Mindset Artistry
Mindset Artistry Empowers Corporate Creatives and Fashion & Entertainment industry professionals to discover their purpose and achieve career fulfillment through inspiring content, personalized coaching, and a supportive community.
Mindset Artistry
Stepping Into Your Zone of Genius: Unleashing Natural Talents at Work
Ever felt like you were going through the motions, disconnected from what you truly excel at? Join us, Amanda DeBraux and Janel Koloski, as we share our revelations of stepping into our zones of genius, that sweet spot where work feels more like play. Janel will take you back to my childhood, awash with the hum of my father's typewriter and the thrill of news stories unfolding, a backdrop that unknowingly carved out my affinity for hosting and interviewing. Amanda unveils her journey of seamless creativity, a world where new skills are learned and mastered with enviable ease. We discuss how often our greatest abilities come naturally to us and why spotting and fostering them is crucial.
This episode isn't just about recognizing your talents; it's about courageously bringing them into spaces where they may not have shone before. We dissect the challenges and victories of making your mark in environments that may not initially appreciate your brilliance. Through tales of personal struggle and success in the corporate world, we lay bare the transformative power of aligning your work with your innate strengths. Whether in a job that doesn't quite fit or on the cusp of discovery, we equip you with the wisdom to embrace your unique contributions and the self-compassion to grow at your own pace. At the heart of it all, every connection we make has the potential to pivot us towards our future – and we're here to cheer you on every step of the way.
Welcome to the Mindset Artistry podcast. This is Amanda DeWoe, a self-authenticity prosperity life coach and actor or actress per your reference.
Speaker 2:And I'm Janelle Kaloski, a career and mindset coach and an actor as well. We are your hosts and we're here to flip your mindset, to teach you the artistry of what we learned, to keep your mind in check Over the course of our lives, we've taken on the journey of healing, living and being authentically ourselves as we successfully build our individual careers. This podcast is designed for you so you can discover your goals and courageously reach them at your highest potential, while being 100,000% yourself.
Speaker 1:What you'll get from us is real dirty and a little well more like a lot of quirky.
Speaker 2:Along with empathy edge and a safe space that holds hashtag no judgment.
Speaker 1:If you're ready to build a mindset that is unapologetically you and excel beyond the stars, you're in the right place. We're so excited to have you here.
Speaker 2:Now let's dive in Hashtag just say I will tell you about how I found my zone of genius and Amanda can add in as well and at the end I want to wrap up talking about jealousy and a scarcity mindset and how that can really get in the way of identifying your zone of genius. Essentially, a zone of genius is whenever you are doing what you're built to do. It's something that lights you up, that excites you, that you feel like have endless energy for. I'm not saying you don't have to work at it, because as artists, we have to constantly work on our craft and continue to discover. It's just something that just comes easier to you than other things, for example, hosting.
Speaker 2:Hosting was very easy for me and some people pointed out some things of phrasing or the way to approach people on the street. If you're doing man on the street, hosting and all of this stuff. It was easier for me because I grew up with having a father that's a journalist, so it's always around a man asking 21 questions and if you don't know what that is, then you've never met a journalist. But it's really your who, what, when, where, why, how and a thousand other things. He was always so curious and he always wanted to understand other people's perspectives and bring it to light, and so I naturally had like a desire to do that. So there are some people that you'll meet that don't want to talk to anybody, they definitely don't want to host. A teleprompter intimidates them and they're not good at reading off of it. You see their eyes moving and it looks unnatural, but whenever you have a zone of genius activity, you don't realize that you don't know it's that hard for other people.
Speaker 2:For me, none of that was difficult, but then if you wanted me to sing and be in a musical, I can't touch that. That is not my zone of genius. I'm not even close. I mean, I'm not tone deaf, but I'm not a singer. And these are kind of vague examples.
Speaker 2:But I just want to get you all, when you're watching, just think of what comes easy to you. What do people tell you you're naturally good at Like, really think like throughout your life, and it happens to all of us like, oh, you're really good at that. Oh, wow, like. How does that come so easily to you? And I would love in the comments, if you could tell me where you think your zone of genius is. I would love to hear about that Before we move on. Amanda, I would love to know when you kind of discovered a zone of genius moment where you're like, oh okay, I really get this and this feels good and I'm going to get into more stories of where I was definitely like this is not my zone of genius, but I want to know what you found was yours and how you found that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think my zone of genius came from having like an ability to try everything on my own. So, growing up, if I had an idea like, oh, I want to do nails, for example, like put on acrylic and things like that, my mom would like, all right, no problem, you want to do it, here's the material, now go do it. And so I would experiment and I would actually. Literally, my grandfather built me a beautiful desk. I like my working desk, like in the nail salon, and I learned how to do nails, and so that was like my zone of genius of trying something and picking it up and doing it on my own. So that to creating skin products and like loving that and like taking care of my hair. I know it sounds, it doesn't sound as like creative, but that for me, gives me life because I learned how to dye my own hair. It gave me autonomy for myself rather than looking for other people to do things for me. Now, granted, don't get me wrong, I love a good facial. The facial is far. I love going to the hair salon, but I had this ability where I can create things that I enjoy doing and how I want it to look and how I want it to feel and I can experiment and feel confident in doing that. And that also came with modeling and I came with my mom threw me into like Barbizon and I did that and I excelled. I excelled in Barbizon the walk.
Speaker 1:You know, I picked up things so quickly and so that was like my thing, where I can pick up things very quickly when it comes to creative aspects and I just taken that with me and everything that I do creatively, whereas like, all right, I'm going to sit here and listen. If it's interesting enough, I'm going to pick it up and go with it. So I did that with acting and like I loved it. I was like, all right, how can I be an actor? That's my zone of genius of just trying things and then making it my own. That is my zone of genius is literally trying it all and making it my own and then having fun with it. Like, yeah, I am the DIY queen for sure. You should have seen what I did in the pandemic. I changed my dresser from being horizontal to vertical, take out the drawers, made shelves, like you know whole thing. Like this is one of the drawers. I made a whole shelf out of it.
Speaker 2:That's beautiful, exactly, and that's a perfect example, because I don't want to touch any of that. I mean it's interesting to me and I do. I would want to try, but I don't have something within me that's like, yeah, I want to fuck with this furniture, like kind of, if I have extra time, but I'm much more excited about learning a dance and doing it for five hours straight until I get it the way I want it, and maybe that's not something that you have an interest in, and so everybody that's listening is like, okay, cool, you know we're talking about your zone of genius and you might be asking yourself well, what do I do with that? And you heard Amanda speak a little bit about it. It obviously adds to her confidence. Knowing that the things that excite her, she can learn to teach herself how to do it and teach others as well and inspire others to be creative. But also I coach people in the fashion entertainment industry. So this is something that I wrote and maybe you didn't see it in the post. But now, 15 years after I started, sometimes people will look at me and, yes, I do model and I do commercials and I act. I've been on TV, theater, I also produce things and a hosting has been a big thing. I worked for the travel channel Thrillist, now this I produced my own show. So great, janelle, we're so glad that you're accomplished. Cool, and then what I'm telling you? That is okay, so that's what I do, and I found that through trial and error, kind of like what Amanda is saying.
Speaker 2:But then you know, for modeling there were types of modeling that I can't touch. Like runway is not easy for me. Editorial work isn't easy for me. Now, street style being out on the street and using the props and working with what I find out there the cars and the scaffolding and everything. And like brooding Easy for me. Commercial work like smiling all the time or even making goofy faces. Here are models that wouldn't be caught dead doing that. They're not into it, they're not comfortable with their smile and they aren't animated like I am. Easy for me Production fit. I have to keep certain specs. But the analytical side of trying to learn the design process and really work in a corporate setting actually is very interesting to me. But there are runway models that don't want anything to do with that.
Speaker 2:So the reason I'm pointing that out to you is pay attention to what you really enjoy and I'm not saying that you don't need to put the work in and give up the fight, but don't put yourself in places that aren't your zone of genius, that you're not enjoying and having a growth mindset, because when I was on the runway I could do it or the editorial, but then you can like get the people don't really think you're good at it or they don't really want you there and you don't want to be there. So it's a waste of your time and I'm pointing that out because I want everybody to stop wasting their time trying to be something that they aren't. Yeah, I know there are models that have really pioneered the way on the runways and somebody said they didn't belong there, not my ministry, not what I'm meant to do, and there are people that do better with voiceovers than me. There are people that do better with commercials like national commercials than me and TV and all these things, because they found their zone of genius. So I want you all to just really start to explore.
Speaker 2:Stop looking left and right, stay in your lane, focus on what you want, dig into that authenticity, really try things. Stop trying to be other people. Stop trying to have what other people have. It's not yours, it's not for you, that's for them. You can make your own version of it and find it, but I see too many people wasting their time trying to be what they think they need to be instead of working with the beauty that they have. So I have one final point to make this evening regarding the jealousy and scarcity mindset. We'll talk about that last, but yeah, I want Amanda to talk on this, but I want to know. So you already explained the DIY, but I want to know examples, because people ask this how did you really know you weren't in your zone of genius and you knew you weren't supposed to go for it, because I don't want people to give up just because something is hard, but how did you really know, like, oh, this ain't it.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, I was actually as you were telling that story. I wanted to speak to the idea and the thought process around being in a place where you don't feel like your zone of genius is being appreciated or seen or even encouraged, because I've been in the corporate world where it's very robotic, it's very meticulous, and so you serve a certain purpose as an assistant, as a coordinator, and I worked in human resources or talent acquisition and I always wanted more creative opportunities within that, and every time I tried to incorporate my creativity in it, it got shut down. And so what I would say to those that are maybe in a space where they don't feel like they're supportive, where they don't feel like their zone of genius can be recognized and included, is sometimes you've got to create a path. That's not there. Sometimes you have to be the person to change the things that they can't see, because you are the difference that you want to see. And so by doing that is finding a way to incorporate your current circumstance with your zone of genius, and I'm not saying to dumb it down or bring it down to a level of like two. What I'm saying is how can the job that you're doing now or the job that you want to do incorporate with the job that you're doing right now and how that connects with your zone of genius.
Speaker 1:So had I thought about that during the days that I was in the corporate world, I would have been a lot happier. I would have actually excelled in the job because I would have taken it a lot more serious, because I didn't feel recognized, I didn't feel seen, I didn't feel supported, I was ridiculed all the time and I felt restricted. And so because I felt that way and allowed those emotions and those opinions of others get to me, I limited myself and I caused myself to have a sense of resentment and hatred going to work, and that affected my work ethic, that affected my work put out or output, and so then that affected everything. So had I flipped it around and said, okay, how can I make this where incorporates a bit of Amanda and the zone of genius, and then, if not, look within the company, find where your zone of genius is. I'm sure there's a roll out there that may align with your zone of genius. And so I didn't understand this and I didn't appreciate the moment that I had and I ended believing, and I think it was also the best opportunity for me to do that, because I need to grow and need to experience that and everything that I learned from that corporate world.
Speaker 1:I actually do now and I'm doing it in a creative way, nella and I marketing reading spreadsheets and materials. You guys, I enjoy it. I have so much love for it now and now. You can ask now like all right, what do we need to do? I got you, let's create. How does this look, how does that look? And I enjoy it and that is my zone of genius incorporate into something that I love and I do with acting. I have my newsletter I connect with, I create workshops because I was doing, you know, introduction meetings with new hires. So I got to incorporate all of that with my zone of genius now, but in a field that I actually enjoy doing and I great I'm impacting people in an inspirational way and having fun along the way.
Speaker 1:I'm also learning along the way from every single one of you, including myself, like, ooh, let me try this. Ooh, this is new, let's try this, let's do that, and experimenting so. And then I was able to bring that into my art as an actor, because I no longer doubted my ability as an actor. And so my zone of genius became so confident and, granted, we have a moment, we do have our moments where it's like ooh, that's. But now I am so comfortable and confident in who I am that what I'm bringing to the table is what you're gonna get from me as Amanda. And if you're looking for someone like Janelle, absolutely here's Janelle. But I'm never competing because I'm always secure and I'm not in a scarcity mindset.
Speaker 1:And so just give yourself a bit of grace, give yourself some time and understand say that's back that sometimes your zone of genius has to be maneuvered and molded to fit in the circumstances that you're in now, and eventually it'll break out. Eventually it will. Or you make that decision to go is this not the place for me? And that's absolutely okay too. You make that decision and you go from there. I just wanna give everybody that kind of sense because and give yourself some time as well to discover your zone of genius, like I said, trial and error, experiment, experiment, experiment, experiment, experiment and experiment even more, and have fun with it, even if you don't get it, because now I cannot be a professional dancer.
Speaker 1:She does an Irish dance that could not do. That would not do that. To be honest. You know roller derby? Hmm, I went roller skating and hurt my wrist. I was like, ooh, this is not for me, it ain't for me, honey. So there's just things that I'm like all right, I'll try it, but it's not my zone of genius and I'm okay with it, because once you have a recognition or recognition about your zone of genius, you also let things go that don't fit in that, and that's okay. But you also make space for growth, if that makes sense. Yes.
Speaker 2:Yes, exactly, and yeah, you aren't gonna find it, and we talked about this the other week. The only way you build confidence is with the courage to try things that you're not good at and to fail, whatever that failure means to you, but essentially not reach the goal that you obtained or thought a certain level you would be at. So we just want to encourage you to definitely explore and find that zone of genius, as Amanda was saying, to find your ultimate happiness. I had to be in those rooms where they were making fun of my runway walk to know that that's not my thing. And then I had to be in those rooms where they're like, you're so expressive and the joy radiates from you and you're really capturing what we needed. So then I could be like, okay, I don't want to be there, but oh, I see where I can be. And look, I'm a very stubborn person. So I understand what it means to be like well, I could do it all. I can be that person, but it's just like, why, like, why torture yourself doing something? That's just, it's just not you, it's okay, let it go, and we have to jump off of here soon.
Speaker 2:But the last point I'll make is really watching yourself whenever you're being jealous of other people and their zone of genius because you are only taking away from yourself. Stop putting energy where you don't have the time to put it. You have to put energy into yourself and look, jealousy is natural emotion. I'm not shaming you. I get jealousy here and there all the time, but what I do with it is like okay, so what's that telling me about me? So usually then when I ask myself that, okay, you're jealous of that person, what they have, or you want that whatever, okay, so cool, you know what you want, great. So what are your feelings about that? And a lot of times it comes down to a scarcity mindset, like, well, they have it and I can't, or they have it already and I don't, so that might mean that I never will get it. And that's why it's so important for you to focus on yourself, because how that person got to where they're at, they were flying through their yeah, jealousy is a compass, 100%. They were just flying high, like with their zone of genius and the right projects aligned. So be grateful for the jealousy and be like okay, cool, so I know I really want that thing, so now let me go for it, but in my own way, and how will I find it? And so, whatever it is you want to do, don't be ashamed of it, don't be afraid to try, don't be afraid to stumble and look stupid or whatever. And if people ever want to, you know, shame you or make fun of you because you're not good at something, yet that's more about them.
Speaker 2:As we always say, it's all about other people. You really have to continue to focus on yourself, and so I just want to encourage you today, before we get off of here and Amanda, you can add anything before we jump off but just ask yourself these questions what brings me joy? What are the things that I can do for hours and I don't get tired and bored? What do I love to talk to other people about? Whenever I'm in community with other people that get it like when I'm talking to other Irish dancers and we start talking about the steps and then we start doing them and we get geeking out or other actors. And for Amanda and I, we love talking to other psychologists and coaches and people that want to guide others to be their best selves. We geek out about that, okay, but then somebody starts talking about sports. Cool, you know.
Speaker 2:So really pay attention to what you get excited about, and there's nothing wrong with it. What's wrong is when you're trying to be excited about things that you aren't excited about, and you're trying to be other people and you're trying to copy someone else because you see they got success. Because I used to study that I'm like what makes a person successful, is it? Oh okay, oh okay, you got to be really smart. So I'm like I have to be really intelligent and then I can be successful.
Speaker 2:I have to be really good at school, but then I would see somebody that was a really great musician. I'm like okay, I have to be really good. I have to be so much better at music and I have to get better there. Oh, I have to be a dancer, I have to do this, and I have to be so much better at this. Oh, I should study law, because lawyers, that's how you get successful. But the root is people that are successful. They are in their zone of genius. They are aligning with who they truly are, what they're meant to be, what they were created to do on this earth, and they go for it. It doesn't matter if you're a lawyer, a doctor, actor, artist, musician, coach, you will be successful at anything, as long as it aligns with who you are, and that's what I want for you. So, amanda, I love whatever you got to add to this, and then we'll jump off.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love everything you're saying about the zone of genius. I think a lot of people need to hear that, especially today, because there's a lot of comparison happening in the world and what we should be doing, what we should not be doing or what we could be doing, or what all the ifs, coulds, buts, whatever all of that is being said and directed to you or directed around you, and there are these ideologies that you have to be a certain way to be successful, to be happy, and what you have to dive into is what is your happiness? Like Nelson, what is that happiness for you, susan? What is that happiness for you and how does it look, how does it feel? Where does it come from? And be open to exploring that happiness and then living like feeling it and directing it at everything that you do from that point on. Because when you know what happiness is and love and truth, it exudes everything that you do and things that are not aligned with that will naturally not trigger you and will not activate anything in within you because it doesn't feed your ego, it's not, your ego is not present, right. So that is, tap into that, that love, that happiness, that passion, and then persevere, you know, be persistent and resist the urge to outperform anyone else.
Speaker 1:But your sense, do better than you did yesterday. Do better, you know. And again, if you read the four agreements, always do your best, but your best may not be the same as yesterday. So give yourself a bit of grace as well to understand that today, oh, I only got four hours sleep, so my best is not going to be as on it as it was yesterday, or my train was delayed, or the kids woke me up early or whatever, in case maybe the kids got sick, so let's stick at work. So now I have to do double work.
Speaker 1:Different factors affect your greatness and your best, and know that you have the ability to be great. Know that your zone of genius makes you who you are and that you matter and you are created. You were born to contribute your zone of genius to the world. Without it, it's like a puzzle piece missing. It will never be complete, and the people that you were meant to help, inspire, interact with throughout your path will never get where you could have offered them if you deny yourself the opportunity. So how will we be with that?
Speaker 2:Reach out to us if you have any questions. Maybe you're like okay, I feel really overwhelmed by this zone of genius concept and that's what we're here for. We're your coaches and we have the Mindset Artistry podcast here. You're on the live. We'll be going live again Sunday together in LA. We also have the YouTube channel all these resources for you and a community for you to feel comfortable to explore these things.
Speaker 2:And I also want to say to people that, like you're saying, have grace with yourself about doing your best. But I think something to point out about what Amanda said earlier is you just don't know what situation you're in is teaching you about something that you will need in the future or connecting you to people that you'll come back around with in the future. I had a random connection yesterday for Amanda and I that I met five years ago and it's like wow, who knew Right? But it's interesting because who I am today, because of the work I've done on myself and leaned a lot more into my zone of genius, I'm a better person to talk to that connection now than I was then. I wouldn't have known what to do then. So, everybody, just have grace with yourself. Remember to focus on you and your gorgeous beauty and what you have to offer the world.