Pivot With Purpose Season 6 Episode 25 Marina Shiferman Full Transcript
Meghan Houle (00:01.43)
Marina, hello and welcome to the Pivot With Purpose podcast. How are you my friend?
Marina Shiferman (00:07.704)
Hello, hello. I am so excited to be here. I'm great. How are you?
Meghan Houle (00:12.238)
Yes, doing well, getting ready for all things holiday season as we look to wrap up the year. can't believe, you know, we're almost kind of like mid November. It just goes by so fast always, but no complaints. It's been a busy year. How would you describe 2024 as we head here to the end? I feel like I can ask this question now. We're like almost like a month and a half away, but like how has this year treated you?
Marina Shiferman (00:16.748)
Me too.
Meghan Houle (00:37.774)
in maybe like two or three words, what's 2024 been like for you? Yeah.
Marina Shiferman (00:43.957)
It started off as calm and the last part of it has been change unexpected curves, navigation, listening to my body, listening to my intuition, finding new purpose.
Meghan Houle (00:46.766)
Woof woof.
Meghan Houle (01:00.654)
Well, a beautiful segue into our conversation in which I can't wait to share your pivots and your wonderful lessons and takeaways from all things pivoting with purpose. But as we dive right in, tell us a bit about where we're catching you in the here and now. You know, I guess in your elevator pitch of describing kind of where we're catching you, tell us a little bit about what's going on in your world before we dive into early career.
highlights, and then all the twists and turns in between.
Marina Shiferman (01:31.576)
Well, here and now I have spent the last decade selling real estate in San Francisco, predominantly in the luxury space. So I've spent 10 years, you know, working with clients, buyers and sellers, guiding transactions, being their guide, luxury marketing their incredible properties. And I've been doing that for 10 years. And I recently opened a second business called Together in Luxury where we're a very specialized talent agencies. And we just represent the
the premier ballerinas of the world for luxury brands in their marketing campaigns. So I'm juggling both of these worlds that seemingly are very different, but actually are very combined, if you know my story.
Meghan Houle (02:16.332)
Yeah. Well, and we'll dive into that in a second, but tell me, where did the real estate side come in for you? early on, and we'll talk about it in a bit, but I know you were so tapped into that ballet side from a very young age, but how did real estate come into your story? Did you just always love it and wanted to go to school for your license or get your license and honestly go to school, and then it just kind of happened? Or what was that like for you? Yeah.
Marina Shiferman (02:46.062)
I absolutely had no idea I wanted to go into real estate. I moved to San Francisco right after university, went to the University of Arizona, moved to San Francisco and didn't know what I wanted to do. Was a ballet bar instructor for like the first year and then was like, okay, it's time for a big girl job. So I got like a corporate marketing job and I hated it. I would look out the window and it's sunny and gorgeous and people are walking around and I'm like, why am I in this office? I want to be outside.
And I had known an agent who helped me get my first rental, a furnished rental there. I didn't know the difference between a leasing agent and a buying agent. So I was just like, Hey, can I shadow you? It looks pretty cool. And I shadowed him and he did luxury leasing. And I'm like, you can make your own schedule. You can work with clients the way you want to work. Your income is not tapped. You can be yourself and thrive.
Meghan Houle (03:23.317)
cool.
Marina Shiferman (03:42.734)
So got my license and I did leasing for a year and quickly realized I wanted to play with the big boys. I wanted to do those million dollar deals. I wanted to be selling, not leasing. So what I've been doing for the past 10 years.
Meghan Houle (03:53.816)
Yeah. Wow. Really just from kind of seeing that opportunity for you to make a move, shadowing someone and then just making it happen. So, yeah. Yeah.
Marina Shiferman (04:05.27)
Knowing what I didn't want, I hated being in an office and someone telling me what to do, when to work. No,
Meghan Houle (04:10.86)
Mm-hmm. You're like, no, no, same girl, same. I feel that, feel that in my soul. Hence why I'm here also with multiple jobs and multifaceted as well. So birds of a feather, we stick together. And here we are in my world in colliding with, yeah, such a beautiful story of transition. And as an early youth, I think story goes back to discovering ballet.
Marina Shiferman (04:13.518)
No, no.
Meghan Houle (04:38.804)
at such a young age, can you take us back to that moment where, as I know where that kind of started for you of being in this world of ballet, how did that shape you early of understanding your identity, your talent? Where did that really come into play for you? Yeah.
Marina Shiferman (04:57.634)
That's a very loaded question. So I guess I'll start at the beginning. started, I'm from Ukraine. My whole family is from Ukraine. So ballet is very culturally rooted in Russian culture. So my parents knew when I was young, growing up, we watched ballet on the TV. There was like three channels in Russia. And when we came to America, I started ballet when I was seven years old and quickly showed
Meghan Houle (05:01.532)
Yeah.
Marina Shiferman (05:24.014)
promise, like by 14, I was named number one in the classical dev vision in Southern California. was winning competitions. I was getting all the lead roles. I was being picked as a ballet ambassador for a two two company. It was clear that my talent, my natural talent collided with my passion for ballet to one track mind purpose. And since I won
number one in the classical ballet division at 14. All of the regional number one winners were then combined into one big competition in New York. And competing there, that's where I got a full scholarship to a very prestigious year round ballet boarding school in Washington, DC. And I went to that school and it was like, no doubt that was my identity. Being a ballerina was my identity. Being amazing was like my perceived
value. My future had been written. I knew exactly what I was going to do. Professional ballerina, principal dancer with American Ballet Theater, performing Odette, packed house, Lincoln Center, done. Done. And I really thought that that was it. That's all I wanted. And that's all I knew. I was, you know, I was being being celebrated for who I was, this talent. And then life just
Meghan Houle (06:34.968)
Mm-hmm.
Marina Shiferman (06:49.102)
shattered me. was diagnosed with a brain tumor when I was 15 in the most dramatic fashion in our final showcase where all the teachers were there, ballet company directors were there. I started getting really dizzy and it didn't stop. a couple of weeks later I had open brain surgery and that was the absolute end to my ballet career. My identity crisis, my mental health struggle, a year of recovery.
And it was very clear that I would never dance ballet again. I tried to, but my tumor being where it was, it was in the cerebellum, the part that controls balance in the brain. And when they took it out, my balance was never the same. know, my, I would get dizzy sometimes when I leaned my head back. It was very clear that that is not the purpose. That's not your life's purpose. You thought it was, but this brain tumor happened and now
Meghan Houle (07:29.506)
wow. Yeah. Ugh.
Meghan Houle (07:37.388)
Yeah.
Meghan Houle (07:41.43)
Yeah. Yeah.
Marina Shiferman (07:46.946)
You have a different life waiting for you. And what is that life? And I struggled for a long time. Yeah.
Meghan Houle (07:51.66)
Yeah, well, yeah, no. I feel like the, yeah, so thank you for sharing all of that. And it's so funny, because we talk about purpose and I know you have so many other great thoughts around this, but the idea of your purpose really began with ballet and then evolved in this unexpected way. And as you talk about losing that sense of identity after brain tumor, before kind of moving forward, like how did that shape?
your view of your purpose, like when you were like dancing is like not it. How do you feel that really kind of shaped this kind of next level? And I'm sure it's evolved even since then, but like what were you sitting with in terms of your purpose after you came to terms with that not being your future? Yeah.
Marina Shiferman (08:34.018)
Well, right when I realized that it wasn't gonna be my future anymore, I obviously didn't know what to do next. I was 16, 17. I didn't know, but I did know one thing. I knew that this happened for a reason. It wasn't just like I was the 1 % of ballerinas destined for the top and then a random occurrence, 1 % of a million that get a brain tumor.
Meghan Houle (08:45.91)
Yeah. Yeah.
Marina Shiferman (09:03.278)
And now what? I knew that these all random events happen for a reason. So I guess for my rest of my life, since I was 17 today, I've always been searching for that feeling of purpose that I had when I was 15. So that's what drives me is what is my purpose? What lights me up? What am I uniquely here to do? And that's what drives me.
That's evolving. used to be that real estate was it. I'm really, really, really good at what I do. But, and then that's evolved to maybe it's something else. Maybe I need to dig into my past. Cause I never really told people about my brain tumor and that I was a ballerina. I kind of ran from that. didn't think people were interested in it until recently. I just was like, you know what? This is who I am.
Meghan Houle (09:58.092)
Yeah. Well, where did you find the courage to finally start telling the story and what was that process like for you when you finally got it out there? Yeah.
Marina Shiferman (10:07.214)
So the part of being a very unique ballerina is this little feeling that knowing that you're very, very unique, like millions of girls go into ballet and maybe five girls make it to the pinnacle of their ballet career ever. So being one of those unique people instilled that, like, I want to be unique. What am I uniquely here to do? So being a real estate agent is not unique to me.
I, there's a thousand other real estate agents in San Francisco and I've kind of been playing the game for a while until I'm like, you know what? I can't just blend into the crowd. That's not me. I need to be a uniquely me. And my story is what makes me uniquely me. So that is why I leaned into it. Cause I just want to be unique. I want to be different.
And I want to be the woman I didn't have when I was going through this. We didn't have social media. I had no one. I felt totally alone.
Meghan Houle (11:11.054)
Yeah. Was there a moment or like an event or a platform where you felt compelled to like finally share your story and like what was that feeling like for you after you put it out there or feedback or whatnot? Because I know we kind of talked about this a little bit too, but I think sometimes standing up and saying it out loud in a room of strangers, you're like, wow, okay, I'm saying it. And then, you know, we get feedback and then you kind of share your story and you
maybe hear from others that have had maybe similar things and then we're not so isolating and alone, but you still are very unique. So what platform or where was it where you just finally started to say like, I want to talk about this more and people should know, or at least I want to share. Yeah.
Marina Shiferman (11:53.592)
Yeah, well, I started talking about it just to people and on my website, but the aha moment didn't really come until I just came back from New York like a month ago and I went to this summit where I was in a room with seven, eight figure female entrepreneurs who are killing it in their game. Everybody is super successful and empowered and we had a panel of speakers.
Meghan Houle (11:59.0)
Nice.
Marina Shiferman (12:20.79)
And one of the speakers happened to be Misty Copeland. And she's a legend in the ballet world and beyond. She not only was the first African-American principal dancer at ABT, but got herself an agent, has tons of brand deals, like 11 books, and started her own foundation, and has catapulted herself to like mega success. And she was one of the speakers. And after she was done speaking, the interviewer was like, does anyone have any questions?
When I tell you I shot up out of my chair, I shot up, I was shaking, but my story just kind of poured out of me. The whole ballet, I thought that was my future brain tumor. Now this is my life just poured out of me. And her feedback and the feedback of everybody else in that room really gave me the motivation to just be, keep talking about it.
Meghan Houle (12:51.47)
Yeah.
Meghan Houle (12:56.846)
awesome.
Meghan Houle (13:11.436)
Yeah. Well, and I feel like in the dancing world, I've known a couple. I think there was like someone who was on Dancing with the Stars, like same thing, where they were getting headaches, got dizzy, passed out in a show and then one of having open brain surgery where they told her, I think that she would never be able to walk or dance again. I think, like you said, there's definitely, depending on where the tumor is, especially with balance and all of that. Yeah, you can't mess with that. But she wound up going out and like, think it's Derek Huff's.
like wife or so on and so forth. But I mean, I think we feel like these things we go through alone or that nobody cares, but actually your story can heal others, you know, and sharing it on your platform where I'm sure you have such a great community. It's kind of that vulnerable moment where they're like, wow, Marina is like sharing something really personal and that creates connection and maybe will help guide someone else who thinks that their purpose is lost because something has been taken away from them. But that's not necessarily the case.
So, I mean, that's very brave. And I know standing up in front of those rooms where I've been in many events, it's like nerve wracking and shaking, right? You're in front of like these amazing speakers that are coming in. But I'm so proud of you. you know, I know you kind of talked about it a bit earlier, but just feeling like this was taken away for a reason. Dance, ballet, I mean, how did you maintain that faith in, you know, the possibility of a bright future and something else on the other side of this for you?
What were the moments or insights, if any, that really guided you towards a new direction? Yeah.
Marina Shiferman (14:44.864)
I don't know if I thought I had a bright future ahead of me because I was acutely aware that I was very lucky at a young age to have this identity and passion and purpose. I was very acutely aware that not a lot of people get that unique thing. And so when it was taken away from me, it was just like, it must have been for a reason. I'm going through all of this shit. What the fuck is the reason?
Meghan Houle (14:48.718)
Mmm.
Meghan Houle (14:53.944)
Mm.
Marina Shiferman (15:14.636)
what is going on. And that's kind of not a very happy place to be, but that's kind of what's led me. So a lot of it has just been like, what makes me happy? That's all that I've been searching for in life. What makes me happy? That's it. Not what I should be doing. What's going to make these people happy? What's going to happen to my bank account? Literally, is this going to bring me happiness? Is that? And I don't know if I'll ever find the feeling again.
Meghan Houle (15:39.758)
Mm-hmm.
Marina Shiferman (15:44.046)
But I think purpose for me now is not really the destination. It's the journey. It's your whole life searching for what makes you happy doing it, listening to that intuition, and that could be your purpose.
Meghan Houle (15:50.99)
Yeah.
Meghan Houle (15:58.264)
Right. Well, and I feel like two-purpose is often described as a point where a unique talent and a passion collide. So maybe that's what you're doing in this new business where you are bringing the ballet world and your sort of influencer marketing world, master connector world together to help others move their careers forward. But, you know, maybe now, as you just mentioned, like the understanding of like searching for that happiness and
Maybe not totally finding it again exactly what you felt with ballet, but how has the understanding of this influenced your way that you now approach life and challenges and changes? Yeah. How are you navigating that next move?
Marina Shiferman (16:44.664)
I think listening to my intuition, what feels right. A lot of people, women especially, don't really tap into that intuition and following it and guiding it and that I have to have that. So starting this business just felt like I had to do something. And I also reached out to the San Francisco Ballet and told them my story.
And now I have a three-year partnership with them to advertise in their magazines and to their donors and go to their galas because I'm uniquely positioned as a top tier ballerina and now a luxury real estate agent to be there in that magazine. And I'm uniquely positioned as someone that knows the ballet world and luxury marketing to bring ballerinas into the luxury marketing space. I think.
Success also gives me a sense of purpose, like closing those big deals, having happy clients, finding brand deals for my ballerinas. think success in my unique ability also brings me a lot of joy.
Meghan Houle (17:54.668)
Yeah, heck yeah. it's great feelings, especially when you can close the deals from someone who works on it on the other side of people and jobs and was doing that towards the end of last week. Like it is rewarding when you can see a great partnership come together or someone who finds their dream home, whatever that looks like. But amen to that because like certainly we need to financially maintain goals to be able to live the life that we want to. But I think, yeah, I don't know. I feel like so many people shy away from like
boasting about being successful or other things, but it's it's pride. You work so hard. So good for you. Yeah. Yeah.
Marina Shiferman (18:28.174)
Well, those are the direct results from your work. Like in ballet, it's physical. You can see the direct result. My leg literally got higher. But as an entrepreneur, your results are the money you make. That's your result.
Meghan Houle (18:40.084)
Yep. Yep. Well, for others seeking their purpose, how would you describe the balance between actively seeking it and maybe allowing it to evolve naturally?
Marina Shiferman (18:53.73)
You can't force it. You can't force feeling. It just comes. That's it. You just can't force it. Sometimes you're feeling unmotivated, then go on, take a walk and then you'll get motivated again. Sometimes you're feeling super motivated. I think the letting it go, just letting it go and come to you, but being very attuned to, that feels great. I want to do that. Or I don't want to do that. Everyone has that little voice, but not everyone listens to it.
Meghan Houle (19:23.224)
Right. Yeah. Do you often work now in your business where you're brokering partnerships with Ballerinas? Do you do a lot of like, maybe it's for free 99, but coaching? What are some people in your life coming to you with and are like, Marina, help me, I'm really struggling? Do you do a lot of like mentoring and guiding now too as you navigate back in the industry? And I'm sure with clients you work with, yeah. Yeah.
Marina Shiferman (19:48.932)
No-
Well, in terms of real estate, an agent doesn't get paid until the deal's done. So you can work with a client for months, hard work, and then you don't get paid until the deal's done. And so that's that. And also with brand deals, you can work for months and then you get paid only when the deal's done. But I also want to enter this world of motivational speaking because it's very unique story, which is why I'm doing tons of podcasts, interviews, just
Meghan Houle (19:58.446)
Totally. Right.
Right. Yeah.
Meghan Houle (20:15.395)
Mmm.
Marina Shiferman (20:20.288)
I really just want to get it out there because I want to help people that are in that dark space like I was, and maybe it won't take them 20 years to get out of it like it did for me.
Meghan Houle (20:31.83)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Well, how has your experience then of losing and redefining your purpose influenced that relationship now with your goals, success, the idea of self-worth, and maybe sharing some insights to others listening in that have lost it and maybe feel hopeless about what is next and how to define those new goals or success or maybe feel not as worthy?
Marina Shiferman (20:56.534)
Well, mental health is really a thing. think getting a therapist is huge. Like you can't really do it alone. You have to work on your mental health because there was a lot of bitterness that I carried until I started speaking with a therapist. A year ago, it took me 22 years from when I had the brain tumor to working with a therapist because I couldn't talk about ballet without crying even last year. And I was like, that's just
Probably not normal. So doing that was the first step to this. Clearing my ideas of the future that I thought that I would have. Clearing a lot of mental health things. And now that it's the past, is what it is. Life just is what it is. So I just have to let it go. I had to take that little 15 year old girl who didn't know what the hell happened to her, pick her up, dust her off, take her with me, and now we're just moving forward.
Meghan Houle (21:55.448)
Yeah. Wow. And I mean, you know, thank you for sharing that as that's pretty heavy after all those years of sitting with that. And then I think just finally letting it go. And yeah, absolutely do not need to navigate this on your own, whether it's through therapy or other coaches or however individuals can seek guidance. But for something really like that, I mean, I always have to be so careful in my coaching practice.
Marina Shiferman (22:02.562)
Yeah.
Meghan Houle (22:23.166)
as we're not therapists, right? So I feel like to really be with qualified individuals that can help you move forward from something, little T, big T, trauma, all the things that we go through in life, it's pretty magical when you can recognize it and then put some, you know, sort of meaningful action in place to move beyond it. Like it's always gonna be a part of you, right? That's never gonna go away. But I think like what's holding you back.
from not moving forward because you're feeling stuck or just really emotional in this? I don't know, do you feel like you're in alignment now in what you're doing? mean, you've been doing real estate for many, many years, but now having this side business, you may not ever feel quite the way you did as you were mentioning back at 15 again, but I know, and we've talked about this, that you really are kind of always striving for that alignment. do you feel like you're in alignment and how are you shaping your choices now to make sure that you're continuing on in that?
alignment moving forward.
Marina Shiferman (23:18.654)
yeah. I definitely feel better because what you were talking about holding back, there was a part of me that was always holding back to the past, feeling sorry for myself, victim. It was not allowing me to move on. Literally, as soon as I did a year of therapy, I shed that I became the ballerina, turned San Francisco realtor, rebranded everything, started the San Francisco Ballet Partnership.
leaned into the future my path to the future and not just I used to be ballerina and it was all taken a woe to me. And so now I just feel like bring it on like bring it the fuck on this is who I am I'm ready to take it on
Meghan Houle (23:57.324)
Yeah. Well, and reflecting on the search for purpose, maybe what advice would you give to listeners who feel lost or unsure about their path, especially if they're someone who's really faced some unexpected setbacks, you know, as we all do?
Marina Shiferman (24:13.114)
No, it's hard. mean, take your time. There's no reason to rush. Take your time with it. Sit with it. Be bitter, be angry, yell, scream. Take your time and then really listen to your intuition. Surely there's something that's going to spark some joy, curiosity, excitement. Follow it. Take your time and listen to your intuition is what I would say. But of course, work on your mental health.
Meghan Houle (24:16.237)
Mmm.
Meghan Houle (24:43.564)
Yeah. What are some of the daily non-negotiables that you manage day to day to make sure you're staying on track for your mental health,
Marina Shiferman (24:52.088)
my gosh, I cannot talk to anybody before 10 a.m. And I don't want to be out of my house past eight. I love being home and spending that quality time with my husband is a non-negotiable as well. And just listening to my body also, because as women,
Meghan Houle (24:55.621)
I love routines. Yeah.
Meghan Houle (25:08.898)
Yeah, yeah.
Marina Shiferman (25:13.826)
There's some days where we don't feel like doing anything. We feel very low energy and not pushing yourself. So I'm just very in tune with my body. Maybe it comes from ballet, like you had to listen to your body, but being very in tune with your body. It's a non-negotiable. If I'm not feeling it, I will reschedule meetings.
Meghan Houle (25:32.462)
Yeah. No, 100%. I mean, you have to. And I think in this day and age, especially with what you do, with what I do, like we say, we don't necessarily get paid until we close big deals or close offers. But in between there, there's sometimes a sense of urgency culture of like, I have to respond to every email and da-da-da. It's like you have to set your own boundaries and know like,
one bad day or one day of rest is not going to set you off for a track, you know, for the rest of your life of like never being successful. And I think people, especially after the pandemic has just like push, push, push, push, push. There are so many individuals that I've worked with that, you know, maybe were laid off and furloughed and now they have a job. So they feel like they have something to prove even more so. And I don't know, I just feel like burnout again after this year and so much going on, it's like an all time high. Like, I just feel like it's just
heavy right now, Marina, just in general, right? So I think it's like finding those things that you love to do and taking care of yourself are so important. But maybe for somebody looking for a career pivot, feeling stuck because you did it, right? You were in corporate office or I'm not sure if you work with a corporate company, but like sitting in office looking out today, it's like so beautiful outside, like get me out.
How would you help them maybe define their purpose as it applies to maybe something more traditional in a career like yours was like, know I don't want to be doing this. But were there any next action steps that you took otherwise to kind of transition and find that way into real estate? Yeah. And then what advice would you give somebody? Yeah.
Marina Shiferman (26:58.862)
Yeah. Well, everybody has a unique situation. Some people can't afford to just walk out of that office like I did without telling anybody and not answering calls and not coming back. just like fucked them. But I was like 25 and it was like only a month of working there. Quickly realized.
Meghan Houle (27:06.254)
Mm-hmm.
Meghan Houle (27:09.89)
Totally.
Meghan Houle (27:14.076)
my God, Marina, you're like, bye. Yeah.
Marina Shiferman (27:21.77)
I would say that you must combine your feminine intuition and listening to that with the masculine structure of, what are my next steps and how do I do that? Like, it's not enough to just, I feel like doing this today. You have to actually make steps and contact people and cold call and email and fight for what you want, girl. Like, there's so many people that are fighting for what they want and just like getting what they want.
whether it's that job or whatever, you have to be able to be uncomfortable. You have to cold email a hundred people. How do you think I get brand deals for my ballerinas? Do you think people just come to me and know me? No, they don't. And how do you think I get clients for real estate? You have to be there. You have to show up. You have to know what you want and then go get it.
Meghan Houle (27:57.997)
Mm-hmm.
Meghan Houle (28:06.434)
Right.
Meghan Houle (28:14.594)
Yeah. How do you balance both? Do you find that you spend more time in different seasons on different part of the business or do you feel like there's some harmony with balancing both? Because two, as you were just saying, and I can totally relate, are just pretty challenging where it's not like business development is handed to you, right? So how are you balancing it or if you are or not? Or yeah, what are you really proud of that you're at least doing harmoniously?
Marina Shiferman (28:34.046)
Yeah.
Marina Shiferman (28:38.338)
Well, boys.
Marina Shiferman (28:43.404)
very proud of the fact that I realized that in my business and in my life, there are seasons in real estate, there's a busy season where all of my clients are buying and selling and I'm very, very busy. And then I understand that there's another season where things are very slow, where I can work on the back end and outreach and branding. There's seasons to life in business, there's sometimes where I cannot take a vacation, and then there's sometimes where I can take a vacation.
Just, I understand all of that. And I think that just takes time because people, especially if they work on commission like us, we don't get paid till the deal's done, can feel nervous about not having deals, but it's all just seasons. You can't have one season all the time.
Meghan Houle (29:27.938)
Yeah. I love that. No, and thank you. It's 100 % ebbs and flows. With ours, I mean, you you're talking about commerce and real estate. I mean, and shopping and retail. I mean, sometimes based on the economics and financials overall of the US, you know, at ebbs and flows, there's always high highs and low lows. So you manage through the busy seasons. You put your head down, you put in the work and you hopefully can...
break into those times where you're like, okay, I can take a rest or take a beat and then focus on something else. So I love that. Yeah. What are, so I know you said you were going on lots of podcasts and you know, do you have any other big, amazing goals looking into 2025 to share your voice, to share your platform and like, what are you loving to talk about another podcast? Like what, what maybe is your messaging that you want to go out there and continue to really uplift and inspire the world with your motivational
Marina Shiferman (29:58.358)
actually.
Meghan Houle (30:23.224)
sort of speaker hat being put on here.
Marina Shiferman (30:25.794)
I think that my message is the purpose is a journey, not a destination. That you can have your purpose, but don't let that be your identity because my identity was completely shattered. I honestly did not feel like people loved me for me when I wasn't a ballet dancer anymore. I thought people loved me because I was a ballet dancer. And a lot of the ballerinas that I represent go through that. Like they're at the top of their game.
and then they have an injury that maybe takes their career, maybe not, they literally don't know, and then go through a dark, dark period mentally. It's hard not to tie your identity with what you're really good at. So my takeaway is purpose is a destination. It's not, I mean, purpose is a journey, it's not a destination. It's like, you can find it one minute and then it can be gone the next. You just...
Always listening to your intuition and doing what makes you happy. That is your purpose, living your happy life.
Meghan Houle (31:25.592)
And do you find now, because I love what you just said about identity and I have a couple of friends that have written books where we talk about the last name syndrome, where you're known for this one thing and then that one thing goes away and you're like, who am I? But it evolves. my God, we're always evolving. Do you feel like your identity now you're excited about and of course looking forward to continuing to balance both sides of your business or do you feel like you see a shift coming for you as we look into the new year with?
adding something new or different to the way people are seeing you and how people are reacting and relating with you. Yeah.
Marina Shiferman (32:03.338)
I see a shift. mean, I'm just starting to talk about my story and going on podcasts and representing these amazing ballerinas. Of course, the shift is happening now. And I just want everything I do to be super successful. I want to reach for the moon. I want higher and higher and higher all the way up. And I want to be like laughing all the way up to the moon and super happy and taking everybody with me.
Meghan Houle (32:04.717)
Yeah.
Meghan Houle (32:08.12)
Mm-hmm.
Meghan Houle (32:14.711)
awesome.
Marina Shiferman (32:30.786)
Like my purpose is that whole journey is the journey to happiness and super success.
Meghan Houle (32:38.349)
Yeah, Scarlett, you got it. You got it. I love to like share on this podcast. A lot of times we play like the manifestation game where I'm like, say it out loud in the podcast. And I will tell you this podcast has been going since 2021 where we've had a ton of conversations and going back into my early podcast episodes, I listen and then I look at where the people, I'm like, you're doing it, you're doing it. But you know, it's not obviously because things are just falling out of the sky. We're taking strategic action, but sometimes there's...
power and saying the things out loud and then going out and making it happen, which I know you certainly are, but what is maybe a big, big juicy goal that you have on your 2025 list to share? And how can we support you? Yeah.
Marina Shiferman (33:17.76)
I think that they've been...
I think a big, juicy goal is I want to give like a Ted style talk, like to a huge audience, to a big auditorium, to a big audience about my story and purpose and identity. Honestly, I wish I had this when I was going through it. So that's a really huge goal. I kind of just want to be huge because everybody has gone through an identity crisis and
Meghan Houle (33:27.778)
Yeah.
Marina Shiferman (33:50.83)
Pivot, pivoted with purpose. Every single person has a story and everyone cannot fight it alone. And I want big, big, big brand deals for my ballerinas and also for myself. I want big, big brand deals.
Meghan Houle (34:05.006)
Okay, we're putting it out there. And there's a lot of listeners in this community across many different brands and partnerships and entrepreneurs and CEOs and career professionals and all the things. know that this community is always rooting for our incredible guests that come on. So we will look forward to your TED Talk. Can't wait for that. But yeah, what's the best way, for people to work with you? I mean, I know you're still
Marina Shiferman (34:06.722)
Yeah.
Meghan Houle (34:29.73)
practicing real estate in San Francisco, but when you help your ballerinas, is that something where people can be all across the country and they come to you? What are the best ways people can work with you, engage with you? How does that work for someone to reach out, maybe of interest in working with you?
Marina Shiferman (34:44.978)
Instagram is the easiest. Everyone's on Instagram. I'm on Instagram. Just find me. I'm sure it'll be in the show notes. Instagram, DM me, say hi, and let's start a conversation. I love to chat with people.
Meghan Houle (34:58.478)
Let's get you on stage. Let's get you chatting. What are your goals for writing? Have you started to at all kind of think about how you want to frame a talk? And I will tell you just what you're doing is absolutely going to lead you on the path of like continuing to put it out there, but then also being able to share your voice on different platforms where you're just going to get so much more comfortable. And that's going to be really something nailed down for you. You can go back and listen to all the podcasts and collectively put them all together.
Marina Shiferman (35:00.846)
Let's just do it.
Meghan Houle (35:27.118)
But have you started the process yet at all? Yeah? awesome. yeah.
Marina Shiferman (35:29.994)
yeah, I think you're the one that got me thinking about what is the takeaway you want to leave. It's not just talking about your story, but what's the takeaway. And for me, it absolutely is purpose. It's purpose is the journey of purpose. You thought, thought I had it, I lost it. What's your purpose? You can't just not have a purpose. And that's when you fall into depression.
Meghan Houle (35:53.634)
Yeah. And here you are on this harmonious purpose where I can't wait to see the evolution. Do you see a part of your business maybe that you would release if there were something that is going to lead you into this new identity of bigger room speaking? Do you see any parts of your business being released so you can make room for something bigger? Or do you love continuing to balance everything? Yeah.
Marina Shiferman (36:19.048)
The answer is I don't know. I don't think I'll ever completely give up one or the other. I think that my teams will just grow. My support, my businesses, my companies will just grow so we can handle everything. And maybe we'll add some in the future. Who knows? Maybe I'll have a conglomerate corporation.
Meghan Houle (36:21.422)
Mmm.
Okay.
Meghan Houle (36:32.974)
Heck yeah.
Meghan Houle (36:38.188)
Yes, you will. All the things. Whatever you want. I mean, now getting a chance to know you and understanding how passionate you are. I mean, you know, it took you a long time to kind of get to this place and to feel, you know, the confidence and to be able to just kind of like shed that old identity. again, you're not going to ever let it go. But I think like accepting where you were and that's who you are. But there's so much of you that you're now bringing into.
today that was that young ballerina that now you can share your experiences and help others that maybe will be have been in your shoes or are struggling at some level, very lucky to have you. And I love that you want to be the mentor that you didn't have, because I feel very aligned in the same way coming from luxury and fashion and retail, like back in the day, definitely did not have a lot of people clapping for us or wanting us to win. And then unfortunately, a lot of it came from like female executives and
that we're just managing in different ways or shame or fear or whatnot. So to be a mentor for those that need your support is really special. And I can't wait to see what's next for you. So thank you so much for sharing your story and your amazing insights on purpose. I can't wait for that TED Talk. And everybody definitely go into the show notes and click on all the links to follow Marina.
and to hopefully, you know, if there's an opportunity to work together, I'm sure that our community will be in touch and we'll be rooting for you every step of the way. So thank you for coming onto the podcast. It's so great to meet you and to have you in my universe now.
Marina Shiferman (38:14.924)
Yeah, likewise. Thanks for having me, Megan.
Meghan Houle (38:18.004)
Yes, thank you, Marina.