Ashley Albert: How ADHD and "Saying Yes" created The Matzo Project, Shuffleboard Clubs, and a Kindie Rock Band

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So, you know, I have lots and
lots of ideas and I know which

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ones I should follow through on
because they're the ones I keep

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talking about.
Like if I know that I keep

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telling people like I have this
game show idea and I'm like,

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have I told you about Escape the
date?

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I am thrilled to be talking with
Ashley Albert, founder, public

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speaker and Idea Man Ashley
Albert is grateful that being a

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polymath requires no math.
As Co founder of The Matzo

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Project, she's the creative
voice behind the artisanal

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cracker brand which can be found
in the fanciest restaurants,

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hotels and specialty stores
around the world.

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As the founder of the Royal
Palms Shuffleboard Club in

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Brooklyn and Chicago, she's
introduced hundreds of thousands

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of people to the majestic
century old game and she was

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ranked 10th best female player
in the world.

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As a 25 year veteran of the New
York City voice over industry,

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you have probably heard her on
countless commercials, video

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games and cartoons for clients
like McDonald's, Nutella,

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Coca-Cola and Nickelodeon.
As the lead singer-songwriter

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and producer of the kindy rock
band The Jimmies, she's

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performed for throngs of
screaming first graders at

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festivals like Lollapalooza and
Austin City Limits.

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Known in the Bay Area, where
friends call her Birdie, she

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spends her free time buying
domain names, taking too many

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pictures of her dog, dreaming up
badge ideas for her new adult

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Scouting project, and
threatening to confiscate her

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teenager's phone on the hour.
Birdie, welcome to the show.

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Wow, that is quite a bio.
I quite something.

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I feel like when I, when I sit
at a like in an airport or an

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airplane and I talk to someone
about what I do, I start listing

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things and they they either
think I'm making stuff up or

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they're like, wow, this, this
girl's really trying to make

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ends meet.
She's just doing too much, just

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doing too many things.
You are in fact the ampersand of

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ampersands, yeah.
I feel like I could be on the

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poster.
So from voice over acting to

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artisanal crackers to
shuffleboard clubs and so much

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more, you share your gifts with
the world in so many ways.

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If we were to rewind to your 10
year old self, what have you

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always been into and how did
that evolve into the grown up

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you?
Huh.

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Well, I think when I was young,
I was already hustling for sure.

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I was actually just telling the
story the other day that I used

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to sell like my special Ritz
crackers out of my bedroom

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window for 1/4 to like all the
kids in the neighborhood.

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And they would line up for these
special Ritz crackers that were

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actually just Ritz crackers that
I would heat up in my Easy Bake

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oven.
Like they were literally light

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bulb warmed Ritz crackers that I
would dole out like golden coins

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of deliciousness to the people.
So maybe I was always a

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branding, a marketing genius
because the people were like,

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she's making her crackers today.
It was like a thing.

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And then I, I think a junior
high was like selling cinnamon

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oil toothpicks.
And so I always had some sort of

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business going on or some sort
of invention.

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I'm pretty sure that I invented
Amazon, maybe the Internet,

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because I used to dream when I
was a kid.

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I would watch TV and I would
pretend that there was a little

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door in my wall where I could
just have the product

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immediately that was on the
screen.

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I'd be like, oh, wouldn't it be
good if I could just boopy boop,

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I'm going to take this chocolate
bar out of my wall.

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So I don't know which what what
I invented.

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Maybe it was the Internet, maybe
it was Amazon.

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But I mean, you know, you're
welcome, world.

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There are so many ties, yeah.
Marketing and branding for sure.

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Entrepreneurship and creativity
and getting people into things.

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That's a great segue to the
world of shuffleboard.

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So you've stumbled upon
shuffleboard kind of by

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accident, went into the business
of owning 2 shuffleboard clubs,

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and you were ranked the 10th
best female shuffleboard player

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in the world.
I could ask how this happened,

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but I'm actually more interested
in what qualities in you did you

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really lean on to make this
happen?

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That's a good question.
I, I think one of my

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superpowers, aside from telling
if someone's gotten their

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haircut, which is like my top
superpower, the other superpower

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I have is that when I have an
idea or if somebody tells me

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about their idea, I can really
see it all the way through to

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its manifestation.
I could sort of see easily how

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those steps are taken to get the
idea to become a thing.

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And so it doesn't feel maybe not
as intimidating to me as I think

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to some people because I go, oh,
yeah.

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So yeah, you have a space to do
the thing, go away, make a club.

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So I and I also, I think it's
hubris.

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I think most of it's hubris and
a suffering from an I can do

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that syndrome where I'm like,
yeah, what's how hard going to

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be they start a Matza company
and I I also, you know, I have

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lots and lots of ideas and I
know which ones I should follow

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through on because they're the
ones I keep talking about.

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Like if I don't, if I know that,
I keep telling people like I

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have this game show idea and I'm
like, have I told you about

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escape the date?
I know that this is something I

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should continue to follow
through on because I'm excited

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about it.
If I don't, even if it's a great

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idea, if I am just not thinking
about it, then it's not worth

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falling to rhyme for me.
But this was one where I was

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like, oh, this would be so good.
Tell us about Escape the date

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because I think our listeners
want to say we were there when,

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so please tell us about the idea
you can't let go of right now.

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OK so the tagline is will they
find a mate or escape the date?

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And it is an escape room dating
show so you know it's a blind

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date.
They start out on opposite sides

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of a wall with a timer that has
a pot like that's draining by

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the 2nd and the they're trying
to figure out these clues

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together, working together, only
talking through their headsets.

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They haven't seen each other
yet.

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When they finally, you know, the
wall slides open and reveals the

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two of them.
They're either already feeling

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bonded and excited to see each
other and have this sort of

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false sense of intimacy, like
they've achieved something, or

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they're already, you know,
irritated with each other.

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Like did I not?
Did I?

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Where's did I not say a purple
button?

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That's a pink button.
That's a that's a purple, right?

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And every minute that they're
squabbling or not getting it

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right, they're losing money from
their pot.

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And so then it goes to the next
gauntlet, which is a little bit

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more physical moral challenge.
Something like somebody, one

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person has to get a light
electric shock while they hold

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hands and then the other person
has to like light up a light

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bulb or something.
So arguing about who's doing

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what, and then they get
separated again for the final

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room and they have to make a
decision whether they're going

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to work together to get out and
get the big prize and the dream

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date, or work against each
other.

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And only one person gets out,
and only one person gets the

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prize.
This characterizes so many of

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your projects.
You started the matzo project

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with a lifelong friend and on
your web page you say quote what

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started out as a good idea
accidentally became a great

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cracker.
And in in a way there's a

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through line like great idea has
legs, but also, you know, you're

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selling food, working with
distribution partners, running

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social media campaigns.
Pretty different from voice over

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acting and shuffleboard world.
What has been surprising?

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What has been rewarding about
the Matzo project?

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Well, the Matzo Project said a
really interesting one because

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it is a great cracker, but for
so many people it means so much

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more to them.
Like there's something about the

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brand that resonates with people
in a way that's so much more

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meaningful than just a cracker.
Similar with the Royal Palms,

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you know, it's, it's a
shuffleboard club, but people

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write me the most gorgeous
letters telling me that I've

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completely changed their lives
forever, you know, and, and

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fundamentally changed how they
live because they're going, you

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know, we've leagues and so
they've made friends and they

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have a place to go and they have
a skill that they, you know, I

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was the last person picked in PE
always.

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And I am an internationally
ranked shuffleboard player and,

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and it is considered a sport, by
the way, not a game.

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It is like, but technically a
sport, which no one would have

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ever guessed.
I definitely did not win the

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most athletic superlative in
high school.

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I did win a superlative and I
don't remember what it was.

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I got to find out.
I don't know who would know

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somebody.
Somebody probably still has a

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yearbook.
I I remember what I wore to the

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photo shoot for it.
I got some guesses.

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I do too, but I have no idea
what it was.

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I got to.
I got to find out anyway.

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Not most athletic 100%.
I can tell you right now it

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wasn't that.
So, yeah, I think that we get

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with the matzo project people
saying I, I I haven't had matzo

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ball soup since my grandmother
died.

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And yesterday was the day of
anniversary of her her death.

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And I found your soup and it
made me feel like she was

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letting me know she's still with
me.

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You know, it's like, Oh my gosh,
this is just this is soup, you

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know?
So yeah, it's really a a deeper

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project than I anticipated it
being for sure.

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Wow.
And I'm seeing community as a

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through line too, right?
This is bringing people

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together, having people be
obsessed with the thing, right?

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Like they found their place,
they found their soup, they've

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found the thing that makes them
feel like them.

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Let's talk a little bit about
the Jimmies.

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So you put that the it's a kindy
band, which I'm deducing as kid

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indie rock band.
Yeah, that's a technical term.

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Great.
And you also started this by

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accident.
So another another theme here of

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starting this by accident.
You've.

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Performed at these huge events.
You also mentioned that your

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proudest moment as a musician is
when you found out that a second

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grade class sang one of your
songs for their recital.

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And that's very touching.
And again, goes back to

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community.
What do you think helped make

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the Jimmies go from the idea
phase?

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Just, you know, a great idea
into a pretty big reality.

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Well, the jimmies was not an
idea that I manifested.

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The idea was thrust upon me.
So I many years ago started this

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group called Eggs and it stood
for every goal gets served.

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And I feel like they have things
like this now, but they did not

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have this this many years ago.
This was like in maybe 2006 or

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2007.
And my plan was I was going to

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get some of my friends together
at a diner and we would eat eggs

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that was a little on the nose.
And we would discuss, we would

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come up, everybody would come up
with a goal and we would be like

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a support group for goals.
So and my goal was just to pick

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a goal.
I like didn't you know, I was

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very happily doing voice overs,
but I knew that I was capable of

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more than just doing voice
overs.

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And I didn't know what else I
wanted to do.

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And I have ADHD.
So a lot of times those ideas

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that I have, you know, it's like
I'm going to make sweater clips

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and then you buy all the stuff
and then you never make a single

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sweater clip.
But I did have all all that in a

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bag of clips, which was a good
idea.

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But so one of my ideas when we
were just brainstorming on the

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very first Eggs meeting was to
make a children's album.

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But I meant make a spoken word
album.

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I had all these like sort of
Shel Silversteini poems that I

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have always written.
And I had access to all of the

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best voice over talent in New
York and I could do all kinds of

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voices.
And that just made sense to me.

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And one of the people in Eggs
was, I was the voice of

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Nickelodeon for a long time and
she was one of my producers.

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Actually she was casting
director.

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And she went back to the office
and they were looking for a kids

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band for something a few days
later.

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And she said, oh, Ashley Albert
has a kids band.

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And they were like our voice
over girl.

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00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:37,720
And she was like, Yep.
And then she called me from her

224
00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:39,280
office and she was like, holy
shit.

225
00:13:39,280 --> 00:13:42,520
I don't know why I said it, but
Eggs in effect, you're on kid.

226
00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:45,000
And like, how so could you put a
band together?

227
00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:46,720
And I was like, what?
What?

228
00:13:47,880 --> 00:13:49,440
I didn't consider myself a
singer.

229
00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:51,200
I did not know that I could
write music.

230
00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:54,840
In fact, I have a, a story about
not considering myself a

231
00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:57,760
songwriter because that's
another that's another story for

232
00:13:57,760 --> 00:13:59,880
another time.
But I really didn't think that I

233
00:13:59,880 --> 00:14:04,320
was a had to do that.
But the audition was in three

234
00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:09,480
days and so I quick wrote 3
songs and I got my best friend

235
00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:11,600
to sing backup and some dude to
play guitar.

236
00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:14,320
We came up with the name the
Jimmy's in the elevator on the

237
00:14:14,320 --> 00:14:18,200
way to the audition and we sang
our songs and they said this is

238
00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:19,760
great.
You know what else have you got?

239
00:14:19,760 --> 00:14:22,040
And we were like most mostly
this.

240
00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:23,200
And they're like, where else do
you play?

241
00:14:23,200 --> 00:14:25,720
We're like, ah, here is the
place.

242
00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:27,920
Mostly where we play.
And they were like, OK, you're

243
00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:32,040
not ready for what we need you
for, but pull your act together

244
00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:33,880
and we'll get you on next
season.

245
00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:57,320
I'm having a party for all of my
friends but nothing fancied a

246
00:14:57,320 --> 00:15:02,520
drink.
We won't have this get to tea or

247
00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:06,760
milk, just the finest water from
the sink.

248
00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:14,840
Won't you come, won't you come
to a tea party in the sun?

249
00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:23,080
Won't you come won't you come to
a tea party in the?

250
00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:35,600
So I my best friend was out, the
dude with the guitar was out.

251
00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:38,800
My dad is a record producer and
he has a recording studio in

252
00:15:38,800 --> 00:15:41,320
Miami.
So I quick wrote 10 more songs

253
00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:44,760
and I flew down to Miami and I
made the album with my dad and

254
00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:47,680
his studio.
And I came back up and I cast

255
00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:52,360
the band like on Craigslist.
And I had the band and I had the

256
00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:54,440
album and then the show got
cancelled.

257
00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:58,080
And but I had a band and I had
an album.

258
00:15:58,080 --> 00:16:01,000
So I was like, all right.
And so that's how the Jimmies

259
00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:03,000
became the Jimmies.
It just was an accident.

260
00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:06,880
And, and now we have, you know,
music videos and Christmas

261
00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:10,520
albums and wow.
OK.

262
00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:17,480
So I'm kind of putting this
together of of the steps that

263
00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:21,840
you took, which really was a lot
of go before you're ready.

264
00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:24,920
Something was promised.
You had to get your act together

265
00:16:25,160 --> 00:16:28,440
and put it together.
And then it was fun.

266
00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:33,000
And then putting your songs out
in the world got them discovered

267
00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:36,880
by, you know, random
serendipity.

268
00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:41,800
Yeah, and I, I will say that
even to this day, the Jimmies

269
00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:47,160
feels to me like my most self
expressed, like I when I when I

270
00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:51,040
hear the songs, they make me
laugh still, even though I know

271
00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:55,800
all the jokes and I I'm
incredibly proud of it.

272
00:16:55,800 --> 00:16:59,040
And I that's something that I
have found with all of the

273
00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:03,400
projects that I have done where
I have to feel proud of it or

274
00:17:03,400 --> 00:17:05,119
I'm not going to be able to tell
people about it.

275
00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:07,680
But when I would tell people
about the Jimmies, it wasn't

276
00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:09,760
like, oh, hey man, check out my
band.

277
00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:13,400
It was like, here you go.
Like if I had someone with kids,

278
00:17:13,400 --> 00:17:17,640
I'd be like, here's some music
videos for you, you can thank me

279
00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:22,720
later.
And so I, I, I really am very,

280
00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:26,680
very proud of the music videos
and of the songs themselves and,

281
00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:29,560
and even of like working with my
dad, which was really

282
00:17:29,560 --> 00:17:32,480
transformative for our
relationship to get to do that

283
00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:34,880
together.
But yeah, I think almost

284
00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:38,040
everything, all of the successes
I have had in my life have been

285
00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:42,440
like I Love Lucy level capers
that I just said yes to and then

286
00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:47,640
had to make good on.
Let's take a moment to reflect

287
00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:51,160
on this question.
When have you said yes to an

288
00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:53,520
opportunity before you were
ready?

289
00:18:00,120 --> 00:18:03,520
Are you and Ampersand looking
for community inspiration and

290
00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:06,960
resources?
Come join us in the cohort where

291
00:18:06,960 --> 00:18:11,040
we help you grow and scale your
creative and professional

292
00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:13,520
aspirations.
If you're looking for more

293
00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:17,120
dedicated support, ioffer
executive coaching for business

294
00:18:17,120 --> 00:18:20,720
leaders, people managers,
creatives, and of course,

295
00:18:20,840 --> 00:18:23,880
Ampersands.
Find out more about the cohort

296
00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:27,040
and one-on-one coaching at
jessica1.com.

297
00:18:27,600 --> 00:18:36,240
Now back to the show, let's talk
about voice over acting.

298
00:18:36,360 --> 00:18:41,000
So you were known as the voice
of Nickelodeon, so much so that

299
00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:43,040
you once told me there's
something in the industry called

300
00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:48,520
the Ashley Albert voice.
What was it like to be in the

301
00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:53,440
heyday of voice over acting and
at the top of the game?

302
00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:57,480
You know, I, it was, that was
really serendipitous luck.

303
00:18:57,480 --> 00:19:01,160
You know, I, I moved to New York
and I was 19 to do voiceovers.

304
00:19:01,160 --> 00:19:02,840
That was the reason I came to
New York.

305
00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:07,440
And I just had very good luck.
I was young enough and dumb

306
00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:10,160
enough that I had like a, I'd
never been to New York before.

307
00:19:10,160 --> 00:19:11,880
I didn't know anybody before I
moved there.

308
00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:15,320
And I just took a list of names
and called everybody like, hi,

309
00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:18,720
I'm Ashley.
And I just and I went to a party

310
00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:21,520
and I wish I could remember
whose party it was, but I met an

311
00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:24,640
agent there and started getting
sent doubt.

312
00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:29,280
And and it's probably the thing
that I do the best.

313
00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:32,040
And I always say to people, you
know, I don't have a

314
00:19:32,040 --> 00:19:36,640
particularly mellifluous voice,
but I'm a very good out loud

315
00:19:36,640 --> 00:19:39,360
reader.
And I was like the kid at school

316
00:19:39,360 --> 00:19:41,840
who when everybody, you know,
have to go around and read like

317
00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:45,120
a paragraph out of like the
science chapter, and then they

318
00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:47,760
send it to me like, all right.
And Ashley, you just bring it on

319
00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:51,200
home and I'd like finish, I'd
finish out the chapter if we

320
00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:53,440
didn't get to the end.
You know, I always was a very

321
00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:57,680
good sort of old reader and I
think that that is the unsung

322
00:19:57,680 --> 00:20:03,200
skill of voiceovers is really
just being able to, without

323
00:20:03,280 --> 00:20:06,680
reading it ahead of time, be
able to read something with with

324
00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:11,040
expression.
And it was a wonderful, super

325
00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:15,120
fun job to have.
I mean it, it paid really well.

326
00:20:15,120 --> 00:20:17,720
It was really fun.
There was a ton of community

327
00:20:17,720 --> 00:20:19,720
there.
You know, it's just, you see the

328
00:20:19,720 --> 00:20:22,320
same people.
It was like being in a perpetual

329
00:20:22,320 --> 00:20:24,160
waiting room and a doctor's
office.

330
00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:26,880
Like every day you just go from
waiting room to waiting room.

331
00:20:28,320 --> 00:20:34,480
And yeah, it was great fun.
So we've talked about your

332
00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:38,840
projects, your work, your job.
How do you how do you think

333
00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:44,120
about these words?
Even project, work, job, career,

334
00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:47,600
are they all the same thing?
Are they slightly different?

335
00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:51,240
I mean to me like job and work
and career.

336
00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:54,080
So I'm very grown up and I think
I'm not.

337
00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:58,000
I did hear once someone say
something like a career is a job

338
00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:01,080
that goes on too long.
And I thought, Oh yeah, that,

339
00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:04,120
that makes perfect sense.
And so I never want that.

340
00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:11,400
I, I don't think of myself as
any one thing, you know, and I,

341
00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:16,400
I think that has served me well.
I didn't figure out that I had

342
00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:20,800
ADHD until I was almost in my
50s, like my late 40s.

343
00:21:21,120 --> 00:21:25,880
And, and I think that it, it was
serving me well without me

344
00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:28,360
realizing it and also, you know,
hurting.

345
00:21:28,360 --> 00:21:33,480
I think now I understand much
better that when I come up with

346
00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:37,360
an idea, I can celebrate being
the person who comes up with the

347
00:21:37,360 --> 00:21:41,520
idea and not also have to be the
person who executes the idea.

348
00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:45,640
And that has made everything
much more possible.

349
00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:48,840
I think in the past, if I had a
great idea and I was trying to

350
00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:52,200
do it all myself, it was never
going to get all that far.

351
00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:57,960
Whereas now I feel like I don't,
I don't limit myself.

352
00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:02,800
I really, I, I believe in the,
the things that I'm good at.

353
00:22:02,800 --> 00:22:07,320
I feel actually quite confident
in the things that I'm good at,

354
00:22:07,360 --> 00:22:12,720
which helps because then you can
be unafraid to, you know,

355
00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:15,480
explore and play and do because
I'm like, oh, I'm good at this.

356
00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:18,080
The things that I'm not good at.
I'm not someone else here.

357
00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:21,280
The other day, I think I read
somewhere it was something about

358
00:22:21,560 --> 00:22:25,240
why, like people with ADHD, they
seem like they're really good at

359
00:22:25,240 --> 00:22:27,040
a lot of things.
Like, are there everything they

360
00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:29,480
try they're really good at?
And it's not that we're really

361
00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:32,600
good at stuff, it's that the
minute we figure out very

362
00:22:32,600 --> 00:22:35,200
quickly that we're bad at
something, we give up on it and

363
00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:38,080
move on to the next thing.
So we've just tried a lot more

364
00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:39,560
things that we know what we're
not good at.

365
00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:41,920
We skip right over those and
just go to the good stuff.

366
00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:45,760
I'm trying harder to do more
things that I'm not good at now

367
00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:49,280
than I used to before for sure.
Oh, that sounds wildly

368
00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:50,760
efficient.
And it sounds like you've

369
00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:56,280
learned how to work with your
own brain, which is wonderful.

370
00:22:56,280 --> 00:22:59,800
I mean, I, I also wonder, Oh my
goodness, I wonder what Ashley's

371
00:23:00,080 --> 00:23:05,960
backlog of ideas looks like.
If, let's be real, you have been

372
00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:11,520
successful and many of these
ideas and some things that seem

373
00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:15,160
like there isn't much overlap,
you know, the Matzo Project and

374
00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:21,080
a Kid Rock band and shuffleboard
clubs and voice over acting.

375
00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:26,760
So yeah, well, I, I do want to
look for some similarities

376
00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:29,080
though.
I wonder when you think about

377
00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:34,360
some of the main projects or
work streams that you've had in

378
00:23:34,360 --> 00:23:37,760
your life, what ties them
together?

379
00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:45,440
I mean, I think play, you know,
I think silliness and play and

380
00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:50,400
not taking anything too, too
seriously has been a big part of

381
00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:53,600
it.
Yeah, I think, and I value play

382
00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:57,320
probably above all else except
maybe snacks.

383
00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:04,200
That I that's true.
I do own thesnackademic.com,

384
00:24:04,200 --> 00:24:09,080
which is that serious snacking.
But I think, yeah, I think that

385
00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:11,600
that's probably in all of the
things.

386
00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:15,960
It's really the Jimmies are very
much celebrating sort of

387
00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:20,360
quirkiness and play and and not
taking things too seriously or

388
00:24:20,360 --> 00:24:23,600
very seriously.
Not, you know, very serious in

389
00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:25,880
their silliness.
Yeah, yeah.

390
00:24:27,760 --> 00:24:31,640
On a practical level, how do you
think about your work across

391
00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:35,040
many worlds in terms of your own
time and energy?

392
00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:43,400
Yeah, again, I feel like as I've
gotten older, I've gotten better

393
00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:47,800
at delegating A trusting.
I'm also, you know, sort of

394
00:24:47,800 --> 00:24:51,840
recovering perfectionist and
like an aspiring good enough

395
00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:57,600
fist, you know, definitely have
suffered from wanting something

396
00:24:57,600 --> 00:25:04,000
to be specialer than special and
needing it to be not just good,

397
00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:07,560
but like the best anybody's ever
seen ever with anything.

398
00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:10,480
And that can be a lot of
pressure.

399
00:25:10,480 --> 00:25:14,560
And also it's hard to leave that
to somebody else to do.

400
00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:22,120
And so I think accepting as long
as you've chosen well and have

401
00:25:22,120 --> 00:25:25,960
great people around you, that
they may not do it to your

402
00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:30,080
standards, but they're going to
do it to a high standard that I

403
00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:33,040
can live with most of the time
or else sneak in the middle of

404
00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:35,280
the night and change it.
But not really.

405
00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:40,360
I try try not to do that as much
anymore, but also I think

406
00:25:40,360 --> 00:25:44,960
because so much of what I do
revolves around play it, none of

407
00:25:44,960 --> 00:25:49,400
it feels like work.
Someone once said that I worked

408
00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:52,040
both more and less than anyone
they knew.

409
00:25:53,240 --> 00:25:55,720
So I feel like I'm always
working and I'm never working.

410
00:25:55,840 --> 00:26:00,240
It's all, it's all very
holistically a part of who I am

411
00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:05,120
all the time.
I love that you, I mean, for

412
00:26:05,120 --> 00:26:08,360
anyone listening or who knows
you, they know that you have an

413
00:26:08,360 --> 00:26:13,240
incredible energy, enthusiasm,
passion, drive and creativity

414
00:26:13,240 --> 00:26:20,160
that just spans everything you
do and you've had lasting power.

415
00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:24,800
I, I think just, it feels like
you've been able to adapt to

416
00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:29,520
change in so many senses of the
word, right?

417
00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:33,720
Like technology changes how the
world is changing trends and

418
00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:38,680
getting on top of trends.
How have you developed

419
00:26:39,120 --> 00:26:43,040
resilience to change and the
ability to adapt?

420
00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:49,240
Again, I got to give props to
ADHDI think I just it really is

421
00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:51,880
just that object impermanence
thing.

422
00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:56,280
I have really am able to, you
know, you wind me up and you

423
00:26:56,280 --> 00:26:59,160
point me in a direction and
that's the direction I'm going

424
00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:01,560
in.
I, for better or worse, you

425
00:27:01,560 --> 00:27:05,280
know, I, I was in New York for
30 years and I moved to the Bay

426
00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:10,720
Area almost three years ago.
And my life in New York feels

427
00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:13,080
like a dream.
I hardly remember it at all.

428
00:27:13,080 --> 00:27:16,200
It's as if I've always been here
doing this.

429
00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:22,400
And I think I have pivoted and
made major life changes many,

430
00:27:22,400 --> 00:27:28,040
many, many times.
And the key is I think just, you

431
00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:32,280
know, sort of really, I mean as
as as Northern California as it

432
00:27:32,280 --> 00:27:36,440
sounds like kind of the be here
now thing of like this is what

433
00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:38,920
I'm, this is what I'm focusing
on today.

434
00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:42,280
And so everything else falls
falls away.

435
00:27:42,560 --> 00:27:47,720
Yeah, and you became a parent in
the last few years as well?

436
00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:52,720
How has?
That how has that added to your

437
00:27:52,720 --> 00:27:57,360
ampersand and and change the way
that you are thinking about your

438
00:27:57,360 --> 00:27:59,480
life.
Big question, I know.

439
00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:01,880
Yeah, You know, I never planned
on being a parent.

440
00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:04,360
I adopted a teenager three years
ago.

441
00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:07,800
Also a perfect example of sort
of an impulsive.

442
00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:11,600
My decisions aren't impulsive.
Like, I'm not thinking this

443
00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:12,760
true.
I'm just going to do it.

444
00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:16,520
It's more like, I like when we
found our space for the

445
00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:20,000
shuffleboard club, you know, I
knew immediately we didn't have

446
00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:22,760
a business plan or any money
raised or anything, but we

447
00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:25,400
walked into the space and I was
like, OK, if we're doing this,

448
00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:28,240
we have to take this space.
And if we don't take this space,

449
00:28:28,240 --> 00:28:32,280
we're not doing this.
I just knew and moving to the

450
00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:34,560
Bay Area.
And same with my son.

451
00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:38,360
You know, I was helping out a
friend who was part of an

452
00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:41,320
organization and they needed a
couple of people they'd run at.

453
00:28:41,320 --> 00:28:43,560
You know, they've lost some
people who were taking these

454
00:28:43,560 --> 00:28:45,160
kids.
And I was just supposed to have

455
00:28:45,160 --> 00:28:48,880
them for five weeks.
And he arrived at 6:30 in the

456
00:28:48,880 --> 00:28:51,440
morning.
And by 7:30 I was like, all

457
00:28:51,440 --> 00:28:53,440
right, send me the paperwork.
I'm keeping this one.

458
00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:56,840
Like, you know, I just when I
know, I know.

459
00:28:57,240 --> 00:28:58,800
You're all in?
Yeah.

460
00:28:59,160 --> 00:29:00,600
Yeah, and like, take a long
time.

461
00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:03,240
And I lived for 30 years in New
York without it ever occurring

462
00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:07,720
to me to move anywhere else.
And I, somebody said to me, they

463
00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:09,320
were in the Bay Area.
And I said, how is it?

464
00:29:09,320 --> 00:29:12,080
And they said, I have found a
welcomingness and an

465
00:29:12,080 --> 00:29:15,560
intellectual curiosity here that
I never encountered in New York.

466
00:29:15,560 --> 00:29:18,720
And I thought, well, that sounds
good, Should I move to the Bay

467
00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:21,800
Area?
And then within 15 minutes, I

468
00:29:21,800 --> 00:29:24,480
was like, yeah, I'm going to
move to the Bay Area.

469
00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:26,880
And that was it.
I knew.

470
00:29:26,880 --> 00:29:33,280
And I, I was in May and I, by
July 1st, I was here and I'm

471
00:29:33,280 --> 00:29:38,480
talking to you.
Yes, one goal we have with this

472
00:29:38,480 --> 00:29:43,080
podcast is really to Co create
the Ampersand manifesto

473
00:29:43,080 --> 00:29:45,720
together.
When I think of the manifesto I

474
00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:49,680
think of principles for leading
a multi passionate life.

475
00:29:50,480 --> 00:29:52,760
What are some principles that
you live by?

476
00:29:54,960 --> 00:30:02,200
Oh, well, I say yes to anything.
I can say yes to anything.

477
00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:05,040
I, it's how I ended up, you
know, beware because that's how

478
00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:08,040
I ended up the proud owner of a
16 year old.

479
00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:17,040
But I, I, yes, I, I really try
to trust the map and, and say

480
00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:20,440
yes to the things that come in
front of me, whatever those

481
00:30:20,440 --> 00:30:23,360
things end up being.
And some of them feel totally

482
00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:27,240
random.
But I I really do believe in my

483
00:30:27,240 --> 00:30:34,880
own luck, and so I am willing to
put myself in places where that

484
00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:38,000
luck can manifest.
And but whether that means

485
00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:41,880
making a new friend or learning
something new, or hearing about

486
00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:45,800
something that might become my
next favorite thing, I just try

487
00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:48,240
to say yes to as many things as
I can.

488
00:30:49,720 --> 00:30:54,120
I love that, Bertie.
It's been incredible talking

489
00:30:54,120 --> 00:30:56,800
with you.
You are an inspiration, folks.

490
00:30:56,800 --> 00:30:59,120
You can check out Ashley
Albert's work at

491
00:30:59,160 --> 00:31:03,080
ashleyalbert.com and we'll link
to this in the show notes.

492
00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:08,280
If you liked this show, share it
with your friends and fellow

493
00:31:08,280 --> 00:31:12,480
ampersands and make sure to hit
the follow button to be notified

494
00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:17,080
when new episodes drop.
It would mean the world to us if

495
00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:19,520
you took two minutes to rate and
review the show.

496
00:31:20,200 --> 00:31:24,680
Just go to the main show page on
Apple Podcasts or Spotify and

497
00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:29,120
look for the stars.
I had a chance to listen back to

498
00:31:29,120 --> 00:31:33,400
my conversation with Bertie and
I wanted to share a few key

499
00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:38,080
takeaways.
One, there's something magical

500
00:31:38,080 --> 00:31:40,920
about starting things by
accident.

501
00:31:41,560 --> 00:31:44,080
I have experienced this in my
own life.

502
00:31:44,920 --> 00:31:49,200
Last year I was walking my dog
on a Friday afternoon and ran

503
00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:52,640
into a group of people playing
and singing bluegrass.

504
00:31:53,520 --> 00:31:58,560
What started as a simple dog
walk became me first trying to

505
00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:02,840
harmonize with them and then
realizing I could dust off my

506
00:32:02,840 --> 00:32:05,840
violin from high school and call
it a fiddle.

507
00:32:06,880 --> 00:32:10,480
So then I learned a bunch of
songs in a style I never thought

508
00:32:10,480 --> 00:32:14,840
I'd be into, and now I'm jamming
on my fiddle with my husband at

509
00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:19,080
the banjo now.
This was such a happy accident,

510
00:32:19,320 --> 00:32:24,040
and the key to these happy
accidents is to stay open and to

511
00:32:24,040 --> 00:32:30,440
say yes, something Birdie is
really good at. 2 Knowing

512
00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:34,120
yourself.
Birdie discovered later in life

513
00:32:34,120 --> 00:32:38,560
that she has ADHD, and she knows
herself well enough to know how

514
00:32:38,560 --> 00:32:41,320
to get the best out of her
amazing brain.

515
00:32:42,120 --> 00:32:45,400
There's something in here about
the special combination of

516
00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:50,920
knowing what you're good at and
what you're not, and using ADHD

517
00:32:50,920 --> 00:32:55,080
as a superpower.
This isn't the first time ADHD

518
00:32:55,080 --> 00:32:58,920
has been talked about on the
Ampersand Manifesto, and each

519
00:32:58,920 --> 00:33:03,280
time we talk about it, it's been
about discovery, harnessing the

520
00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:08,080
power of your brain, learning
more about yourself, and also

521
00:33:08,080 --> 00:33:13,280
allowing these many interests to
flourish in their own way or not

522
00:33:15,120 --> 00:33:21,440
3 Be here now, accept change,
and find the best in your

523
00:33:21,440 --> 00:33:25,400
current reality.
So many examples in Bertie's

524
00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:30,840
work and life center around a
knowing of what's right for

525
00:33:30,840 --> 00:33:35,360
right now.
I admire her decisiveness and

526
00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:39,920
listening to her intuition.
I think to be able to do that,

527
00:33:40,080 --> 00:33:45,400
you must have strong values and
a strong sense of knowing

528
00:33:45,400 --> 00:33:48,800
yourself.
So I always had some sort of

529
00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:52,400
business going on or some sort
of invention.

530
00:33:53,080 --> 00:33:56,720
I'm pretty sure that I invented
Amazon.