I hope you’re sitting down! Today’s episode is as interesting as it is powerful.
Mansal Denton is an entrepreneur, published author, and in his early 20s was sentenced to 4 years in the Texas State penitentiary for stealing and selling historical documents from the Mazal Holocaust Library.
“It really is the best thing that ever happened to me and it’s really a completely different lens I see life through now.”
In our conversation, Mansal shares how between the ages of 17 and 25, he manages to publish a book about one of his favorite topics, commit a felony to fund his dreams and move to europe, later serve time for this crime, and eventually emerge far happier and wiser than if he’d never been caught.
Now based in Austin Texas, Mansal has run a variety of businesses, and credits much of his fulfillment to the time he spent behind bars. The perspective he gained was priceless.
“There are certain trials in life that people go through and I think oftentimes, especially with middle class and upper-middle class people, people who have a relatively comfortable life don’t ever experience that suffering. They don’t go through that rite of passage of suffering, and that’s really what prison felt like for me.”
Mansal looks at this experience as a rite of passage, and he is a different person now because of it. He has more gratitude and takes greater responsibility for his past and future actions.
“Pushing the boundaries of potential is my why.”
I really appreciate Mansal sharing his story so openly with us. We all have dark and light sides to our stories; but when we can use them to fuel a better future and inspire others to do the same, that’s when we transcend our transgressions and create a truly bold life.
SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:
DON’T STOP HERE…
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Production & Development for The Bold Life Movement Podcast by Podcast Masters
Today we’re learning from Bridgette Mayer, an artist, entrepreneur and author of The Art Cure: A Memoir of Abuse and Fortune. For the past 16 years she has been running a top contemporary art gallery in Philadelphia helping her clients and the artists she serves improve the quality of their life through art.
Bridgette transitioned her gallery from a public model to a private model because many of the artists she has worked with were doing larger, more global projects. This business model better accommodates the needs of artists working on a global scale.
“I started to grow rapidly, and part of that growth was always looking beyond the gallery walls.”
Bridgette looks for opportunities to exercise her creativity and grow her business outside of her gallery. She attends art fairs; offers consulting opportunities for individuals and corporations; and signs on to larger consulting projects, in which she might sell 2-300 paintings. Larger consultations evolved into consulting on public art installations and municipal art programming.
The next step in Bridgette’s evolution was writing The Art Cure to share her powerful story and unique business model. She started running workshops for artists on how to create a vision, build their careers and actually make money. Bridgette is called to work with artists because the most important lessons that she has learned aren’t taught in books or in art school – they’re taught through years of experience.
“You don’t find the stuff that I’ve learned through running my business and working with artists in books.”
When Bridgette talks to artists, she imparts the fundamental habits and beliefs that seven-figure artists have:
“My goal is to get more artists making a living, thriving and enjoying what they’re doing professionally.”
I really appreciate Bridgette for her ability to be a beacon not just for artists, but also for people from difficult backgrounds. She empowers her audience to understand that their past does not dictate the future. You can get empowered by picking up a copy of The Art Cure or heading to BridgetteMayer.com.
SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:
DON’T STOP HERE…
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Production & Development for The Bold Life Movement Podcast by Podcast Masters
I first heard today’s guest, Michelle Poler, speak at the World Domination Summit about her 100 Days Without Fear Challenge and I found it SO inspiring. She faced 100 fears, documenting the entire thing on YouTube. After going viral, she quit her job and now travels around speaking about the life changing benefits of facing our fears, and recording YouTube videos every Wednesday to answer one question: WTF Are We So Afraid Of?!
She has an awesome story, and I’m excited to share it with all of you.
100 Days Without Fear was a project in which Michelle faced 100 fears in 100 days – all while attending graduate school and holding down an advertising job. She used her mornings, lunch breaks and late nights to complete the challenge between classes, work and homework. On top of all that, Michelle also created regular videos to share her journey.
Michelle challenged her fears by doing things like:
Michelle’s challenge was a huge success, in large part because she had the foresight to create a defined brand that resonated with people before launching the project. The tone, visuals and audio all added up to an empowering and exciting experience for the audience to follow.
Since finishing the project, she has been approached with a number of amazing opportunities. She’s focusing on speaking and expanding the YouTube channel – because she loves it.
“I feel I have a strong message I want to communicate to younger girls, and they are on YouTube.”
Moving forward, Michelle is trying to direct her message at a younger generation of women. She is creating a new YouTube series, in which she will be speaking to her younger self: a really scared kid who was too comfortable. The new series is expected to launch in January.
“I’m never going to be that relevant to anyone if I keep trying to appeal to absolutely everyone.”
Michelle leveraged her mastery of branding to monetize what she loves – speaking to inspire people, especially younger women. If you haven’t seen it, check out Michelle’s journey facing 100 Days Without Fear and subscribe to her YouTube channel, Hello Fear, to see what she does next. If you have one of your own experiences that you would like to share to inspire people, send it to Michelle at HelloFear.com, where she is sharing other people's’ stories about facing their fears.
SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:
DON’T STOP HERE…
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Production & Development for The Bold Life Movement Podcast by Podcast Masters