Manifest your writing success with Jane Tara

In this episode of the Book Deal podcast, host Tina Strachan interviews author Jane Tara about her book 'Tilda Is Visible' and how she uses manifesting and visualization to achieve her writing dreams. Jane discusses her journey, the power of understanding what you want, and taking steps to get there. They explore the impact of meditation, the creation of vision boards, and how being clear about goals can lead to success. Jane shares personal anecdotes and practical advice on the importance of aligning with your goals, manifesting creatively, and overcoming self-doubt in the writing journey. 

This week’s Debut Spotlight is Angela Tonioli and her book ‘Mavis the Little Plane Spotter’ with Wombat Books.

00:00 Welcome to the Book Deal Podcast

00:46 Introducing Jane Tara and Her Unique Approach

02:06 Jane Tara's Writing Journey and Career Insights

05:57 The Inspiration Behind 'Tilda is Visible'

11:18 Manifesting Success and Overcoming Challenges

23:15 The Power of Vision Boards and Manifestation

38:02 A Magical Encounter in West Hollywood

39:09 The Power of Vision Boards

41:15 Navigating Opportunities as an Author

42:20 Finding the Right Publisher

51:22 The Role of Meditation in Creativity

01:01:54 Visualization Techniques for Success

01:07:08 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

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Episode Transcript

Madeleine (00:09):
This is the Book Deal podcast where you will discover
the inspiring stories, theauthors behind your favorite
books.

Tina (00:15):
No matter what stage of writing you are at, we've got
you covered.
I'm Tina Strachan.

Madeleine (00:20):
And I'm Madeleine Cleary, and join us as we pull
back the curtain of publishedauthors

Tina (00:25):
one deal at a time.

Madeleine (00:29):
The book Deal podcast acknowledges the traditional
owners, the land and waters,which it's recorded on and pays
respect to their elders past,present, and emerging.

Tina (00:43):
Hi everyone, and welcome to the book Deal podcast.
I am Tina Strachan, your hostfor today, and I am so excited
to bring you an interview withtoday's guest, Jane Tara.
This interview is a littledifferent to our other
interviews because not only do Ichat to Jane about her latest
book, Tilda is Visible, but wediscuss how Jane has used

(01:04):
manifesting and visualization toachieve her writer dreams and
it's proven successful for herbeyond her wildest imaginings.
Whether you believe in the powerof the divine or not.
Every author has a goal or avision or a desire to get what
they believe is success forthem.
And at the root of it all, it'sabout understanding what you

(01:26):
really want and taking steps toget there.
And for those authors trying toget their first book deal or
published authors.
Waiting on another contract orperhaps something more.
This episode will give you someinsight on how to get there by
creating a clear vision for yourpathway forward.
I have to say, since chattingwith Jane, I've created my own

(01:49):
vision board, and you may haveheard in one of our last ep,
it's already started working.
It's magic for me.
The way I see it, it certainlycan't hurt to give it a go.
So please enjoy this app and letus know if you take any of these
tips and tricks on board and howthey work for you.
Enjoy.
Jane Tara, welcome to the bookDeal podcast.

Jane Tara (02:10):
Aw, Tina, thank you for having me on.
Thanks for reaching out andasking me.
I was, I was waiting for myinvitation.
Thank you.

Tina (02:16):
Oh, no, you're most very welcome.
The pleasure is all ours.
It's, and it's so great to haveyou here.
I have so many questions foryou.
We've got so much to chat about.
And because as you know, uh, theBook Deal podcast is all about
helping authors on their journeyto publication at whatever stage
they're at.

(02:37):
Um, and given you've publishedover 100 books in your career
and you've done all of thatwhile being a, a working mom and
raising children, and you workedfor better reading for a really
long time as well, which is oneof the most influential book
communities.

Speaker 3 (02:55):
Mm-hmm.

Tina (02:55):
Uh, and your latest book, Tilda, is visible, uh, has been
an absolute smash hit both herein Australia and overseas.
So I know that you have lots ofadvice for our listeners.

Jane Tara (03:10):
Well, I've certainly been around for a long time and
doing, and doing, look, I'vebeen a working writer for a very
long time, uh, making I.
You know, scraping a living outof it.
Um, but with the, with all the,the backlist of books, um, you
know, I did write a series ofsort of paranormal romance and

(03:30):
Ya, but when I became a singlemom, I had to earn a living.
So, uh, so I was doing a lot offreelance writing, travel
writing, um, parenting writing,but I wrote for the education
market.
Mm-hmm.
Um, both here and overseas.
And I think, you know, so many,um, people who might be

(03:51):
listening to this podcast or,you know, even published authors
might think that, you know, thepinnacle of writing is.
To have the, the book deal thatI have with children, what's
been happening.
And that is true.
Um, but you know, that back listof, um, of children's
educational books, uh, you know,that put food on the table for

(04:17):
20 years.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, so, and it's a completelydifferent area of publishing.
So you can, you know, work inmultiple areas of publishing.
You can work in universitypresses or, um, children's sort
of educational presses forprimary level or, yeah.
So there's a, a lot of, uh,different areas I've explored

(04:39):
over decades.
Yeah.
And

Tina (04:41):
there's still, it's still aligned though, isn't it?
It's still writing and it's Yes.
Still publishing and you'restill learning I'm sure every
single time.
And it all contributes and youknow, everything.
I'm a big believer thateverything that.
Uh, all those steps that youtake, uh, lead you to exactly
where you are now,

Speaker 3 (04:58):
you know?
Oh,

Tina (04:59):
that all had to happen.
But that's sort of what we'regonna talk about today, isn't
it?
Jane was sort of, you know,normally, um, on the podcast and
we're often quite practical withour advice mm-hmm.
And our tips of, um, you know,how to, how to get published,
you know, how to, how when isthe right time to submit, how to
get agents, things like that.

(05:20):
But we are taking a little bitof a different tact with this
one, and we're gonna get alittle bit woowoo Yes.
Aren't we?
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, you know, you know,manifesting, visualizing you
mm-hmm.
You know, whatever you wannacall it.
Um, it's.
It can be a very powerful tooland uh, it's can be something

(05:42):
that is very helpful.
Uh, another helpful tool forauthors mm-hmm.
Um, in their journey.
And I know that you, uh, knowquite a lot about it, and you
have, um, some, some experiencesthat I really wanna, uh, pick
your brain about.
But, but first, um, can we firsttalk a little bit about Tilda is

(06:02):
visible mm-hmm.
Your most recent book that hascome out.
I'm sure everybody's alreadyheard of it, but for those that
haven't, can you give us a, aone-liner or, or a little bit of
an intro to Tilda is visible

Jane Tara (06:14):
Of course.
So, and it's interesting thatsome territories are saying,
this is my debut.
Yeah.
So, mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Um, so Tilda is visible iscomedic women's fiction.
Uh, and actually in the US theydo promote it as self-help
fiction as well.

(06:35):
Ah, I didn't know that was, ithas a little bit of that thread
through it.
Um, but it's about a woman inher fifties, Tilda, who wakes up
one morning and her littlefinger is missing and she goes
to the doctor and she isdiagnosed after a series of
tests with invisibility, whichis a common condition for women
over 50.

(06:55):
And she's told that there is nocure.
She just has to accept that thisis the way it is and she's going
to start disappearing.
And, um, she's given the numberfor a support group, and that's
that she's sent on away.
There's not, not much fundingfor research women's condition.
So, um, Tilda doesn't acceptthat, accept, and she, she

(07:20):
doesn't want to disappear, andshe goes on the journey of a
lifetime to learn how to seeherself again.

Tina (07:28):
That's incredible.
An incredible pitch.
It's, um, I didn't know thatthere was a category of
self-help.
Uh, what, what did you It's not,oh, I wrote it.
Yeah.
No, in the states you

Jane Tara (07:42):
said it was, um, yeah, no, that's, that's what
they took it on as because thatI told them it was, um, okay.
And, and they saw that I thinkthat things are really changing
that.
So I, I was on the journey thatTilda takes and when you're on
that journey of healing,self-development, looking at

(08:02):
yourself and meditating, whichTilda, uh, Tilda does, I, um, I
really wanted to, when I sort ofwasn't doing that work on
myself.
And wasn't reading the many,many fantastic self-help authors

(08:22):
that are out there in thenon-fiction space.
I wanted to immerse myself inentertainment that still was
aligned with that journey.
So I really wanted to watch amovie about a woman who was on a
journey like this, or I wantedto read a book that, you know,
was, was really aligned withwhere I was at, and I couldn't

(08:45):
find anything specifically likethis.
So.
So I wrote it and it turns outthat there's a lot of people who
are, um, really on this journeyof self-help, self-development,
neuroplasticity, because there'semerging of science and
metaphysics.

(09:05):
Now more and more people areturning to this, to um, sort of
shift their perception aboutthemselves and the world and to
heal things.
And, uh, and so I think we'regoing to be seeing more
entertainment that is, um,aligned with that as well.
More entertainment that'suplifting and that talks about

(09:27):
this story of, of healing andhuman consciousness.
Well, books.
Books.
Do you diving right in there?

Tina (09:36):
Yeah.
Well, books do help people don'tthey?
On or on many different levels.
And uh, like you were sayingthat you wrote that book though,
because you couldn't findanything about that particular
mm-hmm You couldn't find a bookthat filled that particular gap
for you and you wouldn't havebeen the only one.
Surely, clearly there has beenmany people that have been
searching that for that as wellbecause the book's been so

(09:58):
successful and that's, um,always been, you know, a common
advice that you hear is if writethe book that you wanna read.

Jane Tara (10:07):
Yes.
And

Tina (10:08):
that's exactly what you've done.
And that is

Jane Tara (10:09):
really important because you spend a lot of time,
often years,

Tina (10:13):
with

Jane Tara (10:13):
those characters in that situation.
So what do you enjoy?
You know, how can you be liftedout of your own life into a, a
world, even if you're writinghorror or thriller, you know, if
you are enjoying that space,then it's a really great energy
to put out into the world.
Um, but I ultimately, over thetop of that self-help thread, I

(10:35):
really wanted it to beentertaining.
I just wanted people to, so, soany, anyone who's listening who
hasn't read Tilda and might beput off by the self-help, it's
comedic women's fiction.
Mm-hmm.
That's, and I think that thebest way to sort of share some
of the, these tools with peopleis to not preach there's enough

(10:57):
great teachers out there andjust to introduce a few ideas.
They can take them up or not.
They can just sort of, you know,be invested in the love story
that's in the, in the bookrather than anything else.

Tina (11:09):
Yeah, it's a story for, for many people, regardless of,
you know, people in Tildasituation.
But I was going to ask you aboutthe, um, inspiration for your
book.
And you said that, um, you feltlike you were going through that
journey at the same time whenyou were writing it.
So you, so you've really

Jane Tara (11:26):
Yes.
I actually went through thejourney before writing it.
Um, I went through the, the, thebreakup, uh, of the marriage,
like Tilda.
Um, I had been meditating forquite a few years.
Uh, like Tilda starts there.
I had to face childhood traumalike Tilda does.

(11:46):
So I'd gone through that and,um, arrived at a place where we
were all locked down and like alot of people I had the extra
time to go.
Okay.
Well I think it's time I wrotethat book that I've been
thinking about for so long, um,and.
You know, I did, Tilda had beenwith me for about 10 years by

(12:09):
that.
Yeah,

Tina (12:10):
yeah, yeah.
Even everything up in, so,because I find it fascinating
that she is literallydisappearing and becoming
invisible.
Mm-hmm.
Like, because there's so, youknow, people use that term for
just, um, you know, just notbeing noticed, you know,
anymore, um, which is whatyou're trying to capture, but
actually physically her bodydisappearing is gold.

(12:33):
I love that you've actually justphysically put that on there and
has, so was that concept alwayswith you or did that come a
little bit later when you weretrying to

Jane Tara (12:38):
No, that was always with me.
So I, um, and you've probablyheard this story on podcast.
I roll it out a bit, but I wasmisdiagnosed with a degenerative
eye condition and told that Iwas going blind.
Um, I didn't get the.
Like the results, um, of what itactually was for nearly three
months.
So for three months I lived withthe possibility of losing sight,

(13:01):
and that was an interestingthree months because I at first
freaked out.
Um, but then I went down thisrabbit hole of, uh, research
into some really unusual, um,studies that were taking place
on the mind's eye and teachingblind people to see through
their chest and all thesereally, really interesting

(13:23):
rabbit holes that I went down.
Mm-hmm.
But then I started to reallyquestion, well, how do I see,
how do I see the world?
And each one of us sees theworld differently.

Speaker 3 (13:34):
Mm-hmm.

Jane Tara (13:35):
We all have a different version of reality,
which is fascinating to me, andI could like talk about that
with wine for hours.
Um, but um, so how did I see it?
And um, there is a quote that'sattributed to Einstein about how
each of us has to decide whetherwe see the universe as friendly

(13:56):
or not.
Uh, and that, that's a questionI started to ask myself.
And the answer to that wasreally uncomfortable.
I realized that I saw the world,the universe, my life as, um,
something of high risk.
It was sort of, it was, it was,there was always a sense of doom

(14:18):
around me.
Like I couldn't be happy.
Because it was always going tobe taken away from me.
And, uh, and so as a result, I,I sabotaged a lot of things that
could have led to happiness inmy life.
And, you know, any, anyone whodoes any form of self-help knows

(14:40):
that all roads lead back toself-worth.
And mine led back to mychildhood as well.
So, um, so I had to go back inmy healing process and start
from there and start to reallyvalue myself and learn how to
see myself, who was I and whowas I without all of my, um, the

(15:06):
baggage that I'd been carryingaround for, you know, 40 odd
years.
Mm-hmm.
And, and so that was the journeythat I went on.
And during this time.
Tilda came to me and just, andshe wasn't quite, but, but she
was always going to be invisiblebecause I realized that through

(15:26):
losing my, potentially losing myside, I would somehow become
invisible to myself.
But then I realized I alreadywas.

Tina (15:32):
Mm-hmm.
Wow.
And again, like we've, we'vealready touched on that.
Like everything that you've donebeforehand leads to where you
are now and including having aincredibly scary diagnosis of
possibly losing your eyesight.
Mm-hmm.
But which would've been horrificto go through, and I'm sure
traumatic and even probablystill dealing with the trauma of

(15:55):
that, even though it turned outto be incorrect.
Well, I've gotta

Jane Tara (15:59):
walk out of it, so I'm fine.

Tina (16:00):
That's what I mean.

Jane Tara (16:01):
I know.

Tina (16:02):
See, had you not have had to be misdiagnosed, I have

Jane Tara (16:05):
to say, for a few months after I received the
correct diagnosis, I woke eachday.
And readjust it.
It was like that fear that I wascarrying in, in my arms.
Actually.
I could feel it in my armsstill.
And then I'd go, oh no, that'sgone.
That's, I can let that go.
I can let that go.
So, you know, it was, it wasbig.

(16:29):
Yeah.
Stressful.
But at the same time, a lot ofour, um, stressful times,
traumatic times, those are the,the, our wounds, they're
actually the doorway intosomething else if we, if we face
them as well.
Um, they are the doorway intogrowth.

Tina (16:48):
Yeah, that's right.
And, and yeah, it's.
It is clearly has been arelatable story in the end that,
you know, that that came out ofthat whole diagnosis.

Speaker 3 (17:00):
Mm.

Tina (17:00):
Because, um, it's gone so well.
The book has been amazing.
And did I see that it wasrecently on Oprah's Daily?
Yes.
List on, is that what it'scalled?
Ops.
Ops Daily Best Oprah Daily.
Yeah.
That's incredible.
Facebook

Jane Tara (17:16):
string or

Tina (17:16):
something.
That was crazy.
Yeah, it's doing so welloverseas.
There's lots of attention.
I think deservedly it soundslike it's still going really
strong and like

Jane Tara (17:26):
there is this space, amazing things happening with
it.
And, um, I guess the, the, youknow, at the foundation of this
conversation, it's that like,how, how can these things happen
to a book?
And they do happen, they dohappen to, to some books.

(17:46):
I know, but I know my, um,personal experience of how I
feel like I've set this book up,whereas 30 years of writing
previously haven't sort of ledme to the same place.

Tina (18:00):
Yeah.
But it's would've beenbeneficial and would've helped
in some way.
And then, you know, you cameacross that idea of, um, of
Tilda and, and then it's alljust.
Come together.
And because you did go throughthat experience that you went
through, then you clearlywriting with, um, yeah, with a
lot of truth there.
I, I guess, which makes thedifference between someone else

(18:22):
who could write a similar bookbut just hasn't experienced it
for themselves.
So

Jane Tara (18:27):
I think, uh, and I can't remember who it is, it's
an Australian, maybe it'sMichael Ham.
Um, but anyway, someone has a, asign on their wall, and I think
a few Aussie authors have takenthis.
And it, um, it says make themcare.
And so I often think about thatwhen I'm write writing.

(18:49):
And when I was writing Tilda,I'd never considered that
before.
I guess writing was sort ofeither for me, I just wrote for
myself or, um, or, you know, topay bills.

Speaker 3 (19:02):
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.

Jane Tara (19:03):
So, um, so when I was writing Tilda, I'd finished,
almost finished the first draft.
And something was missing,really something just, and I
know most writers, we, they havea, in different ways, they'll
have a sense of something,something's not working.
And so for me, it's kind of inmy diaphragm, I kind of get this

(19:24):
sort of, it's like a sense, Iknew something wasn't working
and I thought about this sign,make them care.
And I kept thinking, why isanyone going to care about this?

Speaker 3 (19:35):
Mm.

Jane Tara (19:36):
Um, so I decided I needed to put more of myself
into it, and that was a massiveleap for me.
I realized that I wrote at adistance.
Mm-hmm.
So I put myself into it.
I put my, the end of my marriageinto it.
I, and not all of it, like Tildais not me, but it's certainly,

(20:00):
uh, inspired by a lot of my lifeand, um, sort of auto fiction in
a way or likely so.
Uh, but I, I did put in withPearl, the inner dialogue
character into, in, um, Tilda.
I put a lot of my own personalprograms and thoughts that I

(20:23):
have throughout the day, andwhen I finished the book.
I then felt very, veryvulnerable and I put it away for
about six months and didn't showanyone because, because I worked
at Better Reading, because Iworked in with all the
publishers, I thought they'reall going to think I'm
absolutely crazy.

(20:44):
Uh, eventually I showed someonein the industry and I knew that
this person meditated.

Speaker 3 (20:51):
Mm-hmm.

Jane Tara (20:51):
So it wouldn't, it wouldn't be too much of a leap.
She loved it.
Um, suggested someone else.
Then, uh, very, a good friend ofmine, Belinda Alexandra, the,
um, historical author.
She also meditates, shesuggested Kelly at a firm.
And, um, I'd always sort ofdreamt of being published by a

(21:13):
firm because I think they're anamazing publisher, but I didn't
know Kelly Doused personally.
And, uh, so I contacted her andit all happened quite quickly
after that.
And what I've discovered by.
Putting myself into it in thatway and be allowing myself to be
that vulnerable is, uh, actuallythe story's not that unusual.

(21:35):
It's like so many women.

Speaker 3 (21:39):
Mm

Tina (21:39):
mm Yeah.
And that was would've been avery hard thing to do then to
write, to put yourself into it.
And how did you therapy?
It was so, it was so, it washard, but it was, yes.
Beneficial.
Yeah.

Jane Tara (21:56):
Uh, it's interesting that when I was editing, going
through the editing process,even the edit in the us there
was still a couple of sceneswith Tilda and her ex-husband
that I still found a littledifficult to work.
Yeah.
So, uh, I don't, and yet, andin, you know, I have so many

(22:17):
women say to me, I.
My marriage was like that.
Not overtly abusive, but youknow, I felt undermined like
that.
I was in pain like that.
I, um, so yeah, it,

Tina (22:32):
yeah,

Jane Tara (22:32):
worked,

Tina (22:33):
it did work.
And it's made it what it istoday.
And like we were saying, youcan't, you can't fake that.
Lots of people can probablywrite about those sort of
circumstances, you know, do abit of research, but, um, I'm
sure they don't communicate iton the page or connect with the
reader as much as someone likeyourself who's been through it
because you just, you candescribe more of what it feels

(22:56):
like personally and on theinside, so.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Although it's hard, it's, um,it, yeah, like you said, it's
been therapy and it's, and it'sreally paid off, hasn't it, by
reducing this like really Yeah.
Book that people have been ableto connect to, so.
Congratulations.
Well done, Jane.
Thank you.
So Jane, we know each other, wemet through the 2024 debut crew.

(23:19):
Yes.
Even though my book ended upcoming out 2025.
But that's been cool because Igot to be part of the two of the
debut crews.
Yeah.
Um, but recently, uh, youreached out because of something
that I posted on Instagram.
Mm-hmm.
Where I, about two years ago, mykids brought home the Scholastic

(23:40):
Book Club brochure and Iremember just, you know, looking
through it because I love itwhen they bring it home.
It just because they were aroundwhen I was at school and I used
to love getting the book hub forbrochure and going through and
circling everything and, youknow, oh yes.

Jane Tara (23:54):
Circling everything,

Tina (23:55):
circling all the things that you bought and ticking the
ones that you've read.
And, um, I, I was.
My parents never ordered meanything for this.
I stick book up thing,unfortunately.
But I, I remember always justcircling them and loving'em and
I love books and love readingand so when my kids would bring
them home, that was incredible.
And, uh, yeah, a couple of yearsago I was just sort of mucking

(24:16):
around and I, um, just drew likethis in it and I just filmed
myself drawing in it and I wrotelike my book on, on the Drew, a
little book in there and I wrotemy book and I was just like, you
know, just, just wishing.
I don't know, I just, I poppedit up.
I can't even remember what mycaption was.
And then, um, yeah, a couple ofmonths ago my youngest came home

(24:38):
and he is like with theScholastic book Club brush and
I'm like, cool book club.
And he is like, mom, look.
And he opens it up and my book'sin it.
How magic, it's just so manythings about that was so
incredible.
Um, yeah.
Yeah, just having my debut bookin the book club.
Yeah.
Which I didn't know about.
So it was just like, it wassurprise and, and then, but to

(24:59):
have my kids.
Being like, you know, I know.
It's like, it's so incredible.
It's like all, all my friendswere there, they're all circling
it, so they were their parents.
I was like, oh no.
It was so just one of thosemoments, like you can't, you
could not, yeah, nothing canbeat that.
That was so great.
And, and so then I did a littlepost of like that post from two

(25:20):
years ago where I was drawing mybook in the Scholastic book club
brochure to actually now whereit's in the book, in the
Scholastic book club brochure.
Um, just, yeah, being like.
Call it what you will, but, youknow, manifesting, visualizing,
whatever it is.
Mm.
Um, but it's putting it outthere Yes.
And putting it out into the,into the universe and Yes.

(25:42):
Um, yeah.
And yeah.
Hopefully it comes back at, atyou in some way.
So, um, and, and this is, thisis something you have actually
actively Yes.
Manifested, haven't you?
And this is something that Ireally wanna chat to you about
today.
So, um, can you tell us whatmanifesting looks like for you

(26:04):
and, and, and what you did and,and sort of what's come out of
that for you?

Speaker 3 (26:09):
Mm-hmm.

Jane Tara (26:10):
So manifesting gets a bad rap.

Speaker 3 (26:12):
Mm-hmm.

Jane Tara (26:13):
Uh, because people think that it is in some way,
um, just like believing inmagic.
You know, um, I did a podcast afew years ago and I was already
someone who, uh, was activelymanifesting the journey that I'm
on now.
But I did a podcast a couple ofyears ago with Tara Sw and she

(26:37):
is, um, an Englishneuroscientist.
She was a psychiatrist with theNHS for over a decade before she
went back and studied, um,neurobiology or something.
She teaches neuroscience at MIT,like she is, her credentials
are, yeah, just I felt, I feltlike I just sat there going, oh,

(27:00):
I'm not worthy, I'm not worthyto be speaking to you.
She wrote a book called TheSource, and that is a, um, book
about manifesting, but she onlyuses the brain even though she
believes in.
Kind of a, sort of an expandedsort of reality.
She, she only explained howmanifesting works with, um, the

(27:22):
brain and how, uh, using thingslike vision boards and
meditations and visualizing, um,can help you manifest things.
So one of the things that, um,she talks about in that is value
tagging.
Now by manifesting, by beingvery, very clear about what you

(27:46):
want.
The brain starts to value, tagthat information because it does
that all day long anyway.
That is what the brain does.
So if your brain, um, is justleft to its own devices, it's
going to value tag based on thetraumas of your past and who

(28:07):
hurt you and who said this threeweeks ago, and who, and it will
value tag information.
Just kind of throw it all backto you.
It's a bit chaotic if you, um,become quite strategic about
your career and start to reallyhave a vision of how you would
like that to look.

(28:28):
Um, and then kind of let it go.
Like, you don't need tomicromanage everyone's job with
this either, but you, you, youdo it at your end.
Mm-hmm.

Speaker 3 (28:37):
And

Jane Tara (28:37):
allow the space for that to happen.
Generally, things will come in.
Like the, the, your brain valuetags opportunities to get you to
that experience.
Mm-hmm.
So for you, you looked at thatcatalog and you went, oh, and
you also said I was in a dreamystate.

Speaker 3 (29:00):
Mm-hmm.

Jane Tara (29:01):
Bit of a dreamy state.
Take those brainwaves down.
You don't do it in a hyped upbeta brainwave state.
You take it down into a slowerdreamier creative state, and you
are doing that and you'rethinking, this is what I would
like.
Then you started, you got towork on it.
You didn't just wait for it toshow up, you got to work on it.

Speaker 3 (29:23):
Mm-hmm.

Jane Tara (29:24):
And then what I love about this is because it's kind
of like you are building theexperience and then the divine
surprises you.
Mm-hmm.
You didn't even realize it wasgoing to be in there.
It was a surprise.
Yeah.
Yeah.
In those magical ways.
Yeah.
So it is a, um, a lesson intrust as well, that if you start

(29:46):
to train the brain a in, youtrain the brain in what you
want, then the external worldkind of falls into place because
you've, you've designed that andit is built and, um, and so
that, that's the way that ithappened for you.

(30:08):
So with me for Tilda, I havelike most writers, like most
creative people being at themercy of others for my entire
career.

Speaker 3 (30:19):
Mm-hmm.

Jane Tara (30:21):
You know, and I mean, just a really great example of
that is, you know, at thebeginning of your career, so
many people, they don't have themoney to pay you, but it'll be
good exposure.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
It only happens.
Plumbers don't need exposure.
They get paid.
Yes.
But creative people are, andwe're all so grateful for the

(30:42):
exposure that we take it.
What are we saying to ourselves?

Speaker 3 (30:45):
Yeah.

Jane Tara (30:46):
About that.
So a lot of the work that I didwas really on self-worth.

Speaker 3 (30:51):
Mm-hmm.

Jane Tara (30:51):
Being paid for my work.
I built that as a really solidfoundation.
And then I started to thinkabout, um, and I wrote
something.
I was, I, I, I loved myself.
It wasn't like I wasn't writingfor market or anything like
that.
It was what I, I put my heartand soul into this book and then

(31:12):
I went, okay, let's be strategicabout it.
So there's two ways to bestrategic.
I believe There is.
And, and you merge both of them.
So I'm very strategic about mycareer.
I.
Very strategic, and I come froma marketing background and I do
whatever it takes.
I was out there meeting bookssellers and doing all of those

(31:35):
things that really help a book.
But then on the other side, Iwas also creating some vision
boards and meditating and, um,being really specific about some
of the experiences I would likefor Tilda.

(31:55):
And once I was clear on that, Ilet them go.
Mm-hmm.
You don't, like you did withthe, you didn't think about that
again.
It just sort of showed up inyour life.
So I let them go.
Um, and those vision boards thatI created, like I can look back
at them now and go, oh my God,so many of, and some of the
things I was like, I'll just putthat on'cause you never know or,

(32:18):
you know, pop that on.
You never know.
There's magic in the world, andwhat we can't explain it, but
there is.

Angela Toniolo (32:29):
My name is Angela Toniolo, and I'm the
author of the picture book,Mavis The Little Plane Spotter,
published in 2025 by Wombatbooks and beautifully
illustrated by Shannon Melville.
Darwin is bombed and volunteersare needed on the home front,
but what can a 10-year-old girldo?
Mavis is frustrated when she'stold she's too young to help the

(32:51):
war effort, but when shediscovers she can volunteer
alongside her older sister, shebecomes a plain spotter.
The girls keep an eye out forenemy aircraft every Saturday
from their observation point inthe town's clock tower.
One day when her sister ishomesick, Mavis spots an enemy
bomber flying overhead.
Does she have what it takes tosave the town?

(33:14):
Mavis?
A little plane spotter wasinspired by an interview with a
90-year-old woman about herexperiences as a child plane
spotter in rural New South Walesduring World War ii.
I'd never heard of planespotters, so I jumped online and
discovered everything I could.
My research led me to a storyabout Australia's youngest World
War II plane spotter, and that'swhen I knew I'd found the

(33:36):
perfect character for a picturebook.
Not only does the book honor thechild plane spotters of World
War ii, but it also allows me topay tribute to my grandmother,
Mavis, who was from allaccounts, one feisty kid.
Mavis, a little plain spottertakes a non-confrontational look
at wartime issues.
There are many wonderful picturebooks that help children extend

(33:58):
their understanding of differentaspects of war and people's
experiences, both at home and onthe war.
Front.
Mavis, a little plain spotter,celebrates children's potential
to be hometown heroes andinvites readers to experience a
pivotal moment in Australia'shistory.
I hope you enjoy reading it asmuch as I enjoyed writing it.

Tina (34:24):
Yeah.
There's so much there.
And I think so.
But on a practical level, whatdoes the vision board look for
you?
Is it an actual, tangible thing?
I know people that use likeCanva, like photos and stuff.

Jane Tara (34:35):
I use Canva.

Tina (34:35):
You use Canva?
Yes.

Jane Tara (34:37):
Yeah.
Because I tend to make, like, Iknow, I, I spoke to someone
yesterday actually, uh, who's avery successful woman and she
does a, um, vision board everyNew Year's Eve, and she pasts it
all on a big board and she putsit up and she has that in her
office.
Mm-hmm.
And that's once a year for me.

(35:00):
I, um, I do it sort of fordifferent things.
I might do, I might do like sixor seven vision boards a year.

Speaker 3 (35:07):
Mm-hmm.

Jane Tara (35:08):
One example, uh, is last, uh, last October I was
going to the us um, becauseChildre had made a most
anticipated list for someone whowas throwing a party to launch
the list.

Speaker 3 (35:24):
Wow.

Jane Tara (35:24):
I thought, yeah, great, I'll go for that.
Uh, as it happened, I also hadsome personal stuff going on at
that time with someone who wasterminally ill, and I thought,
oh, you know, and I started toget very anxious about this trip
and, um, fear gets in the way ofeverything in life.
So I created a vision board toground myself.

(35:48):
It was almost like if I could.
Put on the vision board a seriesof things that I knew this was
going to happen.
Um, I would, it just settled myanxiety about the trip.
So for example, on the visionboard I had that, I was flying
business class.
Um, I didn't buy a businessclass ticket, but you know, I

(36:11):
was flying business class.
Um, I was enjoying myself at aparty.
I had a, there was a vision of agreat meeting, um, in New York
with my, like, I had PenguinRandom House, the actual New
York office there.
And, um, so I did, I went tolunch there and then I had LA

(36:32):
and I had some meetings there.
So all of this was on the visionboard, and by the time I'd
finished creating the visionboard, I thought I.
I feel much better about thetrip.
I feel like I can, there it is.
This is okay.
This is going to be okay.
I just kind of settled myselfwith the creative process of, of

(36:53):
it.
Anyway, I flew business class.
Um, I had these great meetings.
I went to this party, I did allof this.
I had a wonderful time.
But here's the really funnything.
I went in la um, I was going todo two days of research for the
novel.
I'm currently writing now onevery vision board.

(37:15):
I put a unicorn as well, andthat is a symbol for what I
can't even imagine.
Mm.
So everything that I, Ima, thisis all stuff I can imagine.
And I, you know, that's great,but there's something I can't
even imagine.
So you're not limiting yourself.
I, your unicorn is the.
The thing that the sky Yeah.
At this particular point in mylife, I don't even know that

(37:36):
that could happen.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Something amazing.
Anyway, so I put the unicorn onand yeah, whatever, and I, and
I'm having this trip and Ireally felt like I was in flow
and trust.
And honestly, the experience of,of being there for my book was
just, I mean, I was in gratitudeas well.
Like I really was so gratefulfor this, these experiences and

(38:00):
meeting these wonderful people.
And anyway, one day I'm walkingaround West Hollywood, um, doing
a little bit of research, goingto, um, a particular place to
look at a bookstore that I'mputting in my novel.
But this bookstore closed downmany, many years ago, but it was
famous in the 1970s, so I justwanted to see the location.

Speaker 3 (38:22):
Mm-hmm.

Jane Tara (38:24):
And I walked down the street that, you know, I knew it
was at the end of the street andI turned left to look at where
this bookstore used to be, andit's this massive glass window.
I.
With two six foot unicornswindow.
And I'm standing there going,I'm laughing, I'm crying.

(38:46):
I'm like, you know, in the joyand the magic of, of life.
Yeah, yeah.
You know, and, and it was a, itwas a great trip, but I'd used
that particular vision boardjust to kind of feel better
about the trip.
I felt like I was a little out,out of my comfort zone.
It grounded everything.
And then I allowed for a littlebit of magic at the end of it.

(39:07):
So, um, yeah.
So that's, I I used visionboards for all sorts of things.

Tina (39:12):
Yeah.
That's an incredible story aboutthe unicorn.
I really love that.
I hadn't heard of that before.
I thought of that before about ulike using a vision board or ho,
however people would like tovisualize or manifest.
For I guess calming, maybeinternal, your internal
feelings.
Yeah.
And that's, that's such a.
Great idea for things that I, I,'cause I can see how that would

(39:35):
work in, you know, for manythings about having anxiety or
maybe not knowing if it'sexactly the right thing to do.
Because do you think even it'sjust allowing you that time to
sit with the discomfort and theallow you that time to run
through in your mind what isactually worrying you the most
about this?
Yeah.
And then how would you like itto, to be and how would you like

(39:59):
it to work out?
And then once you have gonethrough everything that you
think could be the, like, theconcern, I guess that's step one
of even realizing sometimes thatit's not as big as maybe you
thought it was, but then youhave that, those options and for
making it better.
Or, or, or just understandingwhat could happen to make it
better.
And then it's just becauseyou've already run through all

(40:23):
the consequences and thenegatives in your mind and, and,
but you've then worked that nextstep to allow for the positives.
That was my really long, awkwardway of basically saying, yeah.
And

Jane Tara (40:33):
yeah.
Absolutely.
And I also think that creativepeople, authors, oh, we are just
so grateful for anything.
Mm.
You know, that's why we startour career with exposure and
then we get to the point wherewe're being published and we'll
take anyone and, um, you know,we, we just sort of, we are

(40:57):
constantly in survival mode Iguess.
So doing something like this isa creative process where we can
just kind of step back from it alittle bit and go, okay, well
yeah, maybe I have a fewopportunities here, but what do
I want?
Yeah,

Tina (41:15):
that's what I was gonna ask.
So yeah, do you still, you know,take those opportunities if they
do come along?
Or do you go back and revisityour vision board and think, oh,
it doesn't align with what thatvision is, so maybe I just need
to place that opportunity to theside for the moment.
Yes.
And because it's not right forme right now.

Jane Tara (41:37):
I think that would be a very, very hard thing for any
author to do.
Oh, yes.
Um, to say no to an opportunity.
Certainly you, once there's alevel of success, they might,
but I think in the early days,but I think, um, going back to
the value tagging in the brainby doing this in, you know, as

(42:02):
you're starting off, you becomevery clear about what you want
and perhaps those opportunitiestend to come up more anyway.
The ones that are really.
Wor, you know, worthy of youand, and the right ones for you.
Mm-hmm.
So when I had Tilda ready totake out, like I, I, I could

(42:27):
have taken that to a few peopleat different publishers.
And honestly, this country hasincredible publishers.
I get you, you yeah.
You write wherever you go.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Um, but sometimes there's abetter publisher for your
particular story.

(42:48):
Mm,

Speaker 3 (42:48):
mm-hmm.

Jane Tara (42:49):
Yeah.
It's not that they're a betterpublisher, it's just for your
story.
Mm-hmm.
So I was, um, through this pro,I, I just knew that Affirm
mm-hmm.
Was the, the right one forTilda.

Speaker 3 (43:02):
Mm-hmm.

Jane Tara (43:03):
Uh, and, and I didn't know that Kelly Doost worked at
a firm.
I'd never met her before.
Uh, and it turned out that shepublished self-Help and women's
fiction.
So that kind of came togetherreally beautifully for me
because I thought, well, youknow, I'd love to be with a
firm, but I dunno whetherthey're the right publisher for
me.

(43:23):
And then it turned out thatKelly had gone and started
working there a year before.

Tina (43:28):
Mm-hmm.

Jane Tara (43:28):
And I, I'd never, you would

Tina (43:30):
never have, yeah.

Jane Tara (43:30):
Yeah.
You

Tina (43:31):
couldn't have planned that

Jane Tara (43:31):
if you, yeah.
So, so I think I, I think if youstart to, um, I.
You know, really work out whatis right for you and your story
and your career in the longterm.
And this is a beautiful way ofbeing creative and, and helping
with that.
And I, not only, I, I not onlydo vision boards, I do, I put it

(43:54):
into meditations.
I do all sorts of things.

Speaker 3 (43:57):
Yeah.

Jane Tara (43:57):
But I think the vision board is a really, um,
it's a creative act and it's areally good way for people to
start to go, what do I want?
And if you're doing it on Canva,you've got all these images
there that you might, and you,you put one image on your vision
board and because you've onlygot a certain amount of space,
you might go, yeah, I actuallydon't care about that.

(44:18):
That's not something thatinterests me.

Speaker 3 (44:20):
Mm-hmm.

Jane Tara (44:21):
And you take it off and you look for the things that
do.
Your brain takes a visual ofthat when you are finished.
And it's a great thing when youwake up in the morning and go to
bed at night, just look at yourvision board.

Tina (44:34):
Yeah.

Jane Tara (44:35):
Okay.
And your brain takes a snapshotof that vision board because
you've taken the time to placeon it, what is really important
to you.
And then it begins to reallylook for those opportunities.
Mm-hmm.
Those opportunities are alreadythere for every, all the
opportunities that I've had arethere for you and anyone who is

(44:58):
listening, but they, um, butoften we don't see them.
We don't think we're worthy ofthem, and we don't see them
because we are too used tolooking for the chaos.

Tina (45:10):
Mm-hmm.
And I love what you said about,so there's two, two big things
to this, isn't there?
There's the, like you weresaying, you're manifesting,
you're creating your visionboards and using that to come up
with your, i your ideas of whereyou want to go.
But then there's the strategic.
You.
You can't just create thatvision board and then sit back,

(45:31):
do nothing.
No.
You can't be like, I want to beon Oprah's Daily Best books of
Spring or whatever.
Or whatever that title was.
And, um.
Then just pop that on yourvision board and not write the
book, you know?
No.
Or get out and promote the book.
That's right.
Yeah.
And then writing, it's only justone part of it.
You're right.
Then you need to do all thesteps that, that take you in

(45:54):
that direction.
So in a way, even, you know, ifpeople are uncomfortable with
the woowoo or manifesting, orthe visualization, you're
actually, you know, you canthink of it as writing yourself
a to-do list almost in a way.
Yeah.
You know, but in a creative way.
It's the to-do list.
It's my goals, my list of whereI wanna be.

Jane Tara (46:13):
Yeah.

Tina (46:14):
And how do I get there?
What are the steps that I needto take?
And when you know, what do I dotomorrow that's going to take me
in that space, or what's gonnatake me away from it?
And it's just about helping todirect you.
Yes.
Yeah.

Jane Tara (46:27):
Towards

Tina (46:28):
your goal.

Jane Tara (46:28):
And you can do that with a list, you could a lot of,
right.
They, they, you know, theirgoals out for the year or their
five year plan or, um, a visionboard is just a, a visual way of
doing that.
Really.

Tina (46:43):
Yeah.
But is probably, like you weresaying, because it's visual and
the way that our brains work ashumans, it's a very good way to
sort of embed that.
Yeah.
And the value tagging you, youwere saying.
Definitely it's, um, helpful forthe visions.
I remember watching, uh, adocumentary or a show many years
ago about the Spice Girls.
I think it was about the SpiceGirls.
It had, well it was JerryHalliwell, you know, from the

(47:06):
Spice Girls.
And she showed, um, this, shewent back to her childhood home
and she showed this photo framethat she had still in her
bedroom.
And she opened it up because inthe, on the back of the photo
that she had on there, she hadwritten, um, something like.
I can't remember exact words,but it was something in line

(47:27):
with, um, being, beingsuccessful in her singing and
traveling the world and earningenough money, being a singer.
And, you know, I dunno if she'dused the words famous or
whatever, but it was a hundredpercent this is where I want to
be.
And she, she just wrote that,this was before Spice Girls
happened when she was youngerand she just popped it there and

(47:47):
she just said, I just used toalways think about that.
So that was, that was her way.
Canva didn't exist then, youknow?
Yeah.
So it was her way of, of poppingthat there as her, her her goal,
I guess.

Jane Tara (47:59):
Yeah.
So I think there's a very, um,famous story about Jim Carey.
Uh, and he was broke and youknow, at the point where like,
no work.
And he wrote himself a$10million check and he.
Pasted it to the, his ceiling ofhis dingy flat.

Speaker 3 (48:17):
Yeah.
And

Jane Tara (48:17):
he'd wake up every morning and see that$10 million
check.
Mm-hmm.
And I think it was within twoyears, he got a$10 million
payout for whatever film it was.
Mm-hmm.
Um, so yes, I mean, for me, I,and, and I think all of those
are, um, they, they work forsome people, but for me, uh, my,

(48:40):
when, when I'm thinking inadvance, I guess, or of of
success or, um, that Tilda hasdone very well, what I actually
think about, and I do it in mymeditation, at the end of my
meditation, I will really,really visualize this and it's

(49:01):
getting up.
In the morning, I'm walking outand I can feel the floor on my
feet, and I walk out and I makemyself a really great coffee.

Speaker 3 (49:12):
Mm-hmm.
I

Jane Tara (49:12):
go and sit out on my front porch, my little lovely,
bushy view.
And actually I've, I've added awater view to it, but, you know.
Yeah.
So, but, you know, and that I'mspending my day, I, I have a few
meetings and then I spend my daywriting and I'm very, very clear

(49:34):
about that.
And that, and when I starteddoing that, you know, I was
writing and working full timeand doing some freelance stuff.
You know, I'm a single mom.
I'm doing, so that's the visionof.
Success

Speaker 3 (49:53):
mm-hmm.

Jane Tara (49:54):
For me mm-hmm.
To actually be in a space whereI can do what I love and afford
to do what I love every day.
Um, and the things that have ledto me being able to have, just
get up and have that morningcoffee and go and sit at my
computer and write all day in myvision.
Mm.
The things that have led to thatare pretty amazing and magical,

(50:17):
but I leave that up to thedivine.
Mm

Tina (50:19):
mm I like that.
I like that.
Because like you said, it couldbe, you know, there could be
some unicorns in there that youdon't even know about.
Yeah.
That are leading you to That'sright.
To that day.
I really like that.
That's, that's great.
Visualizing how you want yourday to be and everything else.

Jane Tara (50:35):
It's, and it's a very good exercise for a writer
mm-hmm.
To write your perfect day.
Mm-hmm.
And I, I've done that a coupleof times and it always sort of
looks like that.
It's like saying, you know,tracksuit pants and my dog, it
sounds amazing.
It sounds incredible.
It's not your perfect day is notthat day that you know, you're

(50:58):
out there at a book launch oranything, but it's the normal
day that you would live aregular basis.

Speaker 3 (51:06):
Mm.

Jane Tara (51:06):
That brings you contentment.

Tina (51:09):
Yeah.
I think that's probably all thata lot of writers want.
Just Yes, pay me some money so Ican stay home and write and just
be comfortable doing that.
Yeah.
Yes.
That's a very good vision tohave.
Mm-hmm.
Um, but you meditate like youwere saying, Jane.
Yeah.
And how is that also, like youwere just saying, you meditate
on it, so you've found that tobe really useful to almost as

(51:33):
another tool to cement thatvisualization.

Jane Tara (51:36):
Yes.
Look, there's so much to that.
Um, because meditation hascompletely and utterly changed
my life and really vision boardsis I don't need to ever do
another vision board.
It's the meditation that, thathas changed my life.
But I love to do all of thesethings, so, and weave them into
my, my week.
Um, but the meditation for me,um, has done a couple of things.

(52:02):
Firstly, as the journey thatTilda goes on, it gave me, um,
the space to observe my innerprograms and those inner
programs that were getting inthe way of me, um, being
content, being happy, you know,getting what I deserve, what

(52:22):
anyone deserves.
Um, so I, when you meditate,there's a space between an event
and your reaction, and in thatspace, you can recreate your
life.
So I can now, on a day where I'mtired, for example, and I've got

(52:44):
my internal old internalprograms coming up, I just don't
react to things anymore.
I give nothing the power, Idon't disempower myself by
listening to that and gettingworked up about it and believing
it.
I just kind of, it doesn't, I,non-attachment, I, I just

(53:05):
practice non-attachment with it.
Um, that's really, that is wheremy life started to really change
by changing the internalprograms in my brain.
But then once I became a moreexperienced meditator and was
able to access a sort of space,I started to, at the end of my

(53:28):
meditations, I can reallyvisualize.
How I want my life to look orhow I want an experience to
look, and I say experience.
I, I'm not comfortable withpublic speaking.
I never have been.
It's always something that hasreally, and, and in fact, I've

(53:51):
self-sabotage, so I wouldn'thave to speak publicly a lot,
but, uh, I'm quite comfortablewith it now.
I've had a, you know, yeah, I,I've just been out there talking
about kda a lot for the lastyear and a half.
But what I do is I will meditatebeforehand, and in the last bit

(54:14):
of the meditation, I alwayshave, I, I can see the audience
that I'm speaking to.
I just really sort of sit in myheart and think, okay, how can I
connect with them?
And I imagine very, very clearlyjust having a really lovely
event.
Then I let it go and I walk inthere way more comfortable and

(54:37):
less anxious because I'veactually already experienced it.

Tina (54:43):
I know what you mean with that.
Yeah.
I do a little bit of a thingwhere I, yeah, I actually try to
think of all the bad things thatcould possibly happen at first.
I know that sounds weird, but Iget there in the end.
'cause I,'cause I think tomyself, um, well what could
happen and, and like for examplewith public speaking, like

(55:05):
you've said, like I used to haveto do it, um, a lot for work.
I still have to do it now in amore kind of stressful situation
for work.
But I think the thing that usedto always, I realize now the
thing that used to kind of scareme about it and make me so
nervous about it was lookingnervous.
Like, I didn't want people toknow that I was nervous, which

(55:25):
is such a weird thing.
Yes.
And now I just say to myself,'cause I feel like I've done it
so often, it's like, okay, wellwhat's the worst that's gonna
happen?
Like, maybe your voice willshake a little bit, but you
know, that it, it, that onlyjust happens at the beginning
or, or you forget your words.
You know what, no one actuallyreally minds just look at your
sheet.
Um, or you know, I just try and,uh, think of what could really

(55:47):
go wrong and then Yes.
Not really.
What, what does that matter?
And, and what will you do if itdoes happen?
And, and in the end, like youkind of just think to yourself,
well, it's not that, it's notthat bad anyway.
And so by the time I get to thatpoint of walking out there, like
you said, I feel like I'vealready lived it and I've
experienced you're not,

Jane Tara (56:03):
you're not actually thinking of the negatives there.
You're actually being your owncheerleader.

Tina (56:08):
Mm-hmm.

Jane Tara (56:09):
Those negatives are already there.
Yeah.
Programs.

Speaker 3 (56:12):
Mm-hmm.

Jane Tara (56:13):
But you've got a really positive program going.
But that doesn't matter.

Speaker 3 (56:16):
Mm.

Jane Tara (56:17):
That's not right.
But that's not correct.
You'll be fine.
And you've done this before andit's going to be okay.
Get out there now.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I do that now.
That's not what I

Tina (56:26):
used to do.
Right?
Yeah.
Alright.
But I wish I knew that, youknow, as we, as we wish we, we
knew.
Yeah.
You know, but that's how you getto this point, you know?
Another celebrity story, Iremember, um, Seinfeld, you
know, everyone knows Seinfeldand they were around for quite a
while, weren't they?
Many, many years.
And he, I saw another interviewwith him, um, you know, a few

(56:47):
years ago and he was saying hedidn't meditate when, when he
was filming Seinfeld, but hedoes now.
Yes.
And he said he thought if he hadknown about meditation and the
benefits of meditation whilstthey were filming Seinfeld, that
the show would've gone on for alot longer than it did.
But he.
Just was sort of worn out.

(57:08):
Creative fatigue as well.
Yes.
So he found extremely helpfulwith that.
Um, so yeah, that's a, that Ifound that like a really
interesting story that such abig prolific, uh, well-known,
you know, institution asSeinfeld.
Yes.
And just saying he really thinksthat.
You know, the importance ofmeditation, that it could have

(57:30):
still gone on had he known aboutit, it would've just,

Jane Tara (57:33):
I think meditation just has so many benefits and,
um, you know, I've written abook about it.
Basically, it's, and some peopledon't like that because they
don't want to meditate, theynever will.
And that's fine, that's fine.
But if I can introduce it to a,a few more people mm-hmm.

(57:54):
Uh, because it really does helpphysically, mentally,
emotionally, spiritually, uh, ithas a ripple effect in your
community, in your family.
Um, the benefits, theneurobiological benefits of
regular meditation, it reallyliterally changes your brain.
Mm-hmm.
It's a, it's a science, isn'tit?

Speaker 3 (58:14):
Mm-hmm.

Tina (58:15):
Yeah.
Um, and it's not just sitting,you don't have to just be
sitting in one spot.
No.
Making, you know, humming noisesto yourself like some people
said to do?
No, actually, the meditation

Jane Tara (58:26):
style that I've settled on, uh, because I've
tried that, I've tried thehumming noises and I've tried
the sitting in uncomfortablelotus like positions and not
being able to walk for an hourwhen you get up and all of those
things.
I've done this 10 day silentretreat and I wrote about that
in Tilda, and that was, um, aversion of hell, uh, very

(58:47):
beneficial, but really tough.
Um, but I've settled on a, astyle that's really fun.
Mm-hmm.
It's really, really fun and itis guided, uh, and there's a,
and it's, uh, there are a lot ofdifferent meditations to choose
from.
So if I had to sit, well, I usedto sit every day and do the same

(59:08):
one, the same style for a longtime and it was a drag for me.
I like, I like shake things up abit.
I did it because it wasbeneficial.

Speaker 3 (59:19):
Mm-hmm.
But I

Jane Tara (59:20):
used to make so many excuses before sitting down and
doing it.
Whereas now, like I'll, youknow, I'll meditate twice if
I've got time.
Wow.
It's fun.
But there are also, um, walkingmeditations.

Speaker 3 (59:33):
Mm.

Jane Tara (59:34):
At this, in this style and in, in most traditions
there are walking meditations.
So for people who wanna, youknow, put their headphones on
and be at a beautiful park or abeach and do the walking
meditation, it's just asbeneficial as sitting.

Tina (59:50):
That's good.
That's really interesting toknow, because I would love to do
that.
And you know, so my thing is, Idon't meditate Jane, but I know
that I should, and I know that Ineed to, and occasionally I do.
And I have done it in times of,um.
You know, when I've known that,you know, I don't know what else
is gonna give.
Something has to happen.
And so I, I have the Headspaceapp on my phone and, um, that's

(01:00:12):
really good for like, um, I'vehad it for years and sometimes I
don't touch it for a year.
Then sometimes they'll have likea really quick, um, meditation
or they have them for, foreverything.
Or even, I've got yoga and musicand everything now on there.
It is a really good app to have.
Um, and so I've put that outoccasionally, but I, my thing is
I say I don't have the time andI know you've, you've, I've

(01:00:36):
heard you say a bit of a,

Jane Tara (01:00:39):
what's that saying?
Yeah, well, you know, if you're,uh, yeah.
Everyone should meditate for anhour a day, unless you're really
busy and then you shouldmeditate for two.
Yeah.
It's a Zen saying.
It's actually very true.
Mm-hmm.
I, and look, this is it's humancondition.
I do it myself.
I'm really busy.
I don't have time to meditate,but.

(01:01:01):
If I meditate, if I take thattime out, I get way more done.

Speaker 3 (01:01:07):
Mm-hmm.

Jane Tara (01:01:07):
Yeah.

Tina (01:01:08):
So it, it's, it evens itself out in the end.
Yes.
More so probably.
But like you were saying,there's walking, um, can you do
it while you're doing your yogain

Jane Tara (01:01:18):
your, I think that's mindful mindfulness practice
more mindfulness.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And um, and I think the more youmeditate, the more mindful you
are in your practices.
But, uh, they are two separatethings.
So people will say to me, Imeditate when I'm swimming.

Tina (01:01:33):
Ah.
And

Jane Tara (01:01:34):
it's not meditation, not quite, it can be a mindful
practice.
Mm-hmm.
But it's not meditation.

Speaker 3 (01:01:40):
Mm.

Jane Tara (01:01:41):
I see.
Yes.

Tina (01:01:42):
Which mindfulness is still beneficial if Absolutely.
If you have to do anything.
Yeah.
Okay.
That's interesting.
Uh, so Jane, uh, for thelisteners who've listened today
and think, you know, I'm gonna.
You know, visualize, and I'dlove to learn more about
meditation.
Do you have any, um, suggestionsfor how people can find a little

(01:02:02):
bit more information about this?
Because I feel like there's athousand podcasts and apps and
things for these things.
There are, and

Jane Tara (01:02:08):
I, I think with something like meditation,
people find their own way intoit.
There are so many, um, differentpractices out there and
different styles.
So, uh, I would say find whatresonates with you.
Even just go onto YouTube and do10 minute meditation and bring
up something and you like themusic, or you like the voice of

(01:02:30):
a person and just start there.
Um, with visualization and, uh,and vision boarding.
I'm actually, um, on Substack,I'm going to do a short course,
just a, a three day course on itbecause, uh, a few people have.
Talk to me about it.
And because I've startedtalking, I've come outta the

(01:02:51):
brew closet.
Mm-hmm.
Um, started talking about itpublicly, but, um, and I'm
calling it chair flying becauseI've gone down the rabbit hole
of watching, uh, the BlueAngels.
It's an elite team of pilots inthe US Navy pilots who fly, uh,
they do air shows and stuff, butone mistake.

(01:03:13):
Mm-hmm.
And everyone would die.
They fly within 19 inches ofeach other in these byta jets.
And they, yeah.
But if you go onto YouTube,Instagram, whatever, and look
them up.

Speaker 3 (01:03:25):
Yeah.
You can

Jane Tara (01:03:26):
see in their training that they sit together as a team
and they visualize the tripfirst.
Mm.
Yes.
They visualize the whole thingfirst.
Now, I, I'm dating a Qantascaptain.
Mm-hmm.
Qantas gets them.
To visualize as well.

(01:03:46):
They do chair flying as well.
Elite athletes do it.
Yeah, do it.
Yes.
You know, there are a lot ofhighly successful people who
visualize an event andexperience before it actually
happens.
Mm-hmm.
And so that's, I'm, I'm going todo a, a three day or on that

(01:04:11):
because it's, um, I mean theresearch is there.
Yeah.
It, it, it works with the brain.
The brain actually does notknow, literally does not know if
an experience is actuallyhappening, if you are imagining
it at that level.
Wow.
So it thinks, it thinks thatit's actually happening.
So you train the brain.

(01:04:32):
Then the experience has alreadyhappened in your life.

Tina (01:04:35):
That's incredible.
So this is, you will advertisethis for your sub substack.

Jane Tara (01:04:40):
Yes.
So on substack people, um, cancome on and I, I often do, um,
10 day, 10 minutes a daymeditation challenges and little
things like that on Substack.
I'm more woo on Substack.
I love that.
It's

Tina (01:04:54):
your little woo

Jane Tara (01:04:55):
woo platform.

Tina (01:04:58):
Oh, Jane, that's all been incredible.
Can we give our listeners somehomework?
Can we get them to, um, go awayand, uh, have a look at your
substack anyway, uh, for, forall the Woo, um, and create a
little bit of a vision board ora list or, or however, create

Jane Tara (01:05:16):
a vision board or even sit down.
And particularly writers,particularly authors, sit and
write.
Have it.
Just take a few moments and thenwrite your perfect day, your
ideal day.
Mm-hmm.
You know, write a page or two onit, see what comes out.
You might surprise yourselfactually at, um, at, at what

(01:05:39):
that entails as well.
Um, not the big, you know, your,the premier in your, in your
mansion with your 17 bedrooms.
And yeah, just, just, and tastethe coffee.
Feel the floor.
See where are you sitting?
What are you, you know, how areyou enjoying, how are you
savoring your life becauseyou're not in that survival

(01:06:00):
mode.
Ride your perfect days.
See what that is.
And honestly, reach out like toboth of us and let's, um, let's,
let's people, you know, what thecome up with like for people.
Yeah,

Tina (01:06:11):
absolutely.
Yes, definitely.
We wanna know about that.
And then I, and then I guess,but then also maybe take one
step in that direction

Jane Tara (01:06:21):
once you know what you want.
Yeah.
Start to actively go towardsthat.
It's like, it, it's, it's like,um, you know, archery.
Mm-hmm.
You know, you, you've gotta seethe bullseye, you've gotta work
it all out.
You've gotta do the training,you've gotta, you know, and then
you let that arrow go towardsthe, but you don't just, you

(01:06:41):
know, shoot anywhere.
You've gotta work out what thatbullseye looks like for you.
Mm-hmm.
And then you start to go in thatdirection.

Tina (01:06:49):
I love that.
And then, and then in May, 2026,we will regather and we would
want to hear everybody's,everybody who's gone away and
visualize.
We want, we, we'll get you onthe show and, um, you can tell
us how that's gone for you.
We wanna hear about how it'sworked for you.
Okay.
I'm going to do that, Jane.
I'm gonna go away and do thatright now.
Um, Jane, thank you so much forcoming on the podcast.

(01:07:11):
It has been so incrediblechatting with you.
Um, I've really enjoyed this.
I think listen, are gonna get somuch out of this.
It's, you know, sometimes whenyou know that you're, you're
doing everything that you canand you maybe feel like you are
not really getting anywhere orgoing in that direction.
Sometimes this is exactly whatyou need.
That something a little bit diffdifferent or maybe something you

(01:07:31):
haven't tried before.
But certainly everyone, whetheryou are.
Big on the woo woo or nothaving, there's nothing wooo
about, just no, trying to thinkabout where you wanna go and
take the next step in the rightdirection,

Jane Tara (01:07:43):
being very clear about what you want.
And I, I cannot tell you howmany bestselling authors I've
spoken to, kind of justone-on-one privately who, um,
who use these techniques.
Mm-hmm.

Tina (01:07:57):
Yeah, I bet, I bet.
More than we would ever imagine.
I, I

Jane Tara (01:08:01):
imagine,

Tina (01:08:02):
uh, Jane, you

Jane Tara (01:08:03):
know, thank you.
I love talking about this, sothank you for having me on and,
um, allowing me to You're not aproblem at all.
Our pleasure.
Thanks, Jane.

Tina Strachan (2) (01:08:18):
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