Intro: [00:00:00] Welcome to Energetic Advantage, the podcast where energy isn't woo, it's your edge. I'm your host, Jessica Cerato. Intuitive strategist, lifelong pattern decoder, lover of numbers, and energetic guide for visionary leaders. Around. Here we go. Energy first, strategy second. Every episode will give you a perspective, a tool, or a timeline shift that helps you lead from your power.
Because the truth is your energy is your most undervalued asset. Until you learn how to use it, get ready. You're about to have the advantage. Let's begin.
Episode Intro: Today's guest is someone who completely embodies the idea that creativity does not fit into a box. In fact, when I was preparing for this conversation, I realized that Rachel had accumulated so many titles over the years that I had to start the conversation by asking her the question of "How do you define yourself?
Who are you [00:01:00] now?" Because she's been a producer, a storyteller, a podcast host, a creator, a writer, a person behind the scenes helping countless other people find their voice. for nearly 30 years, Rachel has worked across television, radio, podcast, digital media, and she's really helped people turn ideas into stories, and then those stories into connection.
But what fascinates me the most isn't everything that she's created. It's how she has navigated the space between creating for everybody else to now fully owning her own creative voice. So if you've ever found yourself in that messy middle, that place where you know you're being called towards something new, but the path isn't completely clear yet, hello, the energy of eight in July, this conversation is for you.
We talk about creativity beyond art, the role timing plays in creation, what happens when projects take longer than expected, how to stay [00:02:00] with an idea long enough for it to become something meaningful, and why some of the most important creative journeys just can't be rushed. We also talk about Rachel's Christmas book.
Yes, she is a children's author and wrote, illustrated, published everything, the many chapters of her career, and what she has learned about trusting the process when the ending hasn't revealed itself yet. So settle in, and I hope you enjoy this conversation
Jessica Cerato: So here we go officially welcoming Rachel. Welcome, Rachel
Rachel Giordano: Thank you. I love you so much. Thank you for having me
Jessica Cerato: of course. I love you too. And I love this because the question I wanna start with is I think a question, well, I know it's a question that many of us ask ourselves every day, which is, like, how should I introduce myself? Who am I today?
Like, where is this e- right? Like, where is this evolution currently at? So I'd [00:03:00] love, even though of course the listeners just heard me introduce you,
Rachel Giordano: Mm-hmm
Jessica Cerato: when you introduce yourself today, what feels true for you?
Rachel Giordano: I'm a storyteller. That's what a producer is. A lot of people will say "What is a producer?" We just help people tell stories. The genre may be different, whether it's TV, podcasting, movies, documentaries, or short form on social media, but I am a storyteller. I've always been a storyteller. I've always known that I would be a storyteller in some way or another.
And so that's really it. I help people tell their stories
Jessica Cerato: I love that, and we'll get to one of my favorite stories of yours. You literally wrote a book, but I'm super curious actually, as a producer, was there ever or is there ever any tension for you or a bit of back and forth between producing for others and creating for yourself?
Rachel Giordano: Oh, 100%. It took me years and years and years to decide, okay, [00:04:00] wait, I also have a story to tell. All these things I'm telling everybody else, what would happen if I did them for my own brand, for my own self? And flipping that camera around from everyone else to myself was the hardest thing I've ever had to do.
Which I've been on camera before, I've been on radio, I've spoken in front of thousands of people, but once I was just focusing on myself, what do I want to say, how do I wanna be of service, I couldn't find the words. I literally couldn't speak. I think we have vid- videos probably of me just trying to get on camera and just "Why am I doing this?"
What is happening? And I feel like in... What I learned is it's not like a flip that switches, right? There's never a time where it's like, "Okay, we're ready now. Everything's great. It's perfect." It's practice. It's getting in front of that camera, practicing my hooks, what am I trying to say, what do I want somebody to leave with, what's the energy behind what [00:05:00] I'm saying?
And so the more and more I practiced, the better and better I got at it. And I think when I started to build this out, what I tell everybody else is "Just pick up your camera, go for a walk, and do the thing," just to start getting comfortable on camera. And you don't have to post it. And I think that was the biggest thing I had to learn myself, was like, oh, wait, I could record it, do these sessions, get used to talking, figure out what do I want my space to look like, what do I feel comfortable in, what do I, how do I feel confident?
And I don't have to post it if I don't like it. It's a huge lesson.
Jessica Cerato: I think that's actually a beautiful lesson for life and creativity in general. It doesn't have to be for public consumption, right? Cr- it's like that what's that saying? If a tree
Rachel Giordano: If a tree falls in the forest,
Jessica Cerato: something, and no one hears it, blah, blah, blah. Okay. But it's,
Rachel Giordano: I call that creating in the dark. There's something about creating in the dark that's so magical because no one has any expectations. You just put [00:06:00] so much pressure on yourself to sort of like be perfect, and when you start to figure out what is your voice, how do you wanna show up, how do you wanna communicate, it doesn't have to be like everybody else on, on social media or on podcasts.
You could do it your own way. It's actually probably better that you do it your own way because that makes you authentic and real
Jessica Cerato: Totally. And I wanna pull another thread out from what you just said that I think is really relatable and important for everyone to hear. Regardless of what we're talking about, what I love what you said is, "I could do it so well for others, and at be- the beginning, it was challenging to do for myself."
And I think that can go across kind of anything we're talking about, coaching, like all of these things. And so And sometimes it's hard to admit that, right? Especially, I mean, laughing, like I meditate, I see things for other people, like all of these things, and sometimes to do it for myself is more challenging.
And so I just wanna share that because I love that nugget that you brought forward. It's nothing is wrong. It [00:07:00] sometimes is just easier, and sometimes it helps to have a mirror or someone else to kind of walk you through that, to help you see that.
Rachel Giordano: And I think that people don't understand what their potential is, especially when it comes to storytelling and figuring out what medium you like. You may absolutely hate social media, but you may love podcasting. You may hate podcasting, but you love writing. So there's so many different things to experiment with.
Nobody's saying just because you bought all the stuff from Amazon and it's out of the box is that you can't return it if you don't like it. Do you know what I'm saying? You don't have to do anything. No one's forcing you to do this. I tell people, too, about social media you actually don't have to market on social media at all.
You can just network. You can meet people. Most of anything that I've ever gotten as far as a job was because I met somebody. I made a human connection, and I feel like people misunderstand showing up in the social media space because it's, it's copy/paste, right? They wanna do what that person's doing.
That person, what they're doing may not fit your brand or your [00:08:00] voice, and trying to really find where your voice is coming from, that frequency means everything, and when it starts to come from that authentic, vulnerable, real place, that's when people start to get sticky. That's when they start to attach.
But if you're just doing it because you're like, "Ah, this is how Jessica does it," it's not gonna work
Jessica Cerato: Yeah. I think 'cause at the heart of it, it is all about this creative expression, and we can creatively express in so many different ways. Cooking, like you said, storytelling. when tap into the energy of true, pure creativity,
Rachel Giordano: Mm-hmm
Jessica Cerato: what does that feel like for you?
Rachel Giordano: It's flow.
Jessica Cerato: 嗯
Rachel Giordano: And I feel like when people have said, "Surrender, drop the oars, go with the flow," like I didn't understand what that really actually meant until I was in alignment, kind of following what my higher self was telling me. I was a control freak my whole life. I'd wanted to control everything. I know how all [00:09:00] of this is going to go.
But when I finally was just like, "Just sit and flow, see what comes to your mind," sure, you can write some stuff down, sure you can have some hooks so you're not just "Hi, guys" all the time. You gotta start with something better than that, and then see what flows, right? When we get connected, we can channel some of the most amazing things when we're not in control and we can just surrender and be in flow.
And that was like, when you feel that magic, you know it immediately. You're like, "Oh yeah, this is awesome."
Jessica Cerato: I love this. I'm kind of laughing because I can only imagine when this concept of a children's Christmas book came into your mind. And I wanna, I'm gonna ask you this in just a second, but first, I want everyone to hear about, like, when we are in flow, and we're, you know, tapped into the energy of our higher self, sometimes we receive messages that are absurd, that we don't want to hear.
What? Are you kidding me? And yet, that [00:10:00] is true creativity. That's where the breadcrumbs are. And so actually, let's go to this moment of when you received this energetic message, however it came. So tell us, tell us the story of how this dropped in for you, this Christmas book.
Rachel Giordano: My kids were at that age, they were six or seven, six and seven, yeah, they're three, two months apart, so six and seven, and they were questioning everything about Santa Claus. And I, as a parent, wanted to hold onto the magic for as long as possible. How can I still make this magical? They were obsessed with trying to catch him on camera.
And I was trying to think like how, do I continue this magic with them? And the idea for the book started to come, and I was writing a couple of pages or just sort of th- thought ideas, and I had a friend that photogra- was a photographer, and she photographs everything for us.
And I thought, "Okay, well, let's just do a little family portrait session following along with these pages as [00:11:00] well. I'll just tell the kids," I was like, "Ah, we're just doing portraits, family portraits." They didn't need to know what was going on. And I had contacted this Santa who was just... He looked magical in pictures, and I thought, "Okay, well, let's do this."
So as the day is going on, and it's a, a cute little story about the kids obsessed with trying to catch Santa and losing the magic of Christmas and all of these things, but I just was like, I didn't, I didn't really know where it was going. I kinda was just like open to the day and I was like, "You know what?
It'll just, it'll show itself. It'll reveal itself." I had to trust that, right? Meanwhile, I have outfit changes and all these things going on, and I don't have an end to a story. But, but you know what? We'll figure it out. It'll happen. And as she's looking through the pictures with me, we are, you know, in a break basically from production, and Santa pulls my kids aside And he takes out this coin, and he has them hold it in his hands, in their hands and his hands, and he goes through this whole wishing [00:12:00] ceremony with them of if you wish on the coin, your parents have to agree to the wish.
Everybody wishes together on Christmas Eve. You sleep with the coin under your pillow, and then maybe what you wish for would be under the tree the next day. And so as he's really doing this with my children, I grab the photographer, and I'm just like, "You have to get these pictures right now. Just get what's really happening."
So in the pages of the book, we use the real pictures. I didn't turn- change them into cartoons, which I might do in the future, but right now it's real pictures. And she got the real moment, and I was like, "That's the story. That's the story," is having that special moment on Christmas Eve with your parents or your children or who- your guardians, where everything is just quiet, and you can wish for whatever it is that you feel like you've wanted the most.
'Cause I just feel like especially at Christmas, I'm always the one that's "I wanna get the kids to bed because I gotta go, you know, wrap presents, and we gotta make the magic happen, and da, da, da, da, da, da, da." And I was [00:13:00] never just taking a moment. I just wanted that magical moment together, and so this allows for that.
And so as I created it, I, I realized this is the story. We changed a couple things. It all worked out perfectly. But then, of course, I was like, "Well, what is the story without the coin? The coin is everything." And so I sourced a company that is from the US. They make coins in the United States.
They're collector's coins. It's a very heavy coin. One side it says, "Make a wish," and the other side says, "Believe." And I love it. Some people just collect the coins to keep in their pockets or their wallets, which I was... like, didn't even think about. But I really wanted to just create a magical moment.
How can we keep this magic alive for as long as possible? And that, that's where all of this came from.
Jessica Cerato: It's so good. So much to unpack here. The first kind of concept I wanna pull out is this, the truth that magic happens in the moments that we least expect it. Or there's [00:14:00] something about, I think sometimes in creativity, especially when it's for public consumption, we try to manufacture these moments, and yet you shared that moment, which was everything, which was the story, which was...
You just had to capture it. Life was happening. The moment was happening, and you had to capture it, not manufacture it
Rachel Giordano: A- and I could have missed it if I wasn't present in the moment, and I could have been so stuck with the story that I wanted to tell that I missed the actual better story. And just this Santa Claus was so beautiful. To have my kids leave that experience being on the fence about the magic of Christmas, and then look up at me and be like, "Mom, I think that was really Santa."
Jessica Cerato: Yeah
Rachel Giordano: And that, that we do this every Christmas Eve, and they get, you know, what the thing is that we wished upon that we all agreed upon on, under the tree. And even now they're 15 and 16, or 14 and 15, [00:15:00] there's... That magic is still there. Mm-hmm. That moment the energy around that moment on Christmas Eve is still there.
Jessica Cerato: Yeah. Let's talk about... Oh, I'm going in so many different directions, but okay, let's talk about here, the idea where this breadcrumb comes to you, this creative idea hits. You go into you... I think this happens to a lot of creative people. You start going, right?
Rachel Giordano: Mm-hmm
Jessica Cerato: And sometimes for people, it kind of like trickles out.
The project doesn't complete. In this case, this is such a beautiful idea of wow, like I know sourcing this coin wasn't like, oh, Google it. How... there's a million ways to source this coin. Oh, I wanna write a children's book. Oh, that's an easy thing, right? It's like there are steps to take to see the creation process through to the end.
Where do you see maybe some [00:16:00] creatives stumble there between this idea and the execution of it? And then what did you learn about yourself in this project with that same concept, with this like idea and also the execution of it?
Rachel Giordano: The project took five years total
Jessica Cerato: Wow.
Rachel Giordano: of energy and money and time, right? And I think a lot of people don't understand baby steps. Teeny, tiny baby steps actually add up eventually. You can get there. I think when you start a project, most of us think we wanna take that leap. We wanna be done already, right?
You know, when everybody is saying "Enjoy the journey," it's so cliche, but that's literally just enjoy making each decision. Each choice is part of the process. And I feel like we're... We sometimes feel like we're in this race with ourselves, right? The book should be done already. It should be on Amazon already.
We should be... No, your timeline is your timeline. I literally just reconnected with a client that I had lit- six years ago, one of my first clients when I [00:17:00] started this business. We were working on courses for her, and it just wasn't the right time, and she just called me today like, "I am so excited. It took me five years, but the courses are ready."
And I was like, "Oh, exactly." And I, it's g- it's 'cause that's your timeline. You are not on anybody else's timeline. We put this weird pressure on ourselves that we feel like, oh, we started this, and so now we have to finish it now, and it's, it's not necessarily the case. And sometimes the universe, higher your higher self, whatever, knows can see ahead, and it's well, it's not gonna be the right time for that thing.
So take those little baby steps. Especially when you have ADHD, take your aligned action on your highs. Get as much done on those ADHD high days, and then pause it and go do other things. Just don't start 10 million more things. That's the hardest thing, especially when you have ADHD. You're like, "Well, maybe I wanna do this and this," and it's no.
Let's finish this today. And so baby steps eventually equal huge leaps and bounds. You just have to be patient with [00:18:00] yourself and be okay with just, today I'm just gonna read through the pages and make sure there's no edits that need to be made. Done. That's today's project. Another day was just creating the graphics for this.
Just take one little step at a time. You're not... There's no rush. No one's expecting this. No one's "Where's the project?" Right? This is a timeline I put on myself.
Jessica Cerato: That's such a... Because in so many instances I can see in just in life, we are putting a timeline on creativity because the output has a, a timeline or like a designated... Even, even I laugh, like even when... I'm super curious about this. This is such a horrible example because I do not like to cook at all, but I know for some people, like cooking is very creative, and I think that's why I don't necessarily enjoy it, because I'm always cooking for like a 6:00 dinner time or like a 6:30 d- like there always is this rush or this final timeline that it has to be done at.[00:19:00]
So was there ever a part in this project of the book where you questioned if it would actually become a book or not?
Rachel Giordano: No.
Jessica Cerato: No,
Rachel Giordano: a- I always knew. I just always knew. Even when the thought came to me, I could, I could visualize it, I could see it. That's sort of why it took me even longer, because I thought I was gonna publish it through Amazon, and I didn't like the quality of their print. They're a drop shipper, so you get wherever they printed it from is whatever the quality that they have.
The pages weren't what I looked... I wanted glossy pages. I wanted a nice thick, hard glossy cover. And so I went through literally so much money just having different printers print the book, because it needed to match exactly how I had it in my head. It needed to feel exactly how I imagined it. It needed to be the exact size that I wanted it.
So, was it an inexpensive process? No. It cost a lot of money out of pocket just to figure each one of those iterations out, but I wouldn't have been happy with it if it was [00:20:00] just the first iteration, and it's however Amazon decided to print it, and that's just the product. And I was like, "Nope, that's not it.
That's not it." I could have gotten the coin from China. I hated the quality of all of those, and I wanted something made in America. And I wanted something from a company that they're h- a historic company. They're amazing. And so I felt okay, all of this is gonna work together, and we're gonna...
If it takes more money, it takes more money. If we have to pull more money out of savings, we pull more money out of savings. I knew from the very beginning exactly how it was all going to look and feel. Uh, this whole thing is an experience, not just a book, so it had to feel right
Jessica Cerato: And that vision, that creative vision, right?
Rachel Giordano: always, yeah, I've always had a vision. Anything I, anytime I do anything, when it was in radio, if we were doing events, I could literally visualize not just what it would look like but also how the day would go. I would, because of maybe it's the ADHD brain or the type A personality, I would go through every single scenario and how I would [00:21:00] answer that scenario.
So for me, I don't enjoy any event itself, even vacations, because I've already played through every possible scenario that could happen that I can't just enjoy being in the moment. My husband hates it. He hates it because he's "Why can't you just enjoy this?" I was like, "'Cause I've imagined this 10,000 times in so many different ways, and so, so glad this is working out for you.
This was time 10,005." Like
Jessica Cerato: So interesting, but I think, again, that is like a, the mental load sometimes of a creative. Okay, so
Rachel Giordano: Yeah. Oh, yeah.
Jessica Cerato: Okay, so if we, if we tap into, because right now in this year, the energy of creation, creators you know, the information, the knowledge era is dying. And now it is more about experiential, about creativity, about these like visionary leaders.
So when you kind of, it can be your clients or just what you're seeing [00:22:00] in the space right now, what shift are you seeing in creators right now that you're really excited about?
Rachel Giordano: I think people are getting to understand finally that their why does matter. Who they are does matter. They are the difference in whether it's a course, a purchase, whatever it is. Especially with the invention of AI taking over, who you are is more important than ever before, because no AI, no matter what prompt you can put in there, will give you me.
No AI will give you Jessica,
Jessica Cerato: Mm-hmm
Rachel Giordano: right? And so I think people are now doubling down on who they are, their fun selves, their weird selves, their smart selves, because they understand human connection is the thing. It's not just the information, it's how do I connect with this person, and do they motivate me to do the next thing?
And sure, like use AI, use the prompts, do all the things. I've got a book that's coming out that has AI [00:23:00] prompts if you don't wanna answer the questions yourself. Here's a prompt. Give it to AI. But you can't replace the person. You can't replace who I am and what I bring to the table, and I feel like I'm so proud of people that are finally understanding, oh, I can do it my own way.
I don't have to do it this way. I can be myself and double down on who I am, and the right people will find me. I think for so long I lived in that weird space of but I can't be weird on camera, because then if I'm weird, then high-end clients are gonna think I'm a wackadoo. And then now I'm just like, I don't give a shit.
Then I'm fucking crazy, yes. Am, am I channeling voices in my head? Absolutely. You probably are too, you're just not talking about it.
Jessica Cerato: Yeah, 'cause you're attracting that person who is right for you.
Rachel Giordano: Correct
Jessica Cerato: So then looking at the creative space now and this kind of, I don't wanna say next generation of creators, but just this newly invigorated, I guess, energy of creativity, what are some of the big challenges that creatives are facing [00:24:00] right now, do you feel?
Rachel Giordano: I think funding. I think people don't understand that, yes, things take money to create. What is so beautiful about the situation that we're in with YouTube, with Tubi, with all these different distribution platforms, you don't need a green light from Hollywood anymore. But if you are gonna do it, like true to your vision, it may take some money.
So either you're saving, you're getting a side hustle, or you're doing a Kickstarter, whatever it is. I think it sucks where it's like, "Oh, I actually have to invest in somebody to help me shoot, somebody to help me light it," whatever it is. Even if it's just me coming... I've got different packages where I'll come help you set up your podcast studio so it's set up.
You may not be able to afford me every month to help you produce it or edit it or whatever, but at least then you have the space, it's set up, it's ready to go, and you know how to use it, and I- that's an investment. And I think that especially with a lot of this creative stuff and a lot of the short form on social media, there is very little ROI in the beginning.
There's, like, where your return on your investment is really time with me, [00:25:00] time with my brain and getting to flush out those details. It's not gonna be a monetary return, but access to my brain and actually getting to help you through to the next step, like I will hold your hand if I need to, is so important, and I think a lot of people just think, "Oh, I'm just gonna do it myself."
I mean, how many videos are on the camera roll and not edited, right? Are you gonna really do it yourself? I think a lot of people need to hire a VA or hire editors. Outsource what you can, because your time is valuable. So if you're shooting all this stuff and you're doing all these things but you're not actually editing it or getting it out, then you're just kind of wasting time d- staying in phase one of, of creativity.
You wanna get to phase two and start actually publishing the thing.
Jessica Cerato: And what... Do you still feel there is... I'm laughing because I don't have this filter, 'cause I don't think I would consider myself a creative necessarily. But is there [00:26:00] still resistance or do you feel some doubt with sharing the creativity in how it's received by others? Or do you also feel that shifting a bit?
Rachel Giordano: I think because the algorithm now owns our audiences when it comes to social media, and YouTube, I mean, all of it, you have to churn out more. And I think that's hard for people to hear, where they're like, "Oh, I..." I have a client now, she's "Well, I don't wanna overdo it." I'm like, "You have 200 followers.
Your organic reach is 1% of that. That means no one's watching your stuff. So if you think you're overdoing it, no one's seeing it anyway." So let's actually get to the point of overdoing it, where we're at flooding the message, getting it out there, posting multiple times a day/a week. Then we can get that feedback to see, oh, what are people actually responding to?
And then you kinda double down on that, right? I think a lot of times we think, "Oh, I'm gonna teach about this," but then you do a random reel of just from the heart, and it gets gangbuster numbers. And you're like, "Oh, it's [00:27:00] n- people don't wanna hear this. They wanna hear this." And you don't know.
You can't get that data unless you're publishing the crap out of as much as you possibly can. So if you wa- if you see my feed right now, I went... It took me three days, 'cause I wanted to edit it myself. I'm very specific about how I edit myself, so I didn't hire an editor to do this. But I sat for three days.
Every interview I've ever been on and done, I sat and pulled the gold, right? The the perfect clips, the little ugh, those little mm, where you're just getting... You know you're making a difference. Whether it's 20 seconds, 15 seconds, 30 seconds, I didn't care about the time. I was like, "Whatever, Meta's not gonna, doesn't pay me enough anyway to do this."
And so I, every day, it was, it's a different thought. It's a different show, so the feed doesn't look the same. And every single day you will see a different video. Now, I hired somebody to do that. I hired a VA. I love her so much. Her name is Princess, and she's my social media manager. So I sent everything to her, and I just said, "The parameters really are just rotate them so it doesn't look like the same thing, and rotate the thoughts so it's not the same thought [00:28:00] every day."
And so I feel like people just don't understand. I- if you feel like nobody's seeing it, they're probably not. Meta stole our audiences. They made $36 billion last year on advertising dollars. So your organic reach is so tiny. It's 1%. So for more people to hear your message, yes, you have to post more. But we're in a place where you can use threads or stories or go live or a post or a reel or carousel or a newsletter.
There's different ways to still reach your audience, and I think so many people d- will just post one thing and just think, "Okay, I'm done." And it's like, why is nobody clicking it? 'Cause nobody knows it exists.
Jessica Cerato: Yeah. I feel really something that you've said in there without saying it, but I think is so valuable for people to hear is like multipurposing is still creativity, right? And I just laugh. I have a really good friend who she's obsessed with like vintage, uh, clothing, [00:29:00] doilies, all this stuff. And she like takes it and she like makes something new out of it.
That is so creative. But she's multipurposing. She's taking something that was already created, taking a piece of it, maybe putting it together in a new way and sharing it. And that's still, and I would say even sometimes, not that we're comparing creativity, but so creative. And so what I hear you saying too is I think, I feel that especially when creatives perhaps feel this pressure to do more and h- and do more, but that doesn't mean starting from scratch every single time because...
Right? Or the same even again, why am I bringing another cooking analogy? It's just have your base ingredients, right? And like you don't have to start from scratch every time. Like you can bring things together in new and unique ways. Yeah.
Rachel Giordano: Y- well, so let's just give an example. So one 30-minute podcast episode I can cut down probably [00:30:00] into five to 10 reels. Each one of those reels has one idea. You wanna keep it short and sweet. One idea. I take that one idea, I create a blog post from it, I create p- carousel posts from it, I also create a newsletter for LinkedIn, and then I create a newsletter for my email list, my CRM list.
That's, what, five different things from one element. One element. Can you imagine just showing up once a week or twice a month even, shooting as many long-form episodes as possible, and then my post-production team takes it, and we create all these different elements for you? It, it's thoughtless. It really is.
It's effortless. And I feel like so many people feel like they're sinking because they can't keep up with content. The other thing is just because a story... I haven't posted this yet. There's a, a... We went to Disney two years ago. I still haven't edited it yet. But there's a story in there I wanna tell.
who cares that it happened two years ago? Just go back in the, go back in the archives, find stuff there. You probably have B-roll. You probably got a bunch of different things in there that there's a story to tell in there. [00:31:00] Nobody cares when it happened. What they care is, is it entertaining? Am I being educated?
And do I feel like I, I can relate to the, the thing, whatever it is that person's telling you? So I, I just feel like just be... Right? I also people believe the story you're telling them. They don't know that it was two years ago. I took my kids to Disney. Done, period at the end of the sentence. They don't need to know when it happened.
And so there, we have so much that we can repurpose and reuse that we don't even think about until we start s- going through that camera roll, and you're like, "Oh, wow, I should've posted that." Yeah, just, you can still post it. It's okay. Unless it's a sale, right? I think numerology's a little bit different because you have to deal with what's happening now.
Jessica Cerato: No, but I was just gonna say that's actually why I feel there, a lot of creatives do get discouraged, because just like you were talking about a little bit more with the book with the timing, you can have this amazing creative idea, so expansive, and you share it, and if universally the energy is not quite there to receive it, it's going to fall flat.
Not because the idea itself is flat, but because universal [00:32:00] timing is, uh, just a bit off. And if you share it again in a slightly different way, and then specifically more with the energetic flow of the day that is more receptive from a universal standpoint, it's we know this. I'm just laughing of how many times have we seen the same movie, seen the same commercial, read the same book or whatever, something creative, ate the same thing, and on different days we have a totally different experience of it.
I could be crying my eyes out at a toilet paper commercial, and then the other day it doesn't even affect me, right? That's just such a, such an example of how energy really does come into play with this creative process for both the creator but also the receiver. Because the receiver isn't receiving it at the same time the person created it.
It's usually this energetic lag
Rachel Giordano: Correct. Well, and the, talking about the timeline, I think [00:33:00] forever I was trying to force the timeline, right? I would talk to psychics or numerologists and be like, "No, that's gonna happen here." And you would be like, "Nope, that's not gonna happen then." It's but in my head it's supposed to. It, but it's not, right?
You have to sort of be along for the ride and be okay with things not happening in the timeframe you thought that they would. Because also what I have found is, especially when people talk about manifesting, the universe is putting all these puzzle pieces into place, not just for you, but for other people.
And so you have to understand there's a whole thing going on behind the scenes because of what you asked for to happen. Again, it's not a switch. It's sort of like, okay, how do we put these puzzle pieces together so, hers is the final one that fits perfectly into this picture? And so yours will impact mine, which will impact somebody else's, and we don't know it until all of a sudden you're like, "Wow, I went to this event I wasn't gonna go, and I decided to go and I met this person, and now my life has changed."
That's literally how it happens
Jessica Cerato: Yeah. [00:34:00] Yeah. So fascinating. I love the timing. Okay, we're gonna go into some kind of rapid fire fill-in-the-blank questions just to get our creative juices flowing. I know. Here we go. Focus our perimenopausal brains. Focus, focus.
The biggest misconception about social media is
Rachel Giordano: That you have to do it, you have to use it. You don't have to use it. You really don't. There's other ways to get business and to make human connections. You do not have to use social media. You don't have to post on it at all
Jessica Cerato: Love that. Creators leak energy when they blank
Rachel Giordano: When they're not following their passion, when they're trying to do what they think they're supposed to be doing, right? How many people probably s- had a side hustle that they thought, you know, let's take tumblers. I'm gonna make tumblers. Tumblers are gonna be my next thing. And then you buy all the things, and you start doing the tumblers, and you're like, "I don't like doing this.
I don't wanna do this." Right? You're not stuck to any one thing, and you can [00:35:00] pivot. But if you're not being authentic, you're just doing something because, well, that made that person money. Well, if you're doing it for money, that's a whole other conversation. It's probably not gonna work out. But if you're doing with it, it because you love doing it and you're aligned with it, magic will happen
Jessica Cerato: Hmm. I love that. What is the bravest thing that you've done creatively?
Rachel Giordano: Creatively? Well, I think just in general, I was one of the highest paid producers in radio, and I was making over six figures plus bonuses, and it was during COVID, and I just thought, "This is great," and I did it, and now I wanna try something different. I wanted to write the book. I right, I wanted to finally finish it, right?
I wanted to create my own brand. I wanted to do all these things, and I just thought "Okay, let's just do it. Let's just take the leap." It was scary. It's, it's hard. It's still hard. I mean, when you when you work 24 hours a day, seven days a [00:36:00] week as an entrepreneur, you're like, "Oh, what did I... Why did I choose this?
What's happening?" But I also love that I can choose my calendar, what I wanna do in the day. I don't have to do everything. I can also say no. And I also had to learn to not chase the dollar, right? There were certain things that I was like, "Oh, I, I really wanna get this person as a client," and it's like, do you really, or are you just chasing the money?
And so now I, I like picking people who I want to work with because we align energetically, and I also align with their message. That makes the greatest work possible. It has nothing to do with who's gonna pay me the most money anymore. It really is who do I align with and who do I wanna spend my time with?
Jessica Cerato: Yeah, because I would say the biggest, we talked about a little bit about like creativity does need time. Like time is the strongest asset that you have as a creator, and so you really wanna make sure that you're spending your time in a way that feels good for you. Yeah,
totally
Rachel Giordano: that, then it doesn't, then it's not fun anymore. Ask anybody who started posting on social media [00:37:00] for fun, and then they started getting brand deals, and they started getting advertising dollars in, and then it's a job. Now it's, now you have to post. You can't just not do it. You have to do it.
You have expectations. Once it becomes a job, it's not fun anymore. So that same energy that you had, and so many influencers and so many people online are going through this right now, that same energy they had in the beginning that made their audience go "We love you," is not the same energy they have now.
It's because they're trying to do brand deals and ads and sponsorships to make money from this. It's not, it's not for everybody. It is actually a really hard job, and the, the money s- just ebbs and flows. It's not a constant stream of income in any way whatsoever. And so that same audience that was with you because you were so authentic in the beginning are probably not gonna stick with you.
So you have to figure out, "Okay, how do I still get this content in while getting paid?"
Jessica Cerato: Mm-hmm.
Rachel Giordano: It's not easy. It's a, it's a weird balance
Jessica Cerato: Mm-hmm. I hear that. So as the [00:38:00] storyteller, if you think about where your life right is now and the season you're heading into, what are you, what story are you telling in this next chapter? What, what feels most alive for you right now, for you personally?
Rachel Giordano: There's two things. One, I want to make more documentaries. I did documentary TV series following a couple that cr- uh, bought this old mansion in Grand Blanc, Michigan, and they remodeled it. They were going to sell it. Now they switched it into a wedding venue. So I would love to continue their story and just documenting it, and we put it on YouTube.
It's amazing. The page is Crew at Home. I, I love it. It's so simple and just following the process. I love documenting. What I do with social media is documenting. It's just documenting in tiny reels. It's not... Right? It's not long form. So I would love to do a little bit more long form. And then there's...
If... I'll show you this. Can you see this? Hold on one second. See all those clothes? Those are all clothes from the '80s. [00:39:00] I've been collecting props and clothes from... I was born in 1975, and I grew up in the '80s, and I have a story about me when I was younger growing up with... a, a little girl with ADHD, but nobody knew what ADHD was, right?
I had a very vivid, vivid imagination all the time. I didn't need a lot of friends because I had friends in my head. And so I'm creating, I'm starting to write this book/webisode series that in theory will star my daughter, 'cause she literally looks like my twin. Um, But I've been collecting all these things for so long.
The room I'm in right now is a, is... gonna sound insane. It's a recreation of my childhood bedroom. I literally found the same version of my bed, but it's a just a twin size instead of a full size. I found, like sh- like sheets that look similar. It's in- I'm insane. It makes me feel insane sometimes 'cause I'm like, "Oh my God," when you say it out loud, like I am living in my childhood bedroom.
But I need to go there. I need to go back to that space, and I need to really understand. I was called [00:40:00] lazy. I was told I was a pig because my room was a mess, and those things stay with you. I have a mental disorder. I have ADHD. I have executive dysfunction. What would my life have been like if my parents, instead of like my mom picking things up, you know, every morning like, "Ugh, this is disgusting, you're such a mess," right?
And using those words, what if she was like, "Hey, obviously something's wrong. Let's see if I can help you. Do you want me to help you clean today? Do you want me to do whatever?" So my, all my kids have ADHD. That's how I approach that with them of "Hey, things are getting a little out of control. Why don't we do this together?"
Instead of just saying, "You're disgusting, you're lazy, and you're a pig." Those words stuck with me my whole life. they still stick with me, and so I wanna kinda go back to that place and show how I really used my imagination to sort of get out of that space of understanding I wasn't disgusting.
I wasn't lazy. My brain just works differently, and that's okay.
Jessica Cerato: Oh, I love that. It's gonna be a beautiful project, and also so fun. I'm thinking, I'm [00:41:00] like, do you have Aquanet? Can you bring back the... You're like, yes.
Rachel Giordano: Tay.
Jessica Cerato: Yes. Gina Tay.
Rachel Giordano: Yes. I have a caboodle, like the little
caboodle. Like,
I have a little, It's not a... Oh, God, what is the little Nintendo? It was little. It was, like the first one they made. But I have that. I have a vintage one of the... A Game Boy, right? I think it's Game Boy, and it was, like black and white.
I have one of those. I have lunchboxes. I have... Did you ever, when you were sick, did you have that little metal tray to put... So mine's the E.T.
Jessica Cerato: Trey, love it
Rachel Giordano: have my E.T. I have a Gremlin. So I've c- been collecting these things as we go, and to me, it's it, it, when I sit and write about it, it just doesn't feel like the right time yet.
So I know, okay, great, that's another thing that's like... But, and my daughter's getting older. That's the only timeline thing that I'm like, "Oh, my God. Now she's not, like nine anymore when I started this whole process. Now she's 14." So we gotta figure out how to, pivot this a little bit. But I'm so excited to do it because I just, it [00:42:00] feels so good.
It just feels so aligned, and it just feels perfect
Jessica Cerato: I love that. And it reminds me of something that you told me, I think the last, one of the last times we spoke was, and I totally believe this, is that, you know, you can really tell the difference between creative energy when you are doing something in your life for the purpose of getting content versus living your life and then simply documenting it.
So I love that beautiful kind of full circle of you've already done the hard part, which is live through this, and it, now you can get creative with it and have fun with
it and
Rachel Giordano: and reflect.
Yeah. parents are both still alive, so I'm trying to figure out, like, how do I explain to them "This is my version of my childhood. It doesn't make you bad parents. It just, you don't know what you don't know, and that's okay. Please relax or don't watch it." I don't want their feedback because it's just, I don't want them feeling bad about themselves.
They didn't do anything wrong. You don't know what you don't know. [00:43:00] So I think that's also been, like, this weird sticky point where I'm like, "Ugh, how do I go here without them thinking that they did something wrong raising me?" And they didn't. You just didn't know, and that's okay. So yeah, when you can play...
I tell people, "Post what you live, stop living to post."
So if you can just follow along with your day, put it in your stories. It's the easiest way to do it. Just stop overthinking it all. Just start posting. Nobody cares. Nobody cares... dot, dot, dot, until they do, is the next, is the next book I'm writing. It's a nonfiction book about content creating.
So, and they really don't. Nobody cares. They have... You have seven seconds before they flip to the next thing. They don't care.
Jessica Cerato: I love your creative fire. It's just so amazing. Okay, so let's... I wanna bring it full circle here and end with something that everyone can do, which I believe is so important in this year, which is support a creator or support creative process. And, you know, I really felt this so strongly in my...
I always do [00:44:00] this year ahead forecast, and I just felt there's gonna be some really cool inventions, really cool innovations, some things created this year that are just unbelievable. And some of them won't see the light of day because of what you were talking about, because of maybe the lack of funding or whatever.
So what I committed to, it's my small little... And then I wanna ask you for one that maybe we can share with everybody. My little thing that I've committed to for every month of this year is to go on Kickstarter and get inspired by somebody who is doing something,
Rachel Giordano: mmhmmm
Jessica Cerato: and put my money where my mouth is and donate to their Kickstarter to try to help them in the way I can.
And if I see something that I love that is creative, use whatever platform I have, whether it is social media or my business, or just telling someone on the street, "Hey, did you see this amazing thing?" How else can we [00:45:00] support creatives, support the creative process in others and also ourselves this year?
What can we do?
Rachel Giordano: I love that you're doing the Kickstarter thing because I never even thought of doing that, but I, that's beautiful and that's absolutely,
Jessica Cerato: fun. I I actually spend more time on there 'cause I'm like, "I wonder what they're doing and they're doing." Sometimes I break my own rules and donate to more than one person, but whatever. We're not saying that. It's just so inspiring. Yeah
Rachel Giordano: it's, what you're talking about is amplification. It is free to amplify, to like something, to actually comment something worthy and not just a fire emoji, to share it, to save it. All of that is free. It is free. It costs you nothing. And the more people that could do it for somebody, you can change my life just by sharing something or putting a link in the stories, right?
I call it amplification. You need to find the people that are willing to amplify for you. Unfortunately, it's not gonna be your close friends or family members. It's just the reality that we all live in. It's the weirdest thing. I don't [00:46:00] know why. I don't know why it is. I even had a conversation with my mom one day of "Hey, can you just share some stuff when I put it out or comment?"
It's like a point system. It's a game, right? So the more points I get, you know, the more people will see it. It was the easiest way I could explain it to her. And she was like, "You post enough. I don't need to do that." And I was like, "Okay." So if you are in this space, I think the most frustrating thing is you see your friends and your family members supporting strangers and following accounts and leaving, you know, hearts and love to people they don't even know, but they're not gonna do it for you.
So that is my biggest thing is just, just amplify. Amplify someone's message. if you share it, put it in your message, whatever, however you do it, it will change somebody's life. It's a domino effect. And so you may think it's just a reel, but for me, it could be, like, a sponsored reel or a brand reel or something that I've been like, "I need to show numbers on," that could change my life for the next thing.
And all you'd have to do, it takes you less than two seconds, is just press the [00:47:00] heart or say, "Love this video so much." It takes no time, and yet people still will not support their friends, their families, their small business members. And I don't know why. It's free. It takes you zero time. Just amplify somebody else's message.
Jessica Cerato: amplify and like we are amplify the creative energy, innovation. These, like I said, these beautiful, new, exciting things that are, are going to change our lives, all come from creation. Like inventions literally come from creativity and innovations. So yeah, let, let us amplify these voices in any way that we can.
I love this. So as we kind of end today, I'm laughing, like the, the last line, the, the last line of the book, the last, Not your last words, don't worry, Rachel. But is there anything, yeah, is there anything that you feel you want to share in this moment?
Rachel Giordano: Let's see. Let's drop in there. Oh, God, here we [00:48:00] go I, okay, so again, it's a cliche, but if you think you can, you can. If you think you can't, you can't. You're right whichever way you decide to go, and you don't know if you don't try, right? You can talk crap about all these other people doing all these things. It's because you really wanna probably be doing it.
So just try. Take the next best step. Yeah, if you think you can, you can. If you think you can't, you can't. You're always right no matter what.
Jessica Cerato: Mic drop. Love it. Ending. Okay, well we will put all of, I'm like, we will put all of your amazingness in the show notes. Okay, this is like the life of a creative. We're gonna put the show notes for the documentary and also the children's Christmas book, and also production and social media services, like same person everybody, by the way.
We will put all of
Rachel Giordano: I have another children's book coming out
Jessica Cerato: Oh d- oh yeah, I
Rachel Giordano: that. It'll, uh, it's okay. It's whatever. It doesn't matter. [00:49:00] That one I might put on Amazon 'cause I'm just like, I'm still broke and exhausted from the last one. It's a, it was like a mountain to climb, man, but I'm glad I did it. I learned a lot, and now I know how to self-publish books, so
Jessica Cerato: Again, if you, you just try. You just do it. Thank you so much for being here, and to everyone out there, like harness creativity. Embrace your innovation. That is what will change universal energy this year if we really harness that. Every single person has this creative spark, has this creative energy, I believe.
We just might not be defining it as such or noticing as such. But we all have it, and in order to find yours, I think sometimes the best thing we can do is, like Rachel said, amplify others. So get out there and amplify others, and allow yours to come through as well
Rachel Giordano: And also I think that really quickly, and you're like, "Oh, God,"
Jessica Cerato: last word
Rachel Giordano: last word. Your story is not for you. [00:50:00] I think a lot of people think "Oh, it's, it's... I'm coming from a place of ego. What is this? Who do I think I am?" It- your story's not for you. Your story is for the person that's gonna hear it and live another day, not take that drink, right?
Do the next best thing because they align with your message. Your story is not for you. They're for the person that really needs to hear it, and by not telling your story, how many people are you doing a disservice to? It's not for you. It's for somebody else that needs it
Jessica Cerato: Said by the storyteller herself. Everybody listen.
Rachel Giordano: drop.
Jessica Cerato: Mic drop. All right, everyone. Thank you for listening, and we will see you next time. Bye.
Rachel Giordano: Bye.
Outro: Thanks for being here inside The Energetic Advantage. If today's episode open something for you, share it, tag it, or send to the person who popped into your mind. And remember, energy first strategy second. Your advantage has always been in you. Now it's time to lead with it. See you next time.
