1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,000 Celebrating the Power of Possibility. 2 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:09,000 I'm Laurie Streier, and I believe anything is possible. 3 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:35,000 Music 4 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:39,000 Welcome to Anything is Possible. I'm Hallerin Hilton Hill, and these are great stories about 5 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:44,000 great people whose lives prove that anything is possible. You cannot 6 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:48,000 reject the greatness that I am casting upon you. 7 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:52,000 I need you not to. My guest is Lori Stryer. Thank you for being here. 8 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:56,000 Thank you. I'm convinced you had a cancellation and you needed to fill me in. 9 00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:00,000 No, no, no, no. Thank you. I have long been an 10 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:04,000 admirer of yours, of course a friend, 11 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:08,000 and we were just sitting here prior to starting. We have 12 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:12,000 known each other for 34 years. It's crazy. 13 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:16,000 Isn't it? Yeah, I came with the intention of just coming for one year. 14 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:20,000 I was thinking about that earlier this morning as I was getting ready to come here, and I thought, 15 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:24,000 oh my gosh, I came here for one year and I'm going on my 16 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:28,000 35th year. Amazing. Yeah, it is. It is. It's amazing, 17 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:33,000 and I'm lucky. I love it here. So I made some good decisions 18 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:37,000 along the way, obviously. I'm going to start in an odd 19 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:42,000 place, maybe not an odd place, but this will be a little different. 20 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:46,000 You can trust me with this story. Oh, I do, and I do. 21 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:50,000 34 years ago when I met you, you were an anchor 22 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:54,000 and reporter. Channel 6. I was 23 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:58,000 a news reporter at WIVK in radio. 24 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:02,000 I remember. And our lives were just 25 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:06,000 churning up. We were just beginning. I know. You are now 26 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:10,000 the CEO of River Media. What a possibility, right? 27 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:14,000 Yeah, what a possibility. Did you imagine? Never. You don't even have to 28 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:18,000 finish your sentence. Really? Never did I imagine. No. No. When I 29 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:22,000 started out, my goal was to wind up in a larger city, 30 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:26,000 anchor the news, and have a family, 31 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:30,000 and live there. Never, ever did I imagine where I'd be today. 32 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:34,000 Well, here comes the first. I hope this does not make you feel 33 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:38,000 uncomfortable, but I'm going to say this. It's hard to make me feel uncomfortable. 34 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:42,000 I'm really proud of you. Thank you. That does make me uncomfortable. 35 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:46,000 Thank you. That means a lot coming from you. Thank you. 36 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:50,000 Because I've watched you evolve. 37 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:54,000 And it's just been beautiful to watch. 38 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:58,000 Thank you. It's been quite an evolution. Some of it by default, 39 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:02,000 and some of it intentional. And I'm very blessed. 40 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:06,000 I kid a lot, but I'm very blessed to be where I am today, 41 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:10,000 and lucky to be healthy and be here with you. So thank you. 42 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:14,000 Let's start with this. When did you fall in love with 43 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:18,000 storytelling? I have spent a lot of my life trying to 44 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:22,000 understand story. I'm writing a 45 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:26,000 musical. I'm writing a screenplay. And I love 46 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:30,000 story and storytelling. I do too. When did you fall in love with storytelling? 47 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:34,000 I had not expected that question, 48 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:38,000 but I think I have an answer. When I was at 49 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:42,000 University of Georgia, I went into broadcast 50 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:46,000 news, took a class in television production, and I had 51 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:50,000 to do my first story. And I'll never forget it. It was about 52 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:54,000 a vet who had 53 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:58,000 a monkey, a macaque, and I had to tell the story 54 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:02,000 how this gentleman brought this monkey home with him after he'd served his time. 55 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:06,000 And I remember calling it, the macaque is back. And 56 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:10,000 I had a minute thirty to tell that story because they were preparing you for news. 57 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:14,000 You know, in news they say, go cover that fire or go cover this 58 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:18,000 meeting, and they often give you a minute thirty to a minute forty-five. 59 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:22,000 But even back then, Hallerin, I wanted longer 60 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:26,000 time. You know, I had more of the story. I did not like the idea of being 61 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:30,000 limited. So I think it goes all the way back to college, that first assignment 62 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:34,000 to tell a story. And when I told that story, I turned it in at three 63 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:38,000 minutes and twenty seconds. They kicked it back. And then 64 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:42,000 I came back in at three. So it goes all the way back to college. 65 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:46,000 It's crazy. And then I just realized how much I loved to read as a kid growing 66 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:50,000 up. What did you read? I loved, I read everything that my father read 67 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:54,000 so that I was kind of sucking up to my dad. So if he would read 68 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:58,000 something, I can't recall how many books or what I read back then, but I loved 69 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:02,000 to read. And now, and then I just fell in love with television. 70 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:06,000 And I loved reporting. I loved reporting more than I loved 71 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:10,000 anchoring. I loved being out in the field. And I do to this day. 72 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:14,000 Is it the people and the stories? It's everything. 73 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:18,000 It's the people, it's the stories, it's the time frame. 74 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:22,000 Back in news, you had a deadline. You had to be back. 75 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:26,000 I'm a little bit of an adrenaline junkie. And so I loved, 76 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:30,000 yes, I loved the challenge of getting it back in time. 77 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:34,000 Editing it, writing it. Back in our day, 78 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:38,000 I'm going to pull you in with me. But back in our day, you went out, 79 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:42,000 you covered it, then you came back, you helped edit it. 80 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:46,000 It was so different than it is now, I'd imagine. 81 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:50,000 Yeah, I loved that aspect of it. The people, the adventure, 82 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:54,000 the challenge of the time frame. I just didn't like 83 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:58,000 being limited with time. That makes sense. I had a lot more 84 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:00,000 to say, Helen. 85 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:02,000 Possibility powered by 86 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:04,000 Covenant Health 87 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:06,000 Home Federal 88 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,000 and the Knoxville News Sentinel. 89 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:16,000 Music 90 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:20,000 Thousands of hours of programming for 91 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:24,000 the likes of HGTV and TLC, and we'll go 92 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:28,000 through all of that. But every one of those programs has a 93 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:32,000 reveal. You have characters, they're doing something, and then 94 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:36,000 it all goes wrong. Sometimes. And then it gets right. Yeah, true. 95 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:40,000 There's a reveal. There is character setting, crisis 96 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:44,000 resolution. Those are the four pieces. So if we were to look at the arc 97 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:48,000 of your life story, right? 98 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:52,000 I think I'm still revealing. 99 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:54,000 Still revealing. I think I'm still revealing. 100 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:58,000 Was there a crisis or turning point in your life 101 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:02,000 that deepened you? That changed you? 102 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:06,000 I think there were several. I mean, there were some 103 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:10,000 professionally, some personally. I remember 104 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:14,000 when I was at Channel 6, my father 105 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:18,000 was sick, and I'd gone down to Florida to be with him. 106 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:22,000 And then as it turned out, things took a turn, and my father 107 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:26,000 was going to pass away. How old was he? 108 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:30,000 My father was 78. And so I remember 109 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:34,000 the newsroom back in the day, different management 110 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:38,000 then said, you need to come back and anchor. You know, we don't have anyone to fill in for 111 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:42,000 you on these nights. And I grew up a lot then, quite 112 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:46,000 frankly, because then it didn't matter. 113 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:50,000 And they figured it out, and they found somebody, but that was a turning 114 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:54,000 point in my life. That's big. And then I realized... I grew up in the 115 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:58,000 adrenaline world of this business. And I 116 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:02,000 burned myself by overwork, 117 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:06,000 by saying yes too much, by not having good boundaries. 118 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:10,000 It burned me in a way. Somebody once said to me, 119 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:14,000 Halloran, that the most empowering word in the English language 120 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:18,000 is the word no. And so it took me a long time to get there. 121 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:22,000 So I think I started on that date. What other 122 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:26,000 crises? I think that was one of the biggest ones. It put it 123 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:30,000 into perspective. Life and what's important. 124 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:34,000 Another crisis was probably when I was at River, 125 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:38,000 River Media that we have today, there 126 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:42,000 was a slowdown, a stop down. You know, networks were 127 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:46,000 merging. There wasn't a lot of work, and we had to downsize. 128 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:50,000 And that was very, very difficult. To this day, 129 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:54,000 I pray to never go back there, but it was one of the hardest times of my life, 130 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:58,000 quite frankly. So let's look at your career then. You 131 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:02,000 finish school, you start anchoring and reporting, 132 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:06,000 and then you go to work for HGTV. 133 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:10,000 My understanding is you were doing commercials and interstitials 134 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:14,000 and that kind of stuff. Talk about that transition. When I was 135 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:18,000 I left Channel 6, went on to host a morning radio 136 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:22,000 show called TK and Lori in the Morning, 97.5. 137 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:26,000 And that just wasn't enough. 138 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:30,000 I wasn't happy. I just wasn't happy. And I thought, you know, I love 139 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:34,000 film. I love storytelling, as you said. And so I 140 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:38,000 went to film school in Rockport, Maine. And then I came 141 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:42,000 out and I was a script supervisor over at HGTV. 142 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:46,000 I determined quickly that film is not my thing, especially for 143 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:50,000 commercials. It's just too slow. I need 144 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:54,000 a little bit faster resolution. So I 145 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:58,000 was just very fortunate to one day get a phone call from 146 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:02,000 River Media that said we're looking for someone 147 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:06,000 to help us create and produce a show that later became 148 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:10,000 called Trading Spaces. And that's how I joined River Media. 149 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:14,000 It was in 1999. So I've had a bit of a path. 150 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:18,000 That was a run right there. Yeah, it's tough. Tough show to do. 151 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:22,000 Tell me about doing that show. Tell me about the stuff. It was hard. 152 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:26,000 You know, nobody really sees the behind the scenes and knows how. You see the final product 153 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:30,000 on TV. But back in the day, you know, Trading Spaces 154 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:34,000 and for those folks that don't remember it, you had two homes, 155 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:38,000 two sets of homeowners, and then you swapped houses or rooms 156 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:42,000 in each other's house. And you decorated your neighbor's house and your neighbor decorated 157 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:46,000 your house or a room in your house. 158 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:50,000 And it was hard. You know, back then, one producer 159 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:54,000 who was me, two camera operators that would follow me and follow us around, 160 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:58,000 it was just a difficult show to do because you did a lot of running 161 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:02,000 between the houses. It was hard. But I loved it because 162 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:06,000 I was no longer at that minute and thirty second time frame. 163 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:10,000 I was given a full hour. And so I loved it back then. 164 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:14,000 I loved being in the field. Did you see yourself growing into being 165 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:18,000 an executive? Never. How did that happen? I have no idea. 166 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:22,000 I have no idea. I think basically, 167 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:26,000 so an executive, meaning where I am today, is CEO of River. 168 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:30,000 I make jokes and I say it was by default. 169 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:34,000 There were three of us, three partners at River Media and one retired 170 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:38,000 and then of course Dee Haslam went on to... Great Dee Haslam. 171 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:42,000 Yeah, Dee, she went on to, she now owns the Browns and the 172 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:46,000 Bucks and of course all of her philanthropic 173 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:50,000 things that she does. She's an amazing person and continues to be my partner 174 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:54,000 at River. So I have a CEO title. I don't feel 175 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:58,000 like I'm a CEO, to be really honest with you. I really don't feel like I'm a CEO. 176 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:02,000 I'm not an office kind of person. I've had nine offices 177 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:06,000 that have been allocated to me over the years at River and I haven't sat in one 178 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:10,000 of them. They're like, oh, we'll put Lori here, we'll put Lori here. And I mostly 179 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:14,000 love sitting in an edit bay or I love being in the field. 180 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:18,000 I more consider myself crew than a CEO. 181 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:22,000 Because I grew up in the field. I'm a field producer. 182 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:34,000 You're a podcaster too. Well, 183 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:38,000 I'm setting one up. I was very fortunate to be home 184 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:42,000 one day. My husband had a stroke and thank 185 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:46,000 goodness I was not in the field. I wasn't on a shoot. And 186 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:50,000 he was diagnosed after the stroke with MCI, mild cognitive 187 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:54,000 impairment, vascular disease. And 188 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:58,000 it's been, and again these are one of those moments that really 189 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:02,000 helped shape me. And I learned a lot and again it put everything into perspective. 190 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:06,000 So I've gotten very close with folks 191 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:10,000 here in town. Also, well actually East Tennessee, many folks who 192 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:14,000 are diagnosed with 193 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:18,000 memory loss. And it means a lot to me and so I'm setting 194 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:22,000 up a podcast to hopefully help people 195 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:26,000 whether they're caregivers or people that have 196 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:30,000 a diagnosis. And so I'm setting it up at River and we're going to launch 197 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:34,000 it later this month. But I think Alzheimer's 198 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:38,000 dementia, I think it strikes so many people and so many families 199 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:42,000 are affected by it. When Bob got his diagnosis 200 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:46,000 I thought, okay I'm going to need a therapist. And I went around and I looked for a therapist 201 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:50,000 who could help me through this. And I quickly learned that 202 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:54,000 nobody could really help me other than people that understood 203 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:58,000 where I was. Either that had a diagnosis or they were the caregivers 204 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:02,000 of somebody. So I joined an amazing support group. 205 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:06,000 And then one day Bob, my husband, said to me 206 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:10,000 we ought to start a podcast and try to help other folks. And 207 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:14,000 talk about the latest trials, medicines, 208 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:18,000 etc. And just hear from people with a diagnosis. 209 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:22,000 And I said to him, you know anything about a podcast? He said 210 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:26,000 absolutely not. He said that's why I'm looking to you. So 211 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:30,000 hey Halloran, I'm in the early learning stages. But it's 212 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:34,000 very important to me. It's very, very important. 213 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:38,000 What are you learning personally? Because this is what love looks like 214 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:42,000 in street clothes, right? When the person that you 215 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:46,000 love is going through something like this, this pushes 216 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:50,000 all of the glitz and glamour and CEO and 217 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:54,000 none of that is important. It's just all. You know Halloran, I make 218 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:58,000 that clear with the folks that I work with at River. And I say 219 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:02,000 I mean I know it's cliche but family first. I 220 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:06,000 truly believe that. And I try to make it at River 221 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:10,000 where we have 222 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:14,000 I try to make it at River where we have an open door. Not an open door policy but 223 00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:18,000 we really don't have hours like 9 to 5 or 8 to 6 224 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:22,000 or whatever. It's just come in, do your job and do it well. Be great at what 225 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:26,000 you do. But I honestly don't know how folks 226 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:30,000 raise kids. I mean have 227 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:34,000 a job. Take care of themselves physically and emotionally. 228 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:38,000 So I think that's very important. 229 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:42,000 And that's what I've really learned over the years. I was so driven for a long time. 230 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:46,000 Success and reaching the next level or 231 00:15:46,000 --> 00:15:50,000 the bigger city or having the highest ratings or the biggest show. 232 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:54,000 And it's just everything gets put into perspective. 233 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:58,000 So yeah, family first. I think the future of humanity is being more 234 00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:02,000 human. This is in my opinion. Yes. That's where 235 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:06,000 it is. Talk about being a female executive. What's it 236 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:10,000 like navigating this business 237 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:14,000 because this business is rapidly changing 238 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:18,000 and the content space 239 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:22,000 and the content business is changing so 240 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:26,000 dramatically as people's viewing habits 241 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:30,000 change. Always. The platforms they use. Yes. Who's 242 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:34,000 buying distributing content. Budgets. 243 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:38,000 Budgets. And what's it 244 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:42,000 been like to be a female executive navigating all 245 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:46,000 of that? What about a female executive who never had any intention of being CEO? 246 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:50,000 Couldn't read a P&L statement. All of that. 247 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:54,000 I mean, you know, I've had to learn quite a bit. I also 248 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:58,000 somebody once said and I loved this expression, to surround yourself with people 249 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:02,000 smarter than you, than yourself. That's very easy for me 250 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:06,000 to do, Helen. I'm not meaning to be so self-deprecating. But I do 251 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:10,000 have common sense and I knew to put people into positions 252 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:14,000 who were smarter than me, that knew what they were doing. So that's helped me 253 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:18,000 navigate it. I mean, River has an amazing CFO in EIC, Executive in 254 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:22,000 Charge, and VP of Current, VP of Operations. 255 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:26,000 So just so you know, it's on 256 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:30,000 them. I'm kidding. But really, I mean, that was the first best thing 257 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:34,000 I did was to find great people. We're lucky. 258 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:38,000 River has tremendous partners in HGTV, 259 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:42,000 A&E, Food Network, all of the networks where 260 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:46,000 as a woman I don't feel any effects of that, to be honest 261 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:50,000 with you. I'm treated fairly and very well. So 262 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:54,000 it hasn't been a struggle being a woman in my industry. 263 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:58,000 That's awesome. It's been great. Yeah, that has not been an issue. 264 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:02,000 Are you tough? Am I tough? I'm thick-skinned. 265 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:06,000 I had to be. You know? In this business, I'm a 266 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:10,000 creative. And so you turn in a show that you think is great, 267 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:14,000 Network looks at it, and they're like, yeah, no, try again. So 268 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:18,000 when that happens to you, I've been doing this now at River Media for 25 years, 269 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:22,000 it makes you tough. You better be tough. 270 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:26,000 Thick-skinned. Thick-skinned. 271 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:30,000 Here's what I've learned about thick-skinned. It has 272 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:34,000 its attributes and flaws 273 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:38,000 in this regard. I've had to develop an incredibly 274 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:42,000 tough 275 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:46,000 mind, but it desensitized me. 276 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:50,000 Really? Yeah. That's interesting. Like, like. 277 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:54,000 Give me an example. I don't mean to put you in the chair, but I'm so curious. 278 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:58,000 I'm surprised when people are nice. 279 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:02,000 Oh, yeah. And one day I was just thinking about those 280 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:06,000 like, wait a minute, I'm 281 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:10,000 desensitized to a certain degree. Yeah, interesting. 282 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:14,000 Right? Yeah. And it has affected what I expect from people. 283 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:18,000 I don't expect people to be great toward me. 284 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:22,000 What I expect is I will figure out how to navigate 285 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:26,000 the tough stuff. Yeah. 286 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:30,000 And I don't know if you having had to develop 287 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:34,000 a thick skin, if your skin has gotten too thick. 288 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:38,000 I hope it hasn't. You know, I'm tough. 289 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:42,000 I mean, I'm tough in that I have to be 290 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:46,000 to a degree with what we deal with at work. 291 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:50,000 And I'm never surprised when people are nice to me or kind. 292 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:54,000 I'm so grateful, if that makes sense. You know, I'm just so grateful 293 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:58,000 because I guess we're blessed. 294 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:02,000 In this area where we live, in Knoxville, in East Tennessee, 295 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:06,000 people are kind. Before you go, I would love for you to imagine 296 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:10,000 somebody looking and they're thinking about the possibility of their life. 297 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:14,000 We've kind of taken a journey here. Yeah. 298 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:18,000 What have you learned about pivots and possibilities? 299 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:22,000 Because you have to pivot a lot. You've had to change throughout your life. All the time. 300 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:26,000 I think you have to pivot toward happiness. I hope that doesn't sound 301 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:30,000 too schmaltzy, if that makes sense. I think you have to pivot toward 302 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:34,000 family, toward friends, you know, and to what 303 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:38,000 makes you happy. I mean, that's just, I think that's what I've learned 304 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:42,000 the most. And it's hard. I told somebody the other day, 305 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:46,000 and I think I even mentioned it to you, Halloran, somebody said to me, boy, isn't it great to own your own 306 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:50,000 company and to run your own company. There are days, Halloran, where I would really 307 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:54,000 just rather get a paycheck and go home because I also 308 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:58,000 feel very responsible for all the folks I work with. 309 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:02,000 So, it's tough. That's the tough part of it. 310 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:06,000 But then the best part of it is when you succeed and you see 311 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:10,000 folks, one of the folks, 312 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:14,000 one of my colleagues just recently bought or 313 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:18,000 got her daughter writing lessons. You know, they never 314 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:22,000 thought that they could afford writing lessons. I have another colleague who paid off 315 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:26,000 her house. And it's that, when I see that, 316 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:30,000 it makes everything worth it. It does. You know, just seeing that 317 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:34,000 I'm able to provide jobs for people and 318 00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:38,000 I'd like to think happiness. I'd like to think stability. 319 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:42,000 What a great life you have produced and are producing. 320 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:46,000 Thank you for being our guest today. Thank you. I couldn't have done it without folks like you 321 00:21:46,000 --> 00:22:00,000 and all the folks around me. And that's the truth. Really.