“Follow your bliss and don't be afraid. Doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be.” —Joseph Campbell
Imagine you’ve produced some of the biggest hit shows in television. You’ve won accolades and prestigious, pointy awards for your work. You’re at the top of your game and everyone wants to hire you.
Yet, you’re totally miserable.
Not so hard to believe, really.
In this Re/Invented interview I speak with Emily Sinclair. An executive producer at the top of the TV game, Emily had it all. Executive Producing fancy shows…constant work…big money…someone always handing you coffee the second you want it…life at the top of the TV industry can be very seductive.
On the surface.
But Emily Sinclair had other priorities and instead of being an MVP, she was secretly more interested in the MLS. So, she walked away from the top of the TV industry and found a new home in real estate.
And she’s never been happier.
Tons of us are toiling away in careers we secretly hate. Worried that our colleagues might judge us for leaving. Fearful that walking away will be the biggest mistake imaginable. Well, you only get one life so you can spend it miserable and worried about what everyone else is thinking of you (they’re not). Or you can follow YOUR bliss and do that thing you truly, madly, deeply want to do.
As Lucille Ball once said, “I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done.” And you know what, Lucy’s risks led to a pretty fucking awesome life.
In this conversation, you’ll discover how Emily Sinclair realized she was miserable.
How she worked through her fears of walking away from a big career, to work for no money at all.
How she dealt with worries over her family, friends and colleagues judging her.
Advice for anyone else who’s spending all day miserable instead of taking a big chance…on themself.
INTERVIEW SELECTS:
2:08 Women working in TV basically age in dog years. And there aren’t a lot of women in their 50s hanging around the craft service table. Trust me.
9:33 I was like, ugh, the world doesn’t need another fucking Realtor. And one of my friends said, “The world needs a good Realtor.”
10:23 I was looking for this kind of home and I found it in real estate.
10:58 There’s always someone younger, thinner, and hotter, whatever. There was always someone younger than me who didn’t have kids and was fine with traveling 6-9 months out of the year. And I became that annoying producer who was like, “I really need to be home.”
11:23 I felt like the universe was absolutely just guiding me.
12:11 I felt for sure that people were going to think I was a failure. And there’s sort of a Stockholm Syndrome that comes with being in entertainment. They beat you up, they make you feel like shit. And the moment you do something good, you’re the best thing ever.
12:26 I remembered feeling like, I never want to quit cause I’m not a quitter. I want to hold on as long as I possibly can!
13:15 I watched (my dad) fail so many times I was like, I’m not gonna let go of television!
13:57 I was really concerned that people were going to say, She failed! She couldn’t hack it! She didn’t make it. Like all that sort of mean girls stuff. And what I found instead was people would reach out to me and be like, oh my god, I love what you’re doing.
17:04 When I closed my first deal, it was truly like giving birth to a three headed cyclops.
17:38 I remember getting in my car and I broke into tears, cause I was so happy. Cause I was changing these peoples’ lives.
18:18 I have agency over my life. I decide when and where I work. I decide which clients I want to work with, and I have absolutely fired clients before. I never feel abused now.
19:57 If I could go back in time, and be with myself once again, I would say, “Honey, you are worth so much more than this shit.”
21:26 Don’t worry about the money. It’s gonna fill your soul for the next 20 years or whatever. People get so caught up in the money.
Trust me when I say an Emmy Award-winning TV producer knows all of the secrets to making your house look spectacular. If you’re buying, selling or just buy-curious (hehehe), here’s how you can contact Emily Sinclair:
