April 7, 2025 • 24 mins
Waska Finkelstein joins the Epic Entrepreneurs podcast to share his remarkable 40-year journey through professional video production and personal transformation.
At the heart of our conversation is Arthur Ashe's powerful quote that guides Waska's philosophy: "From what we get, we can make a living. From what we give, however, makes a life." This perspective has shaped how Waska approaches his video production business, integrating service, authenticity, and community connection into every professional interaction.
Perhaps most valuable is Waska's perspective on building genuine relationships before business transactions, contrasting the transactional networking of New York with the community-focused approach he's embraced in Asheville. His EPIC values—Education, Planning, Inspiration, and Commitment—provide a framework for entrepreneurial success grounded in wisdom rather than mere profit-seeking.
Ready to see how authentic connection can transform your business? Listen now!
About Waska:
Emmy Award-winning Independent Producer and Director of Photography Perry ‘Waska’ Finkelstein founded Pro Video Productions with a focus on exceptional quality, service, value, and relationship-building. With over 20 years of experience, he has produced video content for industries including corporate, commercial, sports, music, documentary, and broadcast television. After building a loyal client base in New York City, he expanded to Asheville, North Carolina in 2021, offering professional video production and editing services globally.
Thanks for Listening. You may contact me at https://billgilliland.actioncoach.com/
All the best!
Bill
Thanks for listening. Please hit the subscribe button, leave us a 5 star review, and share this podcast. You can reach me at williamgilliland@actioncoach.com.
All the best!
Bill
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey there, welcome to this week's episode of Epic
Entrepreneurs.
And I'm here with my friend,waska, and he is one of the more
interesting people in the world.
His main business is pro videoproductions, but I can't.
I'll let him tell you all thestuff that he does.
It's unbelievable.
So welcome to the show, waska.
Tell us what you do, yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Well, hey, bill, thanks for having me on.
I really appreciate that.
I appreciate you and well, it'sinteresting.
You say what do I do?
So my business and my careerhas been in professional video
and television production forover 40 years now, so I used to
do a lot of networking andmarketing and all that stuff
throughout the years.
I'm a little bit more seasonednow.
(00:39):
You could see from my kids tellme it's gray.
I used to say no, it's blonde.
But anyway, I've been aroundthe block a few times and so I
find it interesting, especiallycoming from New York where it
was all about marketing.
Down here in our beautifulAsheville area, it's more about
like connecting and community,which I love.
So I like when I get intoconversations it's more about
(01:02):
like who are you?
You're like who I be ratherthan what I do.
But we're talking about what wedo, so I will incorporate who I
am into what I do.
So I'd like to start off with aquote that Arthur Ashe said.
So I was fortunate enough towork as a producing cameraman at
the US Open for 16 years andthere's a statue of Arthur Ashe
(01:24):
there and on it it is inscribedhis quote.
That reads from what we get, wecan make a living and what we
give, however, makes a life.
And I saw that quote and thatstatue so many times that always
sat with me.
I thought that was such abeautiful thing because,
especially as men were taught to, you know to work and make
(01:45):
money and get things andaccumulate and nothing wrong
with that.
But that's kind of like thedemand paradigm and I just
thought it was so important youknow to give back and be a
service.
So I really resonate with thatquote and the importance of
being in service, which I doincorporate into my business and
really in whatever aspects Ican in my life.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Yeah, I want to dig into that a little bit.
You said we're talking aboutdoing.
We have a formula called Btimes do equals have, and you
can only do so much.
At some point you have tobecome more.
So I'm super.
(02:27):
It's interesting.
Being of service obviouslyhelps you do more and helps you
have more.
In this case, life is the wayyou've put it, so that's a
beautiful one.
Thanks for bringing that in.
Yeah, so well, tell us a littlebit more.
(02:48):
I know you did more than justthe video, but yeah, sure, sure.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
So that's been the mainstay of my career.
And then I got into a spiritualcommunity just not even by
design on Long Island in NewYork, where I lived.
And it's interesting becausepeople say, like Waska, is that
Polish?
What does that mean?
My birth name is Perry WayneFinkelstein, a nice Jewish boy
from Brooklyn, and in 2015, Iwas gifted this name, waska
(03:18):
Waboos, which is in theShishindi, or the people better
known as the Apache tradition.
So the vision keeper of ourcommunity dreamt this name for
me.
She had to have the same dreamthree times and then she told me
the name and it was interestingbecause it was people in the
community like Dancing Flowerand Silent Wind and Two Feathers
.
So I thought I'd be likeCrouching Eagle Boy or Wolfman
(03:40):
or something.
So she's like it's Wasco Waboos.
I'm like what does that mean?
You know, and it's you know, Itake out my journal, I start
writing it.
She's like no, no, no, you know, it's oral tradition.
So I had to listen and rememberit.
So this is the short versionbecause, because native people
typically they're they're prettyverbose and I like that, that
(04:01):
even in gatherings I've gonethrough the kids, you know,
small kids will sit there andlisten to the elders which you
know in my life and the way Igrew up.
You know kids are fidgety andwe can't sit for very long, so I
found that very inspiring.
So anyway, huasca is of thepeople of the South, like the
Cordeniero people, the energymedicine of the South, and Wabus
(04:24):
is, the way they say, buffaloover the North.
So you have the complementaryopposites, north and the South,
the balance, and the Buffalo isall about abundance and being in
service to the people.
So Wasco Wabus means with thegenerosity of spirit of the
Buffalo's heart, he remembersthe healing medicine of humor
and laughter as the sacred clownand shares that lightness of
(04:46):
spirit and service to the people.
So I've said that a few times,I've had to memorize it.
So anyway, I go with Waska.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
I don't want to say it.
Yeah, I got the spirit of thebuffalo.
Yeah, yeah, it's a mouthful.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah , it's pretty much about being
in service and I use lightnessand humor, so I incorporate that
into pretty much everything Ido.
So when?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, selfand that I incorporate that
(05:21):
spirituality into my videoproduction and everything that I
do and I think for the mostpart it works.
You know that traumatized,dysfunctional, obnoxious from
New York Perry comes out once ina while, but I do my best to
keep it balanced, yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Yeah, that's awesome.
Let's shift gears here and talka little bit about business.
If you had to start over and dobusiness again, what would you
do differently?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Wow, that's a great question.
So I was very, very fortunatewhen I got into video production
.
You know, I just I mentoredunder a few people.
I got right into, you know,network television and TV shows,
new York's very replete witheverything sports, entertainment
, um, politics, a bit ofeverything, um.
So what I would say, you knowagain, incorporating everything
(06:13):
in together, uh, the, thebusiness aspect as well as my
personal being, um is, is andthis holds true I think you
could probably relate to this isthe stress part and the fear
part.
You know, fear, am I going tohave enough money?
Fear, am I doing it right?
Fear, am I pleasing?
So I think if I were to dothings differently, I would do
my best not to be so fearful ofany of those things and just
(06:37):
really kind of go with the flowmore and have more confidence in
my abilities and my intuitionas well.
So that would be my advice tomyself.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Confidence and intuition.
I love that, yeah, yeah.
I think if people would set outwith confidence, I mean usually
good things happen Most timethings work out.
I mean we look back on it andyou're like man, why was I so
stressed about that?
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
You know I mean it's a bit crazy.
So what have been some of yourlearnings along the way?
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Um, some of my learnings.
Well, um, I was very, veryfocused on um I I guess in
hindsight maybe on success, butI don't.
I don't think I was verycognizant of that Um.
So I worked, you know,sometimes 12, 14 hour days on
production.
I was younger at the time whenI first started and I loved it,
um.
So I've told my kids, I'veraised, I've raised three um
(07:32):
young, three young boys, intowonderful human beings now, to
be autonomous, to always give100%, to have integrity and
grace and forgiveness, and sothose are things I learned along
the way.
So what I might do differentlyagain is to follow that
(07:52):
intuition, to give that 100%,not be so focused on pleasing
other people, which is, you know, something that I think a lot
of us do growing up.
So those are things that werehelpful to me and helpful for my
kids also.
I'm not sure if I answered yourquestion.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
No, 100%.
I mean, I think it's great, Imean leaning into integrity,
grace, the things you want your,I think the things you want
your kids to be, the legacy youwant to leave, is super
important, or maybe the mostimportant thing that we do as
people.
I mean, well, you know you canwork 100 hours a week or
whatever, but you know theydon't remember that you know, or
(08:31):
they?
may remember it negatively, butthey, you know that's, that's
the thing.
So what do you?
What do you think some of themisconceptions are in the world
about running a business?
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Um, I think one one thing I found that was really
important is you can't doeverything yourself.
Um, uh, and I used to be aperfectionist so it was hard for
me to delegate.
Um, and I've had a lot ofpeople work for me and with me
over the years, so I think amisconception is I got to do
everything myself and, being,like you know again, a past
(09:04):
perfectionist, you know you wantit done a certain way, so
directing and delegating andsharing, because it really is
all about teamwork, you know,because you could only go so far
doing things yourself.
That's probably the mostimportant thing that I, that I
learned is you know you're onlygoing to get so far.
You know being a solo.
(09:24):
You know entity and thensharing in having feedback from
people, like having littlemeetings where you're
brainstorming and sharing ideas.
You know there's a lot of valuein that and I know you guys do
that with Action Coach and allthe lunch meetings and all
people getting together andsharing ideas and talking about
their businesses and how theycan help one another.
(09:45):
There's tremendous value inthat.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Yeah, yeah, I think so.
So I have a question for youthat just came up in what you
said how does one become a pastperfectionist?
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Well, it's first acknowledging that you, you know
, first acknowledging like hey,my name is Bill W, you know from
.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Right, yeah, of course, yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
It's making the acknowledgement hey, you know
this is, this is something thatdoes not serve me anymore.
You know this is, this issomething that does not serve me
anymore.
And you know, looking at thatand saying, okay, it's okay.
You know they could, they couldbe a little mistake in that
paint line in the ceiling.
You know you're the only onethat's going to notice it, and
other people really don't tendto judge us as harshly as we
judge ourselves, you know, andthat's I think that's very, very
(10:36):
true.
And, um, I also do men's workand coaching, and guys in
particular and this may be trueof women also, but guys tend to,
like you, want to do itperfectly and want to fix things
and want to make sure it's,like you know, done the correct
way, and and that's great.
But there's also a certaingrace we need to give ourselves
so we don't wind up, you know,beating ourselves up and it
cause that's that's, you knowit's.
It's not productive at all, nothealthy either.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
Tell us about the men's work.
What's that about?
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Sure, so, uh, part of that that community I was
involved with, um, uh, I wasinteresting enough, it was a
women's mystery school that Iwas invited into, but there was
a lot of other things going onwith that.
So, um, so I was part of, um, amen's group there also, and, um
, so I I was facilitating,co-facilitating, a men's talking
stick circle, which is, um,yeah, it's a, it's a native
tradition where whoever has thestick is the one who gets to
(11:25):
speak and everybody else,instead of being in your head,
just listens and sharing ideasand things like that.
So, um, you know.
So I'm starting a torrent, sotell me your question again,
cause my mind's going in 10different places.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
I'm just trying to the the the men's work.
I mean, you were talking abouthow you, how you got in.
I was just trying to understand, like what is, who are you
helping?
And sure, Sure Uh.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
I think it it it organically started raising,
raising two boys, and then um,and then I was in a relationship
where I raised Ed.
I call him my bonus son from 10years on.
So I think it was just anatural progression of it,
wasn't even designed.
What can I do to be a betterdad, a better son, a better
(12:09):
brother?
And then this men's group justdeveloped.
Just really being open totalking about men's feelings and
men's work is very, verypopular now.
Yeah, 100%, yeah.
So anyway, this group thatstarted called the Way of the
Illuminated Warrior.
That came from inspiration anda vision I had back in 2011.
So I've been doing that eversince.
(12:30):
We do telecircles now I'vefacilitated a few retreats and
it's basically just having aspace, a safe and sacred space
for men to be able to speak fromthe heart, not judge each other
.
There's nothing to fix.
We just get together and wetalk about stresses, wins,
losses, issues.
It's kind of like a businessmodel to a degree how we could
(12:51):
be successful in our personallives.
That translates into business,into into relationships, into
pretty much everything yeah, Imean.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
Jim rohn said the harder you work on yourself, is
is the key.
So work harder on yourself thanyou do on your job.
So I I think, yeah, I've alwaysfound that when I was working
on myself, that the business didbetter yeah and so, yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
So when I mean, if you want to be better in
business, work on yourself.
I've always found that when Iwas working on myself that the
business did better.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Yeah, I'm sure, and so yeah.
So I mean, if you want to bebetter in business, work on
yourself, yeah, Whatever thatlooks like for you, so yeah,
it's a good thing.
So I mean, you've learned somestuff about balance along the
way, obviously, because we'vetalked a lot about it.
Yeah, what are some tips ortricks or some things that
(13:35):
you've learned about balancingpersonal and business demands?
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Yeah, another great question.
I think in the beginning Ilooked at it as strictly
business, you know and it's notthat I'm not still professional,
I am but I found that, like,building relationships and being
part of a community reallytranslates into doing successful
work.
(14:00):
A lot of the clients that I'veworked for over the years I
became friends with or at leastyou know I keep in touch with
and it kind of translated overeven into personal relationships
also, which I love, because tome, I've found that I'm most
effective when I could sit downwith somebody and say, hey, like
(14:20):
what's your vision?
Like what are you looking toaccomplish here?
Um, and and talking about thatand figuring out ways to make
that happen, rather than astrict um edict of, okay, we're
doing business and we have to,you know, stick to certain um
paradigms of what business issupposed to look like Um.
So for me, um, combining, likeagain, the relationships and
(14:42):
community uh minded approachinto how the business works, um
is really really proved to bevery successful, you know, for
everybody, cause it takes outthat that um, that paradigm,
like we have to be, you know, acertain way, rather than being
ourselves and sharing what thevision really is.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Yeah, we don't have to be straight-laced in suits
and ties and hard-charging andall that stuff.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Yeah, Well I find very interesting enough, like in
New York, it was very much likenetworking meetings.
You go out there.
There was a lot of financialguys, so they'd be like, hey, I
could help you with yourportfolio.
I'm like, well, mybrother-in-law does that, okay,
bye.
Next.
And they want to have nofurther conversation.
And then coming down here andgo into some business networking
(15:27):
meetings, it was wonderfulbecause it's like the first, you
know, whatever 15, 20, halfhour or maybe the whole
conversation was about hey, whatare you into?
What do you?
You know?
Oh, you like hiking.
And then we'd say, hey, well,what is your business, you know,
and that to me, is so much morenatural, organic and a way to
build a relationship.
It's not like, well, what am Igoing to get out of you, what
(15:49):
can I get from you?
No, that's you know.
That's just not the problem.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
I don't believe works .
Yeah, I was talking to somebodythe other day and they were
talking about like a normalcrisis should work more towards
intimacy.
Yeah, and I mean that's a bigword, I'm not talking about,
like you know, physical intimacy, but if you, if you start out,
I mean you have a conversationover coffee, you get to know
each other and then you can talkabout like, what do you want,
(16:14):
and then there, maybe I can help, maybe I can't, or at least I
probably know somebody who canhelp you, as opposed to hey,
you're no good to me, I'm out,I'm going to find somebody who
is good to me.
Yeah, it's an interestingchange, it's good.
Hey, I've got some.
You know, epic is a acronym,and so just sort of quick fire,
maybe a word or a sentence ortwo about each letter.
(16:37):
So the E is education,education.
What are your thoughts?
Speaker 2 (16:41):
on that Education I feel like, especially the older
I get, I want to learn fromthose who have been what I
consider successful and more so,wise.
You know, I get a lot from fromreading and just watching
podcasts people who who haveshared wisdom from their
experiences that I can relate toand then I could take into my
(17:02):
own mindset and um.
So I think, um, you knowfurther, further gaining wisdom
and knowledge is is it's anendless journey?
Yeah, lifelong learning I likeit.
Yeah, it's an endless journey.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
Yeah, lifelong learning, I like it.
Yeah, how about planning?
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Planning.
I forget who said it, but I dobelieve like those who fail to
plan can plan to fail.
So you know, in my business,you know pre-production is so
important.
It's like having a blueprint, ascript or even a storyboard for
a production like reallytranslates into um and product.
(17:38):
So I think planning is is very,very key.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Yeah, so the I is inspiration.
What are your thoughts aroundinspiration?
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Well, the first thing that comes up is uh, cause I'm
very inspired by music.
So, uh, uh, allow me, allow methis.
Let my inspiration flow intoken rhyme, suggesting rhythm
that will not forsake you.
Till my tale is told and done,won't sing anymore.
Anyway, that's a song writtenby Robert Hunter and Jerry
(18:06):
Garcia, but it's aboutinspiration.
So I take inspiration againfrom music, from experiences,
from educating myself, thewisdom of others and starting my
day with gratitude and positiveaffirmations and all.
So that's really what inspiresme for the most part.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
I love that.
And then the C is commitment.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Commitment, Commitment.
To me, I believe, it's hard tobe successful whether it's in
business relationships or reallyprobably just about any aspects
of life without a commitment.
I find where there's a lack ofcommitment is usually a lack of
trust, and when there is a lackof trust, things typically fall
apart.
So I think commitment is reallyone of the first things we need
(18:51):
in any relationship to besuccessful.
Wow.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
Lack of commitment is a lack of trust, and if there's
a lack of trust, things fallapart.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Wow you believe that also.
I think that's true.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
Yeah, yeah, a hundred percent.
It's an interesting one.
I never have thought about thelack of trust piece of it.
If you can't commit, then youdon't trust.
It's an interesting, it's aninteresting one.
I mean I, I it's, you know, Ithink it, I mean it, it applies
to everything.
I mean it could apply to, itcould apply to a tennis stroke.
(19:22):
I mean, if you don't, if youdon't trust your tennis stroke,
you're not going to commit.
It's, it's so interesting thatthat you brought that up, that's
, that's really, uh, that'sreally entertaining.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
So what do you wish somebody had told you that they
didn't, that you know now inbusiness, in life and whatever
you want to take it yeah, um, II would say because I believe
this is true in business as wellas um, like growing up again
doing the men's work to probablythe most important thing is to
(19:56):
stop beating myself up.
And I say the same thing toguys like that negative
self-talk is so defeating.
And again, whether it's in ourpersonal lives or in business,
like, have some faith, have someconfidence.
I know I know for a lot of guys, this is not true for everybody
.
I grew up in an alcoholic family.
My dad was not a good rolemodel.
(20:17):
He loved me, I loved him, butthis is true of a lot of guys.
So, you know, finding rolemodels that you know not
necessarily you know sportsfigures or you know nothing
wrong with that either, but butbut people of integrity that
could help us grow, that couldhelp us feel good about
ourselves as as men and I'mspeaking, you know, this could
be for women or any gender buthaving faith in our own
(20:39):
abilities and not beating upourselves and having that
negative self-talk, I think isreally the most important thing
for me, because positivity hasalways been a win-win in my book
and that's probably the mostimportant thing that I tell my
kids, that, I tell the guys Iwork with and I tell myself on a
regular basis.
Important thing that I tell mykids that.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
I tell the guys I work with and I tell myself on a
regular basis that's awesome,waska.
Well, I consider myself a verypositive person and I love the
positivity that comes from you,waska.
That's awesome.
So, if people want to get ahold of you, what's the best way
?
Speaker 2 (21:21):
of you.
What's the best way?
Um, come on over, I'm servingtea at noon, uh, yeah, well, my
website is uh provideoprodscom.
That's uh p-r-o-v-i-d-e o prodsp-r-o-d-scom.
That's probably the easiest way.
Um, if you look up waska,there's not too many Waskas
around here either.
But, um, but yeah, or contactyou.
Um, I will say this whoeversees this um podcast.
Um, I'm happy to whateverservice um you are interested in
(21:44):
, I will.
I will offer 15% off, whateverthe service is.
If you mentioned seeing thisconversation with me and Epic
Bill, G.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
Yeah, thanks, waska.
Well, I really appreciate youbeing here.
Thanks for taking time.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Well, I appreciate you, Bill, Thanks for all the
stuff that you do with ActionCoach and the wonderful event
that you put on in AshevilleAsheville Business Summit.
So I'm looking forward to thatalso.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Yeah, and, by the way , Wasco helped us out with the
video production on theAsheville Business Summit, which
we'll be having another onecoming up in September.
Stay tuned for that.
No-transcript.
Hey there, welcome to this week's episode of Epic
Entrepreneurs.
And I'm here with my friend,waska, and he is one of the more
interesting people in the world.
His main business is pro videoproductions, but I can't.
I'll let him tell you all thestuff that he does.
It's unbelievable.
So welcome to the show, waska.
Tell us what you do, yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Well, hey, bill, thanks for having me on.
I really appreciate that.
I appreciate you and well, it'sinteresting.
You say what do I do?
So my business and my careerhas been in professional video
and television production forover 40 years now, so I used to
do a lot of networking andmarketing and all that stuff
throughout the years.
I'm a little bit more seasonednow.
(00:39):
You could see from my kids tellme it's gray.
I used to say no, it's blonde.
But anyway, I've been aroundthe block a few times and so I
find it interesting, especiallycoming from New York where it
was all about marketing.
Down here in our beautifulAsheville area, it's more about
like connecting and community,which I love.
So I like when I get intoconversations it's more about
(01:02):
like who are you?
You're like who I be ratherthan what I do.
But we're talking about what wedo, so I will incorporate who I
am into what I do.
So I'd like to start off with aquote that Arthur Ashe said.
So I was fortunate enough towork as a producing cameraman at
the US Open for 16 years andthere's a statue of Arthur Ashe
(01:24):
there and on it it is inscribedhis quote.
That reads from what we get, wecan make a living and what we
give, however, makes a life.
And I saw that quote and thatstatue so many times that always
sat with me.
I thought that was such abeautiful thing because,
especially as men were taught to, you know to work and make
(01:45):
money and get things andaccumulate and nothing wrong
with that.
But that's kind of like thedemand paradigm and I just
thought it was so important youknow to give back and be a
service.
So I really resonate with thatquote and the importance of
being in service, which I doincorporate into my business and
really in whatever aspects Ican in my life.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Yeah, I want to dig into that a little bit.
You said we're talking aboutdoing.
We have a formula called Btimes do equals have, and you
can only do so much.
At some point you have tobecome more.
So I'm super.
(02:27):
It's interesting.
Being of service obviouslyhelps you do more and helps you
have more.
In this case, life is the wayyou've put it, so that's a
beautiful one.
Thanks for bringing that in.
Yeah, so well, tell us a littlebit more.
(02:48):
I know you did more than justthe video, but yeah, sure, sure.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
So that's been the mainstay of my career.
And then I got into a spiritualcommunity just not even by
design on Long Island in NewYork, where I lived.
And it's interesting becausepeople say, like Waska, is that
Polish?
What does that mean?
My birth name is Perry WayneFinkelstein, a nice Jewish boy
from Brooklyn, and in 2015, Iwas gifted this name, waska
(03:18):
Waboos, which is in theShishindi, or the people better
known as the Apache tradition.
So the vision keeper of ourcommunity dreamt this name for
me.
She had to have the same dreamthree times and then she told me
the name and it was interestingbecause it was people in the
community like Dancing Flowerand Silent Wind and Two Feathers
.
So I thought I'd be likeCrouching Eagle Boy or Wolfman
(03:40):
or something.
So she's like it's Wasco Waboos.
I'm like what does that mean?
You know, and it's you know, Itake out my journal, I start
writing it.
She's like no, no, no, you know, it's oral tradition.
So I had to listen and rememberit.
So this is the short versionbecause, because native people
typically they're they're prettyverbose and I like that, that
(04:01):
even in gatherings I've gonethrough the kids, you know,
small kids will sit there andlisten to the elders which you
know in my life and the way Igrew up.
You know kids are fidgety andwe can't sit for very long, so I
found that very inspiring.
So anyway, huasca is of thepeople of the South, like the
Cordeniero people, the energymedicine of the South, and Wabus
(04:24):
is, the way they say, buffaloover the North.
So you have the complementaryopposites, north and the South,
the balance, and the Buffalo isall about abundance and being in
service to the people.
So Wasco Wabus means with thegenerosity of spirit of the
Buffalo's heart, he remembersthe healing medicine of humor
and laughter as the sacred clownand shares that lightness of
(04:46):
spirit and service to the people.
So I've said that a few times,I've had to memorize it.
So anyway, I go with Waska.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
I don't want to say it.
Yeah, I got the spirit of thebuffalo.
Yeah, yeah, it's a mouthful.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah , it's pretty much about being
in service and I use lightnessand humor, so I incorporate that
into pretty much everything Ido.
So when?
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, selfand that I incorporate that
(05:21):
spirituality into my videoproduction and everything that I
do and I think for the mostpart it works.
You know that traumatized,dysfunctional, obnoxious from
New York Perry comes out once ina while, but I do my best to
keep it balanced, yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Yeah, that's awesome.
Let's shift gears here and talka little bit about business.
If you had to start over and dobusiness again, what would you
do differently?
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Wow, that's a great question.
So I was very, very fortunatewhen I got into video production
.
You know, I just I mentoredunder a few people.
I got right into, you know,network television and TV shows,
new York's very replete witheverything sports, entertainment
, um, politics, a bit ofeverything, um.
So what I would say, you knowagain, incorporating everything
(06:13):
in together, uh, the, thebusiness aspect as well as my
personal being, um is, is andthis holds true I think you
could probably relate to this isthe stress part and the fear
part.
You know, fear, am I going tohave enough money?
Fear, am I doing it right?
Fear, am I pleasing?
So I think if I were to dothings differently, I would do
my best not to be so fearful ofany of those things and just
(06:37):
really kind of go with the flowmore and have more confidence in
my abilities and my intuitionas well.
So that would be my advice tomyself.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Confidence and intuition.
I love that, yeah, yeah.
I think if people would set outwith confidence, I mean usually
good things happen Most timethings work out.
I mean we look back on it andyou're like man, why was I so
stressed about that?
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
You know I mean it's a bit crazy.
So what have been some of yourlearnings along the way?
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Um, some of my learnings.
Well, um, I was very, veryfocused on um I I guess in
hindsight maybe on success, butI don't.
I don't think I was verycognizant of that Um.
So I worked, you know,sometimes 12, 14 hour days on
production.
I was younger at the time whenI first started and I loved it,
um.
So I've told my kids, I'veraised, I've raised three um
(07:32):
young, three young boys, intowonderful human beings now, to
be autonomous, to always give100%, to have integrity and
grace and forgiveness, and sothose are things I learned along
the way.
So what I might do differentlyagain is to follow that
(07:52):
intuition, to give that 100%,not be so focused on pleasing
other people, which is, you know, something that I think a lot
of us do growing up.
So those are things that werehelpful to me and helpful for my
kids also.
I'm not sure if I answered yourquestion.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
No, 100%.
I mean, I think it's great, Imean leaning into integrity,
grace, the things you want your,I think the things you want
your kids to be, the legacy youwant to leave, is super
important, or maybe the mostimportant thing that we do as
people.
I mean, well, you know you canwork 100 hours a week or
whatever, but you know theydon't remember that you know, or
(08:31):
they?
may remember it negatively, butthey, you know that's, that's
the thing.
So what do you?
What do you think some of themisconceptions are in the world
about running a business?
Speaker 2 (08:43):
Um, I think one one thing I found that was really
important is you can't doeverything yourself.
Um, uh, and I used to be aperfectionist so it was hard for
me to delegate.
Um, and I've had a lot ofpeople work for me and with me
over the years, so I think amisconception is I got to do
everything myself and, being,like you know again, a past
(09:04):
perfectionist, you know you wantit done a certain way, so
directing and delegating andsharing, because it really is
all about teamwork, you know,because you could only go so far
doing things yourself.
That's probably the mostimportant thing that I, that I
learned is you know you're onlygoing to get so far.
You know being a solo.
(09:24):
You know entity and thensharing in having feedback from
people, like having littlemeetings where you're
brainstorming and sharing ideas.
You know there's a lot of valuein that and I know you guys do
that with Action Coach and allthe lunch meetings and all
people getting together andsharing ideas and talking about
their businesses and how theycan help one another.
(09:45):
There's tremendous value inthat.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Yeah, yeah, I think so.
So I have a question for youthat just came up in what you
said how does one become a pastperfectionist?
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Well, it's first acknowledging that you, you know
, first acknowledging like hey,my name is Bill W, you know from
.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Right, yeah, of course, yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
It's making the acknowledgement hey, you know
this is, this is something thatdoes not serve me anymore.
You know this is, this issomething that does not serve me
anymore.
And you know, looking at thatand saying, okay, it's okay.
You know they could, they couldbe a little mistake in that
paint line in the ceiling.
You know you're the only onethat's going to notice it, and
other people really don't tendto judge us as harshly as we
judge ourselves, you know, andthat's I think that's very, very
(10:36):
true.
And, um, I also do men's workand coaching, and guys in
particular and this may be trueof women also, but guys tend to,
like you, want to do itperfectly and want to fix things
and want to make sure it's,like you know, done the correct
way, and and that's great.
But there's also a certaingrace we need to give ourselves
so we don't wind up, you know,beating ourselves up and it
cause that's that's, you knowit's.
It's not productive at all, nothealthy either.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
Tell us about the men's work.
What's that about?
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Sure, so, uh, part of that that community I was
involved with, um, uh, I wasinteresting enough, it was a
women's mystery school that Iwas invited into, but there was
a lot of other things going onwith that.
So, um, so I was part of, um, amen's group there also, and, um
, so I I was facilitating,co-facilitating, a men's talking
stick circle, which is, um,yeah, it's a, it's a native
tradition where whoever has thestick is the one who gets to
(11:25):
speak and everybody else,instead of being in your head,
just listens and sharing ideasand things like that.
So, um, you know.
So I'm starting a torrent, sotell me your question again,
cause my mind's going in 10different places.
Speaker 1 (11:37):
I'm just trying to the the the men's work.
I mean, you were talking abouthow you, how you got in.
I was just trying to understand, like what is, who are you
helping?
And sure, Sure Uh.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
I think it it it organically started raising,
raising two boys, and then um,and then I was in a relationship
where I raised Ed.
I call him my bonus son from 10years on.
So I think it was just anatural progression of it,
wasn't even designed.
What can I do to be a betterdad, a better son, a better
(12:09):
brother?
And then this men's group justdeveloped.
Just really being open totalking about men's feelings and
men's work is very, verypopular now.
Yeah, 100%, yeah.
So anyway, this group thatstarted called the Way of the
Illuminated Warrior.
That came from inspiration anda vision I had back in 2011.
So I've been doing that eversince.
(12:30):
We do telecircles now I'vefacilitated a few retreats and
it's basically just having aspace, a safe and sacred space
for men to be able to speak fromthe heart, not judge each other
.
There's nothing to fix.
We just get together and wetalk about stresses, wins,
losses, issues.
It's kind of like a businessmodel to a degree how we could
(12:51):
be successful in our personallives.
That translates into business,into into relationships, into
pretty much everything yeah, Imean.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
Jim rohn said the harder you work on yourself, is
is the key.
So work harder on yourself thanyou do on your job.
So I I think, yeah, I've alwaysfound that when I was working
on myself, that the business didbetter yeah and so, yeah.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
So when I mean, if you want to be better in
business, work on yourself.
I've always found that when Iwas working on myself that the
business did better.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Yeah, I'm sure, and so yeah.
So I mean, if you want to bebetter in business, work on
yourself, yeah, Whatever thatlooks like for you, so yeah,
it's a good thing.
So I mean, you've learned somestuff about balance along the
way, obviously, because we'vetalked a lot about it.
Yeah, what are some tips ortricks or some things that
(13:35):
you've learned about balancingpersonal and business demands?
Speaker 2 (13:40):
Yeah, another great question.
I think in the beginning Ilooked at it as strictly
business, you know and it's notthat I'm not still professional,
I am but I found that, like,building relationships and being
part of a community reallytranslates into doing successful
work.
(14:00):
A lot of the clients that I'veworked for over the years I
became friends with or at leastyou know I keep in touch with
and it kind of translated overeven into personal relationships
also, which I love, because tome, I've found that I'm most
effective when I could sit downwith somebody and say, hey, like
(14:20):
what's your vision?
Like what are you looking toaccomplish here?
Um, and and talking about thatand figuring out ways to make
that happen, rather than astrict um edict of, okay, we're
doing business and we have to,you know, stick to certain um
paradigms of what business issupposed to look like Um.
So for me, um, combining, likeagain, the relationships and
(14:42):
community uh minded approachinto how the business works, um
is really really proved to bevery successful, you know, for
everybody, cause it takes outthat that um, that paradigm,
like we have to be, you know, acertain way, rather than being
ourselves and sharing what thevision really is.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Yeah, we don't have to be straight-laced in suits
and ties and hard-charging andall that stuff.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Yeah, Well I find very interesting enough, like in
New York, it was very much likenetworking meetings.
You go out there.
There was a lot of financialguys, so they'd be like, hey, I
could help you with yourportfolio.
I'm like, well, mybrother-in-law does that, okay,
bye.
Next.
And they want to have nofurther conversation.
And then coming down here andgo into some business networking
(15:27):
meetings, it was wonderfulbecause it's like the first, you
know, whatever 15, 20, halfhour or maybe the whole
conversation was about hey, whatare you into?
What do you?
You know?
Oh, you like hiking.
And then we'd say, hey, well,what is your business, you know,
and that to me, is so much morenatural, organic and a way to
build a relationship.
It's not like, well, what am Igoing to get out of you, what
(15:49):
can I get from you?
No, that's you know.
That's just not the problem.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
I don't believe works .
Yeah, I was talking to somebodythe other day and they were
talking about like a normalcrisis should work more towards
intimacy.
Yeah, and I mean that's a bigword, I'm not talking about,
like you know, physical intimacy, but if you, if you start out,
I mean you have a conversationover coffee, you get to know
each other and then you can talkabout like, what do you want,
(16:14):
and then there, maybe I can help, maybe I can't, or at least I
probably know somebody who canhelp you, as opposed to hey,
you're no good to me, I'm out,I'm going to find somebody who
is good to me.
Yeah, it's an interestingchange, it's good.
Hey, I've got some.
You know, epic is a acronym,and so just sort of quick fire,
maybe a word or a sentence ortwo about each letter.
(16:37):
So the E is education,education.
What are your thoughts?
Speaker 2 (16:41):
on that Education I feel like, especially the older
I get, I want to learn fromthose who have been what I
consider successful and more so,wise.
You know, I get a lot from fromreading and just watching
podcasts people who who haveshared wisdom from their
experiences that I can relate toand then I could take into my
(17:02):
own mindset and um.
So I think, um, you knowfurther, further gaining wisdom
and knowledge is is it's anendless journey?
Yeah, lifelong learning I likeit.
Yeah, it's an endless journey.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
Yeah, lifelong learning, I like it.
Yeah, how about planning?
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Planning.
I forget who said it, but I dobelieve like those who fail to
plan can plan to fail.
So you know, in my business,you know pre-production is so
important.
It's like having a blueprint, ascript or even a storyboard for
a production like reallytranslates into um and product.
(17:38):
So I think planning is is very,very key.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Yeah, so the I is inspiration.
What are your thoughts aroundinspiration?
Speaker 2 (17:45):
Well, the first thing that comes up is uh, cause I'm
very inspired by music.
So, uh, uh, allow me, allow methis.
Let my inspiration flow intoken rhyme, suggesting rhythm
that will not forsake you.
Till my tale is told and done,won't sing anymore.
Anyway, that's a song writtenby Robert Hunter and Jerry
(18:06):
Garcia, but it's aboutinspiration.
So I take inspiration againfrom music, from experiences,
from educating myself, thewisdom of others and starting my
day with gratitude and positiveaffirmations and all.
So that's really what inspiresme for the most part.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
I love that.
And then the C is commitment.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
Commitment, Commitment.
To me, I believe, it's hard tobe successful whether it's in
business relationships or reallyprobably just about any aspects
of life without a commitment.
I find where there's a lack ofcommitment is usually a lack of
trust, and when there is a lackof trust, things typically fall
apart.
So I think commitment is reallyone of the first things we need
(18:51):
in any relationship to besuccessful.
Wow.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
Lack of commitment is a lack of trust, and if there's
a lack of trust, things fallapart.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Wow you believe that also.
I think that's true.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
Yeah, yeah, a hundred percent.
It's an interesting one.
I never have thought about thelack of trust piece of it.
If you can't commit, then youdon't trust.
It's an interesting, it's aninteresting one.
I mean I, I it's, you know, Ithink it, I mean it, it applies
to everything.
I mean it could apply to, itcould apply to a tennis stroke.
(19:22):
I mean, if you don't, if youdon't trust your tennis stroke,
you're not going to commit.
It's, it's so interesting thatthat you brought that up, that's
, that's really, uh, that'sreally entertaining.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
So what do you wish somebody had told you that they
didn't, that you know now inbusiness, in life and whatever
you want to take it yeah, um, II would say because I believe
this is true in business as wellas um, like growing up again
doing the men's work to probablythe most important thing is to
(19:56):
stop beating myself up.
And I say the same thing toguys like that negative
self-talk is so defeating.
And again, whether it's in ourpersonal lives or in business,
like, have some faith, have someconfidence.
I know I know for a lot of guys, this is not true for everybody
.
I grew up in an alcoholic family.
My dad was not a good rolemodel.
(20:17):
He loved me, I loved him, butthis is true of a lot of guys.
So, you know, finding rolemodels that you know not
necessarily you know sportsfigures or you know nothing
wrong with that either, but butbut people of integrity that
could help us grow, that couldhelp us feel good about
ourselves as as men and I'mspeaking, you know, this could
be for women or any gender buthaving faith in our own
(20:39):
abilities and not beating upourselves and having that
negative self-talk, I think isreally the most important thing
for me, because positivity hasalways been a win-win in my book
and that's probably the mostimportant thing that I tell my
kids, that, I tell the guys Iwork with and I tell myself on a
regular basis.
Important thing that I tell mykids that.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
I tell the guys I work with and I tell myself on a
regular basis that's awesome,waska.
Well, I consider myself a verypositive person and I love the
positivity that comes from you,waska.
That's awesome.
So, if people want to get ahold of you, what's the best way
?
Speaker 2 (21:21):
of you.
What's the best way?
Um, come on over, I'm servingtea at noon, uh, yeah, well, my
website is uh provideoprodscom.
That's uh p-r-o-v-i-d-e o prodsp-r-o-d-scom.
That's probably the easiest way.
Um, if you look up waska,there's not too many Waskas
around here either.
But, um, but yeah, or contactyou.
Um, I will say this whoeversees this um podcast.
Um, I'm happy to whateverservice um you are interested in
(21:44):
, I will.
I will offer 15% off, whateverthe service is.
If you mentioned seeing thisconversation with me and Epic
Bill, G.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
Yeah, thanks, waska.
Well, I really appreciate youbeing here.
Thanks for taking time.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Well, I appreciate you, Bill, Thanks for all the
stuff that you do with ActionCoach and the wonderful event
that you put on in AshevilleAsheville Business Summit.
So I'm looking forward to thatalso.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Yeah, and, by the way , Wasco helped us out with the
video production on theAsheville Business Summit, which
we'll be having another onecoming up in September.
Stay tuned for that.
No-transcript.
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