dances. Like, our idea of what it means to be a life coach is changing. Our idea of what it means to be a spiritual advisor is changing. Like, the seriousness of things. If anything, what the next generation is teaching me, and I am so proud to be a millennial who is a fan of Gen Xers, who is just honoring the next generation in so many ways, is that this level of judgment is removed, that there are so many less shoulds, that there are so many less ideas about, like, what Is masculinity? What is femininity? It's blurry now and why did we ever care? And there are.

I remember finding a book about past lives when I was 18 years old and like, you know, quietly telling somebody about it once in a while when they asked about my spirituality or, you know, finding that it helped me going deeper into that reading. But I didn't have a community around it. And now there are millions of views of, of 20 somethings, if not teenagers talking about their experience with past life, regression therapy. And that blows my mind. I think that there are pros and cons to it, definitely. But I'm excited and curious for the ways that celebrity is changing, that attention is being distributed in what the next decade is going to look like. Around that.

I've got some other questions I wanted to ask you about the craft of acting.

Okay.

First of all, I love actors. I love to work with actors. I've worked with a lot of actors. And I think a lot of people came to know you through those AT&T commercials that you did.

Yeah.

Long before you achieved Famous Subway Rat Girl, you were a salesperson on an ATT commercial. And I was telling Mike beforehand that.

Because of negative experiences I'd had with AT&T, I didn't really hear your voice because I was always muting it out. But is there any difference in.

Being in a commercial and being in a YouTube video and being in a commercial movie and being on television? Is there any essential difference between those things?

Yes. Yes.

In a commercial. When you're shooting a commercial for a day, you sometimes, you most often have all day or at the very least half a day to get.

30 seconds of content. And when you're shooting for TV or film, you're sometimes shooting.

Four to 13 pages a day. And.

I think that's the biggest difference is that there's a lot of time to tweak and experiment in commercials. That being said, there's also a lot of cooks in the kitchen when it comes to commercials because there is the talent that has a say and things they want to do and don't do and wear and not wear. And then there's the director. And then the director works for a production company and the production company works for an ad agency and the ad agency works for the client. So there are a lot of opinions. And I think that time is necessary in making sure that everyone's voice is heard and that you reach a consensus and something that everyone is proud of. So that is very different. When working in film, I think.

It'S much more a director's craft or a producer and director combo craft in studio movies. Studio producers have a lot of say in that as well.

So, yes, it's very different in the time and space and then creative concentration.

That's very interesting.

And that's actually why I love commercials, is that I can say the same line 30 different ways. And that really works for me. And some actors hate that.

That does not do it for them. And I feel lucky that it does it for me.

That's very interesting. And I never thought of that, but with working on 30 seconds all day, you could really do some nuanced work on whatever your line is.

Yeah.

Have you ever done any acting, Mike?

You know, not. Well, sort of, kind of. So when I started my media career, I started shooting on film, literally Super 16, Super 8 with the guys who became my partners. And we eventually did a feature film and a couple of documentaries. But most of the time I spent behind the camera. But then when I did go in front of the camera, it was like a bit part or it turned right into business content. So you probably don't know this, Lana about me, but like for years I used to do product launches and we would write and produce what was two hours worth of content that each one of these little shows were designed to sell a product, but they're broken into 20 minute segments. So it'd be like four 20 minute segments that would go out. We do that three times a year. All of them I was on, but they were designed to sell. But in a way I was acting, but it was something that just evolved and developed. So I was more like it was sales content, not acting acting. And. And I started doing stand up or more importantly, improv about a year ago. Started taking some classes right before COVID But the short answer is no. The long answer is kind of, but not really. But I admire it so much. And the more. The older I get, the more I appreciate acting and just how it is the truest form of mental and spiritual gymnastics imaginable. And what an opportunity to practice empathy and compassion and inhabit all of these mindsets simultaneously. So I admire it, I love it. And I'm really committed to taking acting lessons and doing some more comedy. But so I'm more of a lover of an observer of right now. And again, I've always been the guy behind the camera, for the most part, working with talent.

I only tried it one time. I'd written a number of film scripts and a couple of TV things. But more as things I did in my spare time between books. But I never tried to act in one until about 2008. I acted in a short film and I only had one really big scene. But we had to do it 11 times. And by about take number nine, I was deciding this is not a career I would ever want to do in a million years. Finally we got the Magic on the 11th take, you know, and it was worth it after that. But I just don't see how I could put my nervous system through that on a daily basis. So you must have some way, Milana, of doing that in a way that keeps you centered.

I think understanding that it sometimes takes 11 takes and the patience of that and knowing that they really are. Very rarely is.

One whole take used for anything. And that every time a camera rolls, they are capturing something different.

And so kind of what I think of it as an 11 takes is 11 takes to do something different. And I think a lot of people.

Who see it, they're like, how can you do the same thing 11 times? And I'm like, I really try not to.

So that helps. And then the other thing, you know, Mike, that you were saying about the mental gymnastics, it's actually a physical mental.

Managing of almost like your brain chemistry. Because.

What you want to do, especially in improv, and you may have, you know, discovered this for yourself in your practice, is what you want to do is actually not think too much. What you want to do is not be too self aware or too apologetic or.

Yeah, you don't want to analyze what you're doing too much because actually what that does is inhibit creativity. There's actually a TED talk on this and I should really remember who the speaker is, but I believe he was a neuroanatomist who wanted to see. Stop me if you've heard this, but he's a neuroanatomist who wanted to see what part of the brain lights up when people are spontaneously creating. And so he brought in a bunch of jazz musicians and plugged in their brains as they're playing piano or trumpet or whatever it is they played. And he wanted to see where actually in the anatomy does the brain light up when we are thinking of something for the first time and like, and in flow about it, you know. And what was interesting to him and interesting to me, and I hope interesting to you, was actually that there isn't a part of your brain that lights up when you're spontaneously creating, but rather a part of your brain that goes to sleep. And it's that part of your brain that we use for self analysis and self awareness. And so it's great. It's brought us to where we are now as people who don't just like bonk each other over the head when we want something, or people who can apologize and take accountability and responsibility, but it's totally useless in creativity, the ability to do that. So as a director, what I really try to do is create safe places for people where they don't feel like they have to watch themselves, where they feel like it's okay to be a weirdo, it's okay to make mistakes, it's okay to get it wrong. And with that, you find really amazing nuggets. And those nuggets are what come together to build something greater.

What is your writing process like? I know you're a writer too. How's that work for you?

It's, you know, I would love your help on it, both of you. I am just.

Beating myself constantly with procrastination and I wonder where I am on the ADD HDHD spectrum. If that's, you know, if that's me, I don't know. But I find flow and then I get distracted and it doesn't help. I'm sure that I have a phone that's dinging and multiple monitors and that the thing that I'm writing on is also my greatest source of entertainment. And so. So I struggle. But when I do it, I love it and I get great feedback on it and I trust that I have some kind of talent, but with that.

I am my own worst enemy.

And when you're thinking out loud or writing, are you typing or are you writing longhand and then typing later or how do you do that?

I. I journal my thoughts and my gratitude and my morning pages sometimes, but I type my work.

That's interesting.

So have you done a Colby or enneagram or disc test profile, personality profile before?

No.

When we're done, I'll give you some links.

Writing those down and doing those.

I'll get them to you after we're done. But I had an idea. I'll share one little idea and this will actually transition into a question I have for you. So as I was listening to you, one of my biggest discoveries that I had in fairly recent times was I work best when I'm under pressure in front of an audience and am presented with a problem. Does this sound familiar?

100%.

Okay. So one of the tools that we use from a business perspective, but I use it for everything now, is I create content parties. So, for example, yesterday I was working With a. And this. This will probably even have a little more appeal because as an actress, you know how to adopt a personality and inhabit a new existence. And I can. You become both the actor and the audience simultaneously. I assume you've got that pretty nailed at this point.

I could imagine myself doing that, sure. Yeah.

Okay, so here's the short version. We call them content parties. And what you do is you find a muse and you come up with a couple of bullets and you perform for the muse. And then I use a tool, it's called Otter O T T E R, which allows me to transcribe in real time. So in the process of performance, you're actually capturing the script. And then your content buddy captures these nuggets and puts them into a document and forms them in real time. So this is how I've written my books and how I actually coach people to write books. As we do content parties and perform the content, and you present and perform for an audience of one. And so by inhabiting both the audience and the actor, you just. Miracles happen. And you literally download.

Content and you don't know where it's coming from, but it's a form of improvisation and acting. But it gets you out of the mode of I have to right now and puts you in the state of, I'm performing, I'm creating, I'm manifesting. And it's a complete. Like when I listened to you in the very beginning, I caught some of your original quotes and about, you know, how do I find gratitude for the lessons that come in that moment? So much of how you're wired.

Is about lessons and about being equipped for the next challenge. And if you reframed what the current procrastination creative writing process is, it could become something completely different and just like a change of mindset. I don't know what your take is gay as you listen to this, you're always good at deconstructing.

I never thought about that, but I think that's a great idea. I mean, for. For someone who's gifted at performance like that, that's. That's really good. Yeah.

I have to kind of be mindful of.

Not having a lot of stimulation when I'm writing. I do about 98% of my writing over here in this chair. And I do it usually between the hours of 5:30 and 7:30 to 8 in the morning. That's when my creative juices are kind of peaking. And after 9:00, I can write a pretty good memo, but I wouldn't go much further Than that. Do you do anything like that? Any attempt to kind of cut down the stimulation when you're writing?

You know, when I was younger, I used to do my homework in the bathroom.

Because it was a small, windowless room, and I used to put my. You know, I'd close the lid on the toilet and sit there, and I'd pull the hamper up and put my binder on there and do my writing. And. Yes, so I don't quite have that. In fact, if I showed you my writing space, it's got books and hard drives and two monitors, and.

It'S a lot, but I also use it for editing and, you know, lots of meetings and things like that. But, yes, it's. It's not simple. And maybe it could be, or maybe I could create another place in my house that's simpler. I also really love the idea of waking up early and, like, having this time where almost like, the world is still asleep.

But, Mike, can I go back to something that you said about kind of like picking a muse or, like, capturing a muse? Is that what you said? What do you mean by that?

Okay, so my.

My content buddy is a woman named Marisa Brassfield and her unique ability, her superpowers are. She is a synthesizer integrator. So there's a. Yeah, yeah. So a synthesizer is someone who can. So if we take a bigger step forward. So most people are either going to be simplifiers or multipliers. Okay. Like gay. One of the reasons why we work so well together is he is a great simplifier. He can listen to all sorts of complexity and boil it down to the simplest fundamental component. Now, I'm a multiplier. I can work with a simplifier and listen to them and spot all the opportunities and know exactly how to reach a huge audience and get them to say, yes, I want more, and then give you money, too.

So when you partner with a simplifier and a multiplier. Now in Marisa's case, she's a simplifier. So we'll sit down and, for example, we'll brainstorm and we say, okay, for our content party. And this is how Gay and I do podcasts, too. So we met before, we met with you, and we'll brainstorm a little bit and say, what's just going to light us up and turn us on and make us feel joy? And gay is all about feeling good all the time. So I know my. My job is to make gay feel good all the time through creative process. And I'll say, what are you most passionate about? What are you feeling right now? And then we'll brainstorm some bullets, some concepts that we want to try out. And then. And again, this is what I do with Marisa as well. I bulletize, and then we turn on the cameras and I will perform the content. Okay. And with the otter in the background, she'll take the structure and grab little pieces in real time and assemble it into a final product. Product. Now, on the Colby scale, which is a personality profile, you're one of four things. You're a quick start, fact finder, follow through, or executor. Okay, now I'm a very, very high quick start.

I'm a 3-294-which is fact finder is a 3. Fairly low. I move with a gut. I can connect a lot of dots really quickly. Gay is going to be a higher fact finder. Quick start means you get stuff done now or not. Follow through means do you call and get stuff done later? I'm a low follow through, so I have to execute now and get it done.

Same.

Right. Okay, good. And then the final is execution. So I'm a four. I'm a higher adaptive. In other words, I'm good at doing stuff, but it's harder for me. So for me to be at my peak, it's to be with a simplifier who organizes all my stuff for me, ideally in real time, because if I have to go back to it later, first of all, it's not interesting because I'm already done. And so a synthesizer integrator, someone who synthesizes all this complexity, integrates it, and helps you make it into a final product. So, like, when I write a book, I get it done in a week or less because I start the same way, and I perform chapters in 15 minute chunks. And so all this all comes down to is finding what your true nature is and operating within that natural ability as often as possible. And what Gay does so perfectly well is he's figured out his absolute optimized state of being and being able to wander into manifestation, being able to operate in those mornings. Nuggets and compartmentalizes, genius, ingenious moments.

Takes a lot of practice. It takes a lot of saying no. Also, some of my biggest breakthroughs have been through saying no to things that were not in my genius zone.

What does that mean, genius zone?

Well, when I'm in my genius zone, I'm doing what I most love to do and doing what makes my biggest contribution to the world. You spend a lot of your time, Milana, in Your genius zone. And that takes a lot of work and practice to get there. And in the big leap, I talk about, you know, give yourself a few years to get fully established and then work on perfecting that. It took me probably about 10 years to get to where I was spending 90% of my time in my genius zone, doing only things that I most love to do.

But along the way, I had to say no to a lot of things that were not in my genius zone. Things that maybe would have made me a lot of money, but they were things that took me down a different path or put me with some people I didn't want to work with or something like that. There's kind of a discipline involved and saying yes to genius and saying no to everything else.

That's one question I have for you. Getting back to. What I'm really curious about is if you think right now about where you're, well, first, maybe this is a better way. What do you believe is your zone of genius if you got to spend 90 or 99% of your time doing what you know for a fact is your soul's purpose, where you experience pure joy and even ecstasy in that space? What is it for you.

Making comedy? Yeah, any opportunity I get. And that's why I really, like, am so grateful to.

The opportunities that I've had in commercials and the opportunities I've had in film, because I have no judgment about the media. I really so grateful for the time that I spend the investment of this day doing this thing that, you know, puts me in that state of flow or turns off that frontal cortex or whatever it is that makes me think about anything else. But really, I just get to be present. And. And then I feel also.

Lucky that I'm. I feel good at it, and so I leave with a sense of pride. And so there's like a. You know, there's like a residual hangover in that. That being said, I also feel like.

A big part of my life purpose is to use content to make the world a better place. And that means.

For safety and equity for people. And.

So, you know, kind of like what you said, gay. There are, like, there definitely have been opportunities that are maybe comedically driven, but don't necessarily align with.

Making the world a better place in any way or would result in some kind of integrity compromise.

And then I've had to also say no, which is not always fun or easy.

Yeah. But very necessary. Well, I noticed that the time has really whizzed by here, and we need to kind of be Wrapping things up. I want to appreciate you for a bunch of things, but I really want to appreciate you for really homing in on your genius zone and overcoming those various things that you had to overcome to get yourself established there. It's a wonderful thing to see someone flowering in their genius at a relatively young age. And so you've made a lot of people laugh and a lot of people smile and touched a lot of people's hearts, and I want to thank you for that, and I want to appreciate you for sharing some of your heart with us today.

Thank you so much. I feel like I miss you guys already.

Well, we've got some gifts to share with you when we're done as well. I know you and Gail connect, and I've got a couple things I want to follow up, so.

I want to ask you this, which is if you had a dream come true or a wish for our audience, our listeners, our viewers, what would it be? How can we best support you, and where should someone go to follow you? What's the best channel to keep an eye on you and be part of your tribe?

Well, you can follow me on Instagram if you want. I go in and out of posting on there, but if something big is happening, I will share it there. And my name is Mint Milana. Like mint Milano cookies, but with an A. Mint Milana. And.

My wish for the audience is more for them than for me. I just wish people find peace in their hearts and connection to each other, to the oneness of all things, and also work to find their genius and live in their flow.

Thank you so much. That's beautiful.

Thanks.

Yeah. Great. All right, well, what we'll do, we'll officially wrap up this episode. Melana, it's been an absolute pleasure listening to you. I love how you think and how you think about things, and I really understand now why Joel is so excited about you. And we were back channeling while we were doing the interview today, and he was talking about how awesome you are. So you're very well loved, you're very well taken care of, and you've got two big fans right here.

Thank you so much. I feel really honored to be in your company. Thanks for having me.

It's our pleasure. Thank you.

Great to meet a Ojai soul sister.

Yeah. Yeah. I'll see you soon. You're luscious. Backyard.

You got it.

All right, thanks.