0:38

Hi friends. I'm so excited to bring this conversation to you here on picture love podcast. My friends, Holli and Robert are just amazing humans. And you will find out soon enough, if you don't already know that, uh, their podcast is called between over and next. And they're not only Experienced pioneer podcasters, but this new show and all of their new offerings are aimed at really helping people make the most of what comes between over and next. So it's a, a well intentioned theme about being present and making the most of our days right now as we're living them. They offer expertise, wisdom from many experiences in their decades combined, also from the many hats that they've worn in their various industries. And you'll get to hear more about that in detail. I hope that this just fills you up today and helps you picture love right where you are.

Kris LeDonne 1:43

Holli and Robert, I am so excited to welcome you to Picture Love. Thank you for being my first ever couple so good to see you. We're honored. We're honored to be with you. so much. My audience knows that I curate collections of conversations with people who are all rooted in love. And that's just the air you breathe. And one of the things that I'm most excited about is diving into the conversation about what you're creating, but also where it came from. So would you just give a nutshell of your background, your relationship as a married couple and partners in crimes, so to speak. Well, you know, it was, it was kind of, serendipitous if I, you know, I, I dare to use that term and it'll come up a lot. But, you know, Holli and I became more than just a married couple almost immediately upon returning from our honeymoon when Holli's. Current career at that time was we were notified it was ending, right? That was over and she was about to embark on what was next for her. And she became the missing half of my business. As a videographer at the time. I just got chills. Yeah. And she just stepped right into the role of not only my now realize my life partner, um, but my business partner as well. And, um, you know, we possess really great qualities. Many of which don't overlap, which as a business partner, you know, works really, really well, um, in that we have our strengths and we cover each other's weaknesses. So it's, it worked out really well. We are, we, we compliment each other and we are each other's yin and yang. We are, all about love, which is what your podcast is about. And it really gives us joy to experience life together, personally and professionally. We learn from and with each other every single day. See, that to me, that is one of the secrets to life is just approaching it with a desire to explore and, and not just reflect back, but to just really be present and see what can you gain from what you just happened and what's next. And that's, to me, a student's heart, a learning heart. And, you know, when we give ourselves permission to try something new, others might think we're crazy for trying something completely unrelated, but it's just that next logical step of where we are in life, uh, and the skills that we have to show up with them. I love that. I didn't realize it was that soon after your wedding that you had actually started to become business partners. That is so exciting. And I'll be honest, we have seen couples that just can't work together or say they can't work together. So that is truly something special. You know, it's, it's interesting because that's a comment. We get quite often when we tell people that we're not only married for, uh, going on 32 years, but we work together. You know, in this, you know, we work from home. This is our home studio. We have offices here. So we're with each other a lot. And without a doubt, the reaction we get most often is, you know, I can never do that. How do you do that? How do you not kill one another? Um, You know, and it's kind of, it's kind of funny, we always chuckle about it, because, you know, to say it's not a challenge, we'd be lying, um, but it's a challenge that is so worth, um, conquering, that, you know, I couldn't envision it any other way, and I don't think Holli could either. Nor do I want it any other way, but we've reinvented ourselves. Over and over and over again to what works in the now, right? Focusing on what matters most now. So we started off, um, in the world of video documenting events. And that is Robert's that I was marketing his business. Yeah. In the world of video. Right. I was doing mostly, you know, wedding, videography, love, love, love, and in the early 90s, uh, we got married in 92. In the early 90s, you know, I was deep into videography, but it, it wasn't a thing. I mean, it was a thing, but it wasn't a thing. But I got it on the list. Yeah. You know, I helped get it on the list. It was always get your photographs, which are important. They're two different mediums. That's all. But in the world of video documenting the moments of people's lives personally and professionally, we then being in the world of weddings, I'm just going to fast forward a little bit because it's so related to everything you're doing, Kris, and we're doing,, we are pioneer podcasters. Yes, you are. That is so true. And, and I want to go there because you were podcasters before I had any clue what that meant. Nor anybody. Nor anyone. Yeah. We, you know, it's, listen, we have no regrets in, in anything that we do or have done because it's all helped us be where we are today. But, you know, we have a tendency to step into technology, innovation way before other people do. And back in 2005, when we launched Wedding Podcast Network, which was a series of programs all related to wedding planning. We had 11 shows that grew to 14 or 15 shows on the network. Um, and it was great from the listeners perspective. Those who would discover us would be avid listeners and well beyond even the, uh, the wedding day. And, and we were servicing not only brides and grooms to be, but the wedding professionals as well. So it was very interesting, but the biggest challenge. Was having people understand what a podcast was and how powerful a medium it, it is, and it's proven to be now. And we stopped producing content back in 2012 for Wedding Podcast Network. But when we approached the content of the podcast, It was always from an evergreen perspective because we knew coming from the wedding business as we read wedding magazines and saw the same articles being printed every two years or so. And it's like, well, that makes sense. You know, you get married, you move out, you're not move out of that, that market. And you're not reading the magazines so they can repurpose content. So we took the same approach with the podcasts back then. And never referred to a particular wedding occurring in a particular year. It was always a June wedding or an October wedding, because that doesn't matter. A June wedding in 2005 versus 2023, it's still a June wedding. Climate is, is basically the same, things like that. So, color palettes. So, we still, even though we haven't produced any new contents in 2012, we still get hundreds, sometimes thousands of downloads a month. Of people still consuming the content, um, so shame on those potential sponsors who looked away at a great opportunity to advertise because those, those sponsorship messages would still be being listened to by brides and grooms. My favorite part about Wedding Podcast Network is twofold. Also related to picture love. One, it's about the people. Everything is about the people we've met along the way and the impact on their lives, on their lives, and also the stories we're sharing. Every body has a life story and there it is worthy of sharing with others because you never know what others. are going to incorporate into their lives or inspire others to perhaps do. And whether that be with wedding planning, with creating a podcast, or creating a new business, or just doing something that you're so passionate about we love the people we've met, every business, That we've decided to be a part of, because it was not just us, it's all of us because this journey has been so cool from the video business to wedding podcast network. And then we did so many other cool things because we produced the first hybrid virtual event and we brought people together. Right, with the 21st century bride. Yeah, you know, we're using this technology now, Kris, right, to record with Zoom. You know, Zoom came into most people's lives during the pandemic. Yes, it became a priority then. Utilizing Zoom for years, many years, you know, before that, because we knew the power of, of video over the internet, you know, as a videographer back in the early 90s into 2000s, when video delivery became possible on the internet, we're always able to transmit still images, which was amazing for people, right? To be able to share pictures via email and now via instant message, you know, it's not always like that, right? Remember the days of taking your camera to the store and waiting, you know, three days to get to go back and pick them up and hopes that, you know, You know, you got some good ones. Yeah, my hope was that I wasn't blinking in all of them because of the, the flash or the red eye tool or something like that. And so I remember even ordering doubles without even knowing what I'm getting doubles of. And, uh, yeah, they, they definitely. I think we were more selective about the photos we took because of that. But, uh, just in comparison to right now, right? Cause it costs nothing to take a photo. And the way most people take photos today. I mean, I like to get one good one, you know, and I look at it and if the eyes are closed, let's take another, but really most of the, what I'll say kids today, or maybe most adults too, they take like a hundred shots. You want to get the right one, but you know, You know, as we're, we're talking, that makes Kris's job very difficult with all that editing, not difficult for Kris, you know, it's, It's all about, um, it's all about legacy. It's all about leaving what, because all of these images, video, um, even messages, text messages will be here probably way beyond us, you know. And we think back and one of the promotions that we had done and thought it was really just so powerful and, and again, it was, it was falling on ears that the idea of having video was so, you know, foreign to them and at the bottom of their importance list, but it was the ad read, you know, imagine the chance to watch your grandparents wedding video. You know, and, you know, if you got that, you got it, right? You understood why that was important. Well, you know, we have done hundreds, if not thousands, of, of live video on social over these past, Eight years or so, you know, I think about that and you know, will our children watch that one day when we're not here, right in 25 years? I hope so. Um, I hope they do. And I hope even more so that our grandchildren and great grandchildren who, who may have never known us. Right, the power, because we always had that, you know, as we thumbed through the photo album, right, or put on the old home movies onto the screen. We always had, you know, grandma and grandpa there in the middle, narrating for us what we were seeing. Who is that woman? Oh, that's Aunt Mary. Who was it? Oh, that's Uncle Sam. You know, whoever it is, right, they were able to describe who it was that we were watching. Right. Well, if someone wasn't taking notes, the next time we watch that, we, you know, we may not know who those people are because the narrators may not be with us anymore. So, you know, we're fortunate now to have the technology, to have the ability to document. And I'm grateful because when I met you, Kris, Okay. Even though we were starting another business, when I joined a women's empowerment group that we were both part of, when I first met you, okay. I invested. In the services you offered, because that's how much my videos meant to me because they weren't on video. They were on VHS tapes. Yes. And I will tell you something from the proposal video, which yes, I did. Robert, I have a video of him proposing to me at Liberty State Park in New Jersey. Okay, to having even the foresight to do that. I have that video and that moment and it's so cool to look at the younger Holli. I. was taken back. My parents 25th wedding anniversary party, my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary party, the countless home movies that Robert has taken of our beautiful family, which means so much to us. So that those, those transfers, Yes. I mean, they are priceless. Seriously. No one's paying me to say this. This is the truth. And the truth of the matter is, and especially for someone like me, I, you know, I have that equipment around here somewhere that I could probably do it myself. Yes, I'm sure you could have. I'm sure you know what? It's the kind of thing that, you know, You know, it doesn't matter if I'm a video professional. I am like any other human that will probably just never get around to doing it. Yes. It's a matter of will you? It's better in the hands of someone who is doing that day in and day out that that's their gig and that's what they're doing because for us, it took all the pressure off of me, right? To have it done. But wait, let me just tell you, we just recently, this was so great, Kris. We were at. You know, a family gathering and my daughter, Lindsey said something like, I don't think they've ever seen this video. And when we were at, we were in the Catskill mountains at the Neverly hotel and Lindsey knows like every one of our home movies by heart, because Robert was always documenting them. And this was in the winter months. And. My whole, the whole family were with, with all of Robert's, his sister and family, and Robert's parents. And we don't know if they've ever even seen it. And Lindsey said, why don't we cast it? So here we are. We're watching it like our own real movie. Yes. And I was watching, literally, I was watching your father's face. The whole time, because our kids were so small and time is fleeting and it goes so fast. And this was all like the whole 10 minutes of this video was love. It was fun because they, you know, really got to see it because we were the document and still are the documentarians of the family, right? You always have that one or two people who it, it falls to like, my sister has three kids and probably has. You know, maybe one tape's worth of footage, you know, where I have a tape's worth for every month of their growing up, you know, kind of thing, you know. Yes. And their kids are all part, you know, my nieces and nephew are all part of that. So, it's because of what we have documented for our entire family that they now even have that footage, you know, to be able to, to watch and enjoy. So, it's just so important, you know, also to walk the walk and talk the talk. You know, I, you know, we flip flop between our personal and professional lives only because it's the, it's our DNA. Well, it's pieces of a whole it's pieces of a whole your work is an extension of who you are. Absolutely. We do. Okay. And our friends become our family, but, you know, through every, um, touch of what we've done, you know, we continue to meet people across the globe. That are just, they, they're fascinating and we love the power of story and the power of legacy. And that's what we're doing. We, that is what we're creating when we fast forward 32 years of togetherness. We have created eight unique brands, Kris, eight. So when you go to our website, Holliandroberts. com, you will see on the about page, the whole timeline, starting with, with what Robert said, absolute video, which we market it, which I came aboard to start to market all the way to HolliandRobert.com and Between Over Next, our podcast. And we know the time is now we're in a very exciting time in everybody's lives to really enjoy every age and stage and live a happy fulfilled life with love documenting it along the way and on our website to having those professional photos to having professional video clips we have it on a website because How can we tell others to have it if you don't have it yourself? This conversation has given me chills. I've lost count how many times and, and since you brought it up, your new podcast Between Over and Next. That title does so many things and it projects so much optimism and yet reverence and love for the past. But it also, the between is the number one word, the first word of that title, which I love, which is to me, it's casting a vision of just being present. And really when, when you hear that expression, all we have is right now, but we're standing on the legacies before as we're standing on the knowledge and the experiences and the stories and as storytellers, we love to cast the best of what we know to project a more enriched now future. And what's next. So talk to us about the vision that you're casting. Well, I, I think, one of the things that we pride ourselves on both personally and professionally is being open to be inspired by others. And we attract that and we happen to be watching a documentary, called, if You're Not In The Obit, eat breakfast, Um. And it's, uh, Carl Reiner and all of his friends who are all well into their 90s. Nonagenarians. Nonagenarians. And, one of his friends who was part of the documentary, who has since passed. Is Norman Lear, who we are a huge fan of his work, as a, producer, creator of countless, uh, television programs from All in the Family to Maud to, to Jefferson's Good Times, Jefferson's, um, One Day at a Time, and, and so he talked about The concept of between over a next in the documentary and about being present and in the moment, he said, not obsessing about the past nor obsessing about the future. But about living in the moment, right? And he described that if, you know, that link between what was and what will be that, that moment in between is kind of like, he pictures it as a hammock that lies between the two. So hang with us, Kris, and that was our inspiration because, you know, we were ready to receive that message from the universe we, we truly view it as, as, you know, we let the universe work. That's what we like to do. We, you know, we realize what we can control and we realize what we can't. And, and, you know, we're on that train ride that rollercoaster of life and we're just taking the ride and we're letting the universe Point us in the right direction and we watched that documentary for a reason And we got that message and it could have just passed us by Like any other line in a film, but it was serendipitous and synchronous Because we're in the right time at the right place with Holli, because Holli said rewind. We actually stopped and rewound and watched it a couple of times. Because we were in the process of that decision making of what to title our podcast and Robert was talking about things like meant to be and no coincidences, which is serendipity and synchronicity. But the between over next, we're also talking a lot about the power of the pivot. Because we need to be adaptable, to change, nothing is certain, COVID showed everybody that, nothing is for sure. So, we all need to be hyper aware of that. We need to be able to share those stories about people that do consider other ways of showing up, personally and professionally. Well, it's, listen, we have, we have, um, encountered. situations that some people may refer to as roadblocks. We don't, we don't consider it a block, right? We consider it an achievement, right? As we move from one thing to the next, we build upon what we know and we bring with us those qualities that we've developed through the years. So if we weren't Changing and growing, we wouldn't be, um, able to do what we do and deliver what we deliver, you know, when, when the pandemic, hit us, we were ready, we were ready and we had one of our best years ever during the pandemic, because we were, we had the skills to allow us and others continue doing life and doing business through the pandemic successfully, and we're very proud of that, and we had, we're only able to do that because of how prepared we were because of what we've done in the past. So we now appreciate as sexagenarians in our 60s, That's 60, yes, 60s. We have gained wisdom, right? You know things in your 20s and 30s. You're wiser in your 60s. Because you've had life experience, there is no substitute for experience. Period. No discussion so we share lessons learned. Yeah. Because it's, it, it matters. We want people to minimize their mistakes and to maximize success. And why make the same mistakes others have made? You know, we love serving others. And we want to help others in their journey, no matter where they are, on this journey we call life. So we are really proud, um, of the work we've done. And the work that's yet to be. So can we just dive into the what's yet to be, I know that you roll out the welcome mat for all kinds of people and all walks of life and all ages and stages. Who are you welcoming in? Who are you serendipitously inviting into this newest chapter? You can get as specific or as general as you want, but like what, what makes your heart flutter about next? Well, that's, that's a great question, Kris. And think the, the things that immediately flood into my brain when you say that are people that need encouragement, right? That are quite capable of doing what They hope and want to do, but need that, that a little bit of assistance, right? That hand holding that arm around the shoulder. Like, yeah, we can, you can do it because we've done it and this is how you can do it. So I think people who have had a change thrust upon them, who feel like they need a little help with where they're going next, I think that's the immediate thing that would attract someone to what we're doing right now. I think that because we're going to be focusing on our biggest strengths in terms of what we'll be teaching and sharing, we have a piece that we've just published that will help people create a living legacy for themselves, for their family and for others. One of the things that, uh, I've done for about seven years is work with an organization that provided free video legacies. to people who were diagnosed with a terminal illness and who also had children under the age of 21. So these were people who were fairly young, had children that were infants to children that were, you know, turning into adults. And what the organization provided was me who would sit down with these people for Two, three, four, five hours sometimes and have them sit across from me and when I would interview them and we would record their legacies and over the course of the seven or so years, I did over 300 of these, uh, all by myself and it still to this day is probably some of the most meaningful work that I've done as well as being some of the most difficult. Sitting across from people who have an expiration date stamped on their elbow, right? That know that they've got days, weeks, maybe months to sit down and, and leave words for their children on their high school graduation day. Uh, on their wedding day. That's pretty powerful stuff, and so we're, we're taking that knowledge and we're helping people now because everyone walks around with a camera in their pocket. the ability to take that and what if you want to sit down with your grandparents, you know, how do you do it? How do I even start? What are the questions to ask? So, so we just published that, that guide for people, which will be available to all of your listeners. Yeah. So that the leave a legacy, how to guide. We're really, there's lots of, um, interview questions. So you don't, you know, they're all in one place and also coming from a professional documentarian. To an amateur documentarian, to being able to set you up for success. And, and that's really what we want you to do, whether it become, whether on how you record or your lighting and your sound, because it all does matter. But most importantly, it's the content. Absolutely. Absolutely. And listen, what. I've known as a documentarian for so many years, is that there is no downside, right? Anyone should sit and record their, their legacy for those. Um, you know, we don't, we don't have that expiration date stamped on us, right? But we've all got one. And, you know, so why not? What is the downside to sitting down for a couple of hours and, and putting that down in a specific way that will make sense to those in the future? And specifically, you know, I would say, you know, parents and grandparents, you know, those are the people that, you know, you're starting to, you know, you get curious. Wanting to know more about family, friends, school, work, childhood, houses you lived in, trips you took, you know, the moments of our lives. So this, this, you know, we share it regularly when we go live on any of the social media channels, you know, it's talking about the power story. I said, love what you do. Do what you love. Yes. You know something, I think it's so easy to just come up with excuses to not do something that really doesn't cost you much. And I think those excuses are attached to fear, but when you're talking about something that you have nothing to lose and you just allow yourself permission to do something messy. One of my mentors says, sign up to be a C student because C students graduate too, you know, um, and then find guides like Holli and Robert, if you really want to add the sparkle and the polish to it. And then you call Kris, if you want to add photos and publish it, you know, Um, you can call in those people, but giving ourselves permission to just record a story and even people who do not have families, do not have children, everybody has a legacy to leave and that legacy is something that sometimes you just need that caring expert to hold up the mirror so that you can see all that you are, because quite honestly, um, I had a mentor asked me some questions and I thought they were questions I had already answered. But then when I sat with them and and my. Things just started pouring out on the page and then the tears came, then I found stuff that was attached there. I had no idea was there. And I know some people are not so comfortable with the idea of being around somebody who's crying because, you know, our society is very uncomfortable with emotions at times, but. Allowing yourself to take a risk and cry, you know, and if you need to do it in the privacy of your own home, your own walls, and nobody watching fine. But, but the worst thing that can happen is you discover something that just needed a little bit of love and attention and then it's not so bad and it's nothing you have to avoid anymore. And, and, you know, to come back to your, your point about recording these legacies, you get to decide what's kept and what's deleted. And if there's a part that you've just healed and there's no benefit to paying forward, you can just erase it. That's okay. And, you know, I always hope that, um, during my healing journey and, and any healing that I can inspire in other people that they give themselves grace to keep the lesson, but not as much of the pain. Yeah, and, and you, you know, it's, it's so true because I talk about, the difference between hindsight and foresight. You know, we all have hindsight. We're all experts, right? All Monday morning quarterbacks, you know, talking about, right? That's what I would have done or should have done, right? But it's being able to see down the line about what's coming. What's next. Next and what's important and, and all. And, and I always think about my driver's ed teacher would always instill into one thing that stuck in my head from him was when you're steering down the road, you should aim high. And don't, and look far down the road, don't just look at what's right in front of the nose of the car, because then it's too late. So aim high in steering, look a little further down the road to either avoid an obstacle that's in your path. Right, because sometimes if you see something coming, but more importantly, is there may be something really interesting down the line in front of you, and if you can see that and feel that, and you can get online for that before everyone else is online, then that puts you at an advantage. So honing your foresight. Is another thing that we want to attract, right? We want to attract people that are tired about, you know, okay, I get it. I know what happened in the past. Let me see a little bit of what's into the future and, you know, helping people see a little bit further down the road. Then they anticipated instead of looking just over the nose of the car, look, aim high in steering. So we're really talking to the creators out there and the creative out there. Because the ideas there are so many, so, so many, there's enough to go around. Everybody should pursue their passion and, and create and that's really, what drives us. It's creating. Yes. And a creator knows there's always more than one way to do things. So don't worry if what you're trying to create might sound like something somebody else described. It's going to be entirely unique to you because you're a different soul. It's a big planet. It's a big planet. there's room for everybody's creations. Yeah. And I think that's a lot of sometimes what keeps people from taking a chance, but you do have to follow your heart as I wear my heart necklace and the heart in our ampersand and that ampersand is very special. I will tell you when it comes to love and hearts and the pep talk and the ampersand because I am about that and there's a lot of power in that end. And there is so much possibility and potential, and I am a very positive human. So I encourage everybody. That's what Robert said. We're encouragers. I encourage everybody to consider whatever their next big thing is and do it with your mind, your body, your spirit, and your soul, because that's how it will become real. I love it. The optimism is evident. That is for sure. And everything you just described is how you picture love in the world. You, you don't just notice that you create it and you celebrate it and you inspire it. And that's why I'm so humbled and grateful that you would be my guests today. Well thank you. I'm grateful for partnership and ultimately that's what this is. It's the power of marriage, the power of friendship, it's the power of actually really enjoying what you do every day with purpose. It's hard to do life by yourself and, and, you know, you bring up a good point from before about, you know, how it may not be, the people around you may not be your family, merely may you do this for your friends who in a lot of instances, become closer and more entwined in your life sometimes than family members do. So you can't discount, you know, leaving a legacy for your friends. Yes. And that's something sometimes I think is, is overlooked. Your friends really care, you know, about you, um, because they choose to be in your life. And you want to choose people who, you know, lift you up, you know, make you better than who you are. Absolutely. I love that you call yourself encouragers because I have said for the last several years, that's my superpower is as an encourager. And so clearly we resonate with each other. Absolutely. Is there any takeaway or nugget you want them to remember the most from this conversation? I think we have the opportunity each and every day to, to start fresh if we need to, um, to have that, that clean slate and go forward. There's always tomorrow. We can't do anything about what happened in the past. We can only build upon that, take the good and move on. Um, so that's really kind of what I'm taking into these next decades of, of my life. I'm just so happy. To be part of the and. the Holli and Robert means so much to me because I know that we are stronger together. We're better together. I know that we serve from our hearts. I know that our experience can be others advantage. I know that we can others thrive and be their absolute best all the time because Robert and I together are, um, are excited about what's next. I just, I have to add on to both of those. Your abundance benefits others. Thank you. Thank you.