The Ampersand Manifesto Season 5 Trailer

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Hello, hello.
We are so excited to share that

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The Ampersand Manifesto will be
back for Season 5 starting April

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15th, 2026.
If you're new to the show,

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welcome.
I'm your host Jessica Wan, and

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I'm an Ampersand.
I'm an executive coach who led

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marketing teams for many years,
and I'm an actively performing

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classical singer and musician.
In this podcast, I interview

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people who have made their mark
in multiple fields.

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We explore how the fields they
play in might look totally

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different on the surface, but
share connections upon deeper

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investigation.
Our goal is to amplify,

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celebrate and normalize these
stories.

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And through these interviews,
we're Co creating the Ampersand

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Manifesto principles for leading
a multi passionate life.

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I can't believe we're going into
year 4 of this podcast.

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It has been such a rich journey
for me to shine a light on

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people doing extraordinary
things.

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We now have a treasure trove of
50 interviews with folks who are

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mastering and connecting
multiple worlds like

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architecture and music, tech
startups and theater and

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business leadership and fiction
writing, just to name a few.

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And we're seeing this movement
grow.

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Just in the last year, articles
have popped up in Forbes and

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Fast Company about how multi
hyphenate leaders are the

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future.
Whether you call yourself a

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multi hyphenate, A polymath,
dual careerist, or ampersand,

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you are in the right place and
you are not alone.

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In Season 5, we'll hear from
entrepreneurs who have built not

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just companies, but experiences
that people are obsessed with.

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We'll hear from lifelong
learners pushing the boundaries

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of art and from performers who
have graced the largest stages

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in the world.
When I have an idea or if

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somebody tells me about their
idea, I can really see it all

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the way through to its
manifestation.

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I could sort of see easily how
those steps are taken to get the

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idea to become a thing.
And so it doesn't feel maybe not

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as intimidating to me as I think
to some people because I go, oh,

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yeah.
So yeah, you have a space to do

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thing.
But right make the club.

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So I think it's hubris and it's
suffering from an I can do that

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

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start a matzo company?
Not only did she start the Matzo

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company, she was also the voice
of Nickelodeon and the world's

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10th best female shuffleboard
player.

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I can't wait for you to hear
this interview.

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On this show, we not only go
into what people have done, but

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how they're approaching it.
Beginner's mindset and not

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saying from OK, now I'm playing
solo.

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This is completely different
then you have completely

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different kind of concentration
that you listen to the others

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and if you're the first to play,
what does it do with the others

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or if someone else plays?
So, so that's an interesting 1

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and it gives for me also the not
knowing.

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So you know, if you work in
different situations and

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different roles, I always like
it, the not knowing.

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The not knowing applies both to
improvisation on saxophones and

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teaching business classes.
And of course we delve into the

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practical nature of being an
ampersand when sometimes things

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are full on in both worlds.
I would start my day at 8:00 and

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then I would work until I had to
go to the Opera House.

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So I would have musical
rehearsals usually between 3:00

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and 5:00 PM.
And then from 5:00 to 6:30 we

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have our dinner break.
So I would hop on my laptop and

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do more UCSF work while eating
my dinner.

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And then we would have more
rehearsals from 6:30 to 9:30

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that would sometimes go until
11.

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So it's like go home, get ready
for bed and hurry up and sleep

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and hope you can fall asleep
quickly.

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Sorry, there were very long
days.

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But as I explained to my nephew
who said to me one time, Auntie

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Nicole, how do you work so much?
And I said, the end of my day is

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like dessert.
It's work.

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It's not easy and I'm just
hanging out.

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But it's when, when it's
something that feeds your soul,

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it's really easy, easy to keep
going.

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We'll be dropping episodes every
Wednesday, and the best way to

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know about them is to hit the
follow or Subscribe button in

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your podcast app so you'll see
when new episodes release.

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Learning to live like this is
the future, you know, learning

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to have a dual career.
I was just on the phone with a

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woman who said we are ripe for a
brain renaissance.

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And I was like, that's what we
are trying to do.

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Like there's this research that
I believe in at the core of the

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cohort, which is the most
innovative.

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Nobel laureates are people who
have actively cultivated dual

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careers and an innovative
meaning.

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Their research has been cited
the most times that they both

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have a scientific career and
they have a creative career, and

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that they focus on both of them
with an equal amount of

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dedication of professionalism.
And that they believe that it is

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the intersection of the creative
career with the less creative or

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the sort of more traditional
career that drives innovation.

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If you've been listening to our
show for a while now and haven't

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yet had the chance to leave a
review, now is your chance.

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Go to the show page in your
podcast app and leave a rating

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and review.
It really helps other people

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find the show.
And if you have a friend who you

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think will enjoy these stories,
share the show with them.

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In the meantime, catch up on
episodes you missed from

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previous seasons and let me know
which one's your favorite.

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See you on Wednesday, April 15th
for the first episode of Season

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5 of The Ampersand Manifesto.