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Soulful Ambition

The podcast for ambitious people yearning for more soul. Formerly known as A Balancing Act, Soulful Ambition explores what it means to live inside out and go after our deepest longings. Analisa Leaming is a Broadway actor turned down what would have been her 5th Broadway show to move her family to the mountains of Colorado and become a full-time coach. Soulful Ambition might sound contradictory at first… Because we’ve let society define ambition as striving for individual success, monetary gain, and personal achievements. But that’s not what the soul really craves. In each episode, we’re calling back the parts of ourselves conditioned to society’s grind and external pressure. And awakening the longing in your chest that is so big it threatens to swallow you whole. So you can shine unapologetically, source from within, and work towards your dreams with abandon.
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Now displaying: January, 2024
Jan 30, 2024
Get your free audition meditation and stay in the loop with Analisa + A Balancing Act HERE.
 
 
Episode Highlights:
  • Patrick's story: dressing actors on Broadway while also auditioning!!! 
  • Patrick's hot-take on audition season
  • What makes an actor stand out in the audition room
  • Goal setting 
  • Detaching from audacious dreams 
  • The power of creating on your own terms
  • "Skipping the first 10 times"  Practice 
 
 
This conversation explores the journey of Patrick O'Neill, a director and choreographer, and his insights on navigating the performing arts industry. Analisa and Patrick cover topics such as his accidental journey in the arts, identity shifts, audition season, cultivating creativity, qualities that make an actor stand out, the importance of daily practices, and embracing the journey and setting goals.
 
In this conversation, Patrick O'Neill and Analisa Leaming discuss setting achievable goals, detaching from audacious dreams, the power of making things, finding answers within, embracing vulnerability, and belonging on stage. They emphasize the importance of taking practical steps towards goals and not being overwhelmed by the end result. They also discuss the practice of detaching from outcomes and finding satisfaction in the creative process. Patrick shares the importance of making things and how it gives a sense of pride and authority. They also explore the practice of finding answers within oneself and the vulnerability that comes with pursuing big dreams. They conclude by discussing the idea of belonging on stage and the importance of skipping the first 10 attempts to find success.
 
Soul Nourishment in this episode:
 
Connect with Patrick here and here.
 
 
 
A Balancing Act is hosted by Analisa Leaming, Broadway actor +  soulful coach for creatives.  This season is designed to inspire performers and creatives to journey towards their dreams with more soul and less attachment to outcomes and society's definitions of success.
Jan 23, 2024

Get your free audition meditation and stay in the loop with Analisa and A Balancing Act HERE.

Learn more about 1:1 Soulful Coaching w/ Analisa Leaming HERE. 

Inside this episode: 

  • Analisa's way of activating her Indestructible Core
  • How to practice not taking things personally 
  • How the fear of humiliation points to an addiction to pride
  • The antidote to fear of humiliation (the opinion of others)
  • An exploration of True Humility 

This episode is a follow up to Eleri Ward's powerful conversation last week. Analisa goes deeper into two main themes: the indestructible core and the power of not taking anything personally. She then explores the fear of humiliation and how it's holding so many artists back. Analisa shares that she, too, is very much a student of this topic and goes into her favorite teachings on humiliation, pride, perfectionism and true humility. Anyone struggling with perfectionism, taking up space, and being their full self will find gems and actionable steps within this episode! 

Soul Nourishment in this episode:

Xavier Dagba

Caroline Myss Entering the Castle

Jason Mraz Making it Up

A Balancing Act is hosted by Analisa Leaming, Broadway actor +  soulful coach for creatives.  This season is designed to inspire performers and creatives to journey towards their dreams with more soul and less attachment to outcomes and society's definitions of success. 

 

Jan 16, 2024

Get your free audition meditation and stay in the loop with Analisa and A Balancing Act HERE. 

Learn more about 1:1 Soulful Coaching w/ Analisa Leaming HERE.

In this episode with Eleri Ward:  

✨ Eleri's journey from musical theatre showcase to critically acclaimed recording artist + finding HER voice 

✨ Having "Healthy Delusion" in the entertainment + theatre industry

✨ Cultivating an indestructible core 

✨ The power of not taking anything personally 

✨ Reframing being told "You Don't Fit/We don't understand you"

Analisa stumbled across this reel of Eleri's on Instagram and was blown away by her story and her talent. She was thrilled to sit down with her and learn about her journey from her musical theatre showcase at Boston Conservatory where she didn't receive an offer from an agent to recording and producing her full length indie-folk Sondheim album, “A Perfect Little Death,” in her closet.

 
After gaining a viral TikTok following, it was released by Ghostlight Records and has been hailed as “a harmonious marriage of musical theater and indie folk music, with hauntingly beautiful arrangements” by Forbes and “an incandescent new record, something genuinely new” from American Theater Magazine.


Eleri speaks to the mindset that allows her to show up fully and unapologetically. She shares the pitfalls she sees in the musical theatre industry where it's easy to give up your power and self-belief and the necessity to build and maintain and indestructible core. This episode is a jampacked with motivation, inspiration and encouragement for owning your unique voice and path and believing in yourself no matter what. It's a perfect episode to have bookmarked before auditions or in a time when you need a reminder of claiming your own greatness. 

Follow Eleri

Listen + Watch Eleri

A Balancing Act is hosted by Analisa Leaming, Broadway actor + soulful coach.  This season is designed to inspire performers and creatives to journey towards their dreams with more soul and less attachment to outcomes and society's definitions of success.

 

 

 

 

Jan 9, 2024

Get your free audition meditation and stay in the loop with Analisa + A Balancing Act HERE.

Analisa has been podcasting since 2016 and this is the first time she's shared her own unique path to Broadway and beyond. She shares her early influences, experiences in college, auditions, and survival jobs in New York City. Analisa discusses the heartbreak and soul-searching moments in her career and the pivotal decision to consider a different path. Tune in for a very special behind-the-scenes episode!! 

Highlights from Analisa's Story: 

  • Everyone's path is different!
  • From Opera to Musical Theatre
  • Analisa's journey from Tennessee to NYC
  • Analisa's "survival jobs"
  • Audition stories
  • Heartbreaks along the way
  • Considering another path before making it to Broadway 
  • The thing she thinks about most when reflecting on her career

Tune into Episode 37 to hear the journey from NYC to Colorado! 

Time Stamps:

00:00 Introduction and Setting the Intention
02:41 Growing Up and Early Influences
08:05 College 
12:17 Professional Opportunities and Decision-Making
19:25 Moving to New York and Survival Jobs
27:09 Regional Theater and Broadway Dreams
35:27 Heartbreak and Soul-Searching
39:05 Meeting Steve Lutvak and Gentleman's Guide
45:15 Considering a Different Path
46:14 Hope and Booking On the 20th Century
47:36 Broadway Debut 
48:25 On the 20th Century
49:24 Taking Kathy's Spot
49:54 The Music Man
50:50 Relationships and Offstage Moments
51:55 Career Reflections
52:24 Sound of Music and Mary Poppins
53:23 Auditioning for The King and I
53:49 Standing By at Lincoln Center
54:44 Booking Hello Dolly
55:08 Becoming a Lead and Touring
56:03 Booking School of Rock
56:28 Touring with Hello Dolly
57:29 Transitioning to Coaching
58:23 Moving to Colorado
59:15 Upcoming Gig with Tulsa Ballet
 
A Balancing Act is hosted by Analisa Leaming, Broadway actor +  soulful coach for creatives.  This season is designed to inspire performers and creatives to journey towards their dreams with more soul and less attachment to outcomes and society's definitions of success.
Jan 2, 2024

Get your free audition meditation and stay in the loop with Analisa and A Balancing Act HERE.

Episode Highlights: 

  • All the tangible practices + tools for managing your hopes and dreams in the biz and beyond
  • Vulnerable stories + shares from Broadway and Hollywood
  • Establishing a practice to manage challenges + setbacks without letting it derail or defeat you

  • Making peace with where you are

  • The power of shifting from a mindset of “should” to “could”

  • How to identity the voice of your intuition + developing a playbook for your best self

Episode Summary:

In this episode Analisa interviews Wendy Braun, an accomplished actress and breakthrough coach of Actor Inspiration. Wendy talks about the importance of developing a practice to navigate disappointment and setbacks in the industry without letting it derail or define you. Wendy and Analisa share stories from their careers of discovering the balance between finding peace with where they are and excitement for where they want to be. Wendy reveals her process for helping lead her students to creative breakthroughs. Listen to this episode to learn tools and insights for connecting to your highest self and navigating your career from a fully aligned place.

Time Stamps:

0:00 Intro to Podcast and Wendy Braun

3:00 Speaking with authority through mastering disappointment

5:23 Finding the good where you are

12:12 Reaching the highest level doesn’t cure the insecurities

21:54 Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable

24:09 Journaling from your highest self

26:38 Daily practice for expanding into your highest self

32:00 How to identify your intuition / inner voice

34:59 Shifting shoulds to clouds

38:54 4 questions to ask yourself to create a breakthrough

43:10 A best self playbook

50:00 Working through the emotions we don’t like

53:08 A practice for artists and wild dreamers to start the new year with

59:45 Finding community to help you do the work

About Wendy: Accomplished actress Wendy Braun has enjoyed a dynamic career, recently appearing on four seasons of the celebrated Netflix series, Atypical, as well as guest appearances on This Is Us, Grey's Anatomy, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia and Criminal Minds to name a few. With over 80 TV + Film credits, over 100 commercials and thousands of voiceovers, Wendy has also combined decades of invaluable professional experience with her passion for inspiring others.

She is also a Breakthrough Coach and the CEO + founder of ActorInspiration.com, and was recently featured in Forbes for her game-changing Success Breakthrough Workshop online course (now in over 25 countries) and powerful guided meditations that have helped thousands of creatives overcome obstacles and create new levels of success, joy and fulfillment. Known as a powerhouse global speaker and the guiding light behind many success stories, Authority Magazine declared Wendy one of their “Inspirational Women In Hollywood.”

Her clients include Series Regulars, Broadway performers and Award-Winning stage and screen actors, as well as directors, producers, writers and entrepreneurs.

🎉YOU’RE INVITED! Join Wendy for an impactful + empowering Success Breakthrough Experience, a Free 5 Day Virtual Event, designed to help you release blocks, re-imagine what's possible and learn the exact steps to making this your best year yet. 

➡️ Join the party here: Actorinspiration.com/bestyearyet  

🎁 FREE GIFT: Enjoy a free guided meditation to help you create success while you sleep and wake up each morning feeling renewed, refreshed and confident.

➡️ Download "Creating Success While You Sleep” here: ActorInspiration.com/sleep

A Balancing Act is hosted by Analisa Leaming, Broadway actor + soulful coach.  This season is designed to inspire performers and creatives to journey towards their dreams with more soul and less attachment to outcomes and society's definitions of success.

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