Angie Colee (00:00):
Welcome. to Permission to Kick Ass. The show that gives you a virtual seat at the bar for the real conversations that happen between entrepreneurs. I'm interviewing all kinds of business owners from those just a few years into freelancing to CEOs, helming nine figure companies. If you've ever worried that everyone else just seems to get it and you're missing something or messing things up, this show is for you. I'm your host, Angie Colee, and let's get to it. Hi. Welcome back to Permission to Kick with me today is my new friend, Orit Nevo. Say hi.
Orit Nevo (00:39):
Hi.
Angie Colee (00:39):
I practice saying your name right, and I like, names are important to me, so, uh,
Orit Nevo (00:43):
You did it perfect. It was Perfect.
Angie Colee (00:45):
Yay. Yay. Um, that's, that's a holdover from my Hollywood days. It's funny because I didn't use to pay attention to that until an executive that I worked with as, as his assistant kind of got after me One day. I, I used the wrong spelling of Kristen with somebody, and he just came up to me and very kindly was like, you know, our name is our identity. And that our identity as a human being, our individuality is super important. So like, take a little bit of extra care with names. Names are important, and I like that, has been in the back of my head ever since.
Orit Nevo (01:20):
Well, I highly appreciate the effort. You know, Hebrew names are not easy to pronounce,
Angie Colee (01:26):
Well, yes. And this is, uh, I'm so excited for this one. Well, I'm getting ahead of myself. First of all, tell us a little bit about you and your business.
Orit Nevo (01:33):
Okay. Well, I accompany people, mostly entrepreneurs to optimal performance. Hmm. And based on my 32 years of experience in performance and specifically circus performance at that.
Angie Colee (01:49):
Oh, that was the exciting one. And that was what I was trying to like, not jump into right away, but I'm gonna jump right into it. Okay. Because you told me you were a circus performer and a trapeze artist.
Orit Nevo (02:00):
Yeah. .
Angie Colee (02:01):
I have to know more. I ha you're the first trapeze artist I've spoken to on the show, so I'm so excited for this. Yeah.
Orit Nevo (02:07):
Well, I've been a trapeze artist for 25 years, so 15 of those 25 years I've been only in the air because when I started performing on the trapeze, I didn't wanna come down, you know?
Angie Colee (02:19):
That's awesome.
Orit Nevo (02:20):
And it took me 15 years and Mm-Hmm. . So, you know, you know this feeling when you're 15 years in the air and you look at the world from above, you get this kind of, uh, you know, overview.
Angie Colee (02:31):
Mm-Hmm. .
Orit Nevo (02:32):
It's interesting. And then when I came down, uh, I incorporated dance. So dancing on the ground with the trapeze. For me, the trape was always a kind of dancing in the air or vertical dancing instead of dancing horizontally, which is what I did before I became a trapeze artist. Mm-Hmm. . And then after I taught that a lot, and I taught people to teach that because in Israel there was no real contemporary circus. There was no circus in Israel. Actually, there was, when, when I started as a trapeze artist in Israel, it was, um, you know, we had to create the circus community in Israel, the circus market in Israel. It didn't exist, actually.
Angie Colee (03:15):
That's fascinating. That really just piqued me for a second. And I wanted to ask a little bit more. Like, what led you to deciding that you wanted to be a trape artist, especially in an era, in an area where that culture didn't really exist and you had to create it? That's fascinating to me.
Orit Nevo (03:33):
Yeah. Yeah. Well, basically I went to Europe to study it. I studied with a teacher in France, and, uh, the reason I did that is that I was dancing before
Angie Colee (03:45):
Mm-Hmm. on
Orit Nevo (03:45):
The ground and doing a lot of site specific work. And somehow I got annoyed with dancing horizontally. You know, something in me said, you know, I want another dimension,
Angie Colee (04:02):
Uhhuh.
Orit Nevo (04:02):
And, um, and then I saw my trapeze teacher performing, and I looked at her and she was so wonderful. And I came up to her and I said, Zoe, I need to study with you. And she said, okay, why? And I said, because it's so beautiful. It looks so beautiful. And she said, yeah, well, you know, there's a big difference between looking and doing Mm-Hmm.
Angie Colee (04:27):
. And
Orit Nevo (04:27):
That's when, you know, the hard work started. So that was, oh, yes. That was how it started. And she, it was really nice because she really went with me into this dancing in the air kind of approach, which was Mm-Hmm. Which is a little bit different than the classical pedagogical approach that you get in circle schools. So,
Angie Colee (04:46):
Yeah. Well, that's, that's interesting to me on a couple of levels because I loved how you saw that just as an extension of what you were already doing. There's dance on the ground, this kind of horizontal plane, and I just want to add another dimension to what I'm already doing. I think a lot of folks get stuck on the idea of making a change like that because they see it as a completely different thing that has nothing to do with the skills that they've already developed. And so I love that you already just kind of innately saw those things as connected. One is this way and one is this way, .
Orit Nevo (05:18):
Yeah. And actually my whole career, my whole career has been like that. Mm-Hmm. because for example, I've been performing on the trapeze, as I told you, for 15 years. I've been only in the air. Then I incorporated the dance again into the trapeze. So 10 more years on the ground and in the air, and then I stopped performing. So I taught other people to teach because I taught a whole generation of, uh, aerialists here in Israel, you know?
Angie Colee (05:47):
Hmm.
Orit Nevo (05:47):
So I taught, and then I said, okay, it's time for the young generation to perform. And then I taught the, some of the people of the young generation to teach. And then I stopped teaching after many years that I was teaching that Mm-Hmm. And then I started directing, which was another change that I did, you know? Mm-Hmm.
Angie Colee (06:05):
.
Orit Nevo (06:05):
And I started directing. And, you know, and this whole, this whole career relates to, you know, when you direct people, you listen to them, you look at their strengths, you have a vision of what you want to see on stage or on the elements. If you, you're speaking about the air or in juggling or whatever, no matter what element you use, you have a vision, and then you work with the people by listening to them and, you know, kind of pulling out of them the best of what they can give for that vision to be created on stage. Hmm. And that's something I did for many, many years. Also 20 years of directing circus as well. So that's, you know, and, and I think that's the the biggest thing that is moving what I'm doing now with people who are not circus artists, who are
Angie Colee (06:59):
Entrepreneurs
Orit Nevo (07:00):
And just whoever with the vision. Mm-Hmm. , because basically we're all creators, right?
Angie Colee (07:06):
Yes. Especially now with this kind of like universal platform that we've got, you could decide today that you want to speak to your life experience or tell a story. Like, one of my favorite examples of a, of a modern creator is, have you seen that movie The Martian, or read the book, the Martian?
Orit Nevo (07:26):
Yeah, of course. That's,
Angie Colee (07:28):
Wow. That started as a web, a blog series that people just read and really got into and eventually was optioned into a very popular movie and a book. But like, that's somebody that just decided, I'm gonna write a book and I am not going to go through the traditional route of like, pitching all of this and basically, and asking for permission or validation that my idea is good enough, I'm going to do the thing. And that's what I loved about your approach when you went to your dance teacher and said like, I wanna do this. I need to do this. Can you help me? Like, you get to make that choice and decide that this thing is something that you wanna do.
Orit Nevo (08:00):
Absolutely. I
Angie Colee (08:00):
Think that's fantastic.
Orit Nevo (08:01):
Also, in circus today, most people go to circus schools. I didn't go to circus schools specifically. I went to the person that I wanted to study with. And that's another repeating motive in my life. I'm a, I'm, how do you say, an English in that sense, like in the Renaissance, when you find your master and then you spend some years with that master, and then you, you go on to another master or you open your own business, you know? So I chose the people that I wanted to study with, with along the way,
Angie Colee (08:35):
Almost like apprenticing. I think that that should be something that we bring back, like work with somebody for a number of years to develop your skills, uh, versus the, the modern day education system. That's gonna be a whole other rant that we won't sue right now.
Orit Nevo (08:49):
Yeah. Hopefully. Because, well, there's a lot to do there,
Angie Colee (08:53):
. Mm-Hmm. . But I do like your, your, that tacit permission that you just gave everybody listening to, to like pick your mentors, to find somebody who's doing something that you wanna do, that you think you could learn from, and just approach them and make the ask and let it develop. Absolutely. Uh, I think that's fantastic. And something that you said really spoke to me. There's a couple of different things that stood out to me. I was making notes, and one of them was like, this idea of becoming a director. And I think a lot of us, like director, leadership, manager, have this impression of being a boss, of like knowing all the answers and setting the direction. And people do what you say, and I share your vision of this. Like, this is, I know what the vision is and I know the people that are involved in bringing this vision to life. And so I'm just gonna try and put them where I think they need to be based exactly like you said, on their strengths. And see if they can help me create an even better vision than the one that I imagined by just leaning into what they're naturally good at.
Orit Nevo (09:55):
Absolutely.
Angie Colee (09:56):
Yeah. That to me, opens a world of possibility beyond, like, Angie's vision is the way and the truth and the light, and there is no other interpretation of this that could be anywhere near as good. And my experience, I have found out that my idea may be great, and then combining it with other people who are equally talented at what they do, just elevates it in this way that I never could have foreseen.
Orit Nevo (10:16):
Yeah. Well, you know, you're absolutely right and you're touching on something really, really important because, you know, there's no absolute creation of
Angie Colee (10:25):
One
Orit Nevo (10:25):
Person. Mm-Hmm. All creation is co-creation.
Angie Colee (10:29):
Yes.
Orit Nevo (10:29):
All creation is co-creation. And circus, for example, is never done alone. It's teamwork. Yes. Always, always, always, always. So, um, so, you know, the, the thing is, you know, when you start directing, when I started directing, I thought I had to know everything. I thought I had to know, you know, how the plot of the performance went, what the car characters, what their subtext was, how a scene started, how it ended. And slowly I realized that I couldn't know everything. There's just too much to it. And that I do have a very talented team that I, you know, somehow was lucky enough to, uh, to gather around me that I could consult and I could ask people, so how are we going to do this? You know, guys? Mm-Hmm. and I, during the years, you know, I realized that the most, maybe the most important thing while you create is maybe not to know everything.
Angie Colee (11:26):
Mm-Hmm. .
Orit Nevo (11:27):
'cause when you know everything, you're blocking all the possibilities that can, you know, take place, come into the creation, make it as you say, absolutely brighter and bigger. Mm-Hmm.
Angie Colee (11:39):
and
Orit Nevo (11:39):
The co-creation with the input of all the people. So with my artists and with the creative team, with the light designer and the sound designer and everything, the rigors and everyone, everyone had a say. It's always a big long dialogue. And, you know, and in the end, either it's a choice that we make together or it's a choice that I make. You know, there are hard choices that you need to make sometimes.
Angie Colee (12:04):
Yes.
Orit Nevo (12:04):
But, uh, someone needs to see the whole picture. But it's always a dialogue. It's always a co-creation. And that's a really, really, really important point. Mm-Hmm.
Angie Colee (12:14):
. I love that. There was one thing that I wrote down that I circled several times, and it was that I couldn't know everything. And what, well, like, just mind blown, what an incredible self-awareness to be able to admit that to yourself without, and it doesn't sound to me like you had any kind of shame or self-judgment around. I couldn't know anything. It was just in admitting I can't know all the things. And some of these things we can figure out as we go together. Would you say that's accurate?
Orit Nevo (12:43):
Yeah, absolutely. And even today, you know, because I accompany people to their optimal performance, and I do have 32 years of professional experience behind me. But, you know, I really don't like the idea of being the person that holds the knowledge. Mm-Hmm. , I really, you know, when I work with people, when I coach people to their own optimal performance, the basics, the position is that they know best what is good for them. Mm-Hmm. , it's only yes. You know, assisting them or holding a space where they feel free to, um, to find what that is out, and then to change their life accordingly.
Angie Colee (13:24):
This whole thing is fascinating to me. And just like how we take different steps along our life journey that give us certain insights. 'cause my insight into kind of this similar perspective was actually being a volunteer on domestic violence crisis hotlines. Um, because I have been a survivor of such a relationship, and it was very important to me to help others the way that I could. And as part of our training, we actually went through an exercise that showed us how making a decision for someone else, like trying to force them to get out when they weren't ready, or to make decisions that they were kind of resisting against. And you from the outside judge it and say, well, no, they're just, they're feeling this certain way, and I know what's best for them. If they would just get out and do this, that not only is it not helpful for them, but it's doesn't give them any power or agency in the situation.
Angie Colee (14:17):
And they're left if, especially if it doesn't work out the way that you had hoped. Feeling even more disempowered, even more low faith in themselves, because they didn't have that power to make a choice. And so that really just brought it home for me, that as a leader, or a mentor or a guide or anything like that, it's not my job to know what's best for you. You know, what's best for you. It may be buried under a whole bunch of noise and confusion and stress and stuff like that. I'm gonna help you find it. I'm gonna help you dream potentially even bigger than you might feel comfortable dreaming, but I'm not gonna tell
Orit Nevo (14:54):
You what's right for you. That's where the listening comes in.
Angie Colee (14:57):
Mm-Hmm. ,
Orit Nevo (14:58):
You know, you sharpen you're listening. You can, you know, reflect back to people what you hear and what they say Mm-Hmm.
Angie Colee (15:06):
About their
Orit Nevo (15:07):
Situation. Yeah. And then they can start, you know, changing their perspective. Little by little, by little by little incrementally, a transformation starts to happen. And that's the most exciting thing in the world.
Angie Colee (15:21):
Yes. I live for that moment when you, you can just see their face change in the energy shift when they have that moment of like, yes, this is the thing that I wanna do, and I think I just figured out how to do it, and I can't wait. Like, there's just a whole, uh, I love being part of that,
Orit Nevo (15:38):
Creating the possibility,
Angie Colee (15:39):
Creating a possibility and dreaming a bigger dream for ourselves than we think is possible. Like the, it's become so commonplace to just to have a dream, something that you're super excited about, and then immediately be the first person to stomp all over it and go, well, no, here are all the reasons that, that's not possible. Why I'm not the person to do this. Why nobody needs this. Like, stop it. Don't do that. Please don't do that. It's all possible. You've gotta start by believing it's possible first though.
Orit Nevo (16:07):
Yeah. Well, I, you know, I believe, I really do believe that from the moment you have an idea, or an idea comes to you, or a vision comes to you from the moment it is in your head, it, it can start, you can start to see, you know, because people usually say, you know when I'll have money, I'll do that. Or Mm-Hmm.
Angie Colee (16:26):
when
Orit Nevo (16:26):
I, you know, uh, when I'll get married, I'll do that. Or when I'll get divorced, I'll do that. Or when the kids are grown, I'll do that. No. Mm-Hmm.
Angie Colee (16:36):
, no.
Orit Nevo (16:37):
If you have a vision, you can always start walking or directing yourself towards that vision, even if it's only in thinking about it, writing about it, speaking about it, fantasizing about it. Yes. And the more you do that, the more it infiltrates into your reality without you even noticing.
Angie Colee (17:00):
Mm-Hmm. . So
Orit Nevo (17:01):
It's already there at the moment. It arrives, you know,
Angie Colee (17:05):
And that's, you know, that ties into something that literally just happened to me yesterday. I was talking to a man that I coached with for a long time, Brian McCarthy. Uh, he's been a guest on the show in the past too, but he was running this challenge, a 21 day digital detox. And I really wanted to be part of that because I've been trying to get my screen time down. I can feel kind of the avoidance and like the, just the ick that is me distracting myself on this phone. I'm not actually doing anything productive when I'm tied to these screens. Right. Not that I think I need to be productive, but like, I knew I could get so much time and mental bandwidth back if I did this. So he checks in with me at the end of the detox, which was just a day or two ago as we're recording this. And he goes, so how did it go? And I was like, I didn't really do it. And he was like, okay, you know, that, that happens. So walk me through, like, what happened was, did something happen? Uh, and I said, no, I think I was scared to be alone with my thoughts. And he went, wow. Incredible self-awareness. I'm like,
Orit Nevo (18:10):
Absolutely.
Angie Colee (18:10):
I'm, I'm scared of the potential of my thoughts and of, of me not following through or being able to bring that vision to light. And he goes, so what kind of energy are you spending on avoiding thinking the thoughts versus just doing it? Like, just carving out that time to be by yourself? So we ended it with me saying, okay, I'm committing to giving myself the opportunity to be alone with my thoughts, even if it's five minutes, 10 minutes, but to like, start having that practice where I am open to the ideas. And I use, I tell all of that to say this. It's a practice. Like I'm somebody who is a leadership coach. I've been coaching for many years. I am an excellent communicator. I have hard conversations, and I still avoid certain things that I know are good for me because of old wiring, old patterns, old fears that, that I'm constantly having to work on. So, I dunno, do you have things like that, that pop up for you? Two that I, that you notice this is something that I have to work on even as a leader?
Orit Nevo (19:12):
Yes, absolutely. Like, I'm working on a program now on, um, um, an optimal performance, creative space for women, specifically for women, which is the first time I'm doing specifically that. And, uh, I need to market it.
Angie Colee (19:29):
Mm-Hmm.
Orit Nevo (19:30):
That, um, and the moment you need to market things is, you know, oh, well, how do I say that? How do I say this vision in a way that will speak to other people, you know? Mm-Hmm. how will I, you know, bring forward the nuances of the work, the potential of this work, you know, the, the, the, the, the diversity of the work, the, the, the fascination that they can find it, you know? Mm-Hmm. . And that's, that's my real fear now, you know, if I, how do I say this? Mm-Hmm. . How do I not, um, how do you say, how do I not sin to the thing .
Angie Colee (20:11):
Yeah.
Orit Nevo (20:12):
You understand what I mean? How do I find, how do you concise things so that they work?
Angie Colee (20:20):
Yeah. You know? No, I, the struggle is real because I've had that recently with, uh, uh, I think a long time. Listeners will probably laugh at this. I've been trying to escape copywriting for several years, which is my background. Um, and I always got pulled back in because I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with my business, which is something that I'm just figuring out. I think this year it's kind of all finally coalesced into this leadership and communication journey, which was something I was fascinated by. But I never gave myself the space to sit down and let these ideas kind of bubble to the surface and explore them. And the funny thing is that I found myself being tempted to sit alone with my thoughts and try and work it out on my own. What I'm discovering in putting myself out there, much like you approaching me to be on the show, is that this is forcing me to articulate the vision.
Angie Colee (21:11):
It's forcing me to talk about what's important to me and why I'm choosing this path. And it's funny, I was talking to a consultant just last week about this vision that I had, and I told her, I feel like I'm spinning a little bit, because to me, it still feels a little bit jumbled, a little bit chaotic, a little bit unclear, but like, here are the ideas. Here's the progression, here's what I see going. And she goes, okay, I hear you. And from my heart to yours, I know that this feels like chaos from my end. I don't see that. I don't get that impression whatsoever. I can see the golden thread from where you've been to where you're going. I think if you took this thing and like turned it a little bit this way and reworked it, you could have a new offer that you could start pitching like tomorrow. And by the way, go back into the recording of this call, because everything that you just ranted about needs to be on your fricking website. And I was like, okay, that makes me feel so, like,
Orit Nevo (22:06):
Wow.
Angie Colee (22:06):
It's just exposing the idea to the light of day, even when it doesn't feel perfect, perfect. Absolutely. Or it doesn't feel ready, is one step closer to being ready. And you might even be writing your copy as you're speaking out loud to your vision
Orit Nevo (22:18):
. Absolutely. Well, you know, every time you have a premiere in the circus or in the theater or anywhere, you as a director, you always wished you had two more weeks to go. Right?
Angie Colee (22:29):
Yes.
Orit Nevo (22:29):
You're never really ready. Okay. You are never ready. Yes. So, you know, being ready to, to just put whatever it is out there not to be perfect, make mistakes, fail again. Mm-Hmm. fail better. Like Beckett said, you know? Yes. I really believe in that. You know, because we're not perfect. Absolutely not.
Angie Colee (22:50):
We're, none of us are perfect. And trying to pretend like you can achieve some sort of perfection if you just work hard on it, just, you're, you're inadvertently killing the dreams and you're robbing the people that you could be helping or entertaining or lifting the spirits up, like, or inspiring. You're robbing them of that opportunity to have a better experience in their lives by not putting yourself out there. And I don't say that to make you the listener feel guilty at all. I think all of us who are creatives, who are entrepreneurs, have gone through this to some extent. Like, who am I to put this out there? Why? Why, why do this? Look at this person over here who has a perfect program. What can I offer? You could offer you
Orit Nevo (23:32):
. Yeah. Yeah. And you is a lot if you think about it, because whoever you are, you know, and I don't know all your listeners, of course. Mm-Hmm.
Angie Colee (23:40):
.
Orit Nevo (23:40):
But whoever you are, you are a miracle by having been born and being here, just being here. Right?
Angie Colee (23:46):
Yes.
Orit Nevo (23:47):
You know, what are the odds, right? Mm-Hmm. . So let's just look for who we are together. You know, in Zen Buddhism, you say there's this kind of co-habiting co becoming, you know? Mm-Hmm.
Angie Colee (24:02):
.
Orit Nevo (24:02):
So let's just, you know, just rolling the conversation out there is really important. Yes, you're right.
Angie Colee (24:09):
And, and finding people to connect with, because like, I've been doing a lot of work over the last couple of years on, you know, emotional intelligence, healing, learning how I think and process things, trying to get to a better mental state. Right. And I've really come to believe that one of my friends who's a psychotherapist teaches this, that the root of a lot of the suffering and the misery and the depression that we have is from disconnection. We feel lonely. We feel like we don't have anybody in our corner and we don't have support. And then that just leads to this downward spiral. So like, reaching out and making connections like this, like exposing a rough idea to the light of day, even though that feels very tender, some of the bravest stuff you can do, because you might find that you have support out there that you never, never even knew about or would've imagined in a million years. But you have to put yourself out there.
Orit Nevo (25:01):
Absolutely.
Angie Colee (25:02):
I love this. So I wanna go back to something earlier in the conversation. Well, first of all, I wanted to do a random aside. Mm-Hmm. I considered going to circus school once upon a time, but it was in a different, it was a different context. Um, because I put together this crazy event called Eat, play, launch. I wanted to do something that shook up the norm of a business conference. Right. Do something that you would never do in your day-to-day life, to just kind of show you what's possible, give you a new experience, and then like shake loose some of those things that we tell ourselves we can't do in business. Right. And so, my first one was incredible. I took people to drive bulldozers in the desert of Las Vegas, and like, oh,
Orit Nevo (25:41):
Wow.
Angie Colee (25:42):
There's nothing quite like spinning around in a six ton excavator. And it was a lot of fun.
Orit Nevo (25:48):
I can't even imagine this experience.
Angie Colee (25:51):
Oh. But it was, it was great. And I definitely am gonna do that again. So that one was, I think, a lot of luck in the way that it worked out. And so I'm thinking, how can I top this for the next one? I think I wanna have one in San Francisco. There's not gonna be bulldozers in San Francisco. What else can I do? I started looking into activities and I found a circus school in San Francisco, and I was like, oh, what if I take my 10 attendees to circus school? And then my attendees quickly vetoed that. They were like, you love swinging around up in the air and doing crazy things and don't have a problem falling on your face. I have a problem with that , and wouldn't be nearly as enthusiastic about that as you are. And I was like, oh, okay. I don't think I can take everybody to circus school, but maybe I
Orit Nevo (26:32):
Can have. Yeah. Well, you know, you know, there's, there's something for everyone in circus
Angie Colee (26:36):
School.
Orit Nevo (26:37):
Yes. Some people could do clowning, some people could try juggling, and other people could try the air, you know?
Angie Colee (26:44):
Mm-Hmm. . Oh, man. That, that's great. I just thought it was funny that we have this weird, uh, circus school connection, even though I never went to, well, neither of us went to circus school, so, Hey, there you go. Um,
Orit Nevo (26:54):
Yeah, there you go. But you know, all my professional circus friends, they, you know that the saying goes, that the circus is the place of the impossible. It's exactly the place where to learn how to make the impossible possible. It's exactly the right place. I love
Angie Colee (27:10):
That. I love that. I love that. Um, yes. So the thing that I wanted to go back to was, okay, so we've talked about your career as a performer, kind of working your way from being the performer to being the director and helping other people grow their talents and become instructors like this massive, I think, generational impact, which is really awesome. Yeah. Why, what made you make the switch into what you do now with the performance coaching?
Orit Nevo (27:34):
Well, that's a great question,
Angie Colee (27:37):
. Sorry to throw you into the deep end.
Orit Nevo (27:40):
Yeah, no, that's recent history. So basically, COVID came along
Angie Colee (27:44):
Mm-Hmm.
Orit Nevo (27:46):
And all performances stopped that. Um, yeah. I had, uh, an international circus company, my own company that I directed and toured around the world with for 10 years. Wow. From 2010 to 2020, exactly. 15th of March, 2020 when we went into lockdown here in Israel. And, uh, that was, uh, you know, it was like everything went from a hundred to zero in one day.
Angie Colee (28:15):
Mm-Hmm. .
Orit Nevo (28:16):
And, um, you know, I was, it took me a while to understand that this was the end of an era.
Angie Colee (28:24):
Hmm.
Orit Nevo (28:26):
And, uh, I got into this kind of lockdown thing. I kind of imagined that I'm going into a monastery.
Angie Colee (28:35):
Hmm.
Orit Nevo (28:36):
You know, I love Zen Buddhism. I've been studying Zen Buddhism for many, many years. And because I used to dance, Budha dance, which is, uh, influenced by Zen Buddhism as well. Mm-Hmm.
Angie Colee (28:47):
Orit Nevo (28:47):
Part of its influences. And so I read a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot. And suddenly when lockdown started, it was like the feeling of, okay, let's practice.
Angie Colee (28:58):
Mm-Hmm. ,
Orit Nevo (28:59):
Let's do the practice. You know? So I, I'm, I've been meditating for 15 years, you know? Mm-Hmm. . Because when you go in the air and you're stressed and you have a company and this and that, and you direct and you have a deadline, and you have budgets coming, and you need all the credits and everything, you know, you're, you know, you're indebted to the whole world basically. And you need to, uh, be able to calm down. So, mm-hmm,
Angie Colee (29:23):
Orit Nevo (29:23):
15 years that I'm meditating regularly every day. But when Covid came, it was like, okay, let's go deeper into this practice. What else is Zen Buddhism about? Just sitting?
Angie Colee (29:37):
Right? Mm-Hmm.
Orit Nevo (29:38):
And I started working out in the garden. Mm-Hmm.
Speaker 3 (29:41):
.
Orit Nevo (29:41):
And I started having, uh, you know, a vegetable garden, you know, work became a sort of meditation as well,
Speaker 3 (29:49):
And
Orit Nevo (29:49):
Then walking, and then running. And, um, you know, and all this happened in a very, very strange way, um, after I went through my middle age crisis, because I'm not a spring chicken anymore. , you know, . So I, I'm past my fifties, and just before Covid, I passed my middle age, you know, this whole thing with the heat waves and hormonal stuff. Mm-Hmm.
Speaker 3 (30:17):
And
Orit Nevo (30:17):
Not sleeping, not being able to sleep. And I've been studying a lot, you know, sleep and how to optimize my sleep and what kind of exercises my body wants now, and how much, and, and, you know, and all those things just to, to see how I optimize my, you know, and it all incorporated somehow with the zen and everything. And then I got Covid.
Speaker 3 (30:42):
Mm.
Orit Nevo (30:43):
I got sick. Mm. And, you know, and I have this residency space here close to the studio where the company was working. And I went in isolation for five days to that residency space. We have a tree house, very small space, you know, and I was in, I said, I was in retreat and in zen retreat in my tree house. Mm-Hmm. . And I started writing and, you know, and reflecting about how I'm living, why I'm living the way I am living. And it dawned on me that maybe, you know, everything that I'm going through, which is a kind of normal person's life, you know, middle age crisis, how to deal with not sleeping well, my nutrition, you know, how, what, what kind of exercise I need to do. All those things. And I do have a lot of experience in that because I've been, you know, I've been trained to do all this.
Orit Nevo (31:38):
I went to, um, a sports, uh, school here, you know, to be a trainer. And then I went to the University of Bologna to be a performer. And, you know, you know, so I have, you know, I have this, and then I kind of started creating in those five days of isolation when I was sick, I started creating this kind of framework of, you know, what do I think? How do I think people, normal people can optimize their life? You know, not circus people, not, you know Mm-Hmm. artists, not coaching people at the highest acrobatic level, but just normal people living their lives, you know? Mm-Hmm.
Speaker 3 (32:13):
,
Orit Nevo (32:14):
Because sleep deprivation is a real thing, you know? Yes. It's a real, real, real thing.
Speaker 3 (32:19):
Mm-Hmm. .
Orit Nevo (32:20):
So, and all those things that I investigated came together with the meditation and the Zen Buddhism, and working in the garden and running outside in nature and connecting to nature and being outside in the sun and drinking and ad and nutrition and everything. And then I said, okay,
Speaker 3 (32:39):
Mm-Hmm.
Angie Colee (32:39):
,
Orit Nevo (32:40):
Maybe I should talk to someone about this, you know? Yes. Yes. And I went out of isolation and I started speaking with people, just friends, you know, coaches and trainers and, and, and you know, healers and people that I know all around here in the community, in the neighborhood, we have a lot of those and lots of yoga teachers that come and teach in our studio. And I started speaking about this
Angie Colee (33:05):
Mm-Hmm. .
Orit Nevo (33:05):
And people started asking questions, and then I said, okay, I'm going to do a couple of webinars, maybe about sleep, maybe about, you know, optimal performance in general, maybe about, you know, nutrition, maybe about breathing.
Angie Colee (33:20):
Mm-Hmm. ,
Orit Nevo (33:20):
You know, conscious breathing, you know? Yes. Very basic human physical needs, you know, and all those very, very simple things that we kind of don't really do, even though
Angie Colee (33:31):
We know,
Orit Nevo (33:32):
You know, what you just said. And, but very, very simple, very baby step things. And so, and suddenly I have this WhatsApp group with people where I, I, you know, I speak to them, I make little videos, I give them optimal tips every day. You know, there's suddenly, there's a website, optimal tip.com, and people go there and they listen, and then suddenly other people come and give optimal tips to people. And then all of a sudden, you know, things are happening. And, uh, you know, I started accompanying people, you know? Mm-Hmm. . And just, it goes from, from word of mouth, you know, it's working from a person to a person, to a person.
Angie Colee (34:18):
That's, that's fascinating to me because so many of us feel like to launch something, it has to be this big production. And I come from the launch world where a launch really is a big production. It's, it's generating buzz and excitement and making people wait and anticipate for the event. And also, movements can start with just a couple of people talking passionately about something that they want to achieve. Absolutely. Absolutely. And I loved that, you know, you wanted to help everybody achieve this. Like, I wouldn't even say normal folks, but like, make this accessible to everyone, because a lot of the time we have this story that we don't even articulate in our heads. I think about, well, that's great for so-and-so they can spend four hours at the gym, or they can, you know, get a good night's sleep because we come up with excuses for why somebody else can look after themselves.
Angie Colee (35:07):
But we can't. And I, you know, I wanna say this with a lot of love, and I wanna preface this. I understand that all of us have different life circumstances. Some of us have kids, some of us have three jobs. I've been there, I've worked four jobs at the same time myself. So like, I, I know that pain very deeply. And also, you've got to prioritize these things, even though it is the unsexy, unattractive feels like the last thing I should be doing right now is closing the laptop and making sure that I'm winding down to go to sleep. But that's absolutely what you should be doing. Absolutely. And I think your treehouse example is, is the perfect representation of that, because you did what I couldn't bring myself to do in the la in that 21 day challenge, be alone with your thoughts, explore that vision, get some clarity around who it was you wanted to help, what the next iteration was, and then got out there and started having those conversations instead of falling into the trap of like, well, let me, now that I've got that clear, I'm going to sit down and I'm going to come up with the perfect plan and the backup plan and the backup to the backup backup plan.
Angie Colee (36:09):
Like,
Orit Nevo (36:10):
No. Well, it took me two years and a lot of help from Mm-Hmm. beautiful people, and my coach Pamela Wilson. Mm-Hmm. , who I love very much. You know, she helped me think about this a lot. And, um, you know, and it really took two years to understand what it was all about, to build the framework that I could present to people through which I work with people. And the more I work with people, and I really, I'm a very process kind of person. You know, me, me, I love processes. I'm into processes, you know, I know how to build them. You know, when you have a production and you agree with this, you know, a festival director in two years time, you're going to do this. How are you planning your two years so that you keep your motivation going and that you keep your team going? Yeah. And that it's all going there and building up through these two years time until that premier, you know, from the initial idea that you're very excited about how do you keep this excitement for two years for God's sake, you know?
Angie Colee (37:09):
Yeah.
Orit Nevo (37:10):
And, uh, yeah, it's really important. And, and so I'm a very, very, and I, and I love, uh, you know, and also I think there's something about the way now of the business now that I've proven myself to everyone already, you know? Mm-Hmm. , I've done huge circus productions. The circus world knows me. They don't even know I'm not there anymore. They all kind of, you know, people write to me and Are you coming to the next BL or are you coming to the next festival and this and that? No, not this time. I don't think so. Mm-Hmm. , you know, and I'm so busy with other things, you know, and other people and other ideas and other content and, and thinking about it and publishing the first guide to optimal performing performance according to, you know, all these 32 years of experience. And, uh, and you know, and, and the work that I did with people in the past two years, and I really do believe in this organic kind of growth from, you know, Mm-Hmm. one thing to the other. So it took me two years of working personally with people to, to say, okay, now I'm going to work with a group and it's going to be Yeah.
Angie Colee (38:21):
A
Orit Nevo (38:21):
Women's group, which is something I've never done before, which is really highly exciting for me. Mm-Hmm. . And you know how that happened? I went on a holiday to Costa Rica in an organized group, which is something I I never did in my life. Mm-Hmm. , I've always organized the tours of the company, traveled on my own, done everything on No, I said, I'm going to go on an organized tour with women Yes. For two weeks, and I'm going to see how I'm going to survive that. And it was fantastic. And I came back and I said, that's it.
Angie Colee (38:53):
Mm-Hmm. ,
Orit Nevo (38:54):
I'm doing a women's women create reality group.
Angie Colee (38:58):
That reminds me of a conversation I had not too long ago with my friend Rachel Mazza, who's also been a guest on the show. And I was in that conversation. I was so scared to like put the permission to kick message out there. She was the very first guest on the show, by the way.
Orit Nevo (39:13):
Wow.
Angie Colee (39:13):
Um, and I didn't know what to do. I just felt overwhelmed on everything. And she goes, Angie, you have been making deposits in all of these relationship banks for years. It's okay to make a withdrawal. Like, the worst thing that happens is they say, no, I can't help you right now, but like, you've helped so many people over the years, do you really think that no one is going to step up and help you Now? You don't have to do this by yourself. You are not alone. And stop pretending. Like you have to be like, you've convinced yourself this. And so she did something for me that I call being a loving mirror. And I've talked about this concept on the show and in my book before too, that the mirror that I'm looking in is distorted and warped. It shows me all of my flaws and excruciating, like those makeup mirrors that magnify you 10 times.
Angie Colee (39:58):
And you see every, like, that's the mirror that I'm looking at. It is very distorted and it's very warped. And so I like to surround myself with people like you who can, to what you said earlier, but way back at the beginning of the show, reflect reality back at me, reflect awesomeness and potential and possibilities back at me so that I'm looking in a much better, much more authentic, much more true to nature mirror than the one that I see every day. And this is why it's important to me to build these connections, have these conversations, make entrepreneurship an open space to where anybody who says, well, I don't even know the first thing about running a business, but maybe I could make this work. Here's the dream I have. Let's, let's figure this out. Welcome to the party. We're all figuring it out, .
Orit Nevo (40:44):
Yeah, absolutely. And also, maybe I can get some help, you know?
Angie Colee (40:47):
Yes, exactly. There are more people out there willing to help even complete strangers than you could possibly ever imagine. And it just, again, it requires you to put yourself out there and say, here's where I'm at. Here's what I'm trying to do. Can you help? Some people can, some people can.
Orit Nevo (41:03):
Yeah. Well, that's easier. That's easier said than done, you know? Mm-Hmm. , we're all kind of, that we have this, uh, trepidation of when we need to ask for help. Yes. Because it makes us think that maybe we'll look, we'll look stupid or Mm-Hmm. , you know, or incapable or whatever. And, um, yeah. But you can get so far on your own, you know? And then if you want to get to the next level, you really need help. You need someone who's been there, done that
Angie Colee (41:31):
Mm-Hmm. ,
Orit Nevo (41:32):
And can nudge you forward, you know?
Angie Colee (41:35):
Yes.
Orit Nevo (41:36):
And, um, and yeah, we are our own worst critics, of course. Mm-Hmm.
Angie Colee (41:42):
.
Orit Nevo (41:42):
Of course. Of course, of course. And so, uh, yeah. And, you know, uh, we, but basically in Zen it says we're all one
Angie Colee (41:52):
Mm-Hmm. ,
Orit Nevo (41:53):
You know, we're all one, we're all one. My dog is one, your cat is one with us , and we're one with each other, you know? And, um, this is why I was so thrilled that you're having me on the show, because, you know, for me it's so exciting. It's like, well, it's a door to a new world. Wow. Mm-Hmm. , I'm having a conversation with Angie, and then her audience is going to listen to this conversation. Mm-Hmm. . And then they're going to ask themselves questions about what we're talking about. Yes. And then they're gonna reflect about it, and then it's going to do things in their lives. Right. And it's really important to be open and let other people in. Mm-Hmm. let this reflection in. Really important. Yes.
Angie Colee (42:36):
You know, that there's such synchronicity. I find these like recurring themes tend to happen. And I don't know if it's because I batch record in a day, but like the theme today really seems to be ripple effect. And not trying to go from zero to Mother Teresa. Like not trying to start from nothing. I don't have a foundation and get to like bajillion tomorrow. That's not the path that anybody takes, no matter how good their marketing is. In saying that they were an overnight success, overnight successes usually take five, 10 years,
Orit Nevo (43:13):
You know? Yeah. Something like that. Yeah.
Angie Colee (43:15):
And usually here's like, here's where I got the idea. Here's the low point that inspired me to massive action, and then here's the end result. And we skipped a whole lot of pieces somewhere there in the middle. Right. So like, but the, to go back to what you said with the ripple effects, like you just explained it in such wonderful, clear detail about just the act of being on the show and who might be listening and who they might be talking to, and who they might be sharing the message with. Like, this happened to me recently where I had posted on LinkedIn that I had a goal to be on 40 shows by the time I turned 40. And somebody that I had legit never met, you know, maybe we crossed paths, I don't know. But like, for some reason we didn't know each other, know each other.
Angie Colee (44:00):
And he reaches out and he goes, I've been following you for a long time, ever since I heard you on this show back in 2021. And he goes, I don't want it to sound creepy. Hi Matt. I'm telling this story again. Um, . 'cause I don't want it to sound creepy. Like, I actually wrote a blog post about that episode because it spoke to me so much. And he shared a link to the post from 2021. I never knew that this person resonated with one sentence that I said so much that they felt inspired to write about it. They never told me. But there are people out there when you're putting yourself out there that are Well, it
Orit Nevo (44:32):
Took him time. It took him time. Mm-Hmm. .
Angie Colee (44:35):
And he invited me on his show when I said, I'm looking for shows to be on. He goes, Hey, I would love to have you on the show. And I'm like, I would love to be on the show. Let's talk about this. Right. So when you put yourself out there, not only do you kind of trip into action that Maryanne Williamson quote of like, by shining your light, you give other people permission to shine theirs, you liberate people, but it just has this massive incalculable ripple of positivity where there are lives changed in that butterfly effect. You know, that you, you will never even know about the good that you did simply by stepping up and trying.
Orit Nevo (45:13):
Absolutely.
Angie Colee (45:13):
Absolutely. I love this. I feel like I am on a track to rant about this for like three hours straight. So instead of getting that train rolling, I'm going to say, tell us more about where we can learn about your business and how to work with you
Orit Nevo (45:27):
Work. Well, first of all, you can go to my website. There's a blog on my website full of materials from, you know, I had a, at a certain, when I started creating the whole framework of optimal performance and how I was going to work with people, I was, I went through a six month period of daily writing my blog. Ooh. Daily writing my blog. So there's a lot of material there. It's www.nevo.com. Very simple. Fantastic. And then there's also, uh, but that's in Hebrew, so I don't think that there's optimal tip.com that's in Hebrew. So maybe I won't send people to there. But the blog is in English, so Mm-Hmm. . That's really interesting. And then there's is my YouTube channel, VO and uh, yeah, just VO and then there's um, there's the WhatsApp group. The WhatsApp group is currently in Hebrew. It's for mostly Hebrew people mostly, but, um, yeah, I work with people in English. People can work fantastic with me on Zoom from all over the world. I have clients in Australia, in the us so, you know, just
Angie Colee (46:35):
Mm-Hmm. ,
Orit Nevo (46:36):
You know, feel free to connect
Angie Colee (46:38):
What a time to be alive when the technology connects us across borders, across cultures. I love it. I love it. Uh, and this is fantastic. Thank you. I'm gonna make sure that they have clickable links to all of those in the show notes. And wow, what a great conversation. Thank you for being on the show.
Orit Nevo (46:54):
Thank you, Angie. Thank you for having me.
Angie Colee (46:59):
That's all for now. If you wanna keep that kick energy high, please take a minute to share this episode with someone that might need a high octane dose of you can do it. Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe to the permission to kick podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify,
Speaker 4 (47:11):
And wherever you stream your podcast.
Angie Colee (47:13):
I'm your host, Angie Colee, and I'm here rooting for you. Thanks for listening. And let's go kick some.