May 1, 2025 • 56 mins
#158 - What if your moments of greatest confusion were actually doorways to your most authentic self? Giovanna Silvestre's remarkable journey proves exactly that. From the high-pressure halls of Hollywood to the difficult decision of walking away from her family's beloved Italian restaurant, Giovanna's path shows how embracing uncertainty becomes your greatest strength.
With refreshing candor, Giovanna shares her descent into depression after attaching her self-worth to external validation—her Hollywood career, the family business, romantic relationships. The turning point? A disciplined approach to rebuilding herself from within through yoga, meditation, and gratitude practices that culminated in a profound spiritual awakening. "I woke up one day and literally felt like I was on Molly," she laughs, describing the natural high that forever shifted her baseline of inner peace.
The conversation takes us through her creation of the "Confused Girl in the City" blog, where weekly adventures from bungee jumping to flying trapeze taught her that confidence comes from stepping outside your comfort zone. We journey alongside Giovanna as she develops a crystal-inspired yoga clothing line that sells internationally, then follows her intuition to Bali and Berlin—spending two years abroad to write her new book "Confused Girl: Find Your Peace in the Chaos."
Giovanna's wisdom resonates deeply: "Confusion is the fuel for your self-discovery journey." Her story proves that when we remove the shame from not having all the answers, we open ourselves to living the life we truly desire. If you're feeling lost, uncertain, or simply curious about your next steps, this episode offers both comfort and practical guidance for transforming your confusion into clarity.
Ready to embrace your own journey? Pre-order Giovanna's book before May 13th at confusedgirlinthecity.com and enter to win a two-night oceanfront stay in Maui!
Want to be a guest on Journey with Jake? Send me a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/journeywithjake
Visit LandPirate.com to get your gear that has you, the adventurer, in mind. Use the code "Journey with Jake" to get an additional 15% off at check out.
Visit geneticinsights.co and use the code "DISCOVER25" to enjoy a sweet 25% off your first purchase.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In an interview with Medium Authority magazine,
giovanna Silvestri said it's anever-ending journey of
discovery.
So, instead of being afraid ofconfusion, why not see it as an
opportunity?
That mindset perfectly capturesthe way Giovanna approaches
life, from the glitz and glamourof Hollywood to the
heart-wrenching decision to walkaway from the family business.
(00:20):
Giovanna has embraced theuncertainty and turned it into
opportunity.
Family business Jovana hasembraced the uncertainty and
turned it into opportunity.
Whether through her boldclothing line or her inspiring
new book, she's carving her ownunique path.
Get ready to go on a journeywith Jovana Silvestri?
Welcome to Journey with Jake.
This is a podcast aboutadventure and how, through our
adventures, we can overcome thechallenges of life that come our
(00:42):
way.
While I expect you will learnsome things about different
adventures, this show willentertain you.
Each episode will featuredifferent guests or guests as
they share experiences andstories from the different
adventures they have been on.
Not only will you beentertained, but you will also
hear the failures and trialseach guest faces and what they
have done or are doing toovercome the hardships that come
(01:04):
their way.
My goal is to take each of uson a journey through the
experiences of my guests, withthe hope that you'll be
entertained and inspired toovercome your day-to-day
challenges.
After all, it's not all aboutthe destination as it.
Back to the show.
I'm Jake Bushman, the host ofJourney with Jake.
Before we dive into myconversation with Giovanna
(01:40):
Silvestri, just a quick reminder.
If you haven't already, pleasesubscribe to the show wherever
you listen to podcasts.
That way, you won't miss anyfuture episodes.
I'd also really appreciate ifyou took a moment to leave a
rating and review.
It helps Journey with Jakereach more listeners and
hopefully we can inspire a wholenew group of people together.
Don't forget, journey with Jakeis also on YouTube.
(02:00):
If you prefer watching episodes, just head over to YouTube and
search Journey with Jake podcast.
While you're there, do me afavor and subscribe to the
channel.
I post full episodes along withshorts from current and even
pre YouTube episodes.
Speaking of shorts, a great wayto catch clips from past,
present and even future episodesis through my Instagram at
(02:21):
journey with Jake podcast.
I also share personal storiesand behind the scenes content
there, so feel free to give me afollow.
Lastly, journey with Jake isproud to be part of the Podmatch
Podcast Network, a collectionof independent podcasters
covering everything from thearts and religion to politics
and more.
You can discover more greatshows at podmatchcom forward
(02:44):
slash network.
Now let's talk about today'sguest.
I had an amazing and funconversation with Giovanna
Silvestri.
She's incredibly relatable andshared her inspiring journey
through the highs and lows ofself-discovery.
If you enjoy this episode, besure to check out episode 126
with Beth Atencio, where weexplore her path of
(03:06):
self-discovery, complete withvan life.
All right, let's jump into myconversation with Giovanna
Silvestri.
Well, I'm excited today I haveGiovanna Silvestri on the show
with me today.
Giovanna, welcome to Journeywith Jake.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
Yeah, I'm excited to talk to you.
I was looking at your story alittle bit who you are, what
you're doing.
You've had quite a life alreadyand you're not old.
I can tell you're not old, soyou've done a lot of things
already, which is fantastic.
We're going to dive into thatyour journey, who you are, some
of your adventures.
I know you've done sometraveling and things like that.
So I I'd like to know kind ofyour background, kind of where
(03:44):
you're from, where you grew up,that sort of thing, if you don't
mind.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Yeah, so I grew up in San Luis Obispo, which is three
hours north of Los Angeles, onthe central coast of California,
and my parents had an Italianrestaurant there.
My father was from Italy and mymom's Irish American, and so
that was a very wild household.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Quite the combo right .
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Yeah, yeah, exactly, electric combo.
I grew up working in the familybusiness and I think that's
probably where I got myentrepreneurial spirit.
And I came to Los Angeles to goto USC, graduated from USC in
international relations and aminor in global business, and
then I started working inHollywood.
(04:32):
So totally I didn't study filmat all, but Hollywood is one of
those industries where you cango into it If you are good at
navigating people, which I thinkI was good at, because I grew
up working in my family'srestaurant.
In a restaurant you'll see like200 people in one night and
where do you really go andinteract with that many people
(04:55):
in a day?
It was a place just to reallyunderstand different
personalities.
And actually that's where mymother started believing in the
phases of the moon, because onfull moons she's like everybody
has this kind of attitude orthis kind of attitude and it all
kind of be the same.
So she really got into thephases of the moon, which I'm
(05:19):
now totally into, and waswatching the lunar eclipse last
night, which was crazy, yeah.
Then, uh, worked in hollywoodfor quite a few years and
decided this wasn't for me.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
People are crazy let's talk about hollywood for a
second then, because you go tousc, you, you're doing what'd
you say international?
International relationsinternational relations and then
some business as well.
That's kind of what you'redoing.
Why hollywood like this?
Is because you were in la,because you're at university of
southern california.
Is it just the access to it,like what made you kind of draw
(05:53):
yourself to hollywood?
Speaker 2 (05:54):
you know, because it was the cool thing to do at the
time and I wouldn't say that now, like I wouldn't say now it's
cool to go work in Hollywood.
I think people are now seeingbehind the curtain.
People can do their ownpodcasts and whatever from a
little town in Ohio and havemillions of views and you don't
even need to deal with thesecrazies.
(06:15):
But at the time I was in LA, itwas the coolest thing to do.
And podcasts, blog, all thatstuff didn't exist yet when I
got into the it was.
It was like if you wanted to bein TV and film, you got to come
to Los Angeles.
If you want to be inentertainment at all, you got to
(06:35):
come here.
There was no other avenue forit.
I wanted to be part of the coolclub and work in the industry
and it was really.
It was really fun because youknow I was an assistant, so for
some big wigs, so I wouldnetwork with other assistants
and we'd all go to partiestogether and you'd have on your
schedule to go meet somebody fora drink and we'd all be talking
(06:59):
about our bosses, clients andwhat's going on and it was.
It's kind of.
It was kind of like this likeunderground little Hollywood
community and it was kind oflike this underground little
Hollywood community and I haveto say it was really fun.
I went to some great parties.
I did have a lot of fun untilit just wasn't fun anymore and
I'm like I don't like waking upevery day, I'm just like pushing
(07:20):
myself out of bed to go.
I'd be nervous most of the timeat work.
It just wasn't enjoyable and Ijust didn't want to put myself
through it anymore.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
So you're having fun with it, you're enjoying it,
you're learning a lot.
I mean you're right out ofcollege so it's probably a great
experience to learn some things.
You're meeting with these otherassistants and having your own
little networking things and Imean it almost sounds, you know,
kind of like the movies and thetv shows where you see them.
Oh we're, I got a drink with,so-and-so we're gonna go out and
meet for drinks and yeah, likeentourage yeah, yeah, they're
entourage.
That's it.
That's a great, great point wasa hit years ago.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
I don't think it would like a show like entourage
would be cool anymore.
Like hollywood's, definitely ina, because I think people are
disgusted with the like.
Now you're even like the BlakeLively and Justin Baldoni case.
You know like that's, you knowthat's like one of the things.
And then you P Diddy and Jay-Zand all these like so much is
(08:17):
coming out and people are justso disgusted by the way these
people are acting and treatingother people and it is
disgusting.
I can't say I'm sad about this.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Okay, yeah, so you, you mentioned, you know you got
to a point where you're justlike enough's enough.
But you also said somethingabout I don't know if you said
it or how you worded it but youwere nervous or anxious or
something.
I mean, was it kind of agradual thing, or did you just
kind of one day you're like man,this is not it, or like how did
that I mean?
Or did you start feelinganxiety?
What kind of happened?
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Well, I was just.
I was just living in a constantstate of like, like high stress
and nervousness Cause,especially as an assistant.
The whole, your whole job isbased around being perfect and
pleasing your boss, andsometimes these bosses are not
pleasable and so you're justlike bending over backwards
(09:11):
doing cartwheels.
And then you know, I had, inone of my movie projects I was
working on, I had this otherassistant that was really
jealous of me and sabotaged meand ended up getting me fired
off of that project, and I'mreally sensitive too.
So all these things really hurtme and stressed me out a lot,
and so I just got tired ofhaving to like push myself
(09:34):
through my days.
I didn't like the social aspect, though I really did like going
to the Sundance Film Festivaland going to the Cannes Film
Festival, and when you're in itand you're going to those things
, it's really magical and it'sreally fun.
But I mean, honestly, that'sthe only thing that I miss.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
So once you realize this is not for me, what did you
do?
How did you take a reset fromthat?
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Well, I actually went home and I thought, maybe you
know, I'll take a break, figureout what I want to do, and maybe
I'm supposed to take over myparents' Italian restaurant.
You know, one day I was workingbehind the bar in the
restaurant and there was a guysitting at the bar and then him
and I he was really cute, reallynice guy, great job, you know.
And so I was like, okay, well,maybe this.
(10:21):
I was in my mid twenties.
I was like, maybe this is whatI'm supposed to do, like, okay,
well, maybe this.
I was in my mid twenties.
I was like, maybe this is whatI'm supposed to do, maybe I'm
supposed to, you know, be withhim and take over my parents'
restaurant, and and that will bemy life.
And I did that for almost twoyears and I was miserable and I
was like this can't be my life,I do not want this.
This can't be it.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
And you're.
You said your dad, he camestraight from Italy.
Then, right, like he, immigrantdirect from Italy, starts this
restaurant.
I almost feel like with withimmigrants and maybe even
children.
You can tell me cause you're a,you're a child of an immigrant.
You kind of almost feel like alittle debt, like you gotta
maybe keep supporting the familything Is that?
Did you kind of have that goingon with you?
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Oh, absolutely I would.
Even even during college, Iwould drive home on the weekends
and help them at the restaurant.
If it was going to be like aholiday weekend or a busy
weekend, I would always comeback and help.
Yeah, definitely you felt that.
And then when I was thereworking, then my dad had me with
him, so my mom got to just befree and she was really loving
(11:25):
that.
So me leaving would mean thatmy mom would have to come back
in and help and that was goingto cause a lot of chaos in the
family unit.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
So it's probably a little sense of guilt there too
then.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Yes, but it just got so toxic, that cause my dad and
I were butting heads and I'm adaddy's girl and we were butting
heads a lot and and it just,and then even I started butting
heads with my mom and I'm like,man, you should be a little
nicer to me, because I'm likehelping you out here, lady, you
(11:57):
know, and I just was like youknow what, I'm not being true to
myself.
At the end of the day, thisisn't for me.
And I was even like with theguy I was dating.
We were fighting all the timeand I was just like he's a great
guy, but again, I don't thinkwe were mature enough to be in a
relationship with each otherand so I let it all go.
(12:20):
I let go of him, I let go of therestaurant, and that was really
hard for me because it was likenow what do I have?
I came back to LA with my tailbetween my legs and I'm like,
okay, I don't want to work inthe entertainment industry
anymore because it's liketorture and my family is unhappy
(12:41):
with me for leaving and I don'teven have the support of a
boyfriend anymore.
And so I was like all alone inmy apartment in LA and I fell
into a depression.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
I want to ask about this because, yeah, you go off
to Hollywood, you do theHollywood thing.
It's not going to work out, andthat's fine.
Things don't work out.
Sometimes you're still young.
You go back.
You gave it two years of yourlife trying to make it work with
the restaurant as well.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
That didn't work out I gave it a good go you gave it,
absolutely you did.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
You gave it a good go and that's not working out.
So I know at this point you'reprobably got to be feeling
frustrated.
What's going on?
It's not working out with myboyfriend, it's you know my
parents are upset now.
Ah, it's got to be frustratingthe depression, let's, yeah.
What was that like?
What's it like being in thatsituation, not knowing what
you're going to do and what didyou do about it?
Speaker 2 (13:30):
Well, I definitely felt this intense sense of
self-loathing and a lack ofself-worth.
I felt like I had no worth.
What I realized is, and I alsofelt like I wasted my time.
I'm such an idiot All of thistime, all those good years in my
twenties, where you have allthis energy and you've just
(13:52):
wasted on.
And it's so funny because nowand now I know that's just total
BS.
This is exactly what yourtwenties is for is just trying
things.
And now I'm like oh, I'm sohappy I worked in the industry
and got all that cool experienceand did that.
I'm so happy I tried therestaurant and because now I
realize you have so much time.
But then I just thought youknow, you have to have
(14:13):
everything figured out by thetime you're 29.
That's a big lie, everyone Justletting you know big lie.
What I realized is when I was inthis, when I was in this
depression and my thoughts werejust on a replay of all my
shortcomings, I realized that Ihad attached all of my
self-worth to things outside ofme, like I had attached my
(14:34):
self-worth to working inHollywood and I looked cool.
Then I attached myself worth toOoh, I'm going to be the owner
of this restaurant and I havethis like gorgeous to Ooh, I'm
going to be the owner of thisrestaurant and I have this like
gorgeous, successful boyfriend.
But I didn't feel like I wasworth anything.
I only felt like I was worthsomething because of these, like
these external things that hadput me into a state of
(14:57):
depression where I was like, ifI don't figure out how to feel
good in my body and feel goodabout myself, I don't want to be
here anymore, because this isawful Like.
This feeling is just the lowestof the low.
So I was like, okay, we got, wegot.
And the one thing I am is verydisciplined, very disciplined.
I've just, I think my mom, mymom, always says that my
(15:19):
Catholic schooling, really, withthat Cause, even with my mom,
I'm like why do you have likethree rags in the sink?
You should only have like one,or just a sponge, or you know.
And then I was like just dothings like this and then
they'll get done.
And and she's like you knowwhat?
This is your Catholic schoolingand I paid for that.
So that's why you're like.
And so I, I am, I'm like okay,you know that you, this is what
(15:46):
we're going to do.
We gotta.
We gotta fix the inside,because if we don't fix the
inside, nothing is good.
Nothing good is going to happenon the outside.
We've seen this.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Yeah Well, and you said you didn't want to be here
anymore.
Like you didn't want to, like,be alive.
Like what were you when yousaid that?
What is that?
What's what?
You got to that point whereyou're like this is dumb, I
don't even want to be alive.
So what did it take for you tosay, okay, I got to change
what's inside?
How?
Speaker 2 (16:13):
do you get out of that Cause?
It seems so tough to get out ofit when you're in it.
Well, what's interesting aboutgetting to that point, like that
low point, is you go and andand.
A lot of people, a lot ofpeople think about it, a lot of
people.
I didn't try it, I didn't tryit or anything, but I was
thinking about it.
This doesn't change.
Like I got to get out of here.
This is too much, you know.
Once you start thinking likethat, there's almost a
liberation that happens insideof you, because you no longer
(16:37):
care what anybody else thinksand the societal pressures
you're like F you, you know you,you kind of go F you to.
You know, having a perfectlittle family, f you to have a
perfect career, f you for havinga lot of money.
You know all the things thatyou just kind of go, I don't
care anymore because I feel sobad, and that's what kind of
(16:59):
happened to me.
And then the pressure was offand that was a really good
feeling and then I went okay, soI don't care anymore.
So why don't we just figure outwhat's going to please you and
what's going to make you happyand what you like and what you
don't like, things that helpedme get out of this.
Really, yoga was huge.
(17:21):
Really, yoga was huge.
Yoga was so huge because yogawould give me a mental break
from the looping obsessive,negative thinking.
Yoga would really help me breakfrom that, and so I started
doing yoga all the time.
I started meditating, I startedwriting in a gratitude journal
even though I wasn't gratefulfor anything I like, made myself
(17:44):
.
And there's a magic in makingyourself do these things.
You, you, you're reprogrammingyour brain.
It's like a muscle.
It's like a muscle you know.
And when, when you're at the gymand you're lifting this weight
and at first it's, you know youcan't do it, and then eventually
you work up to it and then youcould do it and it's easy and
your muscles just do that.
Or like, even like riding abike.
At first, when you try to ridea bike, it's really difficult,
(18:08):
but then, once you know how toride a bike, you're never
forgetting how to ride a bike.
You just get on there and youdon't even think about it
anymore.
And that's actually whatstarted to happen to me is like
I started to train myself.
When I'd have a negativethought I would imagine like a
burning trash can and I justlike visualize putting the
thought in the trash can andhaving it burn, and I would also
do some some letting gotechniques where I would imagine
(18:31):
I write about this in my book.
This is all this in my book.
I would imagine walk.
I would walk on the beachbecause I live close to the
beach in LA and I would imaginethat I had a backpack on that
had all of the things I hatedabout myself or felt bad about
or felt guilty about or feltshameful about, and it was like
weighing me down.
And then I would like put myback to the ocean and fling it
(18:54):
off Like it was just going intothe ocean and you know it was.
It was.
I let it go and then eventuallyI let it go and eventually I
started to feel grateful.
Now I kind of wake up gratefulevery day, even if I wake up on
the wrong side of the bed.
It's not like I'll never goback to what it was before ever.
(19:17):
That's just like never.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
Amazing.
I like hearing this because itdoes something for me.
So I appreciate you beingvulnerable and sharing that,
because I like to see whatpeople do and what they're doing
.
I do some things that aresimilar.
I write in a gratitude journalas well.
I like to get a little exercisein the morning body movement
and you said you're disciplined.
So I think when you made thedecision, you're like okay, and
your discipline, I think, helpedbecause you're like I'm going
(19:39):
to write in this journal eventhough I am not thankful for
anything at this point, or I'mnot grateful for anything, and
you did it Same with the yoga.
Where did this lead you?
Where did you go from here?
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Well.
So I kind of had a spiritualawakening with all of this and I
woke up one day and I literallyfelt like I was on Molly.
It was literally like I had anatural Molly high and I went
out into nature and likeeverything looked different and
I was like whoa, this is crazy.
And I was like staring.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
Just to be clear, you weren't on Molly, though.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
No.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
Okay, you just kind of had a epiphany, so to speak.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
I had not done, molly .
I was not on a drug, I was noteven.
I didn't even take a weed gummyor anything.
Actually, back then, weed wasillegal.
This was all me.
This was all me.
I do believe when you, when youdesire something and you, like I
, was praying on it, I wasvisualizing, I was meditating on
(20:38):
it and I was working toward it,and especially when it's
something noble, like I, just Iwant to feel better in my skin,
I want to feel worthy, to likeexist, like the universe
conspires to help you achievethat.
The universe wants you to have,that.
They gave it to me.
It was really crazy and it waslike I was getting better, I was
(20:59):
getting better, I was gettingbetter.
And then one day I woke up andI was just like flooded with,
like joy and gratitude, and andthen I was on a high for a
couple of days and then itdissipated, but it never left me
.
It's never left me.
My level of internal peace orhappiness, joy, whatever you
(21:20):
want to call it.
It went from like here to likehere, and then it does just
increase and I don't evenremember what this felt like
anymore, like I don't rememberwhat this lower vibrational, the
way I was even felt like.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
Do you remember, though, that day though that you
woke up and felt like that?
Speaker 2 (21:36):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
Were you still?
Were you in LA at the time?
Like, where were you?
I was in LA.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
I was in my apartment , I started jumping on my bed
because I was just buzzing.
I just woke up and it was like,oh, it's like everything I was
doing integrated inside me andbecause I was kind of living
like a monk, you know, I wasn't.
I wasn't going out, I wasn'tdrinking, I wasn't partying, I
(22:02):
wasn't I was just very muchconcentrated on getting myself
together.
Yeah, I had this, like it was acrazy spiritual awakening and
then after that things startedto like my life kind of unfolded
in a very magical way.
But by also saying it, it wasstarting to unfold in a very
magical way.
I'm not saying it was easy allthe time and it didn't have.
There was hardships.
I mean I still, you know, evenafter this happened, I felt like
(22:24):
I had a world of knowledge.
I still met a sociopath and gotyou know like, who had a fiance
.
The entire time he was datingme and you know that was painful
to go through and I still hadlike I've still made mistakes
and things happened.
But it was just everything, Idon't know.
It was just like there was thisdivine purpose to things and I
(22:45):
felt good about myself whilewalking on this, on my path.
I actually.
I, once I got out of thedepression, I go okay, I'm not
depressed anymore, but I stilldon't understand why I'm here
and what I'm supposed to do.
So I started a video blogcalled Confused Girl in the City
, and that was the thing to doat the time was blogging.
(23:07):
If I was starting something out, it'd be a podcast, like you
you know, but back then it wasblogging.
So I started a video blog.
Every week I would do somethingnew I'd never done before, in
an attempt to figure out who Iwas, why I was here and what I
liked, what I disliked, becausea lot of the things that we
(23:29):
think we like and think we willenjoy and will make us feel
fulfilled and happy it's what wewere told that we should like
and what we were told that wouldmake us feel fulfilled and
happy, and it actually is notthe case.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
So what were some of the things you did?
Can you give a couple examplesof, like some of the things you
did for your blog?
Speaker 2 (23:49):
My first one, which I talk about a lot, but I talk
about it because it's kind oficonic and I didn't.
Symbolic to me, not iconic.
Symbolic to me.
My roommate at the time wasgoing bungee jumping and he said
do you want to come?
And I go?
Oh, my God, great.
That'll be my new thing for thefor the week, cause I've just
started this video blog and I'mdoing a new thing every week and
(24:10):
this will be my thing.
So I went bungee jumping, whichwas insane and it was so scary.
I'll never do it again, but Ifelt like now, looking back, it
was like it was so symbolic ofme jumping out into the unknown
taking the leap taking a leap offaith.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
Awesome.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
Yeah, and also, you know, I didn't have so much
confidence at this time becauseI felt like I didn't know who I
was.
So that kind of gave me aconfidence, like if I can jump
off a bridge, I can do anything.
It also really gave me thisconfidence and then I did.
(24:51):
I actually did the flyingtrapeze, which is also kind of
scary but really fun.
I did that in Santa Monica andthese things.
You know, if you go on Groupon,you can find a ton of things
that are discounted.
It's not like you need to havea lot of money to do these
things.
And I really I just posted avideo on my Instagram talking
(25:11):
about how I believe, becausepeople go.
Well, what is confidence?
How do you get confident?
And I'm like I think confidenceis putting yourself outside of
your comfort zone and knowingthat you'll be able to handle
yourself.
That builds confidence isknowing I can handle myself or I
like, and that could be evenjust, you know, doing a dancing
(25:33):
class.
Going into a dancing classwhere you don't know anybody and
you feel weird and you've gotto dance with random people, and
that's like really steppingoutside of your comfort zone,
but once you do that, it's likeoh gosh, okay, I feel stronger
in myself.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
Something I always ask all of my guests and you're
kind of saying what a lot ofthem say.
I always like to ask thequestion what does adventure
mean to you?
And it kind of you're almostdescribing like what a lot of
them say you know it's going outof your comfort zone, it's
doing something, you know it'sgetting out of the norm, it's.
Do you kind of equate the two?
Do you think adventure is kindof that as well?
What's what's adventure to you?
We'll just did it now.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
Yeah, I think adventure is is that and I, and
just like opening up yourself,like even your soul, to being
curious, to the unknown and alsobeing able to recognize the
divinity in things.
For instance, my mom and I.
(26:30):
Well, I would say one of thelast adventures I had recently
was my mom and I are planning mybook launch party.
So we went to the bookstorethat my publishing company set
up in Culver City and talked tothem and then I was like well, I
want to throw my party at theCulver Hotel because it's like
an iconic hotel in Los Angeles,it's old Hollywood, it's
(26:50):
gorgeous inside, it has aspeakeasy.
It's like this is going to besuch an awesome event.
So we go there.
And my father passed away twoyears ago and my dad was the one
.
My parents owned a restaurant.
He was the one that would planthe events.
He would be like don't talk, Igot this because I'll get the
best deal, you know, kind ofthing.
So my mom and I were like, oh,this is weird without, without
(27:13):
Papa.
And the Culver Hotel is likethe food is kind of all American
, you know it's, it's notItalian.
And then the we say we want totalk to the event manager.
And so the event manager comesout and she's from Italy and my
mom and I were like, and then weended up all three crying
(27:34):
because she lost her father afew years ago too.
So all three of us were likeemotional, and my mom and I and
she said, oh, don't worry, I'mgoing to hook you guys up.
I'll even give you like a, acalm hotel room for that night
so you can just drink and thenstay here.
And my mom and I, we literallygot in the car and we were just
(27:54):
silent.
Oh my God, that was my dad.
That's so crazy.
And then my mom and I went outand just partied together all
day.
Oh my God, it was crazy.
We ended up going to this onebar and then talking to this
older man.
Then his friends came in andthen they're buying us drinks
and then the party justcontinued and then we just had
(28:15):
the best time.
And the next day we were justso giddy about the whole night
and my mom's like well, it'sgood we only go out once a month
, because when we go out wereally go out.
And I'm like, yeah, but I thinkthat was an adventure and it was
because you just open yourselfup to the universe and just the
(28:38):
magic of life.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
I love it.
Love that very much.
That's fantastic.
I did want to ask you because Iknow you know when you kind of
left and it sounds like you yourrelationship with your parents
was still great, though Evenafter you know you were.
It might've been a littletension there when you left the
business or whatever, but itsounds like things got better,
as far as that goes, with yourfamily.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
Oh yeah, I mean, you know families.
It goes up and down for sure.
I love my parents, I'll alwayslove my parents, no matter what,
so, and they love me no matterwhat too.
So there might be tension orwhatever, and then you know, but
we all we come back together inthe end like nothing.
Yeah, and I've been really madwith both of them at times, like
(29:19):
really upset, you know, but atthe end of the day they're not
like my dad's not here, my mom,like I know, is not going to be
here forever either, and I, Iwant to enjoy them and love them
.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
Take advantage of that while you can.
Okay, so you talked about theCulver bookstore and cause
obviously you got a book comingout.
I want to dive into that book,but before we get to I think you
know you started the blog.
So did the blog?
Did you just kind of build andyou just started getting a fault
, like what happened.
And then where did you go fromthere?
Because I think, if I'm notmistaken, you got a clothing
line going as well, like what doyou got?
Speaker 2 (29:52):
going on, yeah, so, okay.
So I was doing the blog andthen I was working part-time
gigs because I didn't know, Ididn't want to invest all my
time into something when Ididn't even know what I really
wanted.
So I was just doing my blog andworking part-time gigs and then
I got, uh, I got this interviewto go interview with this
healer, this famous healer in LA, for his YouTube.
(30:16):
He needed someone to interviewhim for his YouTube channel.
So I go and then, oh my gosh,him and I had the craziest
connection.
We ended up not even talkingabout the job at all, we ended
up just talking about our lives.
And then he gave me these twogigantic crystals.
And I didn't know anything aboutcrystals, but I was on my
spiritual journey and I wasdoing yoga and I just thought
(30:38):
these were so gorgeous.
I was like, wow, like mothernature's creations are are the
best.
So I was meditating one day andI had a vision of creating a
yoga wear line inspired byhealing crystals.
And and this is also beforeeverybody was making yoga
(31:00):
clothes.
It was just Lululemon, a coupleof niche brands and Lululemon.
Nobody knew of them, like onlyhardcore, like only yogis knew
of them.
Sure, I was like I'm going to dothis.
I'm kind of like an OG of yogaleggings and in the brand you
know, I hustled again.
That was its own journey ofhustling around figuring out how
(31:21):
I was going to sell them.
One summer I went all around LAand set up booths at all these
open markets to sit there allday, not make any money.
My dad would even come to LA tohelp me and it was depressing.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
Did you know anything about fashion or anything like
that?
Or is it just you just like,had this vision and thought, wow
, okay, that's amazing too, thefact that you're just like you
know, I can see.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
Now there's see, now it's just a totally different
ballgame because you can, youknow, you can just create things
online from drop shippingcompanies and stuff.
But back in the day it wasn'tlike that.
So I met with all themanufacturers in downtown la
that did dye sublimationprinting that was the printing
that I needed for this and theywere all Korean men owners.
They did not give me a deal,but then I found there was a
(32:12):
Chinese family and they gave methe deal and I was like okay,
the Chinese actually in theItalians are pretty good
together, like they they're inthe cities, they're always like
their neighborhoods.
I was like okay, this makessense, so they were wonderful.
I love them so much.
They would actually do a lot ofthings and not charge me as
(32:35):
well Like they were helping youout.
Yeah, they were helping me outand they made it possible.
I was about to give up and belike I can't afford it, and then
they made it possible, so Istarted.
I started doing that, yeah, andthen I and then I used
Instagram.
Instagram at the time this is12 years ago it was way more
open.
I was able to message peoplelike nobody then was doing
(32:59):
direct message marketing so, andI was sending messages to girls
that did yoga all over theworld.
My first two sales were this iscrazy Canada and South Korea my
first two sales.
And I was like I have aninternational business.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
Hey, there's that international degree you got
coming into play.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
There you go.
And then I sold them all overthe world and I mean I would see
them.
I would see them in Venicebeach.
I see this all of my leggings.
In Culver city I saw one ofthis girl that interned for me.
She saw them on a girl inMunich, germany, riding a bike.
She messaged me and so it it itwas.
It was really.
(33:39):
It was really cool.
It was about five years of thatand during that time I didn't
know how to scale.
I was trying to, but that doorwasn't opening up like scaling,
and I was trying to figure outhow I could do it.
Door was not opening.
I'm like, okay, I was.
Actually I was driving home oneday to visit my parents and I
(34:02):
got inspiration to write a book.
The inspiration hit me.
It was like you're going towrite a book.
And then I got all excited andjoyful and I thought, okay, I'm
writing a book, but I don't wantto write the book in Los
Angeles, I want to write thebook in a different country.
I want this to be totallyinspired.
I want to be relaxed, I do notwant to be on the hamster wheel.
(34:25):
So I made my businesscompletely mobile, took me a
year and rented out my place,took my valuables to my parents'
house and then I took off fortwo years with just a suitcase
and a backpack and my laptop.
Speaker 1 (34:38):
Wow, where did you go ?
Speaker 2 (34:39):
I went to Bali for a year.
Oh, bali is amazing.
And, yes, I was trying to do myown eat, pray love, okay, okay.
So everyone can laugh, make funof me it's fine and it was
amazing.
So I was in Bali for a year andthen I was in Berlin for a year
.
Speaker 1 (34:56):
Wow, okay, so you spent.
So you spent the two yearswriting your book.
Speaker 2 (34:59):
Yes, most of it was done in Bali.
A little I finished it.
I finished it in Berlin.
Speaker 1 (35:04):
Okay, so you go to Bali, you're working remote,
basically, you're running yourbusiness, kind of remote.
You're writing your book.
You know, I think of Bali,indonesia, you know, and I think
yoga seems.
Is it big there?
I mean, it seems like it is, Idon't know.
Did you do yoga, like what wasit?
Speaker 2 (35:19):
Okay, I thought yoga was like oh my God, it's amazing
because you have these open airstudios, because it's so humid,
so it's like you're doing hotyoga.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
So you're naturally just sweating.
Speaker 2 (35:31):
You're doing your yoga and you're sweating and
yeah, and you're sweating andand you're just, you're like in
the jungle and it's just.
Oh my God, it was amazing and Iwould do an hour and a half of
yoga every morning before Iwould sit down at a cafe and
write.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
Wow, okay, so you do that in the morning, get your
day off right.
You know your yoga, like yousaid you started to do when
you're feeling depressed.
You keep that going.
I love it.
And then you go to the cafe andwrite, okay, no-transcript,
(36:28):
that you didn't have the fearWas there any kind of fear of
going by yourself to thisforeign country?
Speaker 2 (36:34):
No, because before that I'd kind of dipped my toe
into solo traveling.
Okay, I had already been solotraveling for a few years, like
I went to Iceland for a month,and so when I, when I would
leave for a month cause at thattime I didn't, my business,
wasn't mobile, so my parentswould come and stay at my condo
(36:54):
and my whole bedroom was a drop,was like a drop shipping
packaging room, so my parentswould package up my stuff and
then take it to the post officeand I had all the inventory
there and my dad loved it.
He thought it was so fun.
Yeah, so my parents would just,you know, stay at my place
while I was gone.
So I had already figured outthat I'm fine on my own and it's
(37:20):
like I'm totally cool and Icould do this.
So going so so no, so leavingwas not that was not a thing.
Speaker 1 (37:26):
You're probably excited about that, looking
forward to it.
Speaker 2 (37:29):
Yeah, my first solo trip was very scary.
Speaker 1 (37:32):
Where was that too, If you don't mind me asking that
was, to Europe.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
I went in the winter and I went to well, I see again
dipping toe in I met up with myfriend who lives in Belgium.
He's from Belgium, so I met upwith him and I even stayed with
his family for a couple of days.
We went to Amsterdam and thenhis father took me to the train
station and then I was off toBrussels by myself and I was
(37:56):
like, okay, so then, and thenfrom Brussels I went to Prague
and Berlin.
So I did a few cities andBudapest Prague, berlin and
Budapest.
I did all that by myself, whichwas two and a half weeks
probably.
And then I flew to Italybecause I have family in Italy
(38:17):
and I spent Christmas with myfamily in Italy.
So I kind of I broke it up andI went to Europe because I know
people, because I have familythere, so I was able to feel
secure.
But then after that, after Iwas able to do that by myself,
I'm like, oh gosh, I can goanywhere by myself now.
Speaker 1 (38:34):
I've talked to a few solo travelers and it's amazing,
the confidence you talked aboutconfidence earlier what it does
for people, the confidence thatgives people traveling by
themselves.
It really does.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
You want to build your confidence, go solo travel.
I swear it really does.
I know because people tell meoh, you're so confident.
This one guy said, oh, you mustbe really rich.
We associate confidence withbeing rich.
And I said, no, I'm not.
I mean I hope I am someday, butI'm not.
(39:04):
I mean I hope I am someday butI'm not, I'm not right now.
And he's like most of thepeople I talk to that are as
confident as you are really rich.
And I was like, oh, that'sinteresting that you associate
confidence with bank accounts.
I was like I don't at all.
But yeah, I again.
I think you, you build a lotbecause you know how to handle
yourself in any situation whenyou, when you can solo travel.
Speaker 1 (39:21):
So I find it interesting because you decided
you're like okay, I'm going towrite this book and I'm going to
go abroad to do it.
I'm going to go to Indonesiaand Berlin and I've never been
to either of them, but they seemlike two totally different
places.
Was there reasoning behind that?
Like what was the kind ofdifferent inspiration from each
of those places?
Speaker 2 (39:38):
Well, I had been to Berlin.
That was my.
Berlin was my first solo tripthat I had been on and I
remember being there and Ithought it was such a weird but
kind of magical place.
And I'm a bit I love history,so like the world war two
history and the Berlin wall andyou know.
So I was like you know, this isso interesting and it's like
(40:00):
artists type of vibe and I waslike I want to, I want to live
here for a little bit someday.
I kind of made that decision andand then for my, you know, when
I decided I wanted to do twoyears abroad, I knew I didn't
want to do anything familiar.
Italy is my favorite country inthe world but I'm like I'm not
doing, I'm not, I would not.
And when I lived in Berlin Iwas like always traveling to
(40:22):
Italy, I was like you know, Idon't want to live in Italy
because it's too comfortable forme.
I want to do the uncomfortable.
I'd never been to SoutheastAsia.
Berlin is a very you know, it'sa colder culture, the climate.
I wanted to live through a realwinter because I'm from
California.
(40:42):
I wanted to test myself Havingyou to live through a real
winter because I'm fromCalifornia.
I wanted to test myself, having, you know, freeze your butt off
in a big coat, like going tothe, going to the subway, and
having to do all that, and so itwas.
It was, um, you know, testingmyself as well and knowing, oh,
I can do this.
Speaker 1 (40:55):
Tell me about the book.
What's the book called?
I think it's coming out realsoon.
Just kind of kind of give alittle scoop of the book and
what it's all about.
Speaker 2 (41:03):
It's coming out May 13th and it's called Confused
Girl Find your Peace in theChaos.
So any confused girls listeningto this, any man out there that
has a confused girl in his life, go buy the book.
But I mean, in this book I kindof I write about all the things
I've talked about here, so muchmore, and about manifesting and
(41:29):
figuring out your destiny andgetting in touch with your true
nature and how to look at lifeas an adventure.
And the premise of the book isthat your confusion is actually
your greatest virtue.
Virtue because I look atconfusion as the fuel for your
self-discovery journey.
Speaker 1 (41:47):
Could you felt that yourself you were confused.
I think we're all confused in away.
I think I've been confused.
I'm still confused.
Speaker 2 (41:56):
You were always good.
That's the nature of life.
Right Is, as you go through it,you're confused.
You get, you get comfortable,you get grounded in something.
Then a problem arises or yourlife shifts in some sort of way,
and then you're confused abouthow you want to continue on.
I wanted to take the shame outof not having all the answers
(42:18):
and being confused becauseactually, by figuring it out and
going on that journey, you'rebuilding yourself, you're
building character.
You're actually on your way toliving the life that you dream
of living.
Like nobody is born has all theanswers, sorry, no one be too
easy that way, right.
Speaker 1 (42:38):
Too easy it's probably been in the works for a
little while then.
I mean, was it just the lasttwo years or has it been a
minute?
I've been a minute since youthought of this seven years ago.
(43:00):
That's when that thought camethat I'm going to write a book
with seven years ago.
And here we are.
Speaker 2 (43:05):
Actually the thought came eight years ago.
I've started writing it sevenyears ago.
Speaker 1 (43:11):
Wow.
So it's been a work in progress, for sure, it really has been,
and that's why, when people arelike, well, what are you doing
next?
I'm like, oh, I'm enjoying thisbecause it's taken seven years
(43:31):
to get here.
Your dad, cause I know hepassed away a few years ago Just
kind of tell me about him alittle bit and kind of what that
relationship you know, as yousaid, you're a daddy's girl like
just kind of.
I just want to hear about yourdad a little bit, if you don't
mind.
Speaker 2 (43:43):
So my dad came to this country when he was, I
think, 26, 27,.
How he opened up his firstrestaurant was is like one of my
favorite stories ever.
So he would play poker with ofthese guys that would get really
drunk and my dad would pretendlike he was drinking Jack and
Coke, but it was just Coke.
He won like $14,000 fromplaying poker and that's what he
(44:09):
used to open up his firstrestaurant with my mom.
Speaker 1 (44:11):
Wow, Playing sober poker.
Speaker 2 (44:15):
Yeah, Sober poker, there you go.
And he wasn't a gambler.
I mean, he'd like to go toVegas and you, oh, big spender,
a hundred dollars, you know, onRussian roulette.
So yeah, so he, him and my mommy dad was in the kitchen and
was the chef and my mom was atthe front of the house and my
father was such a hard worker, Imean he worked like 18 hours a
(44:39):
day.
He was one of those people thatjust never stopped, like an
energizer bunny.
It's like this is not healthyto have this much energy, you
know, really determined.
Really there is a certain typeof character that comes out of
people in Europe that werecloser to the time of the war,
(45:01):
Because he was born in 51.
And I think the war ended in 45or 46, something like that.
So he was born right after thewar ended.
Italy and Europe, people didn'thave money.
Sometimes they didn't have food.
It was crazy.
There was a hardness.
There was a hardness there likea survival.
(45:24):
You need to survive andunfortunately, I don't think my
father was able to ever get overthat and just kind of enjoy,
which makes me sad and probablywhy I'm trying so hard to really
enjoy, because and I can enjoy,because you know he made that
my life easier than his was andI'm so grateful for him.
(45:47):
Like I, dedicated my book to myfather.
Speaker 1 (45:50):
I love it.
It's beautiful.
He's a hardworking man.
Speaker 2 (45:53):
Hardworking man, very hardworking yes.
Speaker 1 (45:55):
I love it.
Thank you for sharing thatCause I know just the sense of
some a few of the things youwrote on your Instagram and you
know you just talked about yourdad a lot, so I just wanted to
to hear about this awesome manthat was your dad, so I
appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (46:07):
Thank you.
Thank you for letting me sharethat.
Speaker 1 (46:09):
Definitely.
So yeah, I do kind of want toknow, like, what the future
holds for you.
Speaker 2 (46:20):
You've got this book coming out.
So, yeah, everybody get thebook.
And is it Amazon?
Like, where can people get thebook?
What's the best place to getthe book?
Yeah, so you can.
You can order it on Amazon.
It'll be in select stores May13th, but right now you can.
You can order it on Amazon,barnes and Noble too.
Online you can order it.
I think even Target.
Online you can order it.
(46:43):
Go to my website,confusedgirlinthecitycom and see
the links for it, and there's.
I am doing a giveaway, a reallyfun giveaway.
So if you pre-order the bookbefore May 13th, you will enter
to win a two night stay in Mauiin an oceanfront room and a
hundred dollar gift card to mystore.
Speaker 1 (46:55):
Hey, all right, I love it.
That's awesome.
Confused girl in the citycom.
Speaker 2 (47:01):
Yes, yeah, and you'll see the giveaway there, the
book there, everything's there.
Speaker 1 (47:05):
Beautiful, Okay, Awesome, Then what you get the
book out I know you're trying toand and please, enjoy it, and
you deserve every right to enjoyit.
I think this is awesome.
I think it's great what you'vedone and overcoming what you've,
what you've overcome.
I think it's fantastic.
But what do you think anyyou're going to keep the
clothing line going?
What kind of?
What's the?
What's the plan?
Speaker 2 (47:23):
Definitely keeping the clothing line going.
I mean, for anybody who, youknow, wants some crystal
inspired yoga pants or a coolcrop hoodie that says choose
love, you can order it on mywebsite.
But you know, I again, like Isaid, I I'm really I'm not
working toward anything newright now, because I just want
to enjoy.
But of course I have ideas andI would just so love for this to
(47:50):
be a TV show, especially causeI worked in Hollywood.
I just think it would, andeverybody who reads it goes oh
my God, this could be a TV show.
This could you know.
So, oh gosh, that would be somuch fun.
That would be so much.
Oh, that would be incredible.
Be so so that would just be atrip.
And then I want to write morebooks.
I definitely have my um nextbook idea, which would include
(48:14):
more of my wild parents and someIrish Italian humor, and so I
definitely do have a second bookin mind as well.
Speaker 1 (48:26):
Good for you.
This is awesome Any romanticthings happening in your life.
No nothing right now.
Speaker 2 (48:38):
And I'm okay with that.
I, I'm like you know when.
If it's, if it's supposed tocome in, it'll come in.
When it's supposed to go, it'llgo.
When it's not supposed to comein, it won't come in.
So I'm not, I'm, I, I reallydon't care right now, because
I'm just fully, I'm fullyenjoying this and I don't want
anything to come in that's goingto annoy me or hurt me.
(49:00):
Or is he talking to other girls?
Or is he, you know, becausethat all comes with that.
Does he really like me?
Is he a sociopath?
Is he a narcissist?
and I guess you have you saidyou have the experience with the
sociopaths it's like, it's likewhen you meet somebody you like
, it's all exciting for thatmoment.
(49:20):
And then you go back home andyou're like you catch yourself.
You're like, oh wait, I likethem, oh shoot, Okay.
Well, now it's time toinvestigate a little bit, Like
now I got to figure out if thisis safe.
Speaker 1 (49:30):
I got to see if he's got a fiance or not.
Yeah, right.
(49:59):
Does he have children?
Does he have a different life?
Is he a con artist?
Is he, you know?
Let's do a credit check.
Let's get no social media toget into Hollywood, knowing that
there's going to be somestruggles ahead.
And maybe it's just somebodytotally different.
Maybe there's a young girl outthere who's or young lady who's
doing the same thing about tograduate.
She's confused.
She's a confused girl in thecity.
Maybe it's at some other school, somewhere else back East.
What kind of advice?
What would you tell them?
What would you say, you know,as they embark on their
(50:20):
adventure of life?
Speaker 2 (50:21):
I, I, I honestly I would say, just try things.
Like if something interests you, try it.
You know, like now to me, I didthe right thing.
I was interested in theentertainment industry.
I was curious about that and Idid that.
Then I was curious about, do Ireally want to take over my
(50:43):
family business?
And I did that and I needed tocheck those off of my list.
I needed to be at peace withthe fact that those were not the
things for me and I and youknow, because I fell into
feeling guilty about havingtried things and have wasted
time, don't feel guilty, becauseyou can create your life at any
.
You can recreate your life atany moment and that is actually
(51:06):
a beautiful thing about wherewomen are right now is they
don't have to follow a certainpath Like we used to.
You could, you know, women arerecreating their life at 70 and
writing books and talk.
Women are now talking aboutlife at 70 and writing books and
talk.
Women are now talking aboutmenopause when they never did
before.
There's more information aboutthat out there.
I mean, it's like you, you, youhave a whole life ahead of you,
(51:26):
so don't worry if somethingdoesn't work out or you make a
mistake.
The most important thing is toget in touch with your true
nature and just learn as much asyou can about yourself and
trust your intuition.
If it doesn't feel somebody,something doesn't feel right.
It's probably not right.
If this guy, you feel likethere's something off about him
giving you the creeps, run,don't walk, run like, like,
(51:51):
trust, trust that trust thattrust, trust your intuition.
That's like a very innate thingthat is in all of us.
Speaker 1 (52:01):
Jovanna, this has been fascinating.
I love what you're doing.
Thank you for sharing yourstory.
Thank you for coming on Journeywith Jake.
Speaker 2 (52:07):
Thank you so much, jake.
You're awesome, thank you.
Speaker 1 (52:10):
A huge thank you to my guest, jovanna Silvestri.
Funny enough, before ourconversation, I was feeling
pretty drained after a tough dayat work and Jovanna was just
getting over a cold.
We were both really low onenergy, but once we started
talking, that all changed.
Giovanna truly brought theenergy, and she said the same
about our chat.
It was a great reminder of justhow uplifting these
conversations can be.
(52:31):
I hope you'll check out her newbook, confused girl find your
peace in the chaos.
It officially launches on may13th, but you-order it now and
when you do, you'll be enteredto win a two-night stay in Maui
and a $100 gift card to herstore.
Just visitconfusedgirlinthecitycom for all
the details on the book and herclothing line, and be sure to
follow her on Instagram atconfusedgirlla.
(52:54):
Thanks again, giovanna, forsharing your amazing journey
with all of us and, of course,thank you for tuning in.
Whether you've been with me fora while or this is your first
time listening, I trulyappreciate you.
I hope you'll come back formore.
Speaking of coming back, I'llbe here next week with a brand
new episode featuring JennaUdenberg.
(53:14):
Jenna uses a wheelchair to getaround, but that hasn't stopped
her from seeking out adventure.
She's hitting the trails withher Rio Mobility Firefly
wheelchair and I can't wait foryou to hear her inspiring story.
Just remember, it's not alwaysabout the destination, as it is
about the journey.
Take care everybody.
In an interview with Medium Authority magazine,
giovanna Silvestri said it's anever-ending journey of
discovery.
So, instead of being afraid ofconfusion, why not see it as an
opportunity?
That mindset perfectly capturesthe way Giovanna approaches
life, from the glitz and glamourof Hollywood to the
heart-wrenching decision to walkaway from the family business.
(00:20):
Giovanna has embraced theuncertainty and turned it into
opportunity.
Family business Jovana hasembraced the uncertainty and
turned it into opportunity.
Whether through her boldclothing line or her inspiring
new book, she's carving her ownunique path.
Get ready to go on a journeywith Jovana Silvestri?
Welcome to Journey with Jake.
This is a podcast aboutadventure and how, through our
adventures, we can overcome thechallenges of life that come our
(00:42):
way.
While I expect you will learnsome things about different
adventures, this show willentertain you.
Each episode will featuredifferent guests or guests as
they share experiences andstories from the different
adventures they have been on.
Not only will you beentertained, but you will also
hear the failures and trialseach guest faces and what they
have done or are doing toovercome the hardships that come
(01:04):
their way.
My goal is to take each of uson a journey through the
experiences of my guests, withthe hope that you'll be
entertained and inspired toovercome your day-to-day
challenges.
After all, it's not all aboutthe destination as it.
Back to the show.
I'm Jake Bushman, the host ofJourney with Jake.
Before we dive into myconversation with Giovanna
(01:40):
Silvestri, just a quick reminder.
If you haven't already, pleasesubscribe to the show wherever
you listen to podcasts.
That way, you won't miss anyfuture episodes.
I'd also really appreciate ifyou took a moment to leave a
rating and review.
It helps Journey with Jakereach more listeners and
hopefully we can inspire a wholenew group of people together.
Don't forget, journey with Jakeis also on YouTube.
(02:00):
If you prefer watching episodes, just head over to YouTube and
search Journey with Jake podcast.
While you're there, do me afavor and subscribe to the
channel.
I post full episodes along withshorts from current and even
pre YouTube episodes.
Speaking of shorts, a great wayto catch clips from past,
present and even future episodesis through my Instagram at
(02:21):
journey with Jake podcast.
I also share personal storiesand behind the scenes content
there, so feel free to give me afollow.
Lastly, journey with Jake isproud to be part of the Podmatch
Podcast Network, a collectionof independent podcasters
covering everything from thearts and religion to politics
and more.
You can discover more greatshows at podmatchcom forward
(02:44):
slash network.
Now let's talk about today'sguest.
I had an amazing and funconversation with Giovanna
Silvestri.
She's incredibly relatable andshared her inspiring journey
through the highs and lows ofself-discovery.
If you enjoy this episode, besure to check out episode 126
with Beth Atencio, where weexplore her path of
(03:06):
self-discovery, complete withvan life.
All right, let's jump into myconversation with Giovanna
Silvestri.
Well, I'm excited today I haveGiovanna Silvestri on the show
with me today.
Giovanna, welcome to Journeywith Jake.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
Yeah, I'm excited to talk to you.
I was looking at your story alittle bit who you are, what
you're doing.
You've had quite a life alreadyand you're not old.
I can tell you're not old, soyou've done a lot of things
already, which is fantastic.
We're going to dive into thatyour journey, who you are, some
of your adventures.
I know you've done sometraveling and things like that.
So I I'd like to know kind ofyour background, kind of where
(03:44):
you're from, where you grew up,that sort of thing, if you don't
mind.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
Yeah, so I grew up in San Luis Obispo, which is three
hours north of Los Angeles, onthe central coast of California,
and my parents had an Italianrestaurant there.
My father was from Italy and mymom's Irish American, and so
that was a very wild household.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
Quite the combo right .
Speaker 2 (04:11):
Yeah, yeah, exactly, electric combo.
I grew up working in the familybusiness and I think that's
probably where I got myentrepreneurial spirit.
And I came to Los Angeles to goto USC, graduated from USC in
international relations and aminor in global business, and
then I started working inHollywood.
(04:32):
So totally I didn't study filmat all, but Hollywood is one of
those industries where you cango into it If you are good at
navigating people, which I thinkI was good at, because I grew
up working in my family'srestaurant.
In a restaurant you'll see like200 people in one night and
where do you really go andinteract with that many people
(04:55):
in a day?
It was a place just to reallyunderstand different
personalities.
And actually that's where mymother started believing in the
phases of the moon, because onfull moons she's like everybody
has this kind of attitude orthis kind of attitude and it all
kind of be the same.
So she really got into thephases of the moon, which I'm
(05:19):
now totally into, and waswatching the lunar eclipse last
night, which was crazy, yeah.
Then, uh, worked in hollywoodfor quite a few years and
decided this wasn't for me.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
People are crazy let's talk about hollywood for a
second then, because you go tousc, you, you're doing what'd
you say international?
International relationsinternational relations and then
some business as well.
That's kind of what you'redoing.
Why hollywood like this?
Is because you were in la,because you're at university of
southern california.
Is it just the access to it,like what made you kind of draw
(05:53):
yourself to hollywood?
Speaker 2 (05:54):
you know, because it was the cool thing to do at the
time and I wouldn't say that now, like I wouldn't say now it's
cool to go work in Hollywood.
I think people are now seeingbehind the curtain.
People can do their ownpodcasts and whatever from a
little town in Ohio and havemillions of views and you don't
even need to deal with thesecrazies.
(06:15):
But at the time I was in LA, itwas the coolest thing to do.
And podcasts, blog, all thatstuff didn't exist yet when I
got into the it was.
It was like if you wanted to bein TV and film, you got to come
to Los Angeles.
If you want to be inentertainment at all, you got to
(06:35):
come here.
There was no other avenue forit.
I wanted to be part of the coolclub and work in the industry
and it was really.
It was really fun because youknow I was an assistant, so for
some big wigs, so I wouldnetwork with other assistants
and we'd all go to partiestogether and you'd have on your
schedule to go meet somebody fora drink and we'd all be talking
(06:59):
about our bosses, clients andwhat's going on and it was.
It's kind of.
It was kind of like this likeunderground little Hollywood
community and it was kind oflike this underground little
Hollywood community and I haveto say it was really fun.
I went to some great parties.
I did have a lot of fun untilit just wasn't fun anymore and
I'm like I don't like waking upevery day, I'm just like pushing
(07:20):
myself out of bed to go.
I'd be nervous most of the timeat work.
It just wasn't enjoyable and Ijust didn't want to put myself
through it anymore.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
So you're having fun with it, you're enjoying it,
you're learning a lot.
I mean you're right out ofcollege so it's probably a great
experience to learn some things.
You're meeting with these otherassistants and having your own
little networking things and Imean it almost sounds, you know,
kind of like the movies and thetv shows where you see them.
Oh we're, I got a drink with,so-and-so we're gonna go out and
meet for drinks and yeah, likeentourage yeah, yeah, they're
entourage.
That's it.
That's a great, great point wasa hit years ago.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
I don't think it would like a show like entourage
would be cool anymore.
Like hollywood's, definitely ina, because I think people are
disgusted with the like.
Now you're even like the BlakeLively and Justin Baldoni case.
You know like that's, you knowthat's like one of the things.
And then you P Diddy and Jay-Zand all these like so much is
(08:17):
coming out and people are justso disgusted by the way these
people are acting and treatingother people and it is
disgusting.
I can't say I'm sad about this.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Okay, yeah, so you, you mentioned, you know you got
to a point where you're justlike enough's enough.
But you also said somethingabout I don't know if you said
it or how you worded it but youwere nervous or anxious or
something.
I mean, was it kind of agradual thing, or did you just
kind of one day you're like man,this is not it, or like how did
that I mean?
Or did you start feelinganxiety?
What kind of happened?
Speaker 2 (08:49):
Well, I was just.
I was just living in a constantstate of like, like high stress
and nervousness Cause,especially as an assistant.
The whole, your whole job isbased around being perfect and
pleasing your boss, andsometimes these bosses are not
pleasable and so you're justlike bending over backwards
(09:11):
doing cartwheels.
And then you know, I had, inone of my movie projects I was
working on, I had this otherassistant that was really
jealous of me and sabotaged meand ended up getting me fired
off of that project, and I'mreally sensitive too.
So all these things really hurtme and stressed me out a lot,
and so I just got tired ofhaving to like push myself
(09:34):
through my days.
I didn't like the social aspect, though I really did like going
to the Sundance Film Festivaland going to the Cannes Film
Festival, and when you're in itand you're going to those things
, it's really magical and it'sreally fun.
But I mean, honestly, that'sthe only thing that I miss.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
So once you realize this is not for me, what did you
do?
How did you take a reset fromthat?
Speaker 2 (09:59):
Well, I actually went home and I thought, maybe you
know, I'll take a break, figureout what I want to do, and maybe
I'm supposed to take over myparents' Italian restaurant.
You know, one day I was workingbehind the bar in the
restaurant and there was a guysitting at the bar and then him
and I he was really cute, reallynice guy, great job, you know.
And so I was like, okay, well,maybe this.
(10:21):
I was in my mid twenties.
I was like, maybe this is whatI'm supposed to do, like, okay,
well, maybe this.
I was in my mid twenties.
I was like, maybe this is whatI'm supposed to do, maybe I'm
supposed to, you know, be withhim and take over my parents'
restaurant, and and that will bemy life.
And I did that for almost twoyears and I was miserable and I
was like this can't be my life,I do not want this.
This can't be it.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
And you're.
You said your dad, he camestraight from Italy.
Then, right, like he, immigrantdirect from Italy, starts this
restaurant.
I almost feel like with withimmigrants and maybe even
children.
You can tell me cause you're a,you're a child of an immigrant.
You kind of almost feel like alittle debt, like you gotta
maybe keep supporting the familything Is that?
Did you kind of have that goingon with you?
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Oh, absolutely I would.
Even even during college, Iwould drive home on the weekends
and help them at the restaurant.
If it was going to be like aholiday weekend or a busy
weekend, I would always comeback and help.
Yeah, definitely you felt that.
And then when I was thereworking, then my dad had me with
him, so my mom got to just befree and she was really loving
(11:25):
that.
So me leaving would mean thatmy mom would have to come back
in and help and that was goingto cause a lot of chaos in the
family unit.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
So it's probably a little sense of guilt there too
then.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Yes, but it just got so toxic, that cause my dad and
I were butting heads and I'm adaddy's girl and we were butting
heads a lot and and it just,and then even I started butting
heads with my mom and I'm like,man, you should be a little
nicer to me, because I'm likehelping you out here, lady, you
(11:57):
know, and I just was like youknow what, I'm not being true to
myself.
At the end of the day, thisisn't for me.
And I was even like with theguy I was dating.
We were fighting all the timeand I was just like he's a great
guy, but again, I don't thinkwe were mature enough to be in a
relationship with each otherand so I let it all go.
(12:20):
I let go of him, I let go of therestaurant, and that was really
hard for me because it was likenow what do I have?
I came back to LA with my tailbetween my legs and I'm like,
okay, I don't want to work inthe entertainment industry
anymore because it's liketorture and my family is unhappy
(12:41):
with me for leaving and I don'teven have the support of a
boyfriend anymore.
And so I was like all alone inmy apartment in LA and I fell
into a depression.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
I want to ask about this because, yeah, you go off
to Hollywood, you do theHollywood thing.
It's not going to work out, andthat's fine.
Things don't work out.
Sometimes you're still young.
You go back.
You gave it two years of yourlife trying to make it work with
the restaurant as well.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
That didn't work out I gave it a good go you gave it,
absolutely you did.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
You gave it a good go and that's not working out.
So I know at this point you'reprobably got to be feeling
frustrated.
What's going on?
It's not working out with myboyfriend, it's you know my
parents are upset now.
Ah, it's got to be frustratingthe depression, let's, yeah.
What was that like?
What's it like being in thatsituation, not knowing what
you're going to do and what didyou do about it?
Speaker 2 (13:30):
Well, I definitely felt this intense sense of
self-loathing and a lack ofself-worth.
I felt like I had no worth.
What I realized is, and I alsofelt like I wasted my time.
I'm such an idiot All of thistime, all those good years in my
twenties, where you have allthis energy and you've just
(13:52):
wasted on.
And it's so funny because nowand now I know that's just total
BS.
This is exactly what yourtwenties is for is just trying
things.
And now I'm like oh, I'm sohappy I worked in the industry
and got all that cool experienceand did that.
I'm so happy I tried therestaurant and because now I
realize you have so much time.
But then I just thought youknow, you have to have
(14:13):
everything figured out by thetime you're 29.
That's a big lie, everyone Justletting you know big lie.
What I realized is when I was inthis, when I was in this
depression and my thoughts werejust on a replay of all my
shortcomings, I realized that Ihad attached all of my
self-worth to things outside ofme, like I had attached my
(14:34):
self-worth to working inHollywood and I looked cool.
Then I attached myself worth toOoh, I'm going to be the owner
of this restaurant and I havethis like gorgeous to Ooh, I'm
going to be the owner of thisrestaurant and I have this like
gorgeous, successful boyfriend.
But I didn't feel like I wasworth anything.
I only felt like I was worthsomething because of these, like
these external things that hadput me into a state of
(14:57):
depression where I was like, ifI don't figure out how to feel
good in my body and feel goodabout myself, I don't want to be
here anymore, because this isawful Like.
This feeling is just the lowestof the low.
So I was like, okay, we got, wegot.
And the one thing I am is verydisciplined, very disciplined.
I've just, I think my mom, mymom, always says that my
(15:19):
Catholic schooling, really, withthat Cause, even with my mom,
I'm like why do you have likethree rags in the sink?
You should only have like one,or just a sponge, or you know.
And then I was like just dothings like this and then
they'll get done.
And and she's like you knowwhat?
This is your Catholic schoolingand I paid for that.
So that's why you're like.
And so I, I am, I'm like okay,you know that you, this is what
(15:46):
we're going to do.
We gotta.
We gotta fix the inside,because if we don't fix the
inside, nothing is good.
Nothing good is going to happenon the outside.
We've seen this.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Yeah Well, and you said you didn't want to be here
anymore.
Like you didn't want to, like,be alive.
Like what were you when yousaid that?
What is that?
What's what?
You got to that point whereyou're like this is dumb, I
don't even want to be alive.
So what did it take for you tosay, okay, I got to change
what's inside?
How?
Speaker 2 (16:13):
do you get out of that Cause?
It seems so tough to get out ofit when you're in it.
Well, what's interesting aboutgetting to that point, like that
low point, is you go and andand.
A lot of people, a lot ofpeople think about it, a lot of
people.
I didn't try it, I didn't tryit or anything, but I was
thinking about it.
This doesn't change.
Like I got to get out of here.
This is too much, you know.
Once you start thinking likethat, there's almost a
liberation that happens insideof you, because you no longer
(16:37):
care what anybody else thinksand the societal pressures
you're like F you, you know you,you kind of go F you to.
You know, having a perfectlittle family, f you to have a
perfect career, f you for havinga lot of money.
You know all the things thatyou just kind of go, I don't
care anymore because I feel sobad, and that's what kind of
(16:59):
happened to me.
And then the pressure was offand that was a really good
feeling and then I went okay, soI don't care anymore.
So why don't we just figure outwhat's going to please you and
what's going to make you happyand what you like and what you
don't like, things that helpedme get out of this.
Really, yoga was huge.
(17:21):
Really, yoga was huge.
Yoga was so huge because yogawould give me a mental break
from the looping obsessive,negative thinking.
Yoga would really help me breakfrom that, and so I started
doing yoga all the time.
I started meditating, I startedwriting in a gratitude journal
even though I wasn't gratefulfor anything I like, made myself
(17:44):
.
And there's a magic in makingyourself do these things.
You, you, you're reprogrammingyour brain.
It's like a muscle.
It's like a muscle you know.
And when, when you're at the gymand you're lifting this weight
and at first it's, you know youcan't do it, and then eventually
you work up to it and then youcould do it and it's easy and
your muscles just do that.
Or like, even like riding abike.
At first, when you try to ridea bike, it's really difficult,
(18:08):
but then, once you know how toride a bike, you're never
forgetting how to ride a bike.
You just get on there and youdon't even think about it
anymore.
And that's actually whatstarted to happen to me is like
I started to train myself.
When I'd have a negativethought I would imagine like a
burning trash can and I justlike visualize putting the
thought in the trash can andhaving it burn, and I would also
do some some letting gotechniques where I would imagine
(18:31):
I write about this in my book.
This is all this in my book.
I would imagine walk.
I would walk on the beachbecause I live close to the
beach in LA and I would imaginethat I had a backpack on that
had all of the things I hatedabout myself or felt bad about
or felt guilty about or feltshameful about, and it was like
weighing me down.
And then I would like put myback to the ocean and fling it
(18:54):
off Like it was just going intothe ocean and you know it was.
It was.
I let it go and then eventuallyI let it go and eventually I
started to feel grateful.
Now I kind of wake up gratefulevery day, even if I wake up on
the wrong side of the bed.
It's not like I'll never goback to what it was before ever.
(19:17):
That's just like never.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
Amazing.
I like hearing this because itdoes something for me.
So I appreciate you beingvulnerable and sharing that,
because I like to see whatpeople do and what they're doing
.
I do some things that aresimilar.
I write in a gratitude journalas well.
I like to get a little exercisein the morning body movement
and you said you're disciplined.
So I think when you made thedecision, you're like okay, and
your discipline, I think, helpedbecause you're like I'm going
(19:39):
to write in this journal eventhough I am not thankful for
anything at this point, or I'mnot grateful for anything, and
you did it Same with the yoga.
Where did this lead you?
Where did you go from here?
Speaker 2 (19:49):
Well.
So I kind of had a spiritualawakening with all of this and I
woke up one day and I literallyfelt like I was on Molly.
It was literally like I had anatural Molly high and I went
out into nature and likeeverything looked different and
I was like whoa, this is crazy.
And I was like staring.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
Just to be clear, you weren't on Molly, though.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
No.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
Okay, you just kind of had a epiphany, so to speak.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
I had not done, molly .
I was not on a drug, I was noteven.
I didn't even take a weed gummyor anything.
Actually, back then, weed wasillegal.
This was all me.
This was all me.
I do believe when you, when youdesire something and you, like I
, was praying on it, I wasvisualizing, I was meditating on
(20:38):
it and I was working toward it,and especially when it's
something noble, like I, just Iwant to feel better in my skin,
I want to feel worthy, to likeexist, like the universe
conspires to help you achievethat.
The universe wants you to have,that.
They gave it to me.
It was really crazy and it waslike I was getting better, I was
(20:59):
getting better, I was gettingbetter.
And then one day I woke up andI was just like flooded with,
like joy and gratitude, and andthen I was on a high for a
couple of days and then itdissipated, but it never left me
.
It's never left me.
My level of internal peace orhappiness, joy, whatever you
(21:20):
want to call it.
It went from like here to likehere, and then it does just
increase and I don't evenremember what this felt like
anymore, like I don't rememberwhat this lower vibrational, the
way I was even felt like.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
Do you remember, though, that day though that you
woke up and felt like that?
Speaker 2 (21:36):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
Were you still?
Were you in LA at the time?
Like, where were you?
I was in LA.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
I was in my apartment , I started jumping on my bed
because I was just buzzing.
I just woke up and it was like,oh, it's like everything I was
doing integrated inside me andbecause I was kind of living
like a monk, you know, I wasn't.
I wasn't going out, I wasn'tdrinking, I wasn't partying, I
(22:02):
wasn't I was just very muchconcentrated on getting myself
together.
Yeah, I had this, like it was acrazy spiritual awakening and
then after that things startedto like my life kind of unfolded
in a very magical way.
But by also saying it, it wasstarting to unfold in a very
magical way.
I'm not saying it was easy allthe time and it didn't have.
There was hardships.
I mean I still, you know, evenafter this happened, I felt like
(22:24):
I had a world of knowledge.
I still met a sociopath and gotyou know like, who had a fiance
.
The entire time he was datingme and you know that was painful
to go through and I still hadlike I've still made mistakes
and things happened.
But it was just everything, Idon't know.
It was just like there was thisdivine purpose to things and I
(22:45):
felt good about myself whilewalking on this, on my path.
I actually.
I, once I got out of thedepression, I go okay, I'm not
depressed anymore, but I stilldon't understand why I'm here
and what I'm supposed to do.
So I started a video blogcalled Confused Girl in the City
, and that was the thing to doat the time was blogging.
(23:07):
If I was starting something out, it'd be a podcast, like you
you know, but back then it wasblogging.
So I started a video blog.
Every week I would do somethingnew I'd never done before, in
an attempt to figure out who Iwas, why I was here and what I
liked, what I disliked, becausea lot of the things that we
(23:29):
think we like and think we willenjoy and will make us feel
fulfilled and happy it's what wewere told that we should like
and what we were told that wouldmake us feel fulfilled and
happy, and it actually is notthe case.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
So what were some of the things you did?
Can you give a couple examplesof, like some of the things you
did for your blog?
Speaker 2 (23:49):
My first one, which I talk about a lot, but I talk
about it because it's kind oficonic and I didn't.
Symbolic to me, not iconic.
Symbolic to me.
My roommate at the time wasgoing bungee jumping and he said
do you want to come?
And I go?
Oh, my God, great.
That'll be my new thing for thefor the week, cause I've just
started this video blog and I'mdoing a new thing every week and
(24:10):
this will be my thing.
So I went bungee jumping, whichwas insane and it was so scary.
I'll never do it again, but Ifelt like now, looking back, it
was like it was so symbolic ofme jumping out into the unknown
taking the leap taking a leap offaith.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
Awesome.
Speaker 2 (24:30):
Yeah, and also, you know, I didn't have so much
confidence at this time becauseI felt like I didn't know who I
was.
So that kind of gave me aconfidence, like if I can jump
off a bridge, I can do anything.
It also really gave me thisconfidence and then I did.
(24:51):
I actually did the flyingtrapeze, which is also kind of
scary but really fun.
I did that in Santa Monica andthese things.
You know, if you go on Groupon,you can find a ton of things
that are discounted.
It's not like you need to havea lot of money to do these
things.
And I really I just posted avideo on my Instagram talking
(25:11):
about how I believe, becausepeople go.
Well, what is confidence?
How do you get confident?
And I'm like I think confidenceis putting yourself outside of
your comfort zone and knowingthat you'll be able to handle
yourself.
That builds confidence isknowing I can handle myself or I
like, and that could be evenjust, you know, doing a dancing
(25:33):
class.
Going into a dancing classwhere you don't know anybody and
you feel weird and you've gotto dance with random people, and
that's like really steppingoutside of your comfort zone,
but once you do that, it's likeoh gosh, okay, I feel stronger
in myself.
Speaker 1 (25:49):
Something I always ask all of my guests and you're
kind of saying what a lot ofthem say.
I always like to ask thequestion what does adventure
mean to you?
And it kind of you're almostdescribing like what a lot of
them say you know it's going outof your comfort zone, it's
doing something, you know it'sgetting out of the norm, it's.
Do you kind of equate the two?
Do you think adventure is kindof that as well?
What's what's adventure to you?
We'll just did it now.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
Yeah, I think adventure is is that and I, and
just like opening up yourself,like even your soul, to being
curious, to the unknown and alsobeing able to recognize the
divinity in things.
For instance, my mom and I.
(26:30):
Well, I would say one of thelast adventures I had recently
was my mom and I are planning mybook launch party.
So we went to the bookstorethat my publishing company set
up in Culver City and talked tothem and then I was like well, I
want to throw my party at theCulver Hotel because it's like
an iconic hotel in Los Angeles,it's old Hollywood, it's
(26:50):
gorgeous inside, it has aspeakeasy.
It's like this is going to besuch an awesome event.
So we go there.
And my father passed away twoyears ago and my dad was the one
.
My parents owned a restaurant.
He was the one that would planthe events.
He would be like don't talk, Igot this because I'll get the
best deal, you know, kind ofthing.
So my mom and I were like, oh,this is weird without, without
(27:13):
Papa.
And the Culver Hotel is likethe food is kind of all American
, you know it's, it's notItalian.
And then the we say we want totalk to the event manager.
And so the event manager comesout and she's from Italy and my
mom and I were like, and then weended up all three crying
(27:34):
because she lost her father afew years ago too.
So all three of us were likeemotional, and my mom and I and
she said, oh, don't worry, I'mgoing to hook you guys up.
I'll even give you like a, acalm hotel room for that night
so you can just drink and thenstay here.
And my mom and I, we literallygot in the car and we were just
(27:54):
silent.
Oh my God, that was my dad.
That's so crazy.
And then my mom and I went outand just partied together all
day.
Oh my God, it was crazy.
We ended up going to this onebar and then talking to this
older man.
Then his friends came in andthen they're buying us drinks
and then the party justcontinued and then we just had
(28:15):
the best time.
And the next day we were justso giddy about the whole night
and my mom's like well, it'sgood we only go out once a month
, because when we go out wereally go out.
And I'm like, yeah, but I thinkthat was an adventure and it was
because you just open yourselfup to the universe and just the
(28:38):
magic of life.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
I love it.
Love that very much.
That's fantastic.
I did want to ask you because Iknow you know when you kind of
left and it sounds like you yourrelationship with your parents
was still great, though Evenafter you know you were.
It might've been a littletension there when you left the
business or whatever, but itsounds like things got better,
as far as that goes, with yourfamily.
Speaker 2 (28:58):
Oh yeah, I mean, you know families.
It goes up and down for sure.
I love my parents, I'll alwayslove my parents, no matter what,
so, and they love me no matterwhat too.
So there might be tension orwhatever, and then you know, but
we all we come back together inthe end like nothing.
Yeah, and I've been really madwith both of them at times, like
(29:19):
really upset, you know, but atthe end of the day they're not
like my dad's not here, my mom,like I know, is not going to be
here forever either, and I, Iwant to enjoy them and love them
.
Speaker 1 (29:33):
Take advantage of that while you can.
Okay, so you talked about theCulver bookstore and cause
obviously you got a book comingout.
I want to dive into that book,but before we get to I think you
know you started the blog.
So did the blog?
Did you just kind of build andyou just started getting a fault
, like what happened.
And then where did you go fromthere?
Because I think, if I'm notmistaken, you got a clothing
line going as well, like what doyou got?
Speaker 2 (29:52):
going on, yeah, so, okay.
So I was doing the blog andthen I was working part-time
gigs because I didn't know, Ididn't want to invest all my
time into something when Ididn't even know what I really
wanted.
So I was just doing my blog andworking part-time gigs and then
I got, uh, I got this interviewto go interview with this
healer, this famous healer in LA, for his YouTube.
(30:16):
He needed someone to interviewhim for his YouTube channel.
So I go and then, oh my gosh,him and I had the craziest
connection.
We ended up not even talkingabout the job at all, we ended
up just talking about our lives.
And then he gave me these twogigantic crystals.
And I didn't know anything aboutcrystals, but I was on my
spiritual journey and I wasdoing yoga and I just thought
(30:38):
these were so gorgeous.
I was like, wow, like mothernature's creations are are the
best.
So I was meditating one day andI had a vision of creating a
yoga wear line inspired byhealing crystals.
And and this is also beforeeverybody was making yoga
(31:00):
clothes.
It was just Lululemon, a coupleof niche brands and Lululemon.
Nobody knew of them, like onlyhardcore, like only yogis knew
of them.
Sure, I was like I'm going to dothis.
I'm kind of like an OG of yogaleggings and in the brand you
know, I hustled again.
That was its own journey ofhustling around figuring out how
(31:21):
I was going to sell them.
One summer I went all around LAand set up booths at all these
open markets to sit there allday, not make any money.
My dad would even come to LA tohelp me and it was depressing.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
Did you know anything about fashion or anything like
that?
Or is it just you just like,had this vision and thought, wow
, okay, that's amazing too, thefact that you're just like you
know, I can see.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
Now there's see, now it's just a totally different
ballgame because you can, youknow, you can just create things
online from drop shippingcompanies and stuff.
But back in the day it wasn'tlike that.
So I met with all themanufacturers in downtown la
that did dye sublimationprinting that was the printing
that I needed for this and theywere all Korean men owners.
They did not give me a deal,but then I found there was a
(32:12):
Chinese family and they gave methe deal and I was like okay,
the Chinese actually in theItalians are pretty good
together, like they they're inthe cities, they're always like
their neighborhoods.
I was like okay, this makessense, so they were wonderful.
I love them so much.
They would actually do a lot ofthings and not charge me as
(32:35):
well Like they were helping youout.
Yeah, they were helping me outand they made it possible.
I was about to give up and belike I can't afford it, and then
they made it possible, so Istarted.
I started doing that, yeah, andthen I and then I used
Instagram.
Instagram at the time this is12 years ago it was way more
open.
I was able to message peoplelike nobody then was doing
(32:59):
direct message marketing so, andI was sending messages to girls
that did yoga all over theworld.
My first two sales were this iscrazy Canada and South Korea my
first two sales.
And I was like I have aninternational business.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
Hey, there's that international degree you got
coming into play.
Speaker 2 (33:19):
There you go.
And then I sold them all overthe world and I mean I would see
them.
I would see them in Venicebeach.
I see this all of my leggings.
In Culver city I saw one ofthis girl that interned for me.
She saw them on a girl inMunich, germany, riding a bike.
She messaged me and so it it itwas.
It was really.
(33:39):
It was really cool.
It was about five years of thatand during that time I didn't
know how to scale.
I was trying to, but that doorwasn't opening up like scaling,
and I was trying to figure outhow I could do it.
Door was not opening.
I'm like, okay, I was.
Actually I was driving home oneday to visit my parents and I
(34:02):
got inspiration to write a book.
The inspiration hit me.
It was like you're going towrite a book.
And then I got all excited andjoyful and I thought, okay, I'm
writing a book, but I don't wantto write the book in Los
Angeles, I want to write thebook in a different country.
I want this to be totallyinspired.
I want to be relaxed, I do notwant to be on the hamster wheel.
(34:25):
So I made my businesscompletely mobile, took me a
year and rented out my place,took my valuables to my parents'
house and then I took off fortwo years with just a suitcase
and a backpack and my laptop.
Speaker 1 (34:38):
Wow, where did you go ?
Speaker 2 (34:39):
I went to Bali for a year.
Oh, bali is amazing.
And, yes, I was trying to do myown eat, pray love, okay, okay.
So everyone can laugh, make funof me it's fine and it was
amazing.
So I was in Bali for a year andthen I was in Berlin for a year
.
Speaker 1 (34:56):
Wow, okay, so you spent.
So you spent the two yearswriting your book.
Speaker 2 (34:59):
Yes, most of it was done in Bali.
A little I finished it.
I finished it in Berlin.
Speaker 1 (35:04):
Okay, so you go to Bali, you're working remote,
basically, you're running yourbusiness, kind of remote.
You're writing your book.
You know, I think of Bali,indonesia, you know, and I think
yoga seems.
Is it big there?
I mean, it seems like it is, Idon't know.
Did you do yoga, like what wasit?
Speaker 2 (35:19):
Okay, I thought yoga was like oh my God, it's amazing
because you have these open airstudios, because it's so humid,
so it's like you're doing hotyoga.
Speaker 1 (35:29):
So you're naturally just sweating.
Speaker 2 (35:31):
You're doing your yoga and you're sweating and
yeah, and you're sweating andand you're just, you're like in
the jungle and it's just.
Oh my God, it was amazing and Iwould do an hour and a half of
yoga every morning before Iwould sit down at a cafe and
write.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
Wow, okay, so you do that in the morning, get your
day off right.
You know your yoga, like yousaid you started to do when
you're feeling depressed.
You keep that going.
I love it.
And then you go to the cafe andwrite, okay, no-transcript,
(36:28):
that you didn't have the fearWas there any kind of fear of
going by yourself to thisforeign country?
Speaker 2 (36:34):
No, because before that I'd kind of dipped my toe
into solo traveling.
Okay, I had already been solotraveling for a few years, like
I went to Iceland for a month,and so when I, when I would
leave for a month cause at thattime I didn't, my business,
wasn't mobile, so my parentswould come and stay at my condo
(36:54):
and my whole bedroom was a drop,was like a drop shipping
packaging room, so my parentswould package up my stuff and
then take it to the post officeand I had all the inventory
there and my dad loved it.
He thought it was so fun.
Yeah, so my parents would just,you know, stay at my place
while I was gone.
So I had already figured outthat I'm fine on my own and it's
(37:20):
like I'm totally cool and Icould do this.
So going so so no, so leavingwas not that was not a thing.
Speaker 1 (37:26):
You're probably excited about that, looking
forward to it.
Speaker 2 (37:29):
Yeah, my first solo trip was very scary.
Speaker 1 (37:32):
Where was that too, If you don't mind me asking that
was, to Europe.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
I went in the winter and I went to well, I see again
dipping toe in I met up with myfriend who lives in Belgium.
He's from Belgium, so I met upwith him and I even stayed with
his family for a couple of days.
We went to Amsterdam and thenhis father took me to the train
station and then I was off toBrussels by myself and I was
(37:56):
like, okay, so then, and thenfrom Brussels I went to Prague
and Berlin.
So I did a few cities andBudapest Prague, berlin and
Budapest.
I did all that by myself, whichwas two and a half weeks
probably.
And then I flew to Italybecause I have family in Italy
(38:17):
and I spent Christmas with myfamily in Italy.
So I kind of I broke it up andI went to Europe because I know
people, because I have familythere, so I was able to feel
secure.
But then after that, after Iwas able to do that by myself,
I'm like, oh gosh, I can goanywhere by myself now.
Speaker 1 (38:34):
I've talked to a few solo travelers and it's amazing,
the confidence you talked aboutconfidence earlier what it does
for people, the confidence thatgives people traveling by
themselves.
It really does.
Speaker 2 (38:43):
You want to build your confidence, go solo travel.
I swear it really does.
I know because people tell meoh, you're so confident.
This one guy said, oh, you mustbe really rich.
We associate confidence withbeing rich.
And I said, no, I'm not.
I mean I hope I am someday, butI'm not.
(39:04):
I mean I hope I am someday butI'm not, I'm not right now.
And he's like most of thepeople I talk to that are as
confident as you are really rich.
And I was like, oh, that'sinteresting that you associate
confidence with bank accounts.
I was like I don't at all.
But yeah, I again.
I think you, you build a lotbecause you know how to handle
yourself in any situation whenyou, when you can solo travel.
Speaker 1 (39:21):
So I find it interesting because you decided
you're like okay, I'm going towrite this book and I'm going to
go abroad to do it.
I'm going to go to Indonesiaand Berlin and I've never been
to either of them, but they seemlike two totally different
places.
Was there reasoning behind that?
Like what was the kind ofdifferent inspiration from each
of those places?
Speaker 2 (39:38):
Well, I had been to Berlin.
That was my.
Berlin was my first solo tripthat I had been on and I
remember being there and Ithought it was such a weird but
kind of magical place.
And I'm a bit I love history,so like the world war two
history and the Berlin wall andyou know.
So I was like you know, this isso interesting and it's like
(40:00):
artists type of vibe and I waslike I want to, I want to live
here for a little bit someday.
I kind of made that decision andand then for my, you know, when
I decided I wanted to do twoyears abroad, I knew I didn't
want to do anything familiar.
Italy is my favorite country inthe world but I'm like I'm not
doing, I'm not, I would not.
And when I lived in Berlin Iwas like always traveling to
(40:22):
Italy, I was like you know, Idon't want to live in Italy
because it's too comfortable forme.
I want to do the uncomfortable.
I'd never been to SoutheastAsia.
Berlin is a very you know, it'sa colder culture, the climate.
I wanted to live through a realwinter because I'm from
California.
(40:42):
I wanted to test myself Havingyou to live through a real
winter because I'm fromCalifornia.
I wanted to test myself, having, you know, freeze your butt off
in a big coat, like going tothe, going to the subway, and
having to do all that, and so itwas.
It was, um, you know, testingmyself as well and knowing, oh,
I can do this.
Speaker 1 (40:55):
Tell me about the book.
What's the book called?
I think it's coming out realsoon.
Just kind of kind of give alittle scoop of the book and
what it's all about.
Speaker 2 (41:03):
It's coming out May 13th and it's called Confused
Girl Find your Peace in theChaos.
So any confused girls listeningto this, any man out there that
has a confused girl in his life, go buy the book.
But I mean, in this book I kindof I write about all the things
I've talked about here, so muchmore, and about manifesting and
(41:29):
figuring out your destiny andgetting in touch with your true
nature and how to look at lifeas an adventure.
And the premise of the book isthat your confusion is actually
your greatest virtue.
Virtue because I look atconfusion as the fuel for your
self-discovery journey.
Speaker 1 (41:47):
Could you felt that yourself you were confused.
I think we're all confused in away.
I think I've been confused.
I'm still confused.
Speaker 2 (41:56):
You were always good.
That's the nature of life.
Right Is, as you go through it,you're confused.
You get, you get comfortable,you get grounded in something.
Then a problem arises or yourlife shifts in some sort of way,
and then you're confused abouthow you want to continue on.
I wanted to take the shame outof not having all the answers
(42:18):
and being confused becauseactually, by figuring it out and
going on that journey, you'rebuilding yourself, you're
building character.
You're actually on your way toliving the life that you dream
of living.
Like nobody is born has all theanswers, sorry, no one be too
easy that way, right.
Speaker 1 (42:38):
Too easy it's probably been in the works for a
little while then.
I mean, was it just the lasttwo years or has it been a
minute?
I've been a minute since youthought of this seven years ago.
(43:00):
That's when that thought camethat I'm going to write a book
with seven years ago.
And here we are.
Speaker 2 (43:05):
Actually the thought came eight years ago.
I've started writing it sevenyears ago.
Speaker 1 (43:11):
Wow.
So it's been a work in progress, for sure, it really has been,
and that's why, when people arelike, well, what are you doing
next?
I'm like, oh, I'm enjoying thisbecause it's taken seven years
(43:31):
to get here.
Your dad, cause I know hepassed away a few years ago Just
kind of tell me about him alittle bit and kind of what that
relationship you know, as yousaid, you're a daddy's girl like
just kind of.
I just want to hear about yourdad a little bit, if you don't
mind.
Speaker 2 (43:43):
So my dad came to this country when he was, I
think, 26, 27,.
How he opened up his firstrestaurant was is like one of my
favorite stories ever.
So he would play poker with ofthese guys that would get really
drunk and my dad would pretendlike he was drinking Jack and
Coke, but it was just Coke.
He won like $14,000 fromplaying poker and that's what he
(44:09):
used to open up his firstrestaurant with my mom.
Speaker 1 (44:11):
Wow, Playing sober poker.
Speaker 2 (44:15):
Yeah, Sober poker, there you go.
And he wasn't a gambler.
I mean, he'd like to go toVegas and you, oh, big spender,
a hundred dollars, you know, onRussian roulette.
So yeah, so he, him and my mommy dad was in the kitchen and
was the chef and my mom was atthe front of the house and my
father was such a hard worker, Imean he worked like 18 hours a
(44:39):
day.
He was one of those people thatjust never stopped, like an
energizer bunny.
It's like this is not healthyto have this much energy, you
know, really determined.
Really there is a certain typeof character that comes out of
people in Europe that werecloser to the time of the war,
(45:01):
Because he was born in 51.
And I think the war ended in 45or 46, something like that.
So he was born right after thewar ended.
Italy and Europe, people didn'thave money.
Sometimes they didn't have food.
It was crazy.
There was a hardness.
There was a hardness there likea survival.
(45:24):
You need to survive andunfortunately, I don't think my
father was able to ever get overthat and just kind of enjoy,
which makes me sad and probablywhy I'm trying so hard to really
enjoy, because and I can enjoy,because you know he made that
my life easier than his was andI'm so grateful for him.
(45:47):
Like I, dedicated my book to myfather.
Speaker 1 (45:50):
I love it.
It's beautiful.
He's a hardworking man.
Speaker 2 (45:53):
Hardworking man, very hardworking yes.
Speaker 1 (45:55):
I love it.
Thank you for sharing thatCause I know just the sense of
some a few of the things youwrote on your Instagram and you
know you just talked about yourdad a lot, so I just wanted to
to hear about this awesome manthat was your dad, so I
appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (46:07):
Thank you.
Thank you for letting me sharethat.
Speaker 1 (46:09):
Definitely.
So yeah, I do kind of want toknow, like, what the future
holds for you.
Speaker 2 (46:20):
You've got this book coming out.
So, yeah, everybody get thebook.
And is it Amazon?
Like, where can people get thebook?
What's the best place to getthe book?
Yeah, so you can.
You can order it on Amazon.
It'll be in select stores May13th, but right now you can.
You can order it on Amazon,barnes and Noble too.
Online you can order it.
I think even Target.
Online you can order it.
(46:43):
Go to my website,confusedgirlinthecitycom and see
the links for it, and there's.
I am doing a giveaway, a reallyfun giveaway.
So if you pre-order the bookbefore May 13th, you will enter
to win a two night stay in Mauiin an oceanfront room and a
hundred dollar gift card to mystore.
Speaker 1 (46:55):
Hey, all right, I love it.
That's awesome.
Confused girl in the citycom.
Speaker 2 (47:01):
Yes, yeah, and you'll see the giveaway there, the
book there, everything's there.
Speaker 1 (47:05):
Beautiful, Okay, Awesome, Then what you get the
book out I know you're trying toand and please, enjoy it, and
you deserve every right to enjoyit.
I think this is awesome.
I think it's great what you'vedone and overcoming what you've,
what you've overcome.
I think it's fantastic.
But what do you think anyyou're going to keep the
clothing line going?
What kind of?
What's the?
What's the plan?
Speaker 2 (47:23):
Definitely keeping the clothing line going.
I mean, for anybody who, youknow, wants some crystal
inspired yoga pants or a coolcrop hoodie that says choose
love, you can order it on mywebsite.
But you know, I again, like Isaid, I I'm really I'm not
working toward anything newright now, because I just want
to enjoy.
But of course I have ideas andI would just so love for this to
(47:50):
be a TV show, especially causeI worked in Hollywood.
I just think it would, andeverybody who reads it goes oh
my God, this could be a TV show.
This could you know.
So, oh gosh, that would be somuch fun.
That would be so much.
Oh, that would be incredible.
Be so so that would just be atrip.
And then I want to write morebooks.
I definitely have my um nextbook idea, which would include
(48:14):
more of my wild parents and someIrish Italian humor, and so I
definitely do have a second bookin mind as well.
Speaker 1 (48:26):
Good for you.
This is awesome Any romanticthings happening in your life.
No nothing right now.
Speaker 2 (48:38):
And I'm okay with that.
I, I'm like you know when.
If it's, if it's supposed tocome in, it'll come in.
When it's supposed to go, it'llgo.
When it's not supposed to comein, it won't come in.
So I'm not, I'm, I, I reallydon't care right now, because
I'm just fully, I'm fullyenjoying this and I don't want
anything to come in that's goingto annoy me or hurt me.
(49:00):
Or is he talking to other girls?
Or is he, you know, becausethat all comes with that.
Does he really like me?
Is he a sociopath?
Is he a narcissist?
and I guess you have you saidyou have the experience with the
sociopaths it's like, it's likewhen you meet somebody you like
, it's all exciting for thatmoment.
(49:20):
And then you go back home andyou're like you catch yourself.
You're like, oh wait, I likethem, oh shoot, Okay.
Well, now it's time toinvestigate a little bit, Like
now I got to figure out if thisis safe.
Speaker 1 (49:30):
I got to see if he's got a fiance or not.
Yeah, right.
(49:59):
Does he have children?
Does he have a different life?
Is he a con artist?
Is he, you know?
Let's do a credit check.
Let's get no social media toget into Hollywood, knowing that
there's going to be somestruggles ahead.
And maybe it's just somebodytotally different.
Maybe there's a young girl outthere who's or young lady who's
doing the same thing about tograduate.
She's confused.
She's a confused girl in thecity.
Maybe it's at some other school, somewhere else back East.
What kind of advice?
What would you tell them?
What would you say, you know,as they embark on their
(50:20):
adventure of life?
Speaker 2 (50:21):
I, I, I honestly I would say, just try things.
Like if something interests you, try it.
You know, like now to me, I didthe right thing.
I was interested in theentertainment industry.
I was curious about that and Idid that.
Then I was curious about, do Ireally want to take over my
(50:43):
family business?
And I did that and I needed tocheck those off of my list.
I needed to be at peace withthe fact that those were not the
things for me and I and youknow, because I fell into
feeling guilty about havingtried things and have wasted
time, don't feel guilty, becauseyou can create your life at any
.
You can recreate your life atany moment and that is actually
(51:06):
a beautiful thing about wherewomen are right now is they
don't have to follow a certainpath Like we used to.
You could, you know, women arerecreating their life at 70 and
writing books and talk.
Women are now talking aboutlife at 70 and writing books and
talk.
Women are now talking aboutmenopause when they never did
before.
There's more information aboutthat out there.
I mean, it's like you, you, youhave a whole life ahead of you,
(51:26):
so don't worry if somethingdoesn't work out or you make a
mistake.
The most important thing is toget in touch with your true
nature and just learn as much asyou can about yourself and
trust your intuition.
If it doesn't feel somebody,something doesn't feel right.
It's probably not right.
If this guy, you feel likethere's something off about him
giving you the creeps, run,don't walk, run like, like,
(51:51):
trust, trust that trust thattrust, trust your intuition.
That's like a very innate thingthat is in all of us.
Speaker 1 (52:01):
Jovanna, this has been fascinating.
I love what you're doing.
Thank you for sharing yourstory.
Thank you for coming on Journeywith Jake.
Speaker 2 (52:07):
Thank you so much, jake.
You're awesome, thank you.
Speaker 1 (52:10):
A huge thank you to my guest, jovanna Silvestri.
Funny enough, before ourconversation, I was feeling
pretty drained after a tough dayat work and Jovanna was just
getting over a cold.
We were both really low onenergy, but once we started
talking, that all changed.
Giovanna truly brought theenergy, and she said the same
about our chat.
It was a great reminder of justhow uplifting these
conversations can be.
(52:31):
I hope you'll check out her newbook, confused girl find your
peace in the chaos.
It officially launches on may13th, but you-order it now and
when you do, you'll be enteredto win a two-night stay in Maui
and a $100 gift card to herstore.
Just visitconfusedgirlinthecitycom for all
the details on the book and herclothing line, and be sure to
follow her on Instagram atconfusedgirlla.
(52:54):
Thanks again, giovanna, forsharing your amazing journey
with all of us and, of course,thank you for tuning in.
Whether you've been with me fora while or this is your first
time listening, I trulyappreciate you.
I hope you'll come back formore.
Speaking of coming back, I'llbe here next week with a brand
new episode featuring JennaUdenberg.
(53:14):
Jenna uses a wheelchair to getaround, but that hasn't stopped
her from seeking out adventure.
She's hitting the trails withher Rio Mobility Firefly
wheelchair and I can't wait foryou to hear her inspiring story.
Just remember, it's not alwaysabout the destination, as it is
about the journey.
Take care everybody.
Popular Podcasts
True Crime Tonight
If you eat, sleep, and breathe true crime, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT is serving up your nightly fix. Five nights a week, KT STUDIOS & iHEART RADIO invite listeners to pull up a seat for an unfiltered look at the biggest cases making headlines, celebrity scandals, and the trials everyone is watching. With a mix of expert analysis, hot takes, and listener call-ins, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT goes beyond the headlines to uncover the twists, turns, and unanswered questions that keep us all obsessed—because, at TRUE CRIME TONIGHT, there’s a seat for everyone. Whether breaking down crime scene forensics, scrutinizing serial killers, or debating the most binge-worthy true crime docs, True Crime Tonight is the fresh, fast-paced, and slightly addictive home for true crime lovers.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.