Late night
Almost end of the day (11:53 PM). Wanted to get blog stamped with June 9, so it’s going to be quick and random. I’ve been working on hooking up the see jane run show (seejanerunshow) blog, where there will be video, but I’m slow. Computer’s slow.
My mind is like a hamster’s wheel. Just keeps on turning and I can’t stop it even if I want it to. A constant to-do list. I have post-its all over my place. Need to get the oil changed in the car. Rearrange a lunch. Answer some email. Edit some video. Arrange for a shoot at Chippendales calendar shoot (that’s right, ladies… and ahem, maybe some men). I’m all over the place.
So it’s probably already getting old that all I talk about is work, getting more work, launching a business, keeping positive, etc. I don’t want it to get old. So I’m just going to put it out there. You’ve been so great in sending me your comments. What would you like to talk about? I won’t dish about my former place of employment. Mostly, because I don’t really have any dirt. I was always the last to know, which I kind of liked.
Anyways, drop me a line.
Jane Monreal 
June 10, 2009 at 9:54 am
Dear Jane,
Finally my morning news show is set. Enjoyed the banter between cast. The show had it all, news, weather, traffic and entertainment. In protest due to KABC unwilling to make an announcement of your departure I’ve switched to ESPN in the mornings. However .. I’m getting tired of the Laker coverage as if there was nothing else in the world of sports going on ..
Take care always, have fun, stay healthy and one of these days you’ll have to hook up with that Weather Man for a dance on Dancing W/ the Stars .. Later ..
June 10, 2009 at 10:29 am
Hey Jane!
My co-workers and I could not help buy notice that you were gone from kabc. The morning news is boring now! I just wanted to say that I always enjoyed your traffic reports. Not only were they always done in a quality and informative manner, but you were always very easy on the eyes! You are a beautiful and intelligent woman. You will be missed. We all hope to see you again on the air in some form or fashion. Good luck in your new venture and godspeed.
Lou Apodaca
June 10, 2009 at 6:16 pm
Congrats on your exciting new life, Jane! Sounds busy, but I’m sure it’ll be worth it.
June 16, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Hi, Jane I was wondering what happened to you. Good luck with your new company. My wife and I love to salsa dance and hope to see more of World of Dance.
June 24, 2009 at 11:00 am
Hi Jane!
I don’t see where anyone answered your question about what do we readers want to talk about, so I’ll ask you a question.
What has been the most surprising/unexpected thing so far in your new adventure? It can be anything from the time the seeds for the business first started germinating to the minute before you read my question.
Thanks!
Judy
June 25, 2009 at 5:37 pm
I wouldn’t say building a business has been easy, because Lord knows how much time and tears I’ve spent, but that doors have been opening with relative smoothness… that is a surprise. It’s amazing to think that we had an idea that started in the heart and head, and now it’s coming to life. Every moment is adding to the momentum. Rosemary, my co-partner, and I have these little pauses where we realize that it’s happening. I’m just grateful to have the awareness to feel connected with the process. How does that saying go? It’s the journey, not the destination?
June 25, 2009 at 6:06 pm
Your answer is AWESOME and one to which I completely relate!
4 years ago I moved by myself from MA to CA. That move involved selling a house in MA, renting an apartment via the internet in CA and buying a brand new house in CA. Throughout the entire process I encountered very few roadblocks given the enormity of what I was doing. I firmly believe I am where I am supposed to be for whatever reason I am supposed to be here.
You are in a very similar situation…..you and your friends banded together and dared to dream….and more importantly, dared to follow that dream. If you weren’t supposed to be doing what you’re now doing you would have encountered many problems, each of which would have made you question what your decisions.
You are one step ahead of me in that you have recognized what you’ve done much sooner than I recognized what I’d done. It took me two years even though friends and family were constantly telling me that they’d admired me for my undertaking.
I admire you for risking so much more than I did. I moved across the country but I had a secure job – I did not start a business, and one in such a finicky industry no less!!!!
Kudo’s to all of you! I sincerely hope that if tears show up again they are tears of joy because you cannot believe the successes you’re encountering!
Your journey sounds awesome, even more so because you are aware of it. Thanks so much for blogging and letting us vicariously take this journey with you!
Judy
June 25, 2009 at 6:34 pm
I hope you don’t mind that I shared your response with Rosemary. We were so moved by your words and passion, that we plan to print it out and post in the office as a reminder to our humble yet exciting beginning.
June 25, 2009 at 7:35 pm
WOW — I am honored!! By all means print away…. I’ll be keeping tabs on you and constantly sending positive vibes your way!
Judy
P.S. I have another question…..is it OK to fire away? 🙂
June 25, 2009 at 7:46 pm
Fire away!
June 25, 2009 at 9:08 pm
OK — you asked for it! Hopefully you don’t regret your “fire away” response!! 🙂
One of the things I learned from a college prof had to do a bit with visualizing and a lot to do with reality. The end result that is years later, his words are still reverberating in my head…
He said when thinking about your ultimate goal to first picture a stream…..where you currently are in life is on one side and your goal is on the other. The key to getting from one side to the other is the rocks (or stepping stones) between the shores and the understanding/acceptance that you can’t get from one side to the other without them. Each rock represents a step that HAS to be made in order to get to the other shore — it may be an obvious step or it may be a step that is only evident in hindsight. Any successful person has faced this whether they’re aware of it or not.
So, my question is this…..the four of you have all started on your own shores and have come together in both friendship and an ultimate goal. Up to this point the steps you’ve taken to reach the goals have all been independent of each other as they started long before you even met. Now that you have a common goal in mind, are you all working on the same stepping stones to reach the goal or do you all have enough faith/confidence in each other that you realize your own individual strengths and intermediary goals will simultaneously land you on the opposite shore together, and as a powerhouse the likes of which has not previously existed?
I believe that there is more than one way to reach an ultimate goal, but at the same time I’ll admit to not always being able to see the multiple avenues. Given that the four of you are all successful in your own right, with your own ideas of how to get from point A to point B, how are you able to compromise for the ultimate goal? If you’ve figured this out I’m not only interested in the answer but ready to ghost write the book for you!!!
Judy
P.S. I tried friend requesting you on Facebook but kept running into FB errors. I totally understand if you’ve got settings that prevent the requests, but if it’s a FB glitch vs. personal settings please let me know….
June 26, 2009 at 9:24 pm
I’ve been pondering this visualization, Judy. I like the image of the stream and stepping stones. Looking back, I don’t think I had such an image, although a couple of years ago I did make a vision board, which I still take out every now and then to check myself. Depending on the situation, I’m one to hang onto a phrase, a sign, a prayer, a philosophy. A few months back, I was flown out to to interview in Houston to host and produce my own show. I was anxious. When I landed, I called up one of my partners, Rosemary. “What is that quote from Aristotle,” I asked. “I’m about to walk into interview. Text me asap.” I was able to finally exhale when she sent it. “Where your talents and the needs of the world cross, there lies your vocation.” (Interview went great, but in the end I didn’t get it).
Speaking of looking back, hindsight is an amazing gift isn’t it? To look back and realize, “Hey, that’s why I had to struggle with that relationship,” or “That’s why it was a good time to leave when I did…” These so-called obstacles have only helped show me more of what I do want, and have taught some of the lessons needed in order to avoid the things I don’t desire.
In trying to answer your question, yes, the four of us have our different strengths. We have found ourselves crossing into each other’s area of expertise, which could potentially be an area of conflict and power trips. That hasn’t been our case. Sure, we have passionate discussions, but we are of the creative mindset. It’s going to happen- Acceptance. (In the beginning, we actually talked about drawing up a friendship agreement. And, we actually do take “friendship” breaks from the work and just hang and talk like the girlfriends we are. Individually, we have goals outside of the company, and it is important that each person is aware of it. Aware of that, we’ve recently come to an agreement about company policy that will affect any final business and/or creative decisions. This was a total meeting of the minds because yes, it is about the ultimate goal.
I guess I kind of lucked out. But I’ve also been around enough to hopefully have enough wherewithal to bring together the right mix of people with a shared mindset. We’re still finding our way, but there is a lot more fluidity and grace that have come from the awareness and acceptance of where we are individually, to raising our game as a whole.
Regarding the FB friend request, that must be a FB issue. Please try again.
June 27, 2009 at 9:01 am
I was not aware of the quote from Aristotle — I like it so much better than the stream! And it is so true for me!
I’m sorry that you didn’t get the job in Houston, but if you had then you and your friends wouldn’t be doing what you’re doing now. Yes you’d be on a different wonderful adventure but it might not be the right one.
There’s a comment that Randy Pausch made in “The Last Lecture” that I have written down for when times get tough. “The brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough.” If your ultimate goal is on the other side of the wall then you’ll figure out how to get there, you won’t be sidetracked by the bricks. So, was the Houston job a test placed alongside the brick wall, an option for you to choose instead of going over the wall to what you really wanted to do? That’s a rhetorical question — no need to answer, just an illustration of how I use Randy’s brick wall in my own life.
Hindsight IS an amazing gift – one that I hope never leaves me wishing I did something different. When I was first offered the job out here in CA I turned it down for 2 reasons. First, it was too soon after my Mom passed away and second, I never had any desire to live in CA. It’s a nice place to visit but… Lo and behold 5 months later the job was offered to me again – I was stunned. After a weekend visit to CA I accepted the job because I felt like I was supposed to be out here. After all, I didn’t look for this job, it was offered to me…twice! Moving to CA was part of my philosophy on my life – I never want to look back on my life and say “what if…”. I don’t want to make all my life decisions based upon staying in my comfort zone but at the same time, I’m not going to do something that is too far outside that zone. Moving across country by myself was in the middle of my comfort zone….
It sounds like you and your friends are four very dynamic women with a great understanding of your business and friendship relationships. You’re also very aware of how those two can get tangled, especially since you are in a creative venture where there isn’t always a clear right or wrong way to do something. If you keep the communication going like you have so far and everyone recognizes that the passionate discussions are all about the quality of the finished product and not about power tripping then you ladies will have unlimited success as both a company and as friends.
Since it’s Saturday I hope you’re able to be just Jane today and not Jane the business owner so you can unwind and enjoy the day!
June 25, 2009 at 9:29 pm
P.S. Your blog site is beyond KEWL! My congrats to anyone who had ANY input no matter how small……
June 29, 2009 at 10:01 am
I do believe too much credit is given to motivational saying… books… speeches . etc.. And not enough credit or any credit given to an individual’s physical appearance in the entertainment industry. In my continuing search for a good morning/news entertainment show to spend my first awaking hour, I noticed.. most females (98% I’m guessing) must meet an unwritten male criterion. Networks (major or locals) seemed to have the bar set a bit higher for females than for their male counter parts. That is (in no particular order).. a female must be smart, witty, very pretty, shapely and a teasing cleavage (a must). While smart and witty are the only male requirements. I’ve seen some old dudes doing traffic, weather and/or news entertainment morning talk shows. Balding, out of shape males still on network stations.. To date I haven’t noticed any old women .. heavy women .. Susan Boyle type women doing news, weather or morning entertaining shows. Just a observation of mine ..
June 29, 2009 at 8:34 pm
Yes, we’re still dealing with double standards in entertainment and news. Women still have to be all that, and then some. Guys can be stale and still work. Take a couple steps forward and one step back. As long as we’re moving in the right direction.