The Holly Hughes Podcast: Artist Reinvention After Burnout

Women cinematographers are the directors of photography who decide how every frame of a film or TV show looks, and Nancy Schreiber ASC has been one of the most respected of them for decades. 

If you've ever been told you're too old, too early, or the wrong fit for the work you love, this conversation is for you. Nancy answered an ad in the Village Voice, landed on a crew as a production assistant, and worked her way up to gaffer in New York. When nobody would hire a woman to shoot, she borrowed a 16mm camera and made her own film. 

In this episode of The Holly Hughes Podcast, Holly Hughes, TEDx speaker, author of Real, Not Perfect, and former Hollywood production coordinator, reconnects with the award-winning cinematographer she first met as a PA on Lush Life. 

Nancy Schreiber ASC, the first woman to receive the American Society of Cinematographers President's Award, explains why women directors still hesitate to hire women DPs, how double-up days and LUTs shape episodic TV, and why shooting on film is back in 2026. She also shares Seeing Stars, the disability-themed musical film she is directing and shooting in New York. Once it's in your blood, you don't retire. You keep shooting.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• How women cinematographers broke in before film school was the path, from Nancy's jump from electrician and gaffer to shooting Columbia University shorts on a 16mm camera her mentor loaned her. 

• Why women directors still hesitate to hire women cinematographers, and what Nancy Schreiber ASC tells director friends who complain that their male DPs keep trying to take over the set. 

• Whether shooting on film is really back, why a new generation is choosing analog the way it chose vinyl, and why Nancy still prefers filters in camera over fixing it in post. 

• How episodic TV cinematography actually works, from alternating DPs and double-up days to protecting a show's visual signature when a new director walks in every episode. 

• What a LUT, or lookup table, does for a director of photography, and how carrying one look from dailies to the final color grade protects a streaming series. 

• Why ageism in Hollywood keeps experienced crew out of the room, and how Nancy stays strong, keeps hauling heavy cameras, and flat out refuses to retire. 

• How Nancy uses AI to break down the script for Seeing Stars, Ellen Gould's disability-themed musical about five women living with Stargardt disease.

If you enjoy conversations about creativity, storytelling, personal growth, podcasting, and authentic living, be sure to subscribe for more episodes of The Holly Hughes Podcast.

We talk about:

00:00 Meet award-winning cinematographer Nancy Schreiber ASC 

03:14 How did a gaffer become a cinematographer 

05:02 The mentor who loaned her a 16mm camera 

08:17 Why she was told she could not direct and shoot 

09:21 Ageism in Hollywood and refusing to retire 

10:37 Is shooting on film making a comeback 

13:49 Why don't women directors hire women cinematographers 

17:54 How episodic TV cinematography really works 

28:18 Using AI to break down a film script 

30:29 Seeing Stars and hiding a visual disability 

34:56 Is a cinematographer the same as a DP 

44:00 Nancy's warning label and a full circle moment

If you are looking for  a way to actively journal to reveal and heal the thoughts, emotions, and truth you’ve been hiding your whole life check out my guided journal, Heal to Real here: https://linktr.ee/hollyhughesintuitive

Connect with Nancy 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nancyschreiber_asc 

• Website: https://nancyschreiber.com/ 

Connect with Holly 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holly_hughes_intuitive/

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hollyhughesintuitive

• Website: https://www.thehollyhughespodcast.com/

Hybrid publishing is a model where the author and the publisher share the risk of bringing a book into the world, and Brooke Warner built She Writes Press to prove it can deliver the quality of traditional publishing. If you have been waiting on an agent, watching the Big Five measure their confidence in a book by the size of the advance, or wondering why your inbox is suddenly full of gushing offers for your manuscript, this conversation gives you straight answers. You will hear what memoir writing, author platform, and real book sales look like in 2026, as AI scam emails targeting authors keep multiplying.

Host Holly Hughes, TEDx speaker, former Hollywood producer, and author of Real, Not Perfect, sits down with Brooke Warner, publisher of She Writes Press, president of Warner Coaching, TEDx speaker, and co-host of the Memoir Nation podcast. Brooke shares why she left traditional publishing after 13 years, why she wants to erase the magic 10,000 copy number from every author's brain, and why selling 2,000 to 4,000 copies is a strong result. She explains the first-sentence test that exposes an AI scam email, why an author platform is a mosaic and not just your social media, and why she is holding her own memoir until her son finishes high school. If the business side of writing has you burned out, this episode is proof there is more than one way to be a successful author.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• Hybrid publishing means you and your publisher share the risk, and Brooke Warner explains why She Writes Press still sets the editorial and design standards instead of letting authors design their own books.

• Why the Big Five publishers refuse to change their model, including the panel moment when someone from a major house said they could never pay an advance under $20,000.

• How to spot an AI scam email in the very first sentence, and why Brooke Warner says heavy flattery and the line I read your book are the biggest red flags for authors.

• What an author platform really is, why it is so much bigger than social media, and how book clubs, speaking gigs, podcasts, and Substack work together to sell books.

• How to use Substack as a writer without burning out, with Brooke's garden approach: try something, keep what thrives, let go of what you dread, and stay consistent once it sticks.

• Why memoir writing stirs up grief and moodiness, and how Brooke Warner is weighing exposure, family, and timing as she writes a memoir about her former marriage.

If you enjoy conversations about creativity, storytelling, personal growth, podcasting, and authentic living, be sure to subscribe for more episodes of The Holly Hughes Podcast.

We talk about:

00:00 Meet Brooke Warner, publisher of She Writes Press

02:03 Why Brooke left traditional publishing after 13 years

04:32 How Seal Press turned her into a memoir specialist

07:22 How do you balance creativity and business as an author

13:01 Why traditional publishing refuses to change its business model

15:57 How to spot AI scam emails targeting authors

19:34 Hybrid publishing vs self publishing and why editing matters

22:03 Why Brooke is waiting to publish her own memoir

26:14 How writers can use Substack without burning out

29:16 What an author platform really means today

30:37 How many books does a midlist author actually sell

46:44 Brooke Warner's warning label for writers

If you are looking for  a way to actively journal to reveal and heal the thoughts, emotions, and truth you’ve been hiding your whole life check out my guided journal, Heal to Real here: https://linktr.ee/hollyhughesintuitive

Connect with Brooke 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brooke_warner 

• Substack: https://brookewarner.substack.com/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brookeewarner/ 

• Website: https://brookewarner.com/ 

Connect with Holly 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holly_hughes_intuitive/

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hollyhughesintuitive

• Website: https://www.thehollyhughespodcast.com/
  

Building a career with no industry experience is exactly what Mickela Mallozzi did, and the proof is four Emmy Awards, eight seasons on PBS, and a show still going strong fifteen years later. If you have ever felt like you need permission, connections, or a film degree before you can start telling stories, this conversation is the reset you need. Mickela started dancing at age three, and one middle of the night vision in 2010 turned into Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi, the Emmy winning PBS travel series that explores culture through dance all over the world.

Host Holly Hughes, TEDx speaker, former Hollywood producer, and author of Real, Not Perfect, sits down with Mickela Mallozzi to unpack what it actually took to build an independent show with zero industry background, a crew that grew from one person to six, and a hard lesson learned when a network nearly copied her idea before Bare Feet ever aired. Mickela shares the exact moment she stopped creating content for the sake of creating content, why public television gave her creative freedom no streaming deal could match, and the one question she now asks before saying yes to anything, what is the mission. If you are rebuilding a creative career from scratch, this episode is your permission slip to start anyway.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• How Mickela built an Emmy winning PBS show without any television production background, starting with nothing more than a personal camera and a lot of persistence in the beginning.

• Why the 2010 middle of the night vision for Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi came true, and the notebook habit she still uses to capture creative ideas before they disappear.

• What happened when a rival network signed an almost identical show two weeks before Mickela could pitch Bare Feet, and how she got her footage back a year later.

• Why public television protects storytellers from sponsor influence in a way most commercial networks cannot, and how that freedom shaped the direction of Bare Feet.

• How the Garifuna community in the Bronx kept its culture alive for over two centuries through dance, and why that story became one of the most meaningful episodes Mickela has filmed.

• Why Mickela consciously put her phone down during a meaningful live moment, and what that shift taught her about creating content that actually means something.

• What Mickela calls her warning label for anyone starting a creative project.

If you enjoy conversations about creativity, storytelling, personal growth, podcasting, and authentic living, be sure to subscribe for more episodes of The Holly Hughes Podcast.

We talk about:

00:00 Mickela Mallozzi's first dance class at age three

01:00 How her family noticed her love of music and dance early

07:00 Why public television protects her stories from sponsor influence

10:00 Growing up watching Bare Feet during virtual school

17:00 The 2010 vision in the middle of the night that became Bare Feet

20:00 Why she started putting her phone down during meaningful moments

23:00 What her job as executive producer actually looks like day to day

28:00 The Garifuna community and the dance history of the Bronx

32:00 How she became the American co-host of Ireland's St Patrick's Parade

42:00 What happened when a rival network almost stole her idea first

45:00 What is her warning label for building something from nothing

If you are looking for  a way to actively journal to reveal and heal the thoughts, emotions, and truth you’ve been hiding your whole life check out my guided journal, Heal to Real here: https://linktr.ee/hollyhughesintuitive

Connect with Mickela 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/travelbarefeet/ 

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/travelbarefeet

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/travelbarefeet 

• Website: https://www.travelbarefeet.com/ 

Connect with Holly 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holly_hughes_intuitive/

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hollyhughesintuitive

• Website: https://www.thehollyhughespodcast.com/

Can you become a professional ballet dancer if you do not begin training until your teenage years?

Maurice Mouzon Jr. started dancing at 14 after leaving football behind, walked into his first ballet audition wearing basketball shorts, and got almost every combination wrong. What the instructors saw, however, was something technique alone could not create: enthusiasm, determination, and an undeniable ability to perform.

In this episode of The Holly Hughes Podcast, Holly sits down with Maurice, a professional dancer who has spent 10 years with Charlotte Ballet, to explore his unconventional path from Baltimore athlete to acclaimed professional performer.

Maurice shares how a spontaneous classroom performance led him to Baltimore School for the Arts, why staying late for additional classes helped him catch up, and how he earned a professional contract after only one year of college. He also reveals why enjoying himself in the studio ultimately mattered more than being the most technically perfect dancer in the room.

Their conversation goes beyond the stage to examine body image in ballet, racial representation, creative confidence, and the pressure placed on dancers to conform. Maurice reflects on being told he would never perform a classical prince role, the young audience member who saw himself represented through Maurice’s braids, and why professional success requires personality, perseverance, and heart.

This is a conversation about becoming what others cannot yet imagine, protecting your identity in demanding creative spaces, and trusting that what is meant for you can still find you.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• How Maurice Mouzon Jr. went from playing football to discovering dance at 14.

• Why starting ballet later can offer an unexpected creative advantage.

• How body criticism and restrictive food expectations affect young dancers.

• What it means to build a sustainable career as a professional dancer.

• How Maurice navigated being one of very few Black dancers in his company.

• Why representation in ballet can transform what young performers believe is possible.

• How choreography, teaching, business, and accounting are shaping his future beyond the stage.

If you enjoy conversations about creativity, storytelling, personal growth, podcasting, and authentic living, be sure to subscribe for more episodes of The Holly Hughes Podcast.

We talk about:

00:00 Introducing Charlotte Ballet dancer Maurice Mouzon Jr.

02:44 Going from football player to dancer at 14

08:10 Auditioning for Baltimore School for the Arts without ballet experience

12:00 How dance became a dormant talent waiting to be discovered

16:20 Starting a creative career without preconceived limitations

18:03 Taking extra classes to catch up with experienced dancers

21:18 Protecting body confidence in an industry focused on appearance

27:28 Becoming a professional dancer when commercial dance was the original dream

30:32 Being a Black dancer and questioning his place in classical ballet

33:24 The moment representation gave Maurice’s career a deeper purpose

37:54 Meditation, inner peace, and building confidence from within

39:16 Choreographing, teaching, and preparing for life beyond the company

44:51 How a dance video led to an unexpected performance in the Maldives

48:01 Turning a difficult family legacy into something positive

49:09 Maurice reveals his surprising personal warning label

If you are looking for  a way to actively journal to reveal and heal the thoughts, emotions, and truth you’ve been hiding your whole life check out my guided journal, Heal to Real here: https://linktr.ee/hollyhughesintuitive

Connect with Maurice 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mauricemouzon_/ 

• Website: https://charlotteballet.org/meet-the-dancers/maurice-mouzon-jr/ 

Connect with Holly 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holly_hughes_intuitive/

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hollyhughesintuitive

• Website: https://www.thehollyhughespodcast.com/
  

How do you make your first feature film after spending decades helping other people bring their creative visions to life?

For filmmaker Vince Duqué, the answer was to stop waiting for permission, buy a camera, and begin shooting before he had a finished screenplay.

In this episode of The Holly Hughes Podcast, Holly sits down with Vince, a Filipino-American writer, director, producer, and former Hollywood assistant director now living in Paris. After more than 20 years working across studio film and television, Vince is completing his first feature as a director, Je m’appelle Alvie Balicoco.

The autofictional independent film follows a Filipino-American immigrant living in Paris who takes his French friend on a road trip across America to see U2 at the Sphere in Las Vegas. What begins as a concert trip becomes a reckoning with loneliness, identity, abandonment, people-pleasing, and the emotional cost of reinvention.

Holly and Vince also explore the unseen realities of filmmaking, the creative compromises behind Hollywood productions, and why making honest art sometimes requires accepting that not everyone will understand or support it.

This is a conversation about independent filmmaking, creative courage, immigration, depression, belonging, and what happens when an artist finally decides to come clean.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• How Vince Duqué began making his first feature film without a completed screenplay.

• Why decades of Hollywood experience can make it harder to stop seeking permission and trust your creative instincts.

• What autofiction is and how Vince combines real people, fictional characters, and lived experiences in his film.

• Why Vince left Los Angeles for Paris and how becoming an immigrant transformed his understanding of reinvention.

• How loneliness, abandonment, people-pleasing, and depression shaped the emotional core of Je m’appelle Alvie Balicoco.

• Why an unexpected mistake on the road to Las Vegas gave the film the conflict and emotional tension it needed.

• How Vince directs himself while simultaneously writing, producing, improvising, and thinking about the edit.

• Why emotional truth can matter more than traditional protagonist, antagonist, and conflict formulas.

• How creative rituals can help actors enter and safely leave emotionally difficult material.

• Why coming clean, rather than appearing perfectly authentic, became the central message of Vince’s film.

If you enjoy conversations about creativity, storytelling, personal growth, podcasting, and authentic living, be sure to subscribe for more episodes of The Holly Hughes Podcast.

We talk about:

00:00 Introducing filmmaker Vince Duqué

01:42 Creating an experimental autofiction feature film

08:43 Je m’appelle Alvie Balicoco and the journey toward individuation

11:39 Finding the confidence to express your creative voice fully

15:45 Starting production before the story was completely written

21:20 Guerrilla filmmaking and no longer asking for permission

24:00 Navigating fear, depression, and doubt during the creative process

25:56 The reality of being a Filipino-American immigrant in Paris

27:12 Why reinvention is not always inspiring or romantic

35:42 The real-life mistake that gave the movie its conflict

39:16 Trusting emotional truth over traditional storytelling formulas

48:21 Why Je m’appelle Alvie Balicoco is ultimately about coming clean

If you are looking for  a way to actively journal to reveal and heal the thoughts, emotions, and truth you’ve been hiding your whole life check out my guided journal, Heal to Real here: https://linktr.ee/hollyhughesintuitive

Connect with Vince 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/levinceduque/ 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vinceduque/ 

• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0243601/ 

• Website: https://www.vinceduquestories.com/ 

Connect with Holly 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holly_hughes_intuitive/

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hollyhughesintuitive

• Website: https://www.thehollyhughespodcast.com/

How to make friends as an adult is the question at the center of this episode of The Holly Hughes Podcast, and Shari Leid has spent the last several years answering it one stranger at a time.

If you've moved to a new city, gone through a divorce, experienced burnout, or feel invisible in your own life right now, this conversation names exactly why connection feels harder than it used to—and what it takes to rebuild friendship, belonging, and a sense of home.

Shari was found as an infant in a cardboard box in Seoul, South Korea, with no name, no birth date, and no family record. That beginning shaped a lifelong search for belonging and eventually inspired her signature Flip the Box framework.

Holly Hughes, TEDx speaker and former Hollywood producer, sits down with Shari Leid, four-time author of Table for 51 and founder of the Flip the Box movement, to talk about friendship, burnout, reinvention, belonging, and what it means to walk into a room heart forward instead of head down. Shari shares the exact opening line she uses with any stranger, why she left a 27-year marriage and reinvented her life after a career as a litigator, and the one question a mentor asked her that she still can't shake: Do you realize you're enough?

This is a conversation about rebuilding after burnout, finding the courage to reinvent yourself, and creating connection when the life you knew no longer feels like home. For anyone wondering where they belong—and how to begin again, at any age.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• Shari Leid's exact opening line for starting a conversation with any stranger, one that works whether you just moved to town or have lived there for decades.

• Why eye contact and heart forward body language, not perfect small talk, are what actually signal openness to connection, drawn from watching how injured animals move.

• Shari Leid's plain Webster's definition of friendship, mutual admiration, and why she believes friendships are allowed to ebb and flow without guilt.

• How being found in a cardboard box as an infant in Seoul, South Korea became the foundation for Shari's Flip the Box connection framework.

• Why leaving a 27-year marriage gave Shari the confidence to rebuild a life and community from scratch in a city where she knew no one.

• The single question a mentor asked Shari, do you realize you're enough, and how it changed the way she leads her Flip the Box retreats.

• Holly opens up about a recent diagnostic mammogram scare and how taking care of your health is its own act of connection and self-trust.

If you enjoy conversations about creativity, storytelling, personal growth, podcasting, and authentic living, be sure to subscribe for more episodes of The Holly Hughes Podcast.

We talk about:

00:00 Welcome and introducing Shari Leid

01:06 Found in a cardboard box in Seoul, South Korea

03:18 Growing up with Japanese American adoptive parents

06:18 Why did Shari become a litigator instead of a writer

08:01 The funeral that changed how Shari saw her own legacy

11:57 What does the word weird actually mean

15:00 Why eye contact matters more than you think

16:17 Heart forward versus head down

18:06 Leaving a 27 year marriage and moving to Dallas

25:24 Redefining friendship using the Webster's definition

28:07 Why hello is the hardest word to say

44:00 Shari Leid's new book Flip the Box coming in 2027

Connect with Shari 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/an_imperfectly_perfect_life 

• Podcast: https://sharileid.com/podcast 

• Website: https://sharileid.com/ 

Connect with Holly 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holly_hughes_intuitive/

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hollyhughesintuitive

• Website: https://www.thehollyhughespodcast.com/

#HumanConnection #FlipTheBox #KoreanAdoptee #AdopteeStory #FriendshipExpert #ConnectionCoach #GrayDivorce #ReinventionAfter50 #MidlifeReinvention #WomensRetreat #BelongingMatters #EyeContactMatters #HeartForward #TEDxSpeaker #AuthorInterview #WomenOverFifty #CreativeLifePodcast #HollyHughesPodcast

What happens when everything you've worked for disappears?

In this deeply vulnerable episode of The Holly Hughes Podcast, Holly sits down with entrepreneur, designer, speaker, and mental health advocate Andrew Jang for an unforgettable conversation about resilience, identity, creativity, and rebuilding your life after unimaginable loss.

Andrew shares the extraordinary journey that took him from being one of Seattle's most connected entrepreneurs and a sought after custom menswear designer working with NBA athletes, to homelessness, public humiliation, depression, and surviving multiple suicide attempts.

Together, Holly and Andrew explore what happens when your identity is built around achievement, why external validation can become a dangerous addiction, and how creativity became the path that helped Andrew rediscover himself.

They also discuss adoption, belonging, grief, social media, vulnerability, mental health, reinvention, toxic success culture, and why your greatest setbacks often become the foundation for your greatest purpose.

Whether you're navigating burnout, rebuilding after failure, questioning your purpose, or simply trying to find hope again, this conversation offers an honest reminder that your story is never over.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• Why losing everything can become the beginning of personal transformation

• How external validation quietly fuels anxiety and burnout

• The connection between creativity, healing, and emotional resilience

• What surviving depression taught Andrew about purpose

• Why vulnerability creates stronger human connection

• How adoption shaped Andrew's identity and search for belonging

• The hidden cost of chasing success without inner peace

• Why rebuilding your life starts by becoming honest with yourself

If you enjoy conversations about creativity, storytelling, personal growth, podcasting, and authentic living, be sure to subscribe for more episodes of The Holly Hughes Podcast.

We talk about:

00:00 Meet Andrew Jang and his unconventional creative journey

03:00 Learning to sew, discovering fashion, and finding confidence through creativity

07:00 Building a thriving career, working with NBA athletes, and achieving success

09:00 The lawsuit that changed everything and losing the life he built

11:45 Homelessness, depression, and surviving public humiliation

18:55 Living with suicidal thoughts, mental health, and learning to speak openly

23:15 Why today's culture makes genuine human connection harder than ever

24:10 Reinvention, purpose, and building a meaningful future

26:30 The power of vulnerability and telling your story online

28:10 Adoption, identity, belonging, and finding yourself

34:00 Why creativity requires courage, discomfort, and authenticity

39:00 Relationships, trust, healing, and learning to love again

42:35 Andrew's final thoughts on resilience, hope, and creating a life worth living

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline provides free, private support. It's available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Anyone who is depressed, going through a hard time, needs to talk or is thinking about hurting themself can get help. The Lifeline is available to everyone—you can call for yourself or a loved one who may need crisis support.

Connect with a counselor who will listen, offer support and provide resources nearby:

Call 988 or (800) 273-8255

Need help in the US?

Text HOME to 741741 to reach a trained Crisis Counselor through Crisis Text Line, a global not-for-profit organization. Free, 24/7, confidential.

Connect with Andrew 

• Website: https://www.andrewjang.com/ 

Connect with Holly 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holly_hughes_intuitive/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hollyhughesintuitive
• Website: https://www.thehollyhughespodcast.com/

What does it really take to become a confident creative?

In this episode of The Holly Hughes Podcast, Holly sits down with award-winning Irish fiddle player, educator, and podcast host Tara Connaghan to explore the connection between creativity, confidence, community, and personal growth.

Tara shares how one challenging lesson from her music teacher completely changed the trajectory of her life, why creativity is about far more than natural talent, and how Irish traditional music became both a form of healing and a lifelong calling.

Together, Holly and Tara discuss performance anxiety, artistic growth, finding your creative voice, overcoming the fear of being seen, and why surrounding yourself with the right community can transform both your confidence and your career.

Whether you're a musician, entrepreneur, artist, writer, podcaster, or simply someone searching for the courage to create, this conversation is filled with practical wisdom and inspiring stories about embracing who you are and trusting your creative journey.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• Why confidence is built through practice, not perfection

• How creativity helps us process grief and difficult emotions

• The surprising connection between community and artistic growth

• What Irish music sessions teach us about collaboration and belonging

• How Tara built an award-winning podcast from a simple idea

• Why fear of visibility holds so many creatives back

• The mindset shift every artist needs to keep growing

If you enjoy conversations about creativity, storytelling, personal growth, podcasting, and authentic living, be sure to subscribe for more episodes of The Holly Hughes Podcast.

We talk about:

00:00 Meet Tara Connaghan and finding your creative path

01:25 Losing her sister, discovering the fiddle, and finding purpose

05:17 The tough lesson that completely changed her work ethic

13:20 Why music became an outlet for grief, healing, and emotion

19:01 What Irish music sessions really are (and why community matters)

20:38 The surprising reason Tara started her award-winning podcast

24:36 Winning five podcast awards and embracing creative success

30:18 Creative confidence, visibility, and overcoming the fear of being seen

38:20 Why partnership beats sponsorship for creatives

46:15 The biggest mistake aspiring creatives make

54:10 Tara's warning label, perfectionism, and final advice

Connect with Tara 

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61576848312798 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tarafiddle/ 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/session-etiquette/ 

• Website: https://www.sessionetiquette.com/ 

Connect with Holly 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holly_hughes_intuitive/

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hollyhughesintuitive

• Get Holly’s book here: https://hollyhughesintuitive.com/my-book/

• Website: https://hollyhughesintuitive.com/ 

#CreativeConfidence #IrishMusic #PerformanceAnxiety #CreativeMindset #CreativeCommunity #ArtistMindset #IrishTraditionalMusic #MusicianLife #Podcasting #Storytelling #CreativeJourney #OvercomingFear #FiddlePlayer #PersonalGrowth #AuthenticLiving #CreativeProcess #WomenWhoPodcast #HollyHughesPodcast #TaraConnaghan #IrishCulture

Hollywood burnout and spiritual awakening don't happen overnight, and no one knows that better than Bob Degus. 

After more than a decade producing Oscar-nominated films and overseeing blockbusters at New Line Cinema, Bob hit a wall that no amount of money or credits could fix. If you've ever wondered whether the life you built is actually the life you want, this episode will shake something loose in you. 

Holly Hughes, TEDx speaker, intuitive healer, and author of Real, Not Perfect, sits down with her former mentor for an honest conversation about what happens after the dream you chased turns into something you barely recognize. 

Bob shares how nearly 100 nights of ayahuasca, a spontaneous trip into a war zone, and 35 hours of interviews with Ukrainian yoga teachers led to his most meaningful work yet: Yogis of Ukraine, a documentary and companion book now available on Amazon in six languages.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• Why Hollywood burnout often has roots in childhood trauma, and how Bob connected his tolerance for chaos on set to the household he grew up in 

• How Bob went from saying no to Ukraine to boarding a plane three days later, and what that moment taught him about following an inner voice 

• The story structure principle Bob used on Pleasantville that still shapes every project he makes: start with the ending to build a powerful arc 

• What happened when Bob sat in ayahuasca ceremonies nearly 100 times in Peru, and the single moment of self-compassion that ended the entire journey 

• How Ukrainian women practicing Kundalini yoga in bomb shelters and on military bases became the subject of a documentary that leaves audiences talking for two hours after the screening 

• Why Bob conducts film interviews in languages he doesn't speak, and what that forced him to rely on instead of words 

• The "surrender" moment Bob experienced in a Kyiv hotel during an air raid siren, and how it mirrors what the women of Ukraine live with every single day

We talk about:

00:00 How Holly and Bob met working on low-budget Hollywood productions

04:00 What Hollywood in the 1990s actually felt like from the inside

07:00 Why friendships evaporate the moment you stop being able to hire people

09:00 Did working on Pleasantville feel different from other films?

11:00 What made Bob walk away from producing and start over

16:00 How your Hollywood training prepares you for everything that comes after it

17:00 How did a two-day phone call turn into a trip to a Ukrainian war zone?

20:00 What it feels like to interview women when you don't speak their language

24:00 The subtitle editing challenge: feeling sentence endings you cannot hear

26:00 Yogis of Ukraine: test screenings, the book, and the World Peace Tour plan

30:00 Why Bob said yes to ayahuasca and what nearly 100 nights in Peru revealed

33:00 How Bob found Laia and chose which 35 women to interview from 250

35:00 What a Ukrainian yogi said that stopped Bob from trying to rescue anyone

40:00 The Kyiv hotel air raid siren and the moment surrender became real

44:00 Theatrical release plans and where to find the book right now

47:00 Bob's warning label: a bike accident, a brain injury, and a flat face that fooled everyone

Connect with Bob 

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DirectorBobDegus/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bobdegus/ 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobdegus/

• Website: https://www.bobdegus.com/

• Film: https://www.yogisofukraine.com/ 

Connect with Holly 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holly_hughes_intuitive/

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hollyhughesintuitive

• Get Holly’s book here: https://hollyhughesintuitive.com/my-book/

• Website: https://hollyhughesintuitive.com/ 

What happens when you walk away from a successful corporate career with no real plan, follow your curiosity across continents, and accidentally build an entirely new life?

In this episode, Holly sits down with Soraya Ho, multilingual tour guide, podcaster, former software developer, and one of Jeju Island's most passionate cultural ambassadors.

After years of intense corporate work in South Korea, Soraya made a life-changing decision to leave it all behind and travel through Latin America. What began as a short trip turned into a complete career pivot, leading her into tourism, language learning, cultural storytelling, and eventually a new life on Jeju Island.

Together, Holly and Soraya explore the realities of Korean work culture, the unique identity of Jeju, the legendary Haenyeo women divers, ancient traditions, local myths, and what it means to create a life guided by curiosity instead of certainty.

If you've ever wondered what life looks like outside the expected path, this conversation is a beautiful reminder that sometimes the best opportunities begin when you stop trying to control the outcome.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• Why Soraya left a demanding corporate IT career in South Korea

• How a six-month Latin America trip changed the direction of her life

• The surprising connection between travel, language, and reinvention

• What makes Jeju Island so different from mainland South Korea

• The truth about Jeju's legendary Haenyeo women divers

• Why Jeju is often called the "Hawaii of South Korea"

• The unique culture, mythology, and traditions that still exist on the island

• How to become a great tour guide and read people quickly

• Why curiosity is one of the most powerful life skills you can develop

• What it looks like to build a life around adventure instead of expectations

We talk about:

00:00 Meet Soraya Ho and her unexpected path to Jeju Island

02:00 Life inside South Korea's corporate IT world

04:00 The personal loss that sparked a major life change

05:00 Traveling across Latin America and discovering a new direction

08:00 Becoming a tour guide and leading month-long international trips

13:00 Moving from Seoul to Jeju during the pandemic

16:00 Reading people, managing groups, and guiding travelers

19:00 Why sometimes it's better not to overthink big decisions

20:00 Launching a podcast and sharing Jeju with the world

21:00 The growing fascination with Jeju's Haenyeo women divers

24:00 Jeju spirituality, traditions, and local rituals

27:00 Training to become a Haenyeo diver herself

31:00 The future of Jeju's diving culture and younger generations

34:00 What makes a truly great tour guide

36:00 The best time of year to visit Jeju Island

38:00 Common misconceptions visitors have about Jeju

41:00 Why Jeju's culture feels different from anywhere else in Korea

43:00 Living as an outsider in a place with deep traditions

47:00 Soraya's personal warning label and philosophy for life

• Call or Text or Chat the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline 988. Hours are available 24/7 and the cost is free.

  OR

• Text HOME to 741741 to reach a trained Crisis Counselor through Crisis Text Line, a global not-for-profit organization. Free, 24/7, confidential.

Connect with Soraya 

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vamosajeju/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soraya.jeju/ 

Connect with Holly

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehollyhughes/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@hollyhughesintuitive
• Get Holly’s book here: http://bit.ly/4ggvAamWebsite:
• https://hollyhughesintuitive.com/

#JejuIsland #SouthKoreaTravel #Haenyeo