[00:00:07] Speaker A: Hi everyone, it's Ms. Laurie Tatarsky. Rise and shine. Another day to the iconic light.
[00:00:14] Speaker B: That's right.
[00:00:15] Speaker A: Yeah.
Here we are. We have Michelle Barone, media star.
Yes. We have coffee in one hand. Here we go. Queen bee, queen baronet. And we have me. Walk by faith, not by sight. Coffee in one hand, confidence in the other.
[00:00:35] Speaker B: I love that. That's a great tagline.
[00:00:37] Speaker A: Thank you. Yeah. The funny story behind that is a dear friend of mine that was so influential in so many parts of my life many years ago when I was like struggling and just really trying to gather all the dreams within and bring them to the forefront. She got me a cute little picture that had something very similar to that.
[00:00:58] Speaker B: That's so cool.
[00:00:59] Speaker A: Yeah. So I just really, it always resonated with me because I love coffee. And it's so important in today's world where it's such a grind, like you said, to keep that confidence. It is that inner confidence and don't let others like wear you down 100%.
[00:01:15] Speaker B: You know, it's a really good topic because it's so such a grind today, right between social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, tick tock. I mean you could go on and on. And each platform needs its own, you know, type of media.
[00:01:29] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:01:29] Speaker B: And you know, we do this for many clients and we do it for ourselves in the media world. And it's a lot, but I do love it. I would never ever stop.
I think the life of the glitz and glam that once was the Marilyn Monroe's and the Judy Garlands and all of these women that would step on a red carpet and then go do their thing acting and then go to a radio station and do a little press is no more. I think the.
[00:01:53] Speaker A: I wish we could bring that back. Isn't that so incredible?
[00:01:56] Speaker B: I think that still happens, but now you have to have your own teams and they need to be pressing play on every video and every micro moment that lives in your life to stay relevant on a day to day. And it makes it that much harder. Right. And the budgets are smaller. They're not what they were. People in Hollywood aren't making the money they made. Movies aren't moving out. You know, you know, micro dramas are in because they have small enough budgets to keep people working.
But those are the kinds of things, you know, you're now as good as your content team. And that's really truly the game.
It has been for a while. But I think real Fortune 500 companies are realizing this now. I think that people who have been in Business a long time, understand the value of content now, and it truly is a grind. But I'll tell you what, I love it. I'm glad it's a grind because it's a grind I'm good at.
[00:02:43] Speaker A: Right. And I want to. I want to really quickly say that, you know, I thought about this and I really wanted to bring things to the forefront with you because you're generally, like, doing a lot of interviews to celebrities. All different people in all different worlds. And I wanted to do something where we have Michelle Barone behind the microphone.
[00:03:02] Speaker B: Oh, sweetheart. Thank you. Let me just turn this off. I'm so, so sorry. My mom is home sick, unfortunately.
[00:03:08] Speaker A: I know. I heard that.
[00:03:09] Speaker B: I'm sorry. So I'd like to keep my phone on. And I'm sorry.
It's actually her, but I know she's okay. Cause I left her a little while ago. I talked to her a few minutes ago, so.
[00:03:15] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:03:16] Speaker B: Yeah. But, yeah. So, well, thank you for having me.
[00:03:19] Speaker A: So maybe you could tell us a little bit about now. I know for me, like, I was talking to people and I said, as a young girl, I always knew I was gonna be a writer. I always knew I would be in. Somehow be in the media. I always knew I would do things with activism and philanthropy. I just always knew that. And I think as young children, we kind of. We have a feeling of what we wanna do 100%.
So where were you at from a. Like, right when you came out the Pacify and you, like, they gave you a microphone instead?
[00:03:47] Speaker B: Well, when I started walking, my mom said, I never stopped. She's like, you were always on the go. She's like, you just started walking and took off. No matter what it was you wanted to do, you got it done.
She's like, it didn't matter. Whatever you felt you needed to get done, you had to get it done.
[00:04:01] Speaker A: She already had executive.
[00:04:02] Speaker B: I was ready, so it didn't matter what it was. I was always kind of putting my. My nose to the grind and. And I think, you know, by five years old I was singing. And by six years old, I cut a song and then many songs. I've wrote over 500 songs.
[00:04:16] Speaker A: I never knew that. So where are these songs?
[00:04:19] Speaker B: There's some on Spotify, you know, all over the Internet, like everyone else. But I have a huge desk. Like, I have a huge, you know. What is it? A hard drive. Lots of them in my closet.
[00:04:30] Speaker A: Oh, my God, that's amazing. I can't wait to hear that. And what do they focus on? Do they focus on all different things, parts of your life experience.
[00:04:36] Speaker B: Every part of my life is different. You know, when I was young, the first song I ever wrote, my cousin was a drummer, and I was sitting with him at Christmas dinner, and there's 75 of us there. We have a huge family.
[00:04:46] Speaker A: Oh, my God.
[00:04:47] Speaker B: Immediate family. And my cousin said to me, michelle, you know, you're. I. I'm. I want us. You have a great voice. Let's write a song. And he goes, what do you think we should call it? Because there was a competition at school for the best songwriting in fifth grade. And I said, all right, I'll try it. Or I'm sorry, this was. I won this in third grade. And he said, let's try a song. And I said, what do I call it? He said, I don't know. And I said, well, there it is. I don't know.
So we wrote a song, I don't know, and it won a national award.
[00:05:11] Speaker A: Oh, my God, I would have never known this about you.
[00:05:13] Speaker B: I'm so excited. And then I got in the paper for that locally, and. And I was very young. And then from there, every time something happened at school or in high school or there was an accolade of any kind, for some reason I was a part of it. And it just, you know, our cheerleading squad, you know, got taken to see Oprah and we were, you know, with her because we were the Lady Gales. Like, there was just so many things that happened in my life that just
[00:05:36] Speaker A: kept it kind of like predestined. Yeah, it almost was like pre writt.
[00:05:40] Speaker B: It was pre written things. You can't. That don't happen to most people.
[00:05:44] Speaker A: Right.
[00:05:44] Speaker B: You know, if the paper was at our school shooting, I was the one that made it in somehow. And I didn't even try. Right. It just like I happened to have a moment that was meant to be shared. I don't know. It was odd. It was odd. And then once I got out of high school, I loved high school. I was captain cheerleading and like, built my confidence.
[00:05:59] Speaker A: Yes, I loved high school too. I felt like it was very much like it was a lot of joy and I was very involved and I was very sociable. And like, I. I went through, as you know, when you did your interview with me, I went through a very difficult time for years, but I was able to get back to that laughter and that child within and those days, and it's been astounding. So, yeah, it's been great that we've been blessed to have these moments yeah. Thank you. Thank you.
So now you're originally from this area? Poughkeepsie.
[00:06:34] Speaker B: I'm from Poughkeepsie.
[00:06:35] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:06:36] Speaker B: Born and raised.
[00:06:37] Speaker A: And how did you feel about that? Because I know it's generally a smaller town.
[00:06:42] Speaker B: Poughkeepsie and Spaghettankill. I remember, like, 10th grade, I was, you know, I'd say, like, middle school, I was out outgoing. Fifth grade, I was completely quiet. Middle school, I was outgoing. But by 10th grade, like, I really came into my own, and I was super confident. I realized that girls ruled the world. All right, now is my time to shine.
That's right. I didn't know that before then. And it's true. I mean, girls have buying power. So if you're in a capitalist country, the fact is, we make decisions here, whether men want to believe it or not. If you have a girl audience, you make more money than a male audience.
[00:07:17] Speaker A: I love that.
Say that again. Repeat that.
[00:07:19] Speaker B: It's a fact. So women have buying power in the household. So any household items, any decisions on household cars, major purchases for families, which is what the US Economy runs on, girls purchase those items, which means we have the buying power, which means girls rule the world. Right. So from a financial standpoint, but just from an empathetic standpoint, I realized that girls really do know how to bring people together and how to be catalysts for great. And when I realized that, I was like, oh, my God, I can really do something with this thing.
[00:07:47] Speaker A: Right? And you can lead by example.
[00:07:49] Speaker B: Yes. And I was like, I. I don't know what it is that I have, but I know that everyone I meet loves me, and I want to give it back to them. Right? So how can I make this awesome? And by the time I got in high school and college, the freshman year in college, I was homecoming queen, and then I was, you know, their senior dance queen or whatever. And every. Even in high school, same thing. Prom queen, this and that. And I just realized I had this gift to be a catalyst, so what could I do to. To lead people the right way? Now, people that have this gift, it's called the Pied Piper. What I realized later in life, and it's a really beautiful thing, but the thing about it is, you can use it to manipulate people or you can use it to really help.
[00:08:24] Speaker A: It's like anything else, right? There's leadership in the worst and the worst and the best. You can use it for the good,
[00:08:29] Speaker B: you can use it for the bad,
[00:08:30] Speaker A: because you have that power.
[00:08:31] Speaker B: Correct. But my whole goal was to really try to help people. And now when I meet people, when they first meet me, they're like, are you really this nice? Are you really this kind? Do you really want to help me?
[00:08:39] Speaker A: Right. So you've kept this humble. I mean, it's hard because I've had a lot of things in my life, a lot of people in my life, a lot of love, a lot of privileges, and I'm very humble, especially since I. What I went through and mine's all about giving back, you know, but it's also being influential and being an example to show others that they deserve it. They deserve goodness. They deserve the best.
[00:09:03] Speaker B: They do. And that's what I. Same message. That's what I want to give to people. You know, we're all here on the spinning rock together and this Ferris wheel, right? And we have got to do our best to thrive in this environment that we've been given and to, you know, be our best versions of ourselves and give that light to other people.
[00:09:22] Speaker A: Right. Spread the light. Yeah. And I kind of think. I was thinking and I was saying how my challenges that I endured and everybody has challenges.
It didn't define me. It rather refined me. You know what I mean? Like, it added to my empowerment, it added to my resilience. It added to my poise, grace, things of that nature. Now, Michelle, it sounds like everything has been so glorious for you. What would you say was a challenge for you?
[00:09:49] Speaker B: So I grew up, and my father had diabetes, and he lost both his limbs by the time I was in high school, and he passed away at 18.
[00:09:55] Speaker A: Wow. My dad died when I was 17 on my 17th birthday.
[00:09:58] Speaker B: Yeah, I remember. And, you know, when that happened, as, you know, it's hard, and you kind of lose that leader in your life. Right. And you're like, well, what am I gonna do? I just have this newfound thing that women run the world. And now my dad's gone, and I wrote a song called Daddy, don't go, and it made it on all the
[00:10:13] Speaker A: little Would you be.
[00:10:14] Speaker B: Well, it's daddy, don't go Daddy, don't leave I need you, need you here with me I want to be the best that I can't be without you I won't succeed Daddy, don't go Daddy, don't leave. Ah. So that was starting to get.
[00:10:31] Speaker A: I'm getting for clumped, as they say. It's a Jewish girl from Long Island. Oh, my God. That was so cool.
[00:10:37] Speaker B: Yeah. So when my dad passed away, you know, it was a defining moment, and I had to take Care of my mom. You know, she didn't have much money, so I didn't.
[00:10:43] Speaker A: You had a lot of siblings. Did you have siblings?
[00:10:45] Speaker B: I have five brothers and sisters, so. Two brothers. No, two brothers, three sisters.
[00:10:49] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:10:49] Speaker B: So six of us. I'm the baby.
[00:10:52] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:10:52] Speaker B: And I do think it's really cool being the baby.
[00:10:54] Speaker A: I'm the baby, too, you know, I
[00:10:55] Speaker B: know we talked about that. Everybody loves the baby. Let me hold the new baby.
Yeah. Yeah.
[00:11:03] Speaker A: So now you. You had told. You know, I had spoken to you one day, and you said since a very young age, like you said. And I never knew when we initially spoke that your dad. Well, I did, but I didn't know, you know, the extent of it.
You've been working really, really hard.
[00:11:19] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. I started babysitting when I was 12, 10. I don't know. I was a baby when I started babysitting. I don't know why people trusted me with their kids at that point, but.
But I became the neighborhood babysitter, and I just always looked at the positive in life, and I give my mom and dad a lot of credit for that because I think that I've had a lot of challenges, actually. Every day is a challenge. I get rejected still every day. You know, what capacity. Oh, my God. I ask everyone to be on my podcast, like, top stars to everybody. And most of the time, I get rejected. I'm like, they'll be on in a year. And they do. They come on. Exactly. And I meet them, and I love them, and they love me. And every day of my life, for the. For my entire life, I've been rejected for things, and I don't. I just have an optimistic mind, and I'm gifted with that. That's how I am because of my parents.
[00:12:02] Speaker A: Yeah. I really think.
[00:12:03] Speaker B: Born that way.
[00:12:04] Speaker A: I think it's because for me, at least, you know, there's a story, and you probably read it growing up.
[00:12:10] Speaker B: You.
[00:12:10] Speaker A: You're younger than I am. But the Velveteen Rabbit, of course. And the Velveteen Rabbit was one of my favorite, favorite stories, especially being a writer. And the whole premise behind that is the Velveteen Rabbit has so much love that it turns real. And once it's real, you're real.
[00:12:29] Speaker B: That's right.
[00:12:29] Speaker A: And I think women like us, or just people like us, we want to be authentic.
[00:12:34] Speaker B: That's right.
[00:12:34] Speaker A: We want to portray. We want to teach people that it's okay to be real. It's okay to tell your truth.
[00:12:41] Speaker B: That's right.
[00:12:42] Speaker A: And that exhibits. And it displays courage and bravery and. And good.
[00:12:47] Speaker B: And resilience 100%. And I think that women having that bravery and resilience teaches our kids, right, that like I'm the one in the bed. My daughter was on.
[00:12:56] Speaker A: On a.
[00:12:56] Speaker B: At a performance on Sunday, her first stage performance. She had one at noon and one at five. She fell off the stage.
[00:13:01] Speaker A: Oh, wow.
[00:13:02] Speaker B: She fell off the stage. Not head first or anything, but she was on the side and she was walking up. Now everybody knows I'm in media and I'm always all over the place. So everyone's of course looking at my kid, right? And they're expecting greatness. And she's good, but she's six and
[00:13:14] Speaker A: she doesn't like it.
[00:13:15] Speaker B: Whatever. I don't put pressure on her. I expect her to do this at her pace if she wants to. I have my own goals, she has hers, right? She's a kid.
So she's on the side and she goes up the stairs and there's a group of girls and they kind of all shuffle. And she falls down the stairs on her back and lets out this big yell. And the spotlight was on the stage, not on the side. So luckily not everyone saw it. But she was so upset, right? I mean, it's. You're on stage, you're six, you've never been through this. And I was so. I was smiling and she's like, mom. She's like, I'm crying, you're smiling. I was like, because you just had the best experience of your life.
You got hurt in front of all those people and you got back up again. I said, that was the best performance of the day because you were able to fulfill that.
[00:13:53] Speaker A: That's so great. That's such a great way of looking at it.
[00:13:55] Speaker B: And that's what I'm saying is I take every micro moment and make it
[00:13:59] Speaker A: a macro positive experience, right?
[00:14:02] Speaker B: And it's just my mindset. And I really felt that, like my, my husband's literally like, oh, my God. She. I'm like, she's fine. Look at her. She's back up there, right?
[00:14:10] Speaker A: She's killing it, right?
[00:14:11] Speaker B: And at night when we got home, she cried like a baby. She had to hold it in there. I suck. I'm like, you don't suck. By the end of the time she went to sleep, she cried for three hours.
[00:14:19] Speaker A: Oh, no.
[00:14:20] Speaker B: She was like, mom, I'm proud of myself. She goes, I did the best I could, even though it wasn't the outcome I wanted. And I said, exactly.
[00:14:26] Speaker A: I love that. I love that. Look what you're teaching exactly and now
[00:14:30] Speaker B: she wants to do it again. But if I was, like, crying and, like, you know, inside, of course you're sad, but at the end of the day, like, you have to teach kids to be resilient, and that's what life's about. If you can get back up and have somebody write something bad about you in the media, trust me, that sucks. And they say things like, oh, wow, you've gained some weight lately, haven't you? And you're like, I should crawl in a hole. But you know what? Forget those people. You're behind a computer doing this. I'm out there.
[00:14:53] Speaker A: You're out there. You're making. Making changes. You're making transformation things.
[00:14:58] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:14:58] Speaker A: And that's what I. And if this. If you. You know, I want to kind of bring this up because I've with it since I've been a young girl, since I was, like, 10 years old. And I write about it, and I write it about it in the book and I say diets. Diet has the word die in it and healthy has the word heal in it. Because so many. So many women, men, children, especially, you know, in a static world where looks are so, you know, important to so many people.
You know, basically, you know, I've come to a new way of living, you know, as far as take really taking care of myself with eating healthy and a way of life and going to the gym and with my mental challenges, as far as mental health challenges, as far as the bipolar. I have to, you know, live spiritually, mentally, and physically. You know, at a certain level, I have to keep everything kind of cumulative to each other.
[00:15:50] Speaker B: You're doing a great job, Lori. Even from when I met you to today, I'm so proud of you. Like, you really have grown so much. And, like, we're out there on the river. I was telling Connor, I'm like, man, I felt so bad. That video, we need to redo that because that was awful. Her hair's blowing. You can't hear anything. The wind's over here. I felt bad. I was like, this isn't of no quality that you deserve, so we need to do that again or I deserve. I was like, connor, we gotta make this good. Because that first video, I just felt guilty. But the story got out there. That's what was important.
And at the end of the day, you know, you have so much light to give, and that's what I want to spread.
[00:16:25] Speaker A: Well, thank you. Yes. And that means a lot coming from you.
[00:16:28] Speaker B: It really does. Thank you.
[00:16:29] Speaker A: Yeah. But I wanted to kind of touch upon just being in our society and also being in the media and being at the forefront. Because I know you do it like constantly. You've been doing it for many, many years. I'm first getting into it, but you know, I definitely have body issues, you know, and even when I take pictures or I'm in front of the camera, you know, there was like, oh my God, it adds 10 pounds. You know, they always had that expression. And then, you know, growing up, you know, I would hear you have such a beautiful pretty face and if only you lost 10 pound pounds of. Only you lost 20 pounds of, you know, like we, we live with this pain within us, like we're never going to be good enough, we're never going to look perfect enough, we're never going to be smart enough, we're never going to be this enough. You know, when isn't enough enough?
[00:17:18] Speaker B: You know, I love, love talking about enough because you have to know that your value is within you. And I think that could you appear better?
Everyone could. Even Beyonce could appear better in some way. Maybe she didn't wear her hair great that day, or maybe the stylist was off, or maybe, you know, she forgot to lipo one side of her hip. Who knows, okay?
[00:17:43] Speaker A: Because that's, maybe she said something beautiful and profound that touched a young girl.
[00:17:47] Speaker B: But when you're the beholder, right? Because beauty's in the eye of the beholder. Behold that moment the right way, interpret it the right way and all you can do is control yourself in your own mind. Can't control others. So again, seeing it with the lens, that's appropriate. Not delusional or too rosy, but and non judgmental at the end of the day, we're all doing the best we can to accomplish the things we want to. You don't know what's going on in my personal life and I don't know what's going on in yours. But we're meeting here today to spread greatness, right? And today at this moment, you know, we're doing the best we can do and we're putting forth the best that we can. And if you feel that that person said you need to lose ten pounds, that's on them to feel that. But for you, if you're comfortable, take that photo and be happy. And if you feel like you could have lost £10, then do it.
[00:18:28] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:18:28] Speaker B: I kind of just do it.
[00:18:30] Speaker A: I kind of feel like, you know, so many people are so unhappy within and they project that on others 100%. And I know people such as yourself or myself or Connor, for instance. Say, hi, Connor. The best. The best.
We constantly work on our personal growth. We constantly work on trying to make ourselves and the world and people we love and just people in general, like, lighter and brighter, 100%, you know, so. So what we don't have, you know, I can't wear a bikini anymore, you know, at this point in my life.
So you know what?
I can still look damn good.
[00:19:08] Speaker B: That's right. But you know what? You could. If you wanted to. If you want to. Yeah, exactly.
[00:19:12] Speaker A: And you.
[00:19:12] Speaker B: You don't need to, but if you really want to.
[00:19:14] Speaker A: Exactly. There's no one.
[00:19:16] Speaker B: 70 years old.
She was just on my part. She's 69. She's on my podcast. Last month she came on during the middle of her weight loss journey. She was, I don't know, close. I don't know, £389?
[00:19:25] Speaker A: Well, I'm not. I'm not near that.
[00:19:27] Speaker B: But you're nowhere near that. You're nowhere near that. But what I'm saying is she lost the weight and she's in a bikini now and she looks better, 10 times better than me. And I'm like, girl. She goes, age is not exactly.
[00:19:38] Speaker A: Exactly. Nothing's a limit.
[00:19:40] Speaker B: Nothing's a limit.
[00:19:40] Speaker A: And I wanted to ask you about that too. Like, when you're doing your interviews or you're doing your media blitzes, how have you dealt with different things as far as, you know, looking a certain way? Have you felt competitive?
[00:19:56] Speaker B: No. Have you? Like, you're just like, I don't feel competitive with anybody. I have a certain, like, ray of sunshine. I like to give people. I love the people that. Last week I did an interview at an interview on a red carpet for Amare magazine, and there was a literal line of people waiting to talk to me.
And I felt like I was actually home at one of my events, but in la, and I was like, this is awesome. And I. Once I'm done interviewing, I pass it to the next interviewer. Most interviews are gunning for the celebrity. And I'm like, that's not what I'm here to do. And it's proven now. Like, they want to talk to me because they know they're going to get a positive question. I'm not going to ask them, oh, so I heard you got recast. But you're, you know, the one.
[00:20:34] Speaker A: No one wants to see doom and gloom.
[00:20:35] Speaker B: Now. I don't care what the news outlets say. If you need to print that to make your news outlet get clicks, that's Fine. I don't have to do that.
[00:20:41] Speaker A: Right.
[00:20:42] Speaker B: I'm printing positive.
[00:20:43] Speaker A: You want to represent yourself in a certain light. The light.
[00:20:45] Speaker B: Right. And I don't need a gimmick of, oh, eat ten red hot, whatever. An answer. I don't need that. My gimmick is me. I have a great personality. I love to bring out the best in people, and I'm authentic to that.
[00:20:55] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:20:55] Speaker B: And it's truly who I am. Like. Like I said, I think my only misconception in life in Hollywood and here, there, everyone that meets me is like, she's too nice. And behind closed doors, I want what I want because I demand greatness because I think that's how you get ahead in life. And I believe.
[00:21:09] Speaker A: I agree with that.
[00:21:10] Speaker B: You have to be.
[00:21:11] Speaker A: You have a certain standard.
[00:21:12] Speaker B: You have to have a certain standard. So I demand greatness and go above the bar. So always kind. And I'm. And because that's just who I am. And it's authentic to.
[00:21:19] Speaker A: I know. And that's so funny you should say that because, you know, I've dealt with a very difficult. I call it dis. Ease.
[00:21:25] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:21:26] Speaker A: And, you know, bipolar could be very misconceived. A lot of people in Hollywood actually have it.
[00:21:31] Speaker B: A lot of people every.
[00:21:32] Speaker A: All over. All over it. I was just reading statistics that 40 million people have it. 40 million people.
And we need to talk about it. Yeah.
[00:21:43] Speaker B: What is it? What is. What is bipolar? Like, what does it make you feel like? And how do you get diagnosed?
[00:21:48] Speaker A: Well, I don't. I mean, basically, you know, I've been by the grace of God and with a lot of hard work and everything. Like, I've been. I call it remission for five years now.
And that's. That's a true blessing because as long as I have my health. My mother says there's a term in Yiddish that says gay Gesund hate. Go in good health. You could do anything as long as you have your health. If you don't have your. There were many years when, you know, part of the bipolar, I was in despairing depression, I would call it not just being bedridden, but bed rotting because I wasn't living. I was merely existing, you know, so that's one portion of it. And then the manias are just being like, kind of on the go, but not, like, not stable on the go, just a rash, like, all over and like, like run. The mind's running. Racing. Racing and insomnia. And it's. It's a very. It's a very chaotic Feeling. It's a very chaotic feeling.
[00:22:45] Speaker B: Interesting.
[00:22:46] Speaker A: There's a splurge of creativity for many people. There's a influx and a spending, you know, denomination to it as far as spending a lot.
[00:22:57] Speaker B: I mean, you spend like at once and then you don't or.
[00:23:00] Speaker A: No, it's just like all of a sudden you'll have a spending spree. I remember when I first got diagnosed in my 20s, I had to file bankruptcy for $100,000 because I spent that on my credit cards, you know.
[00:23:12] Speaker B: Interesting.
[00:23:13] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:23:13] Speaker B: So, you know, it's interesting because so many people suffer from.
[00:23:17] Speaker A: So I know so many things about it. No, and we're. We have to just. I love what you're doing now with Andrew o', Grady, who's been like my mentor and an angel to me. I call him Angel. Angel o', Grady, you know. Yeah. And we talked about that last year. I love what Connor and you are doing with. And everybody's doing. And you just brough Andrew to Hollywood now. I heard he's going to be the next Al Pacino and it's going to be. It's going to be great.
But with the 988, you know, being the crisis line for people who have suicidal thoughts or people with mental health issues. I just came back from a recent mental health research conference in Scotland and what's going on with the reform and the different programs and everything, it's like it's a. It's a true epidemic.
[00:24:01] Speaker B: It is. And so many people are affected. You know, people that you know from the big screens all the way straight down to your family members.
[00:24:08] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:24:08] Speaker B: And people don't know where to turn. And 980 is a very good place to call. It's the place to call.
[00:24:14] Speaker A: Right.
[00:24:15] Speaker B: No long numbers. Nothing else to remember. It's like 911 for Mental Health 980, the crisis hotline. Call if you're in need. Someone you know is in need, make the call. You can also
[email protected] yeah, 988.
[00:24:28] Speaker A: That's nothing in today's world. You can't even get a turkey cheese sandwich for that.
[00:24:32] Speaker B: Exactly. $9.88. So check it out on the MHA duchess.org website. It's a 988 challenge. And we encourage you to make your video. Make sure we actually. Why don't we do a 988 video right now?
[00:24:43] Speaker A: I was gonna sing. You want to sing with me?
[00:24:45] Speaker B: Yeah, let's do it. All right, so Connor, you can clip this up and we can post it okay, ready?
988.
[00:24:51] Speaker A: 988. Don't be late.
On the other end is a friend. You're not alone.
And I may be off tone, but 988 is great.
[00:25:08] Speaker B: I love you.
You know what I love about you? You're freaking selfless, man. You're the best.
[00:25:15] Speaker A: Thank you.
[00:25:16] Speaker B: You really are.
[00:25:16] Speaker A: Thank you, Michelle.
[00:25:17] Speaker B: That was great.
[00:25:18] Speaker A: But anyway, I do want to say,
[00:25:20] Speaker B: you may be off tone, but pick up the phone. It's 988.
[00:25:24] Speaker A: But, yeah, but I also wanted to kind of talk about another. I had seen an interview with you recently and you talked about, you know, kind of trying, I know with me, with my life, you know, I try to get balance. I'm involved in so many projects and family and a lot of friends.
And you talked about that balance with your beautiful children, your husband and your large family, all your many friends. And, you know, and you're always, you know, out there doing work and flying from here to there. And you know this, that you must have an incredible mileage on, you know, frequent flyover.
[00:25:56] Speaker B: I haven't paid for a flight in a long time.
[00:25:58] Speaker A: It's good to know I have to talk about that.
So, you know, how do you balance it and how do you balance it, like emotionally and physically and spiritually?
[00:26:07] Speaker B: And you know, it's funny, after a trip where there's a time difference, if I see someone, they're like, are you okay? Have you seen a therapist lately? I'm like, oh, no, it's just a time zone. I need like a day to recoup.
So I think, you know, and. And I'm telling you, seriously, I'm like, shot for after you get exhausted, like anyone does. Of course, I think for me, balance. It's an interesting word I always used to say work life, balance. But I don't believe in that. It's work life integration today where, you know, I don't believe in.
And I'll tell you kind of what my typical day is like. But five o' clock I get home and I want to be with my kids. So I don't believe in answering the phone after five. There's some nights I do work. If my kids on the soccer field, I will make some calls. But when we're together, I'm attentive 100 until they go to sleep. Sometimes I'll make a call at that time. But typically I go to bed because I need my rest and I really pack my day now. I don't know if this tactic works for everyone and it probably isn't the healthiest way to do it. But between the hours of 8:15 when they go to school until 3:45 when I'm home, 4 o', clock, I am jammed every minute of every day. I mean, to the point where, like, I'm rushing in every meeting because I want to make every moment count. You know, I'm leaving one meeting to go to another. And I think that so many people are so important that I work with that I need to give them that,
[00:27:22] Speaker A: that attentive, give to your children.
[00:27:24] Speaker B: That's how you undeniable respect and attentiveness. And, you know, everyone is equally as important to me. I'm at a very high level and I'm so grateful for it. And I just want to make sure I give everyone the respect they give me. And that's important. So.
[00:27:37] Speaker A: Well, I think, as you know, we go through the process, you know, regardless, you know, in life in general, mutual respect and mutual love is the key to any good, good report, any relationship.
[00:27:49] Speaker B: Yes. And so, you know, my kids need my attention, my husband my attention, and so does my mom. Unfortunately, she's. She's not feeling good. She has adenocarcinoma lung cancer. And it's been a rough six months. But I know that whatever happens with her, I'm there with her every day. And so when I have my mom time, that's our time. So I do compartmentalize time, which I think is important.
And I think that you have to go with your gut. Just like I said in the interview, which I saw this thing online and I'll say it again, and I just recently shared this. Your heart has like its own.
[00:28:20] Speaker A: I love that.
[00:28:21] Speaker B: I love function. And I said, this is so true. And that is your subconscious, that's your mind, your gut saying, this is what that feeling you have that comes from here and it's real and it's wired to tell your brain.
[00:28:33] Speaker A: So that's kind of like in sync. Correct.
[00:28:35] Speaker B: And I do think it's divine. I agree with that. I'm very spiritual.
[00:28:38] Speaker A: Yes, I want to talk about that as well.
[00:28:39] Speaker B: But I also think that you're, you have to go with your gut. If you need to say something. As long as you say in a way that's not rude.
[00:28:46] Speaker A: Right.
[00:28:46] Speaker B: You can say anything you need to say to someone.
[00:28:49] Speaker A: It's about delivery.
[00:28:50] Speaker B: It's about delivery. And, and if, if the person that you're working with is truly your person and where you should be, they'll understand.
[00:28:56] Speaker A: Right. And they'll respect you even more. They will you know, rather than gossip and slander, which I'm very much against. Yeah. And you probably see it a lot in your. And with all you.
[00:29:04] Speaker B: I do. There's a lot of drama that goes on. I don't partake. One thing I find that's tough on the family side. I have a lot of help at home, but I make sure everyone gets their time. It's very important to me.
And for me, you know, I do get my own me time too. I spend about 20 minutes a day meditating. I know it's not a lot, but I need that time.
[00:29:21] Speaker A: Me too. Oh, yeah. It's so great.
[00:29:23] Speaker B: So I do spend that time for myself and right now is a hectic time. But in a few years, my kids will be older, my mom won't be here, and I'll have a lot of time to myself. So I take those micro moments that I can to focus on that and keep my mental health.
[00:29:36] Speaker A: But have you ever dealt with anything as your own challenges?
[00:29:42] Speaker B: I have anxiety. Severely. I don't really get depressed.
I get let down when I get disappointed. Sometimes situational but normal. I pop right out.
I don't have depression, actually. I think I'm too rosy sometimes, which is probably a little weird, but real.
And I think, how do you.
[00:30:01] Speaker A: When did anxiety start? Do you think it's just because you're always kind of. You're have a Persona and also realness of greatness, so to speak? You know? Do you think it's that anxiety that I gotta. I gotta keep this. I gotta keep going?
[00:30:15] Speaker B: I don't feel that at all. Like, I do. I take it in stride and I do what I want. So I'm strategic, so I know what to expect in each situation. So I don't think it's the Persona at all because it's who I am. That's what I love about social media. I can truly be me. I don't need to put on a show.
[00:30:28] Speaker A: Right, right.
[00:30:29] Speaker B: Um, but I think my issue is I've just always had anxiety from a little girl. Like, I never like to sleep alone, and I still don't. You know, I went from my house to my. My husband, so I never really, like, lived on my own. I don't like sleeping alone still. I'm very scared of, you know, being home by myself. Like, I'm always just like, I can't, like, be at rest.
[00:30:50] Speaker A: Right.
[00:30:51] Speaker B: And I have anxiety. I have anxiety. You know, I haven't had anxiety in a long time, though, so things will make me nervous. Like, is my son Gonna make the soccer team normal.
[00:31:02] Speaker A: Right.
[00:31:02] Speaker B: Of course. But to a point of debilitation where I'm like, you know, in a tunnel of thought. I haven't felt like that in a long time. But I felt like that many times in my life. And I think many things. My father being sick, is he gonna die?
[00:31:12] Speaker A: Right.
[00:31:12] Speaker B: Was I gonna be alone home with him when he dies? Who do I call first? 911 or my mother? I mean, those are things that are tough. Yeah.
[00:31:19] Speaker A: When you're a kid and how did you, how did you like kind of combat it? Did you like, you know, like you had said, you know, did you have ways, coping ways or things you learned. Have learned along the way? I know with me, like I have like different things I've learned and different things I do for, you know, kind of like the meditation, the different self love tactics, you know, different things like that.
Listening to certain kinds of music, you know, doing certain things, being around people that are very positive, you know, things of that nature. Do you have certain things?
[00:31:55] Speaker B: Yeah, I definitely am sure of who I hang out with. I think that's. That you have to be around people that are like minded, but also I
[00:32:02] Speaker A: would say light minded.
[00:32:03] Speaker B: Correct. And that just want to live and be happy. That's some, that's a good one. But I think for me it's, you know, when I was little, my parents didn't have money for therapy and they didn't realize how bad I was suffering. They were just like, she'll grow out of this.
[00:32:14] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:32:14] Speaker B: Because mental health wasn't a big deal.
[00:32:16] Speaker A: I know.
[00:32:16] Speaker B: That's why I want to push it so hard in my adult life. Because I was suffering.
[00:32:21] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:32:22] Speaker B: My son has it too and he's suffering.
And so he, we go to therapy. We do the best we can. I teach him the techniques that I have, you know, and he's, you know, he struggles in so many ways, the poor thing. Sometimes we get upset with each other, but that's mother normal but anxiety wise, you know, I, before I had a therapist, I just remember, like couldn't even breathe.
[00:32:44] Speaker A: I know, I know. But I know how bad it can get. Your whole body, like, right. You feel like, oh my God.
[00:32:50] Speaker B: Like takes over everything.
So I learned how to breathe correctly. There was no YouTube all the way back then. So I just kind of felt. Did what felt good to make me comfortable. And it was breathing. It was just sitting there, like closing my eyes in a dark room and just making sure I knew I was okay. And I could feel myself and like it really I hear myself.
[00:33:10] Speaker A: You grounded yourself. How do you connect that you had mentioned briefly. But I contribute a lot of my life today, and just life in general, to a spiritual connection.
I'm very big on that. You know, I say walk by faith, not by sight. Another big one is faith over fear? Yes. You know, there's so many different things I associate with. I'm very big into my walk.
I don't at this point, I don't like to push it on people. I just like to be an example. You know, this is the way I live my life. This is what I believe. If you're for it, maybe you'll give it a try, right? You know, this is where I was at. This is the light I'm in. I cascaded from darkness to light. So what about for yourself? Were you always like this? Did you know when your dad had tragically passed away, did something, you know, shift in you? Like, when did it occur?
[00:34:04] Speaker B: No, I think I've always, like I said, had a positive mindset. When I go down these tunnels of anxiety, I do fill with fear. I think that faith has had a lot to do with it. My father. Faith was scary to me in the beginning, though, because my dad said he'd be a priest for eight years, and he had shrines all over my house, and I would always just like. I know he dropped out before his final vow because his. He just didn't feel the calling. He met my mom a year later, and they ended up getting married, having six kids, and now 20.
[00:34:29] Speaker A: Michelle, when's your book coming out?
[00:34:31] Speaker B: I know. So it was scary to me because I had all these God things all over the house. You know, I was Catholic. I went to church. But it was, like, scary. The incense all over and like, you know, these figures. And I was little, and I'm like, you know, you hear like, oh. And I'm like, Jesus.
You know, I'm just a little tiny thing. Like, what is all this craziness? These pipes blowing.
So I was like, you know, but eventually I leaned into it. As I got over the fear of faith, I was scared of everything as well. I was super positive, but, like, super anxious. So kind of had a ying and a yang.
And it's funny because I see my son like this. He's like. Everyone's like, oh, my God. He has a gift. He's amazing. He's just a good talker and he's so kind. He's beyond his years, all this. And I'm like, yeah, but he's, like, dying inside. That was me For a long time.
[00:35:15] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:35:15] Speaker B: And then eventually, I truly did. I think I grew out of it. Now I just know how to cope. When it starts, I'm like, stop it.
[00:35:20] Speaker A: Right?
[00:35:21] Speaker B: I just talk myself out of it. Right.
But I do feel bad sometimes for the people around me. My Gabby, like, she'll.
[00:35:27] Speaker A: She's adorable, by the way.
[00:35:29] Speaker B: Poor Gabby and Ashley. They have to talk me off the ledge a lot. I'm like, guys, I don't know what to do. This just happened. We got to figure this out. And they're like, well, first take a deep breath.
[00:35:37] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:35:38] Speaker B: And then we can figure this out. And I'm like, but I have 33 minutes to do this, this. And they're like, shut up and calm down. You know? So I feel like. No, I feel like it's really. I feel like the people around me know me and also know how to get me to where I need to be.
[00:35:51] Speaker A: Right.
[00:35:51] Speaker B: At my best performance.
But leading by faith.
You know, it's interesting. My mom's super religious. My kids are. They go to Catholic school.
[00:35:59] Speaker A: But it's more than just religion. It's just that. Spirituality.
[00:36:02] Speaker B: 100. There's a higher power. I believe in it. I pray all the time. And I strongly. I get a prayer from a gentleman named Marcus. I love him every day, and it's always detailed to my name. And I know he sends it out to so many people, but that waking up to that prayer every morning.
[00:36:17] Speaker A: So beautiful.
[00:36:17] Speaker B: It's so beautiful. You want me to read today's?
[00:36:19] Speaker A: I would love to.
[00:36:20] Speaker B: Okay, let's read today's prayer.
[00:36:21] Speaker A: And then as much as I could talk to you for days and hours, I want to wrap up with the little thing I wanted to give to you.
So wonderful.
[00:36:29] Speaker B: So here's what he said today.
Today I lift you in prayer. May the Lord grant you peace that surpasses all understanding.
[00:36:35] Speaker A: Oh, my God. I say that to everybody.
[00:36:37] Speaker B: May he open doors of opportunities and possibilities before your day. Be filled with joy, laughter that lightens your spirit, and may his hands rest upon you, covering you with abundant blessings.
[00:36:47] Speaker A: Oh, my.
[00:36:47] Speaker B: Wednesday's prayer.
[00:36:48] Speaker A: Oh, my God. Wasn't that kind of like what we experienced today?
[00:36:51] Speaker B: And. And. And that was beautiful. Beautiful. See, that's so beautiful. Meant to be read, meant everything.
[00:36:57] Speaker A: Divine intervention.
But I do want to say I've
[00:37:00] Speaker B: been holding this the whole time.
[00:37:01] Speaker A: Be queen, Barone.
You know, I've been wanting to see you since Christmas, but both our schedules have been very hectic, and I haven't had the joy. And a friend of mine has A darling bookstore. And her mother, her stepmom's an artist from the Netherlands. And she makes these very abstract, adorable little pictures. And I saw this picture that had this kind of like animal, like animated animal. And it was red and it just reminded me of your sassiness and your flamboyancy and your glitz and glamour. If you were. If you were an animal.
[00:37:43] Speaker B: I love it.
[00:37:44] Speaker A: And then I spoke to you one day, I was on the phone with you and you're just beautiful daughter. Kind of jumped on your lap and we were talking and I had promised her a doll. And good, bad or different, I'm a woman of my word. And so I want to give you these. And also I wrote you a card. And anybody that gets one of my cards, they know they have to keep that forever.
[00:38:08] Speaker B: I'm gonna keep it forever. And I've been holding it the whole time. I thought to start with it, but that's okay. You wrote my name so beautifully.
My darling Michelle. It's so surreal that a year ago I was doing my best.
[00:38:20] Speaker A: Want me to read it to you?
[00:38:21] Speaker B: You read it to me. You read it to me. It's handwritten.
[00:38:23] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:38:24] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:38:25] Speaker A: My darling Michelle, it's so surreal that a year ago I was doing my first official interview with you. And now I have the great pleasure of interviewing you.
I can't express how comfortable you made me feel. I felt so connected that I was easily able to convey my truth.
The beautiful way you have about you allowed me to be vulnerable without hesitation. I always enjoy seeing or working with you. You're a great example of an empowered, determined and purposeful lady. My friend's mother painted this picture.
[00:39:06] Speaker B: Oh my God.
So sweet.
[00:39:10] Speaker A: My friend's mother painted this picture. Of course, the red color for you caught my eye. Yet I also thought, what would your animal spirit look like? I thought it was really cool and unique. I remember speaking to your adorable daughter and promising her a doll. Well, I have to be a woman of my word. LOL day. And of course, every girl loves Barbie.
[00:39:33] Speaker B: Are you kidding me? She's gonna love this. Yes. How cute. Oh my God. You are the best.
[00:39:40] Speaker A: There you go. Michelle Queen Barone.
[00:39:43] Speaker B: You're the best ever, ever, ever, ever. Thank you so much.
[00:39:46] Speaker A: You're welcome.
[00:39:47] Speaker B: And I will always keep this. This is so beautiful. Thank you, honey.
[00:39:51] Speaker A: So I just want to thank you for your invaluable time today.
[00:39:54] Speaker B: Of course. It was beautiful. Love you so much. And I could talk forever. But I hope we drop some nuggets that will inspire some others.
[00:40:00] Speaker A: I definitely do as well.
[00:40:02] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:40:02] Speaker A: I definitely do as well.
