How to Undo the Idea That You’re Not Enough — Monica Padman

On this week’s episode, I talk with fellow recovering good girl, Monica Padman.

Monica, an actress and podcast producer, hustled her way into acting and co-leading one of the most downloaded podcasts today, Armchair Expert. She double majored in theatre and PR at the University of Georgia and then moved to LA to pursue her dreams of acting. She’s appeared in several TV shows, such as The Good Place, and Drop Dead Diva, and performed a role specifically written for her in the 2017 movie, CHIPS. Armchair Expert, the podcast she co-hosts with Dax Shepard, started off as something they did for fun, and has now exploded into one of the most downloaded podcasts. The duo have interviewed musicians, entertainers, writers, doctors, and psychologists including Alicia Keys, Brené Brown, Monica Lewinsky, Elizabeth Gilbert, and Emilia Clarke.

In this episode, Monica shares how she met Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell. She talks about the familial relationship she’s built with them, and how that relationship influenced her path. You’ll also hear about the parts of herself she kept hidden in order to fit in as a good girl, which are now the parts she’s reclaiming for herself. Monica’s story shows that you can do whatever it takes to create your dreams, while staying authentic.

Show Notes

- Monica’s childhood as a careful, shy, rule follower
- The early influences that fueled her love for acting
- Her experience with being a good girl and her need to fit in during school
- Monica’s relationship to her Indian culture growing up in the South
- How she dealt with the uncertainty of making the leap into a full-time acting career
- The importance of community and relationship
- Ensuring she built out other areas of her life so that acting wasn’t the only focus for her
- How she built a close, family type relationship with Kristin Bell and Dax Shepard
- The inspiration for the Armchair Expert podcast
- The role Monica plays with Armchair Expert, and how she feels about it

References

Monica Padman on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mlpadman
Armchair Expert podcast - https://armchairexpertpod.com/
Armchair Expert on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/armchairexppod/
The Best Little Boy in the World - https://www.amazon.com/Best-Little-Boy-World-Anniversary-ebook/dp/B0042JSNYU
Serial podcast - https://serialpodcast.org/
CHIPS - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0493405/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm
Making Sense podcast - https://samharris.org/podcast/