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Amy Says…
Hello {{first_name}} ,
This week on the show, something unexpected happened. You might not have noticed — but I'm going to tell you anyway.
Since launch day (over a year ago), every episode has released simultaneously in audio and video on YouTube. This week, only two of the three stories have video episodes. Why? Because I got hit by Murphy's Law for Indie Creators. That is not a real thing, but absolutely it should be.
If it were real, it would go something like this: When you level up and change your systems, prepare for something to go sideways. Because it will.
I recently switched my production software from Zoom to Ecamm, which opens up a lot of creative possibilities and should mean a higher-quality show overall. The catch? My conversation with guest Zina Wilde was my very first recording in the new setup. I managed to capture audio only. No video. Whoops.
Just when I think I've got it all figured out, life steps in to remind me I've still got plenty to learn. Honestly? Fair enough.
Here's what you’ll find in this week's newsletter:
Zina Wilde shares how she made the decision to walk away from a career she'd worked incredibly hard to build as an actress on television to do something completely different.
Karen Rudolf on learning to live by the wisdom that no is a complete sentence.
Carly Thorne shares how she stays optimistic and chooses to be visible while living with a rare chronic illness.
A new opportunity to get involved in the community.
Table of Contents
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Career | Career Change From TV Actress to Retreat Leader
Zina Wilde
Some people spend decades chasing a dream only to discover, once they finally catch it, that the catching was never really the point. Zina Wilde spent years fighting for a career in acting, navigating immigration paperwork, logging 22 theater productions in a single year just to qualify for a visa, and eventually landing a recurring role on the Showtime series Billions. She did the thing. And then the world stopped, she got sick alone in a New York apartment, and the life she had built so carefully began to ask her a harder question: what do you actually need?
That question, and the journey it set off, is one that anyone approaching a major career transition will recognize. Whether the shift is forced or chosen, whether it comes after a layoff or a lockdown or a moment of private reckoning, the experience of leaving something you worked hard to build is rarely as simple as walking away. For Wilde, it was a complete unraveling and rebuilding, one that eventually led her to create a global retreat company that combines somatic healing, community, and immersive travel.
Special offer from Zina for the audience:
Zina has offered a 50% discount off of her retreats for the audience. Message Zina through Instagram @zinawilde and mention the show.
Note from the show: Guest offers are almost always limited-time and limited quantity. If you have any trouble redeeming the offer please reach out directly to the guest for support.
Do you like to Read? 📚
Many people in this audience are readers. And many authors want to come on the show to talk about their books. Personally, I've I prefer conversations about books when more voices are in the room. Yes, like book club.
So I have an idea for a fun new format but I need some help.
For select upcoming episodes, I'm inviting members of this audience to read alongside me. You'll receive a copy of the book in advance, and your question or comment will be included in the episode. Your question will be included in the show including the author responding to you directly. There’s even a possibility that you could record with me and the author which I think is a fun opportunity. I have two authors ready to give this a go and now I need some readers.
If you'd like to be considered as a reader guest, please hit reply to express interest and I’ll get you the details.
Chronic Illness | Secrets to Building Resilience From a Lifetime of Surgeries
Some conditions arrive with a diagnosis and a treatment plan. Others arrive before you do. Congenital rubella syndrome, a condition caused when a mother contracts German measles during pregnancy, is the kind of thing that doesn't wait for you to be ready. It shapes every organ, every bone, every system. It compounds everything else that goes wrong. And it never leaves.
Carly Alyssa Thorne has been living with congenital rubella syndrome for 61 years. She's had 67 surgeries. She wears a port in her chest for daily IV hydration. She has five separate eye conditions, uses hearing aids, has had both shoulders and both knees replaced, and manages a long list of autoimmune diseases. She's also a life coach, a public speaker, and someone who has spent decades making deliberate decisions about how to navigate a body that was never going to cooperate the way other people's do.
Carly Alyssa Thorne
Chronic Stress| Life Changing Self Compassion
Karen Rudolf
It’s possible that many people don't recognize the moment they stop taking care of themselves. It doesn't arrive as a dramatic breakdown. It comes in handfuls, the way Karen Rudolph's hair came out in the shower during the worst stretch of her life. A former nurse turned full-time caregiver, she had spent years running on fumes, carpooling six hours a day, managing a household, raising three daughters, and pushing through the kind of chronic stress that makes everything feel optional except the obligations. When her body finally registered a protest she couldn't ignore, it didn't whisper. It pulled her hair out by the root.
Special offer from Karen for you:
A free Clarity Compass Guide: A soul-guided framework to help you get unstuck and return to center—in just a few mindful moments.
Special for the audience Karen will include a complimentary 30 Min mapping session to connect the Clarity Compass to a next step forward move. Value $297 if they use the Discovery call link with the word IMPERFECT!
📕 🎧 Things Worth Your Time
This is where we share the cool suggestions for books, podcasts, gadgets that make life better and other fun stuff that our guests share during their interviews.
Zina suggests the book: Women Who Run With The Wolves
Karen suggests: Laughing along with books by Janet Evanovich.
How You Can Support The Art of Imperfect Adulting
All the links to listen or watch the show can be found here: https://imperfect-adulting.captivate.fm/listen
You can support the show with a cash tip here: https://imperfect-adulting.captivate.fm/support
If you would like to be a guest or you know somebody who would make a great guest on the show, that starts here: https://www.imperfectadulting.com/be-a-guest
If you would like to advertise on the show and in the newsletter that information starts here: https://imperfectadulting.com/advertise-sponsor-partner/
We’ll be back in your inbox next week.