The Bossticks - American Icon Paula Abdul Does It Her Way & Wants You To Too

Episode Date: May 5, 2020

#265: On this episode we sit down with an icon! The one and only Paula Abdul. Paula is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. Many of you may remember her from her music, American Idol, or as the head Laker Girl for the LA Lakers! On today's episode we discuss overcoming the odds, how to be a trailblazer, & career longevity. To connect with Paula Abdul click HERE To connect with Lauryn Evarts click HERE To connect with Michael Bosstick click HERE Read More on The Skinny Confidential HERE For Detailed Show Notes visit TSCPODCAST.COM To Call the Him & Her Hotline call: 1-833-SKINNYS (754-6697) This episode is brought to you by Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning space offering more than 25,000 courses. Join the millions of students already learning on Skillshare today with a special offer just for our listeners: Get two months of Skillshare for free. That's right, Skillshare is offering The Skinny Confidential listeners two months of unlimited access to over 25,000 classes for free. To sign up, go to www.skillshare.com/TSC.  This episode is brought to you by FOUR SIGMATIC We have been drinking this company's mushroom-infused elixirs and coffees for over a year now. When we need a break from coffee but still need that extra morning jolt and focus the Mushroom Coffee with Lion's Mane and Chaga is the way to go. Lauryn also drinks the Mushroom Matcha which is a green tea designed as a coffee alternative for those of you who want to cut back on caffeine without losing focus and cognitive boosts. This stuff doesn't actually taste like mushrooms, it's delicious. All of these blends have a ton of nutrients and amino acids to give you balanced energy without the jitters. To try FOUR SIGMATIC products go to foursigmatic.com/skinny and use promo code SKINNY for 15% off all products. Produced by Dear Media

The following podcast is a dear media production. This episode is brought to by Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning space offering more than 20,000 courses. I'm currently using the platform to learn a bunch of different skills that we have talked about many times on this show. This is a tool for brands and individuals to acquire new skills or take novice skills to an expert level. Think of it as the Netflix for Learning Skills Online. So join the millions of students already learning on Skillshare today with a special offer just for our listeners. Get two months of Skillshare for free.

That's right, Skillshare is offering the skinny confidential him and her listeners two months of unlimited access to over 25,000 classes for free. To sign up, go to Skillshare.com slash TSC. Again, go to Skillshare.com slash TSC to start your two months now. That's skillshare.com slash TSC. She's a lifestyle blogger extraordinaire. Fantastic. And he's a serial entrepreneur. A very smart cookie.

And now Lauren Everts and Michael Bollinger. Hostic are bringing you alone for the ride. Get ready for some major realness. Welcome to the skinny confidential, him and her. It's like you get to go on that road, and then you get to keep looking back, and pretty soon you don't see where you started. But it's that journey. I hate saying the journey, but it truly is. I mean, you know, also you combine that with wisdom and experience.

I learned how to, you know, accept rejection. and the hard work of not giving up. Cinco day drinko. Quarantine day drinko. Let me tell you something. Every day has been drinko, drinko, drinko. That's all there is to do right now. You've developed a new habit that involves beer, which has been interesting.

Why? Have you been looking at my stomach? Well, it's just, I've never seen you drink so much beer. Yeah, listen. We're on quarantine. Guys, welcome back to the show. That clip was from our guest to the show. Icon.

We have an icon today on the show. Paula Abd, dual, one of the coolest people we've had on the show, if I do say so myself. We had a lot of fun with her. For those who that are new to the show, my name is Michael Bostic. I'm a serial entrepreneur and brand builder. Most recently, the CEO of the Dear Media Podcast Network. And across to me, my very excited wife about, I guess you're very excited about Cinco de Mayo. Lauren Evers, take it away. I am excited. I'm really excited. Why not? My dad is having a party at his restaurant in San Diego outside on the street. If you're there, go head over to Elsa tonight.

That sounds like something your dad would do. Brad, shout out. Have fun in the street, buddy. Be careful. Social distance. Paula Abdul, she's on the show. She's an American singer, songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress, television personality. And you might know her from American Idol. She's major. She is iconic, Michael Bostic. I know, she is an icon. Yeah. We got, we got icons on the show. That's what we have now. We have icons. What's your beer of choice? You know, it's a lot of people, listen, I'm not fancy. I'm not one of those guys. I like cheap beer. I like, you know, I don't like to make, I don't like to do any of those IPAs.

Those are way too much. I don't know these guys that drink the IP. I don't know how you can put those things down too much. I go right now, I'm really into Dosakis. I just, I go for the green bottle, the lager. That's it. Do you like it freezing cold with the lime or are you not busy about it? Yeah, I'm not too bougie about it.

You know, I just take them as they come. I like a lime. I do like a lime. I like them cold. I don't, nothing worse in warm pissed beer. That's, that's the worst. You know what I like a freezing cold peroni, like freezing. You, for a long time, you thought that I was super into Italian beers and God bless you. I mean, you just kept

like buying the Italian beer. But I really, like, all I wanted the whole time was a dosaic. I could do a Pacifico too. Didn't someone else do that to you like at their house, like every time you came over? Or that was Weston. That was Western. Let's not tell side stories about people that nobody on the show has relevance. Okay. But I mean, not that Western's not relevant. Weston, I mean, if you're listening, you know, you're relevant. But the audience is now. You don't like Italian. You don't like Italian beer. I like it, but I like, you know, Mexican beer. I like that. And also I could do a good, like Paps, in a while. I'm not one of those guys that sits back and like opens a case of beer and takes them all down. No, no, no, you like one cold beer. Unless I'm in quarantine, then I might take a case down.

Yeah. I'm not going to lie. Yeah, things are falling apart. I can feel my stomach literally hanging. I can feel it like going over every day. It's like, I'm like, where? I've never felt that there before. But it's there. Yeah. Yeah. Things are happening. My drink of choice in quarantine has been champagne, lapacine. My friend Ingrid introduced me to this. It's a, it's a huge wine glass, like a huge one, with tons of ice and you just pour champagne on top of the ice and it is fucking delicious. Well, aren't you fancy? I am fancy. Let's welcome Paula Abdul to the skinny confidential him and her show.

Like I said, she is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality. You know her from American Idol. She also started her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers, which is pretty fucking cool to see how far she's come. I could not be more excited to pick her brain on entrepreneurship, beauty, and of course, lots of of Idol talk. So with that, let's welcome Paula to the show. This is the skinny confidential, him and her.

Paula Abdul in the studio. Do you think I'd make it to the next round in American Idol? I don't think I would have made it. I don't think I got a voice for, I don't think I got that kind of voice. Give Ryan Seacrest a round for his money. That's the first time someone said that to me on the show. His hair line's pretty good. He got a haircut and everything for you yesterday. Listen, I heard you were coming in. I was like, I got to be presentable here, you know?

So just to hop right into it with you, I want to know a day in the life of Paula Abdul. And I know every day is different, but just give us like maybe like what you did yesterday. Oh, well, yesterday, I'm a completely transparent girl. I experienced a really sad loss this week. Monday I went to Kobe Bryant's Memorial. And that was beautiful and bitter. sweet. And while I was on my way there, I found out that one of my long-hair chihuahuas passed away. And that was hard. She's been a miracle. She had pancreatic cancer and was told she'd have six

weeks to live. And that was 16 years ago. She's 19 and she passed. So, I mean, we were, she was a miracle every day. But yesterday morning at 4 a.m., my little teacup yorky passed away. So two dogs in two days and Pobie's memorial. It's been one. one of those weeks where I try to put things in a proper perspective. And, you know, we look at a celebration. Even with Kobe and everyone, that memorial was a beautiful celebration in send-off for Kobe and Gigi. And everyone there spoke beautifully, gave beautiful eulogies. There wasn't a dry eye in the house.

Performances were beautiful. And, you know, and then I reflected on how beautiful it was. to be a mom, a mommy to my little dogs. You know, Tinkerbell was with me for 19 years, and then I just lost charity. She had a heart attack yesterday morning, and she was turning 13. That's devastating. You know, one of my worst fears, we have two chihuahuas, and you have Tinkerbell, ours is named Pixie, and she's almost 15, well, almost 15 years old. If something happens with that dog, I am going to be a mess. It's such an enormous, profound loss that you feel. And, you know, they say animals only hurt you when they leave.

It's, you know, they're your children. They're your extended family. And they're that unconditional love that no matter what, they cheer you up. And if people, you know, people that don't have chihuahuas or don't understand, it's a whole different thing. Because I've had big dogs my whole life and she got chihuahuas. It's a whole different thing. And I've never been more in love with a pet than this chihuahua.

Those two chihuahuas. Mine too. And I'm going to have to show you pictures of my dogs before we leave here. We have to share pictures. So, you know, that's, okay, so that is the extreme one end of my life is always trying to find the celebration and things that are very, very painful. And then on the busy days of my life, they're filled with always getting some kind of workout in during the day. It depends on my sleeping pattern because when I'm doing my residency in Las Vegas, I don't leave the state. It's a two-hour show. I get off the stage at 10 o'clock, do meet and greets. I don't get back to the hotel until 1230, and it takes me hours to decompress.

So I have to learn to adjust my sleep, but I try to get at least six hours of sleep a day. Is there any other wellness things you do when you're feeling sad, like you're feeling this week? Is there like a meditation or anything else? Yes, gratitude. You know, meditations on gratitude and counting your blessings and being grateful for the love that you have in your life and the love that you've been able to provide. Also, laughter. You know, when I'm sad, I immediately look for laughter, whether it's a comedy, you know, a rom-com, or just being around my family and friends that I love and laugh. And, you know, you have to be around people that make you feel like you're rising to the occasion and always like trying to be the

best version of yourself. And that's sometimes very difficult to do because things that, you know, the obstacles and the ups and downs that we go through in our life can tend to bring us down and to dwell on it. But that never gets you anywhere positive. So it's kind of like shifting the paradigm and deciding what am I going to do right now to take me out of that. And it's just a shift, a paradigm shift of saying I choose to do something right now that's going to make me feel better. You're so right. I mean, like the things that happen in our life, like that they have great impact. but I think what has lasting impact is when we sit and just dwell and dwell and dwell. And so many people, there's a lot of young people listening.

They can't get off a subject, right? There's something tragic happened. They just sit there and think and think and think. And it's like they're in their own head. And they're taking something that's terrible and making it much worse. And they're suffering much longer than they need to. And then you're absolutely right. And then what I find is that when something's uncomfortable or sad or painful or

or embarrassing, it's like we tend to try to run away from that feeling right away because it's so uncomfortable. But this is a profound statement. Like I always say if you're in pain, lean into the pain. Don't run from the pain. So if you're fearful, lean into the fear because if you learn to get comfortable in the uncomfortable, it goes by relatively quickly. But if you keep running away and thinking about running away, dwelling on rent,

you're never giving the chance to even see how quickly it can pass. So I would say learn to get comfortable in the uncomfortable in the uncomfort. because lean into it as opposed to run away from it. What are some big things and small things that you do to maintain your energy? I mean, I feel like you have so much energy and what you're doing. I mean, to be out until 12 o'clock doing meet and greets and then going home and why. I mean, that's a lot. It's a lot.

But, you know, when you love what you do, it's definitely work. But when you love what you do, you don't mind it because it's so gratifying. And it's humbling that you get to do what you love to do. And I'm grateful for that. You know, I don't take anything with my career for granted. I don't take the people I love for granted. And the things that I love, and I love performing. I love connecting with people.

I think, like, you know, I love performing, but what I really love and thrive on is connecting with people. That's, you know, performing is the icing on the cake. It's just what I need and what feeds my soul is being able to connect. We need to talk coffee for a second, okay? Specifically, ground mushroom coffee. This coffee has Lionsmane in it. If you are at home, which most of you are and you are trying to kick a caffeine habit, this is for you.

You guys know we have been a fan of Foursigmatic forever. And Michael is specifically a huge fan of their ground mushroom coffee with Lionsmane. I've been known to steal a cup or two in the mornings too. I feel like this really helps me not drink too much caffeine. and this one definitely doesn't give you those jitters that you feel after too many cups of coffee. So if you're sitting there and you're wondering, you know, hey, mushroom coffee, that sounds a little bit strange. Does it taste like mushrooms? No, it doesn't. It tastes just like coffee. And it contains Lionsman and many other functional mushrooms, including Chaga, which is the king of mushrooms,

help support your immune system, which we need more than ever right now. It has a ton of antioxidant properties. And it just plain tastes good. It's just good for you, you know? And the Lions main, you guys, we need to discuss this. This is my specific favorite functional mushroom. basically it's known as your brain's best friend. It supports focus, productivity and creativity, which is so vital right now. We need all the creativity we can get. For all you wellness lovers, it's organic, it's fair trade. It's vegan, keto, sugar-free, dairy-free. This product is like legit. It won't give you the jitters and it has so many superfoods in it. It's going to give you all the amazing benefits of coffee and you'll even get like a kick in the ass, but you also get superfoods

in it. So it's a real win. And of course, we have a special offer for all Skinny Confidential him and her podcast listeners, you receive 15% off your Four Sigma Order. Just go to foursigmatic.com slash skinny or intercode Skinny at checkout. That's F-O-U-R-S-I-G-A-M-T-I-C dot com slash skinny to receive 15% off your order. Guys, try the ground mushroom coffee. I am telling you it's legit. It'll give you a little zing. With that, let's get back to Paula. When you think about your career, because you've had a very long, successful prosperous career. There's a lot of young people starting out and they're starting things with social and all these different channels popping up. They're somewhat in the public eye. It's different

scales. But when you think about career longevity and it's something I'm interested now because I'm working with a lot of young people that are starting out, what do you think it takes to have the type longevity and success that you've had? Because you've been doing this a long time in the public eye with success. And that's something that I think people are having trouble contextualizing. If you're building a personal brand or something that's you, it's not just what has. happens this year and next year. It's like, how do you stretch that throughout your life? That's really an interesting question. And there's so many different answers to it. But I kind of feel lucky that I started building my career before the internet.

You had to work extremely hard. You didn't have the ability to be, had the exposure. So it was like pull your sleeves back and, you know, do the grind. It wasn't like one day you went viral. No, you don't. That doesn't happen. So it was, it was learning, the value of working hard and the reward how it pays off. And the stick-to-itness. Because with the Internet, what's been a blessing is that things can happen overnight because of going viral and exposure. But I think the good old-fashioned way of like building the foundation,

doing the work, seeing step-by-step little positive results, it's like you get to go on that road and then you get to keep looking back and pretty soon you don't see where you started. But it's that journey. I hate saying the journey, but it truly is. I mean, you know, also you combine that with wisdom and experience. I learned how to, you know, accept rejection and the hard work of not giving up because my odds were in my favor if I kept suiting up and showing up. And, you know, there was no other way to try to figure that out. You had to do the step by step.

I didn't climb any conventional ladder to success. I kind of broke my own mold and created my own path because I never was the obvious choice. Like, I knew that as a child. You know, I was born three months premature. I weighed 2.8 pounds. Wow. I had complete turned in hips, hip dysplasia. You know, for a dancer, you have to have turned out.

So everything was a fight and a struggle. I had a broken windpipe and collapsed lungs. So for the first two and a half years in my life, I mainly spent it, passed out, fainted. Because any time I'd wake up and I'd go to cry, I'd inhale, and I'd pass out. So it's like the fact that I was tenacious and wouldn't take no for an answer. And my dad taught me this as I was a little girl. He'd say, get over here. God damn it.

You're an aptile. God damn it. Like I knew, God damn it was good. He said, you can do whatever you want to do. And remember, when people say no. It's just the beginning of a negotiation. Smart. That's what I would like your dad.

Oh, my dad was like, he was great. And my mom provided the beautiful tough love because she worked in the industry for, you know, film presidents, you know, the studio presidents. So she saw so many young girls trying to make it. And she'd say, no, you're going to go law school or going to go medical school. And, you know, for me, when I was four years old,

I saw singing in the rain. I was sitting down with my family watching the MGM musical. I discovered Gene Kelly. And at four years old, apparently I stood up, walked to the TV, said, this is my dad. My dad said, no, I'm your father. He could be your TV dad. I kissed the TV screen and said, I'm going to be that. And I knew that was my calling at a very, very young age.

So I learned to like, you know, with things that were the obstacles I had growing up and not having breath control and not having the ability of a body. that worked in sync as to become a dancer. I was a fighter. You know, I did it with just working hard and believing in myself when no one else did. And then I know who would have ever thought that becoming a Laker Girl would be my foray into the entertainment business. It's pretty wild. And what was the prep before becoming a Laker Girl?

Were you taking dance lessons every single day? Like what went into becoming a Laker Girl? Because I know that's wild. Well, what's wild about it is I certainly did not. fit the mold of the cheerleader. Like, I don't have legs for days. I wasn't built. And I didn't, you know, cheerleaders were like mostly tall, five foot seven above or teeny and skinny and

skinny and because they were the flyers. For me, it was, I love dancing. So in school and grade, in junior high and high school, other than partaking in the winter, you know, musicals and the spring musicals, I needed an outlet to. to dance. And I was started taking dance lessons when I was eight years old. And that's really late and old in today's age. Like when I would be on, so you think you can dance, judging. How old are they starting? I mean, they're not the kids now. You have to be, I think, 16 to enter, but there would be all these little kids that would come

and we'd let them get on stage and audition. And one little girl goes, I'm five. And I go, when did you start dancing? When I was two, I go, why did you wait so long? Like, who, like, people, they're taking dance classes at two. It's, it's crazy that dancers today are little machines. They're like transformers. You know, when I started eight, that was later, and I just fell in love with it. I fell in love with it, and I loved doing the musicals at school. And the funny thing is, is with me fainting, like, I would run in gym, and I'd faint. I decided that I'm going to become a flautist in the orchestra, which is all breath control. And it would be up, there she goes,

see how long it takes before she comes to again. How long do that last for? Until you stop past, or does it? It's just, you outgrow it. And it's always been like, I had to really concentrate on building up cardiovascular strength. And getting back into like, what is it like for me? If I'm preparing for a show,

I do the muscle conditioning and the stretching and Pilates, and I do free weights. but I really have to pay attention to get my cardio in because my show's two hours long and it falls to the wall dancing and I'm on stage like pretty much an hour and 50 minutes of those two hours. Holy crap. And when you were performing for the Lakers, how long are you like having to perform? So when I started performing for the Laker Girls, the cool thing was, let me tell you how I became a Laker Girl.

I used to teach dance in cheerleading camps right out of high school, my first year of college. And a few of my friends who were the tall, beautiful, long legs, blonde hair, blue guys, dancers and cheerleers came up to me and they looked down at me and said, Hey, Paulette, you want to come with us to try out to be a Laker girl? And I looked up with them and said, no, I don't fit the mold. They said, oh, come on, come on, come on. I figured what the hell do I have to lose. So I brought a dance bag out, and I thought everyone else did.

But I knew probably I was going to get cut. But I brought different changes of clothing. So five of us were there. Three of us got cut, me included, before we even got to dance, just based on typing, you know. They just looked at you and said that that's wrong. And I used to stand, like pose on my toes, like my skin make me taller. But literally I got cut. I went into the bathroom.

I pulled out another leotard and tights. I now put my hair in a ponytail and entered as my head. middle name Julie and spelled my last name, AB-B-A-L-A-L-A-L. And then I got cut again, so did the other two girls. So all five of us were cut. And as we were leaving, I said, but can you guys stay one more round? I still have one more outfit. And they were like, no, screw you.

And they said, take the bus home. And I literally stayed. I had one more outfit. I pulled out the old Jane Fonda, red and white Chevron striped, leotard with the blue leg warmer and blue headband and leg warmers. and I put my hair half up, half down, and I entered P.J., Paula Julie, and I spelled my last name, Apple. And that third time, I got it. So, wow.

And that, by having balls to do that, and actually having that reckless abandon and knowing, like, there are no rules, you know. That's the key. That's the key. If it's not written in the rules, it's not a rule. That's, like, that's another thing my dad taught me. So, yeah, I've just always had that ability to kind of just say, how can I come in from the raptors or coming from underneath the cement? And like, just figuring out my own way. It's just not accepting a traditional door. You're just doing your...

Because not all of us are traditional. And, you know, I didn't fit, you know, I was square peg trying to be fit into a round hole and it didn't work. Story of our lives. It's a story of our lives. Out of all the celebrities you've worked with and all the successful people you've been surrounded by and you're so successful, what's the commonality? everyone. Was there one trait that you see across the board that you feel like you also have that is like... We all feel like we're fraud. I mean, I was a Laker girl. And I was discovered as a choreographer when the Jackson brothers were season ticket holders and they were looking for a choreographer. They didn't know that... That's how the relationship started by... But, wow.

And they didn't know that I was also a Laker girl. So when I met them, I mean, I was 17 and a half turning 18. I lied about my age because he had me 18. And, you know, that was my first big break. You know, that was crazy. And from that point on, you know, then I got to meet Janet and work with Janet. And then that changed the trajectory of now all of a sudden I have a big career. And I got to work with some of the most prolific amazing talents. I mean, you work with everyone. I'm trying to read your resume here. It's like, it's endless. Very grateful, knock on wood. When the Jackson, family wanted to work with you, what does that feel like? The line I was saying, I'm a fraud. What am I getting? You know, that's like, that was the one thing I remember getting into my

white Cherokee Jeep in the forum parking lot in Inglewood where the Lakers played. And I remember rolling up the window and just crying in the parking lot, going, oh my God, what, what am I going to do? I'm a fraud. I don't know what I'm doing. Because you feel like you couldn't deliver what they were? Like, why me? It's like, it's, there's that, that weird thing, like, why me? And then you have to shift it to, well, why not? You have to believe that you can and then eventually you really can. So it's like you figure it out.

And I feel like that, you know, there's a lot of successful people that have like what we call imposter syndrome. But that's what gives you the kick in the ass and the motivation to just get better and keep working harder. You know, like, I feel like if I didn't have humility, I don't know if I'd be successful. I think that we're always here to be a student. And then we end up being teachers. And then we're students again. And it's the gift that keeps on giving.

Has there ever been a time in your career where you're just like, I got it? I feel, and you just like not felt that way. You just feel like, I'm good. I don't need to learn anymore. There's a fine line. There's a beautiful feeling of knowing that I've got this. And I've done the work. I've put in the work where I have practiced, been a student,

student and I feel good about my preparation. Gene Kelly, when I finally got to meet him, which I'll explain later, goes, you know what, here's the recipe. It's very simple. Fail to prepare? Prepare to fail. That's what he said to me. And it's really true. You know, you become great at what we do by doing the work. So it's so much so that every day you guys can deliver a different interview. If you keep going by the books or a formula, it becomes not as fun, little stale, and you don't get to have the great feeling of like, what's today going to be like? So I think that if you prepare enough, and I know this with performers, with Michael Jackson, working with him in particular, he was so masterful at commitment. And like commitment I've never seen amongst any other

entertainer. But his best, you know, kryptonite was being able to rehearse over and over and over again. Even when he said, no, no, that was bad. I'm going, anyone would wish to have what you say is bad. But it was the methodical over repetition over and over to the point where his performance was so inside and so unbelievably, like knowledgeable and he got it so so so that he, he was. He got it, so he could be free and have a different performance every night because no matter what happens, he could always fall back to what he kept learning through repetition. And I think that that goes for everyone. You know, when you want to be really great at what you do, it takes a lot of work. Hold up. I want to take a quick break to talk about how you have some extra time on your hands

in quarantine. Don't we all? Don't we all? And guess what? More time means more time to learn. And that is why we are absolutely obsessed with Skillshare. This has been a partner of the skinny confidential him and her for a while now. And there is a reason. Our whole platform is about bettering yourself, being the best version of yourself, and just making those little habits that make a big difference in the overall success. So for those of you that are not familiar with Skillshare, it is an online learning community with thousands of inspiring classes for creative and curious people,

all in one place taught by people like you and me. They have classes from productivity, lifestyle, freelance, entrepreneurship, creative writing, film and video, graphic design, photography, web development, marketing, pretty much everything. So if you're sitting at home right now and you've got some extra time and you're wondering, there is one class that I definitely want to recommend that a few readers and listeners have messaged me about. It's called Productivity Masterclass. And it's by Thomas Frank. This is one of my favorite places for people to jump into Skillshare because it's something that you can, that all of us, anybody that's trying to be productive, which we all are, can immediately

jump into with tangible actual things that you can apply immediately. So whether that's managing your tasks, setting up your calendar, learning how to take notes, learning how to organize your digital files, getting better at email. This class is really an amazing place to start in Skillshare. And if you're out there and you didn't like the job that you had before quarantine, this is such a great time to go on there and check out their entrepreneurship classes. They have creative writing. They have graphic design. They have marketing. And they even have how to edit your Instagram story video. There's so many skills. Yeah, and we've been talking about this platform for a long time. They've been a partner for years now. And, you know, what better way to use it than for free? That's because we have a special offer just for our listeners. Explore your creativity and get two free months of premium membership at Skillshare.com slash TSC. That's two whole months of unlimited access to thousands of classes for free. Get starting to join today by heading to Skillshare.com slash TSC. Guys, we might be hunkered down for a while. So take these next few months and learn some new skills. Let's get back to Paula.

Let me ask you this. When there is someone like Michael Jackson or these celebrities that you work with that puts so much into their craft, do you think they have to sacrifice in other areas? Because I just told you I just became a mom. So I'm feeling like, can you have it all? Or do you have to really sacrifice? I think everything comes with sacrifice. Everything that you want to achieve, there is a balance of sacrificing.

If I were to be able to talk to my younger self, I would have said, stop being afraid to say no. Because this business makes you fearful at that. Like if I don't say yes, I may not ever work again. Somebody else is going to come. Someone else is going to come along. They'll undercut me.

They'll charge less. They're more talented. Now's my chance. And the thing is, is that if you say no, if it's not something that inside of you that it's not about the money, it's about you cannot, you cannot not do this job

because you would feel like this. is something you so want to do. But when you do things for money, that sometimes works out great. But if you only do it for money, oftentimes it's a letdown. So I always say, you know, do what you're most passionate about. Don't be afraid to say no, because if you're doing the work and you believe in yourself, if you're leaving yourself open to saying yes to something else that you may not have been able to choose. And I say that even with like vacations and family time, you know, things that I sacrificed by working so much that I wish that I would have been more diligent and really understanding not to be fearful of I may not work again, but to be really

mindful of the choices that I make. And the sacrifice is always this. The more success that you have, the more you're going to have more opportunities and more choices. And balance is so important. But we don't really grasp that when we're young. it comes later through wisdom and experience. But when you are married or you have a significant other, and then children play a part, it's like a chess game that you have to kind of like choreograph and figure out, okay, if I do this, what am I going to have to let go of?

I think people get in trouble with that concept because they think, you know, they hear this word balance. And so they think, oh, I just got to be balanced, but they don't realize, you know, anything. If you want to spend more time with your children, that comes with a sacrifice of maybe your career, right? If you want to do, if you want to go deep, deep into your career, that means less time your children.

And I think as long as you're aware of what those costs are. And also, at times I'm not good at that. So I have found that sometimes I need to bring someone into my life that is masterful at that. So there are these life and strategy coaches that really help you. Because when you're going 90 to 100 miles per hour in your career and life, it's sometimes hard to just stop and compartmentalize things. So I brought people in who can help me choreograph my life a little better. And that's been very valuable.

I think it's also when you're so in it and you're going that fast and there's so much going on. Sometimes people have a hard time stopping and asking themselves like, hey, is this actually really making me happy? Because what happens is in society, say you're having success. You're getting rewarded and you're making money and your career's growing, but you're miserable. And you don't, and everybody's being like, wow, you're crushing it. She's doing so great. This is just going so well. But you haven't stopped it.

Like, is this actually what I really want? I think a lot of young people, like people in general, have a hard time stopping and asking himself that question. Because we're driven, because we get excited and success is seductive, and you want to, once you experience that, you want to experience more. It's finding people in your life that help keep you grounded and help you stop and smell the roses. Because, again, when you're in it and you're going fast, you don't take that time usually

to see what you've accomplished and where you've done. began and where you are right now and what's coming next. It's not the easiest thing to do. Millennials, what advice would you give to them? If you could give one piece of advice with social media, millennials that are hustling, they're entrepreneurial, what's your one piece, your one gem? Okay. We're all, we all have feelings. We're all reactive human beings. For as many people that love you, there are equal amount of people that despise you. You can't please everyone. That's why you have to not take things so personally.

And, you know, I would say this. If you're being critiqued and it's hurtful as you're reading it, put it away for a minute. Do something like, make breakfast, make a meal, do something completely different. Then when you have calmed down a little bit, go back and read it again. and then you can compartmentalize. If someone's attacking my physical looks or just something that's really none of my business, let it go. Yeah, it hurts, but no one's immune to that.

But pay attention to the things that are irking you that there's a little bit of truth to it because you always can learn and work on those aspects. Because you know inside, they're actually a little bit right here. I'm going to work on that. The other stuff that they're saying, that's their opinion and there's nothing you can do about it. Pay attention to things that can help build you and become better as a human being and your profession. What is your morning routine if you have one? Well, I am far from being like this meticulous, like regimented girl.

When I kick into gear, I kick into gear. But, you know, I also do this thing that's not so great. Sometimes I go from zero to 100. it. Like if I come off of touring or performing, I want to do anything but work my body. I need my body to recover and rest. Sometimes I take a little bit too much time off and I feel it the next time I'm starting to gear up again. So I try not to do that as much anymore and I'm getting much better at it because like everything, it's, you can't have all or nothing and nothing's black or white. It's like learning to live in the gray area, and there's so many different shades of gray that you don't have to be black or white.

And it's just finding something that works for you to try to stay in a healthy lifestyle because that provides a healthy mindset. When I don't take care of my body or if I don't work out, I don't feel good about myself. I don't feel motivated. I feel slovenly. I feel like, what am I doing? I'm like wasting day away. So I give myself time to have my body recover. I catch up on binge watching TV shows that I love. What's your favorite? Okay, I'm a Bravo freak. So my. Thank God, because people think I'm a freak that I love Bravo so much, but I really do. Like, my favorite thing is going to Andy Cohen's show. Like, I feel like I'm in heaven.

in there. But I just, that's the, that's the stuff I love to do when I don't want to think about anything. And then there's such good television right now. There's so many options now. It's hard for me to keep up, you know. There are so many good shows. What's your, okay, so top three shows right now. Oh my goodness. Not like reality. Let's just say like if you're like scripted shows. Okay. I love Schitt's Creek.

See, we started getting into that and then we, like, we only saw the first four episodes. I think we would like, which it's hard to get her to sit down and, so I might have to do it on my own. You have to. It's so funny. It is so. funny and I'm so bummed. It's the last season, but I'm so happy I got to experience it. And I've met the cast and they've interviewed me for this last season that they're having. I just, I get such a kick out of that show. The dad and mom, I don't know their name. I know Eugene Levy and Catherine. They're so funny. They're brilliant. Yeah. I want to know about American Idol. I'm sure you could ask this all the time. Is it something that you look back and you're like so happy you did it

Did you love the gig? Oh, I'm extremely grateful and feel blessed that I got to be a part of something that nobody believed in that changed the trajectory of everyone's lives, including mine. You know, it changed the history of television. Look how many franchises that, I mean, I would say American Idol kicked off multiple franchises. Some associated as not, but like that show kicked. I mean, there's so many shows that have that type of format now that basically you guys play in here. And thank God, because there's no shortage of raw, untapped talent out there.

It's great that these shows. exist and that there's all these formats for people that otherwise would never figure out how can they get on TV. You know, these shows, you go out and you find the talent and it's pretty cool. Don't you ever think, wow, I've launched all these amazing careers. Like, there's so many careers that have been launched off this show that wouldn't have been launched. I'm like a proud mama. Yeah. Like, I'm a mama bear and proud. I feel like, you know, I had the best ticket in the entertainment industry. Every single live show, people were scalp, trying to scalp. tickets to get in. It was such an amazing experience. And to be sitting there, you know,

front and center to witness on aspiring talent, it's incredible. And to see this success, you know, individually we were a part of making these, these unbelievably talented young kids go on to have blockbuster careers. And the casting of the judges, the energy was so right. Like, it was the perfect task. It was, like, it wasn't. It wasn't. It was luck. Everything just kind of met in the middle of this amazing electricity and energy. And it's not, it was real. I mean, you could see Simon and I despising each other and then hysterically laughing

and understanding how we worked together. And Randy, you know, the three of us were like, it was just like the perfect combo. And there was nothing scripted to worry about. As a matter of fact, the things that were scripted, usually were jokes that they were playing on me. I was the recipient of all of that. Stuff that finally through the seasons, the audience started catching on, oh, they're making her look like pin the tail on the donkey.

And I'm the donkey with the big ass, you know? That's what would happen. I would be like hearing like really crazy stories. And I'd be like, who are you talking about? Me? And the missiles are flying. I go, that's not true. Boom, boom.

And like, it's like I don't have any brothers. So I learned what it was like to spend for myself. That show is gold. All the shows, though, that you've been on have been gold. Like, I just feel like American Idol, like to look back and really just, I mean, see people like Kelly Clarkson. Is there one person that you look at and you're like, wow, they've had like a really strategic career? Well, I think that we help discover them and give them that platform. It's what happens after they've achieved that success.

Surround yourself with good people, that good people, not just. your friends or family, good business people that are going to help guide you and that respect your opinion and that you respect theirs. It's hard because sometimes you got to get rid of friends and family when it comes to your business life. It's knowing that if they're not right to be involved in your life that way professionally to know then it doesn't feel right, I must make a shift and change. And that's hard. But it's important. I mean, the craziest part of American Idol was the fact that they were living in a bubble. They, you know, everything was taken away from them.

You know, social media was just really starting. Message boards were happening. And they learned that they'd have to stay off of that. And the success was happening. You know, what I loved is that if you were in the top 10, each one of you had millions and millions of solid fans. It's what do you do with that when the show's over? So you didn't necessarily need to win.

Like you already had a large numbers. Jennifer Hudson. Jennifer Hudson, Chris Dostry, Adam Lambert. It's so relevant, though, to even now, because some people, like you said, go viral, and then they don't have the tools to maintain and grow and be strategic. It's kind of the same in a way. It's like you have to really surround yourself with the right people, have the hustle, have the talent. It's like a, it's a recipe.

It's something that, you know, sitting in this seat and running this thing. We have a lot of shows here. And it's a conversation I'm almost having it's like, you know, as a network, I'm not so excited about doing something for three or four months. I'm more excited about like what does a career look like for five, 10, 20, 30 years down the line. Because if not, it's like, what are we all building here? Like, it's not about a flash in the pan quick hit. It's like what is the next project that I'm going to be going into or developing while I'm doing this.

So that I can be at my best and have a natural flow right into the next thing that you're doing. I don't like a transactional mindset. It's like, hey, this is going to last for three. because it takes so much work and so much effort, and then people are unhappy after on both sides. And it's like, for me, it's what are we building? What's the brand? What's the longevity?

And again, it's the stick-to-itness and believing in yourself and not waiting for other people to make it happen for you. That is so true. With your Vegas residency, what are some beauty tips that you're doing? Is there like a facial that you love? What eyelash are you wearing? I want to know all the specifics. I am a stickler with skin regimen.

That's the one thing, like I don't do. zero to 100. When I always, you know, I take my makeup off and really cleanse my face. I start in the morning with a great regimen. And I don't have one particular product that I stick to because my skin gets used to it and adapts to it and then it loses its potency, like just like we need shifts, you know. And so I have really good skincare products. When I was gearing up for my residency, you know, I was at that point where I was interested in like what are like the new aesthetic treatments, laser treatments. And like trying to navigate what's out there, it's like Disneyland. And like when you're stepping into the park, where am I starting?

What ride am I going to go on first? When you start looking into all the treatments and new developing, you know, medical companies that are creating these, these, you know, products and procedures, I was, I did my research and, you know, we found each other at this company, in mode, which I think is the game changer in, you know, innovative technology. They're doing so much great work and new developing radio frequency laser treatments. And I saw the results from the before and afters, and it was subtle, but very clear, very clear. and I wanted to tighten up my jawline. I'm not ready for a facelift.

I don't want to do that, and I want any option I can have but that. So I think that the option of working with in-mode and their technology was what worked for me. And I researched, okay, I have no downtime. So, you know, I need minimal to no downtime. And I literally, I did this machine that they have called FaceTime because I was,

wanted have a sleeker profile jawline. And I was in and out, no scarring, no invasive. It's, it's so minimal. And I was out the next day. Can men get it done? Absolutely. Why do you, why are you ? No, no, not for you. I have a friend that keeps talking to me about his. Of course she's not talking about you. You might be. You never know. Your jawline's looking good. She, she manipulates me into all sorts of different things. So I have to. No, I have a friend that would, that's a guy that it always talks about his jawline and he's 33 years old. So I feel like he needs to try this. It's perfect. for men, for women, and it's subtle, but it makes a difference. I love the results. And then they have this machine called body type. And for me, I work out a lot. I'm a dancer, but I don't like my

triceps. They're not developed enough, and I wanted more tone. So I tried the body type on my arms. I'm like, you can feel the guns here. You can feel the definition. Bam. So it tightens everything. Yeah. I just did it on my arms, and then I did the face tight on my jaw. And I became the ambassador of the company because the results were wonderful. And I can't recommend it more to all my friends. See, here in Hollywood, a lot of famous people don't want to share any information. It's like almost a stigma. But thank God for the Kardashians who've moved the needle.

And you can watch the laser treatments that they're having. And it helps educate. That's the big thing. It's like educating, just understanding what's out there. We've had a lot of different doctors on this show to talk about these subjects. Yes, and God bless them for doing that because, you know, you don't have to go under the knife to get really good results. And I just, I love this company. I love the secrets.

Tell us all the secrets. Well, that's a big secret because that to me was a major. And who doesn't want a tighter jawline? Exactly. Exactly. Who wants gobble, gobble up? No, not. But they also have great maintenance technology, too.

So there's tons of stuff that are out there, but they have great. When you get the face type, they have this machine called Evoke, which looks like you're wearing heads. That's like you're a DJ. And it just has radio frequency and it's painless. There's no downtime. You leave the office and go about your day and work. That's maintenance. And then for your body, it's called Evolve.

And they do, like you've seen companies that do, like, where you feel like you've done a 2,000 sit-ups and they, Their technology is like more cutting edge than what's out there. So that's a secret there. That's a tip. That is a good secret. My plan is that I hang on to life long enough that when this technology all comes, like I can, maybe I'll get a robot arm and leg and I'll just wait to, you know. I'm with you.

It's like my joints like the Warenterre is a dancer, like I want a bionic leg knee. I think it's going. We got a little bit more time. I heard they're making bionic eyes. So if your sights going, you can put a, you know, it's going. What is a drugstore beauty product that's super. cheap that you've used forever? My cleanser is setafel.

And I've used it for decades. Like in the drugstore, the company Bond Seven. Bond Seven. Yeah. London-based company, I believe, great results. I even use products like Avon that has some really good stuff. So you don't have to always spend a fortune, you know. There are great products out there.

Especially with Instagram and you see all these different products that are out there. and they're not expensive. You can try them out. You can get, like, sample size, and it's like navigating your own way. Can you give us a healthy food tip? Like, is there something that you eat all the time that you think it's just really good for you? I listen to what my body wants and needs because pretty much I've always been that way. I've been very in tune as a dancer, like, connecting with my body.

I do everything in moderation. I don't follow a diet. I don't believe in following a diet. I just believe in creating a healthy lifestyle. So there's times where my body is just craving more plant-based food. And usually it's when I'm gearing up to perform because previous injuries, there's a lot of acid that builds up in your body. So you want to have kind of an alkaline type of meal plan to keep the inflammation down.

But, you know, there's times when I wake up in the morning, and I don't feel like eggs or oatmeal or avocado toast. Sometimes I feel like I want Brussels sprouts or I listen to whatever I want. I don't have a rule. And if I don't feel like eating breakfast in the morning, I will start eating at lunchtime. I don't follow a specific plan. Seems the theme of your life, no rules, break all the rules. If it's not written in rules, there is no rules.

You've done it all. You're doing it all still. What's next? It's obviously the vaguest residency, but outside, what else is going on? Developing some television projects. I'm in the new Impractical Jokers movie, which is hysterical. Tomorrow, it's opening up in more theaters. It's at the Grove.

It's at Hollywood Arclight. It's at Universal Studios. It's a funny, funny movie. Those guys are, if you've never watched Impractical Jokers... We're going to watch it. It's on True TV. Their TV show is hysterical. And this is their first.

first feature film. And Chris Hensky is with Funny or Die and married to Brookshields. He directed it. And these guys are, they're four lifelong friends since high school. And they just do everything and anything possible to embarrass one another. And it is laugh out loud funny. And the movie is hysterical. We leave every guest with this question. What is a book, a podcast, or a resource? It could be a television show that you could recommend to our audience that you think would bring them immense value. I go back and I read the four agreements. Ooh, that's a good one. I can, it's no matter when you pick it up, reading it again, it's like reading it again for the first time. I feel like that's a very valuable, valuable book. Podcasts, there are so many good ones

out there right now. I mean, I did, I listened to the Dear John, or what was that? Dirty John. Dirty John. Not Dear John. We had the woman who actually killed the guy in the studio. That's a wild, that's a whole wild story. Yeah, there's so many good ones. I'm just getting into podcasts more because being stuck in traffic, I don't, you know, listening to music can get a little, I just find it fascinating. And it eats up the time, you're not realizing you're stuck in traffic. Well, listen, if you ever need a side hustle, because there's a lot of podcasts here, what I can do is I, you know, I'm going to say, listen, I'm going to listen to the pitches on my side and then I'm going to have you judge one to 10 if they get signed in the network, right? I'm really good at that. I know you are.

I'm really good at that. I believe it. Podcast Idol. Yeah. That's the best one. Do you know that I used to predict and like people wouldn't believe me, but I used to predict who was going to be in the top two, who would win, who would be in the top 10. I would self-address, get the envelope notarized, and then I'd read it on entertainment

tonight. I was right every season except for Chris Daughtry. See? So you have a knack for spotting talent. That's the talent. That's the new bar. I love it. Say, if Paula Abdul says that you can make the past, then I'll sign them.

That's the bar. I love that. Thank you. Where can everyone find you, pimp yourself out, your Instagram, give us a website, at Paula Abdul. Yep, and paulabdl.com. Okay. And do you want my social security number? Where can we go see?

How do we see your Vegas residency? Well, I'm going to be back in summer, but I, because I have not solidified completely, the deal. I can't name the hotel. Okay. Coming soon. Yes. We'll keep everyone updated. We'll follow. Paula, it was such a joy to have you in the studio.

Thank you so much for coming on. I had a wonderful time. You guys are amazing. Now I need to tighten my neck. No, you don't. Hope you guys love that episode with Paula. Just to let you know, we are getting ready to prep the nurses' boxes. So the Skinny Confidential team is doing boxes for nurses.

If you're a nurse or you know a nurse, tag yourself or them on my latest Instagram at the Skinny Confidential. The team is picking a bunch of nurses in the Skinny Confidential community to send skincare and beauty goodies to. Not a giveaway. We just want to send out a bunch of boxes. As always, thank you for listening. Make sure you've rated and reviewed the podcast on iTunes. And we will see you on Thursday for a mini little episode. This episode is brought to by Skillshare. Skillshare is an online learning space offering more than 20,000 courses. I'm currently using the platform to learn a bunch of different skills that we have talked to. about many times on this show.

This is a tool for brands and individuals to acquire new skills or take novice skills to an expert level. Think of it as the Netflix for Learning Skills Online. So join the millions of students already learning on Skillshare today with a special offer just for our listeners. Get two months of Skillshare for free. That's right, Skillshare is offering the skinny confidential him and her listeners two months of unlimited access

to over 25,000 classes for free. To sign up, go to Skillshare.com slash TSC. Again, go to Skillshare.com slash TSC to start your two months now. That's skillshare.com slash TSC.C. This episode is brought to you by Forsygmatic, one of our favorite companies, one of our favorite sponsors. Four Sigmaics specialize in superfoods, medicinal mushrooms, and adaptogenic herbs, and they make drinking mushrooms and superfoods delicious and easy to do with their mushroom coffees, mushroom coffees, mushroom superfood blends, and mushroom elixirs.

If you are looking for a coffee alternative to switch up your caffeine intake, Four Sigma has the blends for you. They're all delicious. just open a pack and add to hot water. They don't taste like mushrooms. And like always, we have a special offer just for him and her listeners. Go to 4Sigmatic.com forward slash skinny and enter promo code Skinny at checkout for 15% off your entire order.