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K(No)w Roadmaps
"REAL CONVERSATIONS. NO BLUE PRINT. THAT'S KNOW ROADMAPS."
Hosted by: Walter Douglas Jr
Executive Produced by: Shantel Sullivan
K(No)w Roadmaps
Episode 1 - Get in the Building with Ashley McFarlin
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She got in the building. Nobody handed her a map. ðŸ§
Episode 01 of K(No)w Roadmaps featuring television executive producer Ashley McFarlin is LIVE now.
🎧 Listen at know-roadmaps.com or your favorite podcast platform.
#KnowRoadmaps #GetInTheBuilding #CareerGrowth #BlackExcellence #PodcastLaunch
I always advise creators, especially if the if you don't have a firm footprint in the industry, do not be married to the project. If this is the baby you're not trying to give up, this should not be the first one you pick.
SPEAKER_02Gotcha.
SPEAKER_01Because the goal is to just get in the building. Your first project, again, say that one more time. The goal is to just get in the building.
SPEAKER_00Get in the building.
SPEAKER_01Your first project is not the one. It rarely is the one. That's where the confidence thing comes in.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_01My I got my first project. I pitched it when I was 25 and it was greenlit when I was 25. Right. The confidence to do that comes from the fact that I knew I was gonna have a million projects.
SPEAKER_00Gotcha.
SPEAKER_01So I'm not gonna spend years trying to get myself together for this one pitch.
SPEAKER_00Hey, I'm Walter Douglas, and this is No Road Maps. Road Conversations, no blueprint. Today we are here with my friend, Ashley McFarland, a 20-year film, movie, television executive, author, mother, and deacon. Today's no roadmap. So tell us about her compass, her kiddie, and how she found her way. It's no romance. Ashley, here's the thing for me. I think it's one thing to be a successful entrepreneur and being a successful executive, but you're a mom on top of it all. When you think about success in your chosen field of choice, what's it look like and how'd you get there?
SPEAKER_01I think my model growing up was always Oprah. I knew I wanted to be in television, I knew I wanted to be a mogul. I don't know why I wanted to be these things. It was just in my heart, like, yeah, pursue that. But the one thing that was always missing, in my opinion, from Oprah's life was motherhood and family. I know she has her girls from Africa. She started the school. But growing up, I was like, man, what if I could be Oprah with kids? And I created that image for myself. I didn't have it. It did, I haven't found a person who's done it in that way yet. So I was like, maybe I could do it. So thankfully, I have great models in my family for motherhood. I grew up with both of my grandmothers. My mother is incredible.
SPEAKER_00Your mother, I love your mom.
SPEAKER_01She's a powerhouse. And tons of her friends and my dad's friends, who were my aunts, they were incredible models to follow. So I just cherry-picked what I liked about all of their different approaches to motherhood and parenting and married it to then what I saw Oprah doing as a professional in the television and film space and created what I am growing into now.
SPEAKER_00I really have to lean into the motherhood part a little bit.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Okay. I love being a mom. You know me. I love being a mom. I don't know that I'm as humble as people perceive me. I mean, because I also feel like people who claim to be humble, they can't be humble because now you just said you were humble, which is in essence kind of prideful. But anyway, theology aside, I do my best to prioritize what I believe is most valuable to quality of life and legacy building. And I come from a long line of family-oriented educators, leaders, economic pioneers. And they have just instilled in me over generations what it means to be a leader in the marketplace and how that equates to being a leader at home first. So motherhood for me always was top priority because I had so many amazing adults pouring into me as a kid, and I recognized how valuable that was to shaping how I entered and engaged with the world. I wanted to be sure I did that for my kids. So I assumed I was going to be successful in the marketplace. There's the not humble part. I did. I just that to me seemed like light work. I knew what my gifts were early on. I love to communicate. I love storytelling. I read a lot. I write a lot. I just knew that part of my life was going to come together pretty seamlessly. The motherhood and parenting part, just from witnessing my parents do the hard work of creating a blended family, a successful blended family, and being present for us, I saw that as the harder work. So I prioritize that in my life. And what most of my close friends would like yourself say is, well, Ashley's always at the school, or Ashley's always inviting our kids over to hang out, or Ashley's always trying to organize something for the kids to do to create that family life and that foundational space that I know they need. And what I have recognized is when I have that in place, family and home first, the second I step out into the office, the second I step out into on set to do a film, that is easy because my mind is at ease. My values have now superseded what I was trying to do at home so that I can now translate them over to the workplace. And it just comes together. It's just a little bit easier when I put family first. Okay.
SPEAKER_00And I remember sitting on your couch, you'd have the house full of the parrots, the kids would be off. Running all over the place. And all of a sudden, we would just ideated, yes, envisioning what we wanted to do to support to support the culture, yeah, to grow our communities, to be successful as business people.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And when you think about who sat around that living room, we were all right.
SPEAKER_01You're right. Yeah, we were. Yeah, I think that's a great way to put it. That that anchor, my my home. I I don't, I guess I was intentionally doing it and I didn't know I was, but because my parents did such a great job of creating a safe space at home, there was stability there. So that I felt safe enough to go out into the world and take risks and follow my dreams and try to do big things because I always knew I had a soft place to land if it didn't work out. And I believe that's likely what I did for my own personal career. I think I felt like if I could have my home intact, then whenever I went out to do something audacious or bold, I was confident that I had somewhere to fall back if it didn't come together. And I think that's why I was always excited when people were in the home or if we were out grabbing the kids to start those conversations about things we could be doing out in the world other than caring for our kids because this is good. Hey, you guys, we've got this intact. So now that we have this anchor in place, let's go venture out. Let's go have some fun. Let's explore based on what we're all good at. Because that's another thing I recognized as I was growing up. I have a keen sense for like identifying people's talents and their skills and their gifts. And then as a producer, I apply that kind of across the board in my life.
SPEAKER_00What were your steps once you got through Howard's to take into your career?
SPEAKER_01I came into Howard knowing entertainment was where I wanted to go. Okay. So again, because my parents did such a great job of giving us this safe, fun, healthy home space. I spent most of my childhood then not worried about if we were going to eat or if it was anyone's gonna be arguing at home. And I spent more of my time thinking about what was I gonna do with my life. And I was able to observe what other people in my sort of stratosphere were doing. And my mom is a producer. So I grew up on set. Yeah, my mom is a producer. I grew up going on set all the time. The weatherman was a close friend of the family. We were in that world, and not in the way that I think nowadays it is. We weren't like a celebrity family, but still had a very homegrown suburban vibe to it. It just so happened that my mom's friends were in television. So I was privy to the conversations. I would go on work trips with her, I would go out on set when she's filming and things. So I was attracted to it, not necessarily because I wanted to be like my mom, which I guess I do, but because I'm an 80s baby. I was watching so much television.
SPEAKER_02Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_01And to go behind the veil and find out that the wizard is my mom, I was like, wait a minute, we can do this. I can create Penwick. Like, that's cool. There was a lot of magic in that little box, and I loved it. And the idea that I would have access to create that sort of magic for other people was exciting. So by the time I got to Howard, I knew I wanted to work in television or film, news. The first map I was introduced to was the map of Georgia with Atlanta with a big old star.
SPEAKER_02Wow.
SPEAKER_01I'm originally born and raised Atlanta, Georgia.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_01AT aliens are different. Yes. I didn't know that. I did not know about this until I went out into the world and realized, oh wow, they're not like us. My first map of Georgia that showed Atlanta as the capital was pivotal in my walk because it identified to me that Ashley, you're a star. You're right in the middle.
SPEAKER_00I like that.
SPEAKER_01And you have power then to impact everything else around you. And that's actually a narrative that is subtly a part of the culture of our origin at Lance. Not all y'all that came down here trying to figure it out. Those of us who But we love it here. Of course you do. We're amazing people. We've created a wonderful city for you. Of course you love it here.
SPEAKER_02Thank you.
SPEAKER_01So I say that to say what was the roadmap. Growing up, it was not uncommon to see every entrepreneur look like you. Your dentist is black, your doctor is black, your teachers are black, your principal's black, the bank, the guy who runs the bank is black. It wasn't odd to see black excellence. It wasn't unusual to witness people who look like you, talk like you, running stuff. And not just running stuff, but they had money to run stuff. That was something that, without even being spoken, was instilled in me. I recognized early on, actually, you don't have to do nothing for nobody. You have the capacity to run this thing on your own. And they weren't strangers. These were friends of my family. These were my family members. When Barack Obama was elected as president, that didn't shock me. Barack Obama's in my stratosphere. So that if anything, I was like, I'm glad you guys caught up because this is how we work, this is how we operate down here.
SPEAKER_00Let's talk about your career. Okay. So coming out of Howard, what was first? What was next? And maybe what was the big pivot or jump?
SPEAKER_01First, out of Howard, I went straight to New York. Originally from Atlanta, you're just kind of convinced that like the goal, the North Star is to get to New York, get to LA. So I got an internship. It was a competitive paid internship called the Summer Associates Program with MTV. And right after graduation, I mean right after, I think it was the morning after graduation. My boyfriend at the time helped me pack up all my stuff. We got a van. We were out of here. And I went straight up to New York. I ended up staying with two really good friends who are now like family from Howard. We stayed in a little apartment in Chelsea. Wow. I mean, we did the whole Felicity thing. Like, like just bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in in New York City. New York City. And I worked in Times Square. We lived right down the street. We were there when 4040 launched, Jay-Z's Club. We were we saw Beyoncé and LeBron James. It was amazing. That was a great time to be in New York. And I worked at MTV as a summer associate. The program is designed to really position young people right out of college in places for success. So you're not going into this internship trying to figure out who you are. They're selecting people who really know what they want to do and they want to partner you with the right teams and departments so you can get there a little bit quicker. So, like I said, I came into Howard knowing I wanted to work in television and film. I was a stage manager while I was in DC. So I came out with a pretty good resume already. I worked for CNN my senior year in high school. And then while I was at Howard, I was stage managing at different theaters, specifically at Crampton University at Howard at BET with Ed Gordon. And I did some internning at CVS News during the war, which was amazing. I was in the press room, a room that now is like famous for like all of Trump's press people, cussing people out. Like I've never been there, and it's so tiny. Like you would never know how small it is.
SPEAKER_02Really?
SPEAKER_01Anyway, I went to MTV. I went to New York, started working there as an intern, and they, oh, Alex Colletti, an executive there, was running all of the big events. BMA Summer House Beach, Spring Break Beach House, Summer House, not the TV show, but back in the day, they would do all of their music programming from a house at a beach all summer. It was incredible. It's like my first job out of college. I was like, this is it. Like I made it. And I worked with him. He was incredible. Oh my gosh. Talk about a bird's eye view.
SPEAKER_00Wait, wait, wait. So so here's an interesting thing. And and maybe an executive assistant at MTV is different than an executive assistant at a university.
SPEAKER_01Um, sure it is. I'm sure it is. Do the executive assistants at a university go get lunch for Snoop Dogg before he performs on TRL?
SPEAKER_00I don't think so.
SPEAKER_01Do they hang out in the green room just to babysit the I don't know what rapper it was? They're much younger. So the culture is very kind of like spring break. And everyone's open to collaborative creative thinking. So, like the executive assistants, I sat in on so many meetings and I was privy to so much process and information of how these things were coming together, not just on the creative side, but the corporate side, which I was frankly unfamiliar with.
SPEAKER_00That's the part I wanted to lean into because I think that sometimes, at least on the outside looking in, regardless of the industry, but especially in the creative industries, people don't understand the business side of it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I did.
SPEAKER_00So I'm saying being an executive assistant, following papers, sending emails, right?
SPEAKER_01You I have access to the budgets. I I now understand what it takes to make these shows. I was having fun as an intern, like going on set and screwing up recording the audio. I had no idea. Like there are several meetings that happen before we even get to set that determine if we can do this and who's gonna pay for it, and who gets hired for it, why they get hired for it, which companies are we're gonna partner with. All those things were really, really good information to get that early in my career because I always knew, like you, like I said earlier, I'm gonna be over with kids. So I need to I need to know how this works. Like, how how do you I didn't even know, like, until I got that job, I was like, meetings? Why are y'all having meetings about this? Like, I didn't know that it really did work like a company. So I I had a great relationship. Tony DeSanto, I think, was running it at the time. Tony DeBarrow de Barry was there. Like, it was a very powerful group of executives there who were changing the face of MTV as I was there. And I was like, this isn't a so I should start with the pivot. So I was rocking and rolling. I went from MTV, I would do the executive assistant thing for a couple of years, and then everything strategically said, no, Ashley, you need to get out there and freelance so you can learn more about the other parts. Now that I know like the the gro the groundwork of this, I know the blueprint, I want to now go see all the different pieces. So I started working at the different production companies that they were hiring to produce these shows. I started working in the field and the office. I wanted to work in production management and creative production. I was I was being very intentional about the jobs that I was pursuing because I wanted a full understanding of how this thing comes together. I did that for like three or four years, and I was like going hard in the pain, working my way up the ranks with titles to the point where I would become a supervising producer showrunner, which I don't even think they do anymore. I think showrunners have to be executive producers. But I was a supervising producer showrunner on a series called it was a renovation show for HGTV. I cannot remember the name. I cannot remember the name of the show. But it was grueling scheduled. Oh wow. We were going, we were renovating properties all parts of New Jersey, and our home base was New York. So like I'm driving out to the shore. I'm driving out to, you know, South New Jersey, like North New Jersey, like all that traffic, all that trailer traffic. I'm young, I'm hungry, I'm willing to do it. This is my first supervising showrunner gig. Like I want to put my best foot forward, but I'm literally killing myself.
SPEAKER_02Oh, wow.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So there was a day where I was on set and my vision was getting a little blurry. And I was like, this is weird. I thought I had a headache, I had a headache as well. And I was like, this is weird. Just kind of dismissed it. I had one of the PAs go get me some Tylenol, kept it moving. A couple days later, I was in the office and I'm working. I was like, everything's weird looking. It was really confusing me. My really good friend, I used to always hire my friends. That's a good tip, too, you guys.
SPEAKER_00Which I've done as well.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Coming out of Howard, you want to network across the table because all of y'all are gonna come up together. So I had connected a good friend of mine from college, Sarita, and she was, I think, working casting on another job. I connected her with this company so she could work there. And I went over to her. This is also why you hire your friends. So you have people in the building that you can talk to. And I was like, hey, I think something's wrong. Like my vision, I have headaches. And she's like, you should go to the doctor. So not taking it seriously at all. I had just bought a new home. I was newly engaged. Like, this was not a priority for me. Uh I went home and I tried to like make an appointment with the eye doctor. You know how that goes months before I see them. So I made an appointment, but I also didn't have health insurance. I was like young, like you don't care about any of that stuff. And made the appointment. It was like several weeks down the line. Didn't think of it, but my headaches kept getting progressively worse and my vision was definitely declining. So one night, a couple weeks later, I woke up in the middle of the night, I think to go to the bathroom or something, and I couldn't see.
SPEAKER_02Oh, wow.
SPEAKER_01It was just, it was black. And I thought it was because the lights were off. But usually you can see a little something. But I was like, I couldn't see anything. My then fiance, later husband, then ex-husband would, wasn't that fun? Life. No roadmap to this. I said, hey, I can't, I can't see. And he was he was concerned. He was like, What do you mean you can't see? Now, when you can't see for more than like two, three seconds, it feels like an eternity. Like you, I don't, I don't even think it was that long. Maybe a minute, minute and a half, but that's a long time not to be able to see. So I panicked, my vision came back, and the next day I called and they said, We'll come right in. So I was at work, again, did not take this seriously. I think I didn't even pack a lunch. Like I was like, I'm just gonna run over here and run back. They'll give me some glasses, I'll be fine. I go to the doctor's office, they examine me. And when I tell you a doctor with no, like they couldn't hold back the shock.
SPEAKER_02Oh, wow.
SPEAKER_01He had to go and get two colleagues to come in from whatever he was seeing from this instrument looking at my eyes. It turns out, as they would explain to me, when they looked into my eyes with the machine, you have optic nerves in the back of your eyes. Yes. Mine were severely swollen, like off the charts. They couldn't measure them. And that's what was causing the blindness. It was literally blocking my line of sight. And I was like, okay, so what's the medicine? They're like, oh no, you have to go to the emergency room. And I was like, I don't have insurance. Like, like I can't go to like, no, no, you have to go to get an emergency MRI because when your optic nerves swell, it's usually because there's pressure on your brain. So your brain's back here. It's pushing on the back of your eye and it's making it swell. The only thing that pushes something in your brain is usually a mess, a tumor. And so I had my best Arnold Schwarzenegger voice on is not a tumor. But I was terrified. So they I said, I don't have health insurance. They said, We will get you a car service. Like they they dealt with everything and they got me the thank God that doctor was really, he had a high profile at NYU hospital. So he, I didn't have to wait the hospital or anything. He called me in and they said, This young lady's gonna come in, take a right to blah, blah, blah. They raced me up. My then fiance met me there, his mom met me there, my sister, my sister, you think I believe in Jesus. She came in there pleading the blood of Jesus over the whole hospital. I think at some point she might have laid prostate on the floor. I don't know, but she was like pleading that God would fix this. And I ended up in the hospital for about a week, and it turns out I had a very, very rare neurological disorder called pseudotumor cerebrate. I think in the medical field, it's referred to as papilledema. There wasn't a mass, but you have cerebral spinal fluid that flows all through your body from your brain down your spine through your body. And mine had most people who had this condition, the canal in the back of their neck that drains the fluid is usually too small to let it come out, so it builds up. So that's why most people that get this condition are obese. I was like two times smaller than I am now. So that wasn't the issue. So that was also confusing. And like, what is this? My body, it turns out, it wasn't holding it up there because it couldn't get out. It was overproducing the fluid. So my body couldn't it couldn't handle all the fluid. I have another good friend who always says, Oh wow, Ashley, your brain almost kills you. Look at that. You almost too smart for your own good.
SPEAKER_00Like Well, I I I have we we have to just pause for a moment. And first of all, I'm grateful to God that you're still here.
SPEAKER_02Hallelujah.
SPEAKER_00But it makes me think about my own career. Having worked in academic medical centers, fairly qualified healthcare centers where we take care of the uninsured or the underinsured. And I wish I would have known you then.
SPEAKER_02All right, we didn't miss the video.
SPEAKER_00NYU is a phenomenal institution. Phenomenal. I'm so glad my colleagues in that space.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it was I had an incredible experience. I don't know if you've ever seen the show New Amsterdam. Yes. But I got so addicted to it because they shot it at NYU. So for me, it was nostalgic. I was in that hospital like every other day for months. And it was just like, oh wow, they're as like my home. I was like, oh, they're there. And I just Enjoyed watching it just to kind of see the halls and stuff. But yeah, I was diagnosed with that condition. Some people online watching may be familiar with it. There's no cure. So I was like in my late 20s, I was about to get married. I was like, what are you talking about? There's no cure. Like, I've never been sick a day in my life. And now suddenly have this like brain issue. That's the craziest thing I ever heard of. So everybody was terrified. I mean, I thought I was gonna die. And they the only solve for it was to be on this very high regimen of medication. And sort of like with cancer and chemo, the medicine's worse than the condition. So the medicine they were giving to me was to drain fluid constantly from my body. So within like two days, 48 hours, I lost like 30% of my muscle mass. I was, it was just like immediately draining everything. Now I didn't have the headaches from the pressure anymore. But oddly enough, the side effect of the medication are sharp headaches. So now I had even worse headaches than I had before. I was I was frail. I was a fraction of myself. That's why when y'all talk about me gaining weight, I don't care. So I had a little bobblehead and everything. I couldn't walk. I was bedridden because I didn't have any muscle mass. And I was devastated. I was devastated because I was on this like trajectory of incredible success that I always knew I would have in my career. And everything said stop and I didn't understand why. And I remember sitting with myself in my new home in the suburbs of New Jersey, all by myself, because my then fiancé would have to go to work. Like, I'm not working no more. Like somebody got to keep working, pay these bills. We just got all these hospital bills. My stepson was at school, and I was just sitting in there by myself and I was like, what is this? Like, what happened? And that night I would always have a hard time going to sleep because my headaches were so bad and my vision was coming in and out. It was terrifying. And I literally, I really thought if I went to sleep, I may not wake up. So I was afraid at night to go to sleep. And I heard my grandmother's voice say, read the Bible. And it wasn't because there's something like so, I mean, there are a lot of amazing things in the Bible, but that's not why she was telling me to read it. When I was a kid, she would read the Bible to me to make me go to sleep because it's so boring. Like it's like it's just it's just too much. Like you just like you go out.
SPEAKER_00Jesus, she said the Bible's boring. I just want you to know.
SPEAKER_01He and I have talked about this. So I was like, well, God, I can't read. Like I can't see. Right. So my fiance came in and he's like, Did you need anything? And I was like, actually, I really want to read the Bible, but I can't read. And now this is funny because I'm very analog and he's very digital. For years, he had been trying to get me to like audiobooks. Like, because I hadn't I had so many books in my house. I love to read. Yes. He hated it because every time we moved, we had to pack all these crazy books. And he was like, Why can't you just read audio? Listen to the audiobooks. Ashley, I promise you, all these are on audio. I was like, like turning the pages, like whatever. And he was like, Well, I could get you the audio version of the Bible. And I was like, okay, fine. And I got the audio version and I started listening to the Bible that night. And for a few nights, it would lull me to sleep. It was great. Very peaceful sleep. One night I woke up. I don't know if any of you guys read the Bible. There's a book called Job in there. And it's about this guy who was beloved by God and God gave Satan permission to just kind of torment him until Job got to the revelation of who God really is. And then once he got that revelation and forgave his friends, then everything was restored. So I woke up, jumped up out of my sleep when I heard in the audiobook Job arguing with God. This isn't fair. I didn't do anything to deserve this. And I just, it resonated with me. I was like, God listen. Like everything he said times a trillion is how I feel right now. This is not fair. This is not right. I'm a good person. Like all the things that you say when you're in trouble. Why me? And said, keep listening. So I kept listening to the story. At that point, I'm like, all in. And I stayed up all night listening to the story until he got to the end. And when God checks Job about like, who are you talking to right now? God that created the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars. Like, I'm God. Like, if I want to, if I want to kill you now, I can. But guess what? Heaven. How about that part? Yes, you have been devastated. Yes, things have been lost. But you need to see who I am, my authority, my sovereignty, all those things. And it was that moment that I fell in love with God all over again. I met God when I was a little kid, when I was like six or seven. But I like fell in love with him all over again because he reassured me that he was in control. And before that moment, I think I had forgotten. I felt like all of these terrible things were happening. And, you know, God or no God, like this is gonna, this is it for me. And God was like, if I haven't said that, there's no reason for you to think that way. And that's when I leaned into my faith more so than I ever have in my life. Probably I haven't leaned into it that much since. No, I have. But anyway, I leaned into my faith. I read the Bible from cover to cover for the first time ever.
SPEAKER_02Oh, wow.
SPEAKER_01Listening. And then eventually my sight would get back. In reading the Bible, I got revelation about supernatural healing. I got revelation about the presence of God. I got revelation about praise and worship. All these things that God was just teaching me as I read it. And sure enough, I was supernaturally healed. Four months later, I went in for my check-in and the swelling had gone down. And the doctors thought it was because of the medication, but I stopped taking the medication. I didn't tell anyone. I didn't tell anyone, but I knew that medication was depleting me. It just wasn't for me. And this is in no way endorsing people to not do what their doctor says or anything like that. But me and God, we have conversations and he was clear, just trust me on this. And I didn't take it. And what I recognize, and now in retrospect, will endorse is when you can allow yourself to tap into true peace and you can dial down. You can never completely eradicate stressors in your life. But when you can dial them down and not let them have so much power over you, you give your body, your physical body, the space it needs to heal itself.
SPEAKER_00Here's my question to you. First part is how does someone with your background help someone with my background have a higher level of confidence when I go out into the world?
SPEAKER_01Same thing I do with my mentees.
SPEAKER_00And then my second follow-up question is when you work hard and things don't work out, what would the words of encouragement be?
SPEAKER_01Okay, twofold. So one, how do you get there? That confidence factor. I remember writing a paper, I think it was my senior year in high school, about the self-esteem problem that Black America has. I don't think that our issue is not having. I think a lot of what our issue is is not thinking we're worthy of having. So even when we have the access to it, we draw, we blow the bag because we're thinking we we still have to earn having it. No, it's me and you got it. And what I talk to my mentees often about, that mindset of recognizing who you are, is take a step back. You're young enough not to jump right into pursuing your goals. Take a moment to spend time with yourself so you can get to know who you are and accept everything about yourself.
SPEAKER_00I've got to cut you off. We live in an age of immediate gratification.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's sad. I tell them to turn all of that off. No, and it took me a long time. God said something so plain to me a few weeks ago. I love the verse, mercy and goodness follow you all the days of your life. Yes. I think the the actual understanding of the word follow is chase down. Goodness and mercy chase you. They pursue. And it just, I heard it. It was like, if you slow down, maybe goodness and mercy can catch you. Yes. And I was like, oh. Because I'm thinking, like, ah, where's the mercy? Where's why isn't this working out? Slow down. So that the you that you were created to be has an opportunity to actually engage with the world around you. We're creative beings. Everything we touch is now gonna have a little bit of us, gonna be impacted by us. It will be created into something else because we've now engaged with it. But if we're moving so fast, where's the touch point? Where's the actual connection? When it when I hate to make this a whole scripture, a whole sermon, but when scripture says to reconcile yourself with God, like you're reconciling.
SPEAKER_00Wait, wait, wait, preach, preach. Listen, if we're not gonna be if we're not gonna be ashamed of our blackness, let's not be able to do it.
SPEAKER_01Let's not be ashamed of our faith. You're right. Amen. Check me on that. I just want to say when you're reconciled to him, you're reconnecting. You can't reconnect in haste. Yeah, you have to slow down. When you're on a date, no, you can't. When you're on a date, you're not rushing through the day. You want to enjoy that guy you're talking about right now. You want to engage a conversation that reveals things. And you want to be present enough so you can hear things and take it in and process it. And you have to do that with yourself, is what I advise my mentees to do. Take time. And it doesn't have to be like, oh, I'm taking a sabbatical, I'm blocking everybody, I'm not talking to nobody for three months. No, you don't have to do all that. I'm saying, like, once a week, maybe a couple hours throughout the day, like take some time where you step away from the noise and you're just with yourself. You need to hear your thoughts. Write down what you're thinking, write down what you're afraid of, what you're doubtful about, what you're excited about, and start to know who you are.
SPEAKER_00Write it down.
SPEAKER_01Write it down. Because then you can go back and read it, you'd be like, oh, that is what I usually think, isn't it? And you start to develop a better awareness of who you are. So when things come across your path, you know what's for you and what's not for you.
SPEAKER_00I think about the joy in community.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And one of the things that I remember you talking about one time, you had a vision for you and your sisters about the buying a space here in Atlanta that would kind of be your home where everyone had a home. Talk to me a little bit about that vision. And then I have another kind of a hard turn. But I wanted I want to give you a moment to talk a little bit more about community because I know that means so much to you.
SPEAKER_01Community's key. I think when you talk about the confidence factor too, when you are in good community, it's easy to feel confident about yourself because you got backup.
SPEAKER_00Gotcha.
SPEAKER_01You know, you don't feel like you're by yourself. Most people, that lack of self-confidence comes from feeling alone. You feel like the isolation, you have to figure it all out by yourself, and you're only this small. So I mean, so what are you gonna figure out? The world's too big. So when you have a community around you, you have additional thoughts, you have the love, you have the support, you have the opportunity to speak your mind and have some feedback, it helps you feel supported. And the importance, that importance of community then allows you to do things outside of the community. Because, like I said, when I was a kid, I felt safe at home. So I could go out and do crazy stuff and have a good time and like try to build stuff and have these audacious dreams because I had a community here that was like, yeah, why not? If it doesn't work, we'll be here. You're not gonna be by yourself. And I just wanted to add to the community part and the like the vision for my family and stuff. When you look back at us, black folks as a people, we are tribal. The idea of going out on your own and like making something happen for yourself, that's not our culture. We've adopted it as we have, you know, matriculated and consumed other people's cultures. But we as a people come from tribal nature. We want to be around other people. I was talking to a good friend of mine several months ago just about divorce rates. I'm divorced, divorce rates and like how it impacts the family and how it impacts the black family, I think, more significantly because it's so out of our nature to not like be a unit.
SPEAKER_02Oh, shit.
SPEAKER_01And adjusting to that is is counterintuitive to who we are. And this gentleman is African, and he was talking about how he's so surprised when he comes over to because he goes back and forth a lot when he comes to America and he sees so many broken families. I don't adopt the term broken because we all are together regardless of how what it looks like. But he was like, because community and in his, and I'm not saying all of the continent of Africa is like this, but from where he is in Africa, their value on the women in the community talking to the women, the younger women, the men in the community talking to the younger men, and everybody just kind of shepherding everyone through this process of life. It helps when you hit these undeniable pockets of stress and frustration in marriages, in raising children, and trying to earn a living. You're not now in a position where I got to figure this out. Oh, I messed up. And you don't have anybody to talk to. There, the community allows the space for confession and for healing and for forgiveness and for learning and edification and revelation and all of those things equal growth, not separation and running away. It equals development and growth. So everybody comes up together. And we don't really have that as a standard here. We watch families try. You and I both have talked about trying to figure this thing out. But because none of we don't talk to each other about it. We don't. We most of us are so so ashamed and feel guilt-ridden about whatever we've been doing. We don't holler at our friends about like, did you have to do this?
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_01Or did you or did we don't even go to our moms? We don't go to our aunts. No one's open to being that transparent, and it's in that vulnerability where the truth lies. And the truth gives you the healing.
SPEAKER_00I want to hear a story that's successful. Yes. He gave us something that you had to rebound from, something that made you go home and go, God, where you had to go to your Christmas and call on Jesus. Or you had to call your mom and go, Mom, I don't know.
SPEAKER_01And that's the Oh my gosh, there's so many. I wait.
SPEAKER_00That is really an important thing for our audience.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00There were so many.
SPEAKER_01So many.
SPEAKER_00Right? And here's the thing, and I I hope I paraphrase this correctly. You said you had a million stories to tell, so you weren't worried of the first one.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00You all said you had so many failures.
SPEAKER_01Oh my gosh. Right? Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And so you've not allowed yourself to be changed by one or the other. No. But talk us to us about how you rebounded, how you pivoted, how you adjusted your roadmap after one of Okay.
SPEAKER_01Small anecdotal story. It's probably isn't even the best one. It's the first one coming to mind. I was uh, I think a segment producer at MTV. We were doing a project on these college bands like Yellow Card and whatever those bands were, garage bands back in the early 2000s, mid-2000s. And we were traveling to go see them perform and documenting their performances. Well, my one assignment, y'all, on set on when we got to these concerts. Yeah, one job. I had one job was to go to front of house where audio set up, plug into their board and get the audio recorded from the concert so we could take it back to Edge. All you gotta do was plug it in and jump it into the video. I was supposed to plug it in. So that's what I thought I did when we went to one show. I think it was in Philly. I never clicked the I guess record or start button, however, these analog things were. The entire concert was not recorded. Oh my god. We didn't learn that though until we got back to New York to the offices. And my job was also then to what then we would do digitize the footage. We don't have to do any of that anymore. But you have to sit and let all the footage load into the system. And I went to play the audio and nothing was playing. And I was like, oh my God. Oh my gosh. And this is one of those things where you get caught up in the excitement. My my pastor said something like, Don't get don't get stuck in celebration mode, which I stick with. I was so excited to do this job. Like a big fan of these bands. It was my first job where I'm on the road with a production team that I didn't focus on my one.
SPEAKER_00You only had one.
SPEAKER_01So that was my big flop. And I sat with myself and I said, Ashley, what are you gonna do? Like this is the show. If I don't have the recording, this is the show. And I just I went into my annals of advice from previous bosses or mentors or things I had seen people figure out on the fly. And I just sit and I remembered, I used to work for Ed Gordon. I don't know if you guys remember him at BTS. He always told me, Ashley, there's a solution for every problem. There's never a point where it's just like, I don't know anybody. Like there's a solution. So I sat still and I said, Jesus, whatever the solution is to this, please just show it to me and walk me through it. And my mind started to think I used to be a stage manager. Right. And I remembered every band actually does the same set at every show.
SPEAKER_00Correct.
SPEAKER_01And I said, I had my PA with me. I said, look, look up this band. Where's their next show? They were gonna be in DC the following night. Nice. I used to live in DC. I went to Howard. I used to stage manage in DC. I knew tons of audio engineers. I'm looking at the producer because she's like, whatever. And I said, I can call, rest in peace, Byron West, an incredible audio engineer. I remember Byron. Yeah, he was over at Howard. He did some Lincoln Center stuff, a ton of stuff. And I said, Call West. Now West and I had a funny joke because his name's West. I called him Batman. And Batman is my favorite superhero. And I said, I'm gonna call Batman. And my PA was like, whoa. And I was like, just dial this number and got it, got West. I said, I screwed up horribly. I need your help. He's like, I got you. He had a friend who was going to be working at that show in DC the following night. He was gonna get me the recording overnight at soon. And I said, All right, we got this all. Now I have to tell my boss. Because what I also learned from a previous boss, Eugene Caldwell, I used to work for him at MTV MTV. At one point, I screwed up, I was this assistant and I messed up something really, really bad. And I never told him because I just thought I could fix it. But in my trying to fix it, I made it worse. So by the time I went back to him, it was disastrous. He fixed it, but he also pulled me aside. He said, Ashley, whenever there's an issue, just come to me, we'll talk about it. Like you're not gonna get in trouble. Like you have to mature out of that I'm in trouble thing. Because as kids, we think if we mess up, we're gonna be in, no, we're not gonna be in trouble. We're gonna be in troubleshoot mode. Like that's what we do. We come together and we figure it out.
SPEAKER_00Trouble versus troubleshoot. Troubleshoot, right?
SPEAKER_01Yes, exactly. So yeah, I called my boss, I apologized profusely, took full accountability for messing up. She was very kind. She was upset. I'm not gonna lie, she was very upset, but she told me to go for it. And I got the audio the next night, and I stayed an extra couple days to get it all together.
SPEAKER_00And when you share the story about Batman, what it made me think about was something that's very important to me and this helped me be successful. And that's the importance of a strong network.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00What's your statement on a strong network?
SPEAKER_01Make them real. I don't want a network of people who I just know. I need people when I'm in the trenches, they understand me, they know me, they love me, and that relationship will then deliver on that authenticity of our friendship. I don't need a Rollodex full of names and numbers. I need people that I have real relationships with. I can call little Kim and ask her about her daughter. You know, I can call the ladies from Potomac, see how they're doing. They'll ask me how I'm doing. Like we have real friendships and relationships, and that's what stands the test of time because none of us know. Like you asked me about the future. We don't know where we're headed. We don't know how we don't know that this touch point was the primary touch point.
SPEAKER_00Can I ask you a question?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00A personal one.
SPEAKER_01Always open, wide open like a book.
SPEAKER_02When you're being a woman of your stature, your professional relationship so little.
SPEAKER_00Your level. The people you know.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_00And I think this is really important. How do you maintain relationships with someone like me who doesn't always move in those spaces?
SPEAKER_01I walk in love. And and my love doesn't have like stature attached to it. I'm a real Christian. Like I really believe this stuff, y'all. Like I Jesus is my friend. Like He's my savior. Like I I really believe in this stuff. And he is God is love. And if I believe God operates inside of me, I know love is unconditional. And I know that he gave his only begotten son for all of us. Not just for the famous ones, not for the cool ones, not for the ones who were doing the right thing. So I then reflect that same posture.
SPEAKER_00But here's here's here's my question for you. Because everybody usually wants me to talk about the TV show, pitching a story versus approving a story. What's the difference? And now we have the the the business. Exactly.
SPEAKER_01Pitching a story versus approving a story. Oh okay. You're asking this because Wall has been around when I get these pitches and I'm like, oh my God, I gotta read another one of these. They're so bad. Okay. The industry is constantly evolving. So whatever I say today is likely going to change in the next 48 hours. So take it however you want to take it. Generally speaking, if you have an idea for a TV show, a film, podcast, whatever, you'll package it in a visually stunning way. You'll make now they make Canva slides, used to be PowerPoint or whatever. Five to seven pages, maybe not too much for your executive to have to digest that clearly state the thesis, the point and purpose of this thing, the audience for it, why it's entertaining and why it connects to the Brand of said studio or network that you're pitching it to. And you know, later we can talk about how much it costs, but you should have an idea. You pitch and you package it, and then you're prepared to tell the story of it. And you want to tell the real story of it. Don't tell an executive what you think they want to hear. They'll they'll read through it, they'll see through that in a second. You want to sell it, but you don't want to sell it, if that makes sense. So you don't want to be the annoying car salesman who's just like pushing this thing on you, but you do want to be someone who's passionate and really excited about it so that the person you are trying to convince or persuade to be behind it would be just as passionate as excited at all. So that's your pitch. You spend about maybe 15 minutes, if they give you that much, to get all of that out. Hopefully they have questions and they're interested and curious about it, and you have answers for them about what you're doing and what it would take to get this thing from if it's a film or a TV show script to screen, what it would take to execute it and get it to market and make it successful. That's the pitch. The approval. Now, when I was an executive at WeTV, I took pictures all the time. I was at All Black as well, took pictures all the time. Receive, do this 15-minute banter with whomever. I love it.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_01This podcast, no roadmaps. This is amazing. I love this. You know what? I'm gonna pitch it up. So you guys will hear that often if you're pitching. I'm gonna pitch it up.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_01Because TV is a team sport. That's something my mom always told me. There's rarely one person that can sign off on anything. So I love your podcast idea. I'm gonna take it to the team.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_01Once I take it to the team, I then have to pitch on your behalf. I have to convince and persuade them this is something we should get behind. And then if they're into it, we'll call you back in and you do a broader pitch with a larger audience. Still, no approval. We're just still trying to date. Hey, can can we can we make this happen? So it's it's a layered process and it takes time. And the the first touch point where you're pitching to that executive is important because if you don't get their buy-in and if they don't have a full understanding of what you're pitching, they can't properly advocate it up. So once I get it, I love it. I pitch it to the team. They love it, they call you in, you might pitch it, and then assist something outside. They will talk to you about budget, schedule. How do we get a contract? How do we develop this project? Some networks and studios might do like a uh a short period of time of development where they like the idea, but they want some tweaks. They want to kind of put their hand in it a little bit. They might pay for a pilot or an additional presentation reel. Oh, can I jump in right here?
SPEAKER_00Again, having been on both sides of the curtain, so to speak. As the creator, as a creative, how much do you want to hold on to your original concept? And how much are you willing to say? They want me to change it too much from what it was originally intended to be.
SPEAKER_01I always advise creators, especially if the if you don't have a firm footprint in the industry, do not be married to the project. If this is, is if this is the baby you're not trying to give up, this should not be the first one you pick.
SPEAKER_00You shot Girls Cruise.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_00And you never invited me to come see it.
SPEAKER_01Listen, when I told him I had to, I was meeting with Lil' Kim like every other hour. It's like running, yeah, Maya. I would drop the kids off.
SPEAKER_00I was like, I'm going to meet Maya.
SPEAKER_01Like, I gotta do this interview. No, I didn't. So here's another little nugget for those of you guys in the industry. And this isn't even like secret sauce. Don't think you don't belong there. Because when you think you don't belong there, that's when you go into fan mode. And I'm not saying don't be a fan. Like Lil' Kim, when I started working with her, I told her straight up, I said, Kim, may not be appropriate. I still got the poster. Like I loved her growing up. Like she was just like, bam, I'm here. I'm Kim. Like I loved everything about her. And you can have enthusiasm and excitement, and they appreciate that. But when you don't think you're supposed to be there, you get thirsty, you get sloppy with your work, you start putting your position of even being there above your purpose of being here. I'm there to tell her story. I'm there to support her. I'm there to make sure she feels safe in this like very unknown space of reality TV. So when you're coming into the industry and you know you're supposed to be there, it's easier to keep yourself on task. Every what a great practice of storytelling, I would tell my team. And now I tell those that I teach and mentor when you're creating scenes for your film or you're developing the story arc for your television series, every scene, every conversation, what is the point and purpose?
SPEAKER_00What is the point?
SPEAKER_01What is the point and purpose? I got that advice from an executive at Bravo years ago when I was doing Southern Charm New Orleans. And I would come to her with these great storylines of things we're going to pursue because they seemed exciting and like they would be really good on television. Ashley? What is the point and purpose? And I was like, happy on that one. And it really elevates your thinking and it elevates your storytelling jobs. Because when you give every single thing motivation, it delivers. So then the stories are more fulfilling, they're they're more layered.
SPEAKER_00I love that advice because that's really what no roadmaps is about, right? Sometimes the solution is knowing the right question to ask.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Too often, whether it's an entrepreneur or as an executive, I know when I've sat in C-suite and people have come presented things to me, and my mentor said something very similar. He said, start with the why.
SPEAKER_02Yes. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Why is this important? Why do I need to hear about this? Why should we do this? And so I really appreciate that piece of advice. AMC is the Real Housewives franchise. Huge.
SPEAKER_01Oh, it's Bravo. Oh, I'm sorry, Bravo. Bravo.
SPEAKER_00I'm sorry. Bravo's.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. The real house.
SPEAKER_00Bravo's franchise. Yes. The Real Housewives. Yeah. You did the Real Housewives of Atomic.
SPEAKER_01Potomac, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Now you're from Atlanta. So I know you already had a certain feel or thought about it. Tell us how that was.
SPEAKER_01It was simple. I was in the building. I was in the building. I was, I was, I was. I was in the right place. I was working at what now I believe is truly original. It was called true entertainment at the time. And they were developing this project about these women in Potomac, Maryland. And they were affluent. They were educated. They were impressive. They had issues that were different from the black women in the Atlanta franchise. And the team was curious about it. And I just happened to be in the building and engaged in a conversation with one of the network, sorry, the company heads, the president, to talk to him about it because I was a black woman who, in his mind, resembled and reminded him of some of the women in the series. And he was like, What is what is this? What are they talking about? They were talking about social clubs, and they were talking about HCUs, and they were like that sort of stuff that he wasn't familiar with. And as I spoke to him about it, he recognized that I would have the right perspective to tell the story authentically and to help tap into the truth of the story. You don't want to just, and and I appreciated that from his perspective. You don't want to just throw a cast out there to be loud and entertaining and colorful. It would be nice if you had producers and executives on the team who can actually tap into what the true essence of their characters and their stories are and work to tell them as genuinely as possible, as you can on reality. Yeah, I was producing another project for MTV and I was just walking down the hall. This is where the confidence comes. I was walking down the hall. I passed by the president's office. I heard him listening to Tate. Because I got to say that. You know, now we got to get back on track. That was my pivot, though.
SPEAKER_00So about that's gonna be a question. So what was the next job after that?
SPEAKER_01Right. That was the key, that was the you made it job, which is crazy because up until then, I thought I was doing something.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_01I was young. I was in my mid to late 20s. I was moving up the ranks really fast. You couldn't have told me I wasn't killing the game. But it wasn't until on the other side of that issue with my health that God led me to write the book that I've current I've just reprinted a second edition of. We're gonna re-release it in a few weeks. I don't know when this is airing, but middle of September, it'll be out. It's called The Truth Wrapped in Love. Uh, I encourage you to go pick it up. Even if you don't like my book, you're gonna like his book because my book is gonna lead you to his book.
SPEAKER_00Nice.
SPEAKER_01So I want to say one more time for Truth Wrapped in Love by Ashley McFarland. It is the collection of all of my notes that I took while I was reading the Bible that very first time when I got sick. It was the rawest experience I've ever had with God because it was the most open of it. I was so desperate to hear something and to understand that I was available for him to like give real revelatory practical information about how you can apply a relationship with God, your faith, your love for God to real life situations. So it's a daily devotional. I structured it like that. Really quick read daily entries that are my notes from the different chapters in scripture I would read while I was sitting in my bed, barely being able to see.
SPEAKER_00Actually, we've got to talk more about that book. And I'm gonna tell you why. There are so many professionals mid-career, late career, somewhere in the middle, all over the place. But I can speak from personal experience. When you go through a transition, when you've been on top, when you've been in the C-suite, and all of a sudden you wake up for the first time in 27 years. Yeah, was it 27 or 37? I don't know. First time in my life I woke up without a job.
SPEAKER_01Without a job. That's the other pivot.
SPEAKER_00And then I was like, oh my goodness. Because I said, God, what is my purpose? Yes. Because my job was my purpose. Because my job, as you know, I worked in healthcare. Yeah. So I was always giving back. My job wasn't really about me. Yeah. It was how I supported physicians to take care of patients. Yeah. How I created programs, programs to take care of the underserved or the underinsured. And so it wasn't just a job. It wasn't just old waltz balling out, you know. It was like my job was purpose. Now I look good. I wore good suits. I was in charge.
SPEAKER_01But you know, it's the it's the QA. Somebody had to dial it down.
SPEAKER_00But but but in all seriousness, to remember to come back home to your, I think that's probably the biggest compass for enrollments.
SPEAKER_01You're right. You're right. That's that's incredible. And I I mean, I wish I could say I did it on my own, but to God be the glory, because it was, I was forced into that space.
SPEAKER_00And so what was that job? What was the title? And where were you?
SPEAKER_01As soon as I got it. So I published the book. The book's going great, doing wonderful things. I'm like, oh, maybe this is my new lifestyle. I'm gonna now be some type of inspirational speaker and author or whatever. And God was like, child, sit down and just follow me. And I was like, okay. So I did not have a job. And I was just, I've been working since I was 14. And I went to my bank account because I was hungry. And I went to the ATM. I had $15 in my bank account. Now, this is not to like, I know people are really dealing with tough economic times right now, myself included. So at that time, I will never say I was broke. I had a husband who was well-earning and supportive of our family. I knew I wasn't without, but I was certainly nervous about not being able to provide for myself because I've always been able to provide for myself. And I came home, and because I had just been in my faith so much, I wasn't worried. I came home, I was like, 15 bucks. I took a nap. I was like, what am I doing with that? Yeah, I just I went to sleep. I woke up from a phone call. Dan Adler, I will shout you out for the rest of my life. Dan Adler at Sharp Entertainment called me out of the blue. Never met this man a day in my life. Got my resume from I think Jerry gave it to him. Jerry Carita. I gave it to him. He was going through resumes, mine stuck out. He gave me a call. Ashley McFarland? I was like, yes. Hi, people come into our offices. You know, we're this company, we're doing all these shows, we're looking for showrunners. You come highly recommend it. I was like, what? Like I literally left my job to go to the eye doctor at least 10 months prior to that and had not been back. Like I didn't even go back to get stuff from my office. Like I had not worked in so long. I haven't been out there advocating for myself. I hadn't been doing anything, but God was working behind the scenes to get my name to this guy. And I said, sure. Yeah, can you come in tomorrow? Blah, blah, blah, blah. And I was like, okay. $15. I was, how am I getting to New York? And I was like, okay. So I hang up and I was like, it's gotta be away from me. And I realized I had like New Jersey trans, old New Jersey transit tickets. They were like on my shelf or something. So I grabbed a couple and I was like, okay, I'm going to get a job tomorrow. And it didn't feel like an audition. It didn't feel like I was interviewing. I felt like I was going to get a job. Like I was like, oh, this is my job. Sure enough, I showed up the next day, not only one job, he asked me that many questions about myself. He he showed me this roster of shows they had, and he was like, pick one. I said, what? And he was so impressed with my background and whomever he had spoken to about me, he knew that I would be an asset to their organization. So I picked a show called King of Pop that would turn into The Toy Hunter. And it was my very first real executive producer credit as a showrunner. Like before I was a supervising producer, operating like a showrunner, killing myself, running all around. This time I was, I know I was adamant about, no, my title needs to be co, I think I got co-executive producer to start out with. Because this is a brand new show that we were going to develop from script to screen. This wasn't something I was just picking up from someone. This was going to be my my brain equity going into this. Like, so I want to, I want to have some level of, I won't have ownership, but like real credit going into this project. And that was my biggest gig. And it was incredible. It was a successful run for a channel that didn't even believe in it, if I'm being honest. It was it was a show that was kind of like off from their regularly scheduled programming, and we performed really well.
SPEAKER_00As we as we began to rap.
SPEAKER_01Yes, we raped.
SPEAKER_00Something you said was so, so important is getting credit for your brain equity.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I think, and and I know I've been, I don't know if the word is guilty, but I think I suffered from this. Is that there was times I was just so happy to be there. To be there, to work hard, to have the job. I didn't always have the foresight to say, how do I get credit?
SPEAKER_01How do I how do I ensure I'm a part of this? Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Get can you know, yeah, get listed. Like I was always comfortable being behind the scenes.
SPEAKER_01But I've learned that's a question you should ask yourself. Why are you always comfortable being behind the scenes? That's a good thing that's a deeper question because y'all see he clearly is fit for in front of the screen. So I I didn't answer. This is bringing back a question you asked a while ago about like the working hard thing. Like, what do you tell people to work really hard and get somewhere and it doesn't pan out? You know, scripture says hard work is always gonna be rewarded. Now, will it be rewarded in the way that you think it should be? Usually not. But you're something's always you're always gonna have fruit from your labor. But when you're looking for a certain vision to manifest, when you're looking for something you've been called to build to come together, that will never happen based off of your work. Because those types of visions and those types of ambitions are God and divinely given. So it won't be by your power, it won't be by your might, it'll only be by his spirit that it's done. And what you'll experience is him breaking and removing you out of the space that you thought you were called to lead so that he can reframe your mind so that you understand you weren't called to lead this, you were called to shepherd this, you were called to steward this, which means I just need you with me consistently, talking to me, praying with me, receiving from me the instructions to guide you and order your steps so that I can establish the works of God. So that that's why I think people get disappointed. I'm working so hard and I didn't end up where I want it to be. Well, because you're working so hard. You're you're not communing so hard, you're not connecting so hard, you're just working so hard. Now he will tell you what work to do, but when you're just out there just doing all this work like I was racing around New Jersey, you know, pursuing whatever, he was like, No, that's not how it's gonna work.
SPEAKER_00What that makes me think of, Ashley, is we've often heard the phrase work smarter, not harder.
SPEAKER_01Wisdom.
SPEAKER_00But part of working smarter is leaning into your faith and allowing the wisdom and discernment of God to guide you. Amen. Ashley, I just want to thank you so much for being with us today for just sharing. Uh, you know you're my friend. We've been friends, we'll be friends. But this is a real conversation.
SPEAKER_01Real conversation.
SPEAKER_00There was no blueprint. This is no roadmaps.
SPEAKER_01No roadmaps. Can I say I know that was his tagline, right? Oops. And quite frankly, after Toy Hunter, it was off to the races. Like I said, before then, I thought I was doing something, but coming back into the industry with a newly found understanding of this is not all on me made pursuing what I knew was for me way easier. I think scripture says all the time, Jesus said, My yoke is easy. Well, it's easy because you're letting him lead you. You're letting him determine where you're gonna go. And I mean, all that stuff you're talking about after that, the Potomac stuff. I did some, I did a bunch of Bravo stuff after Toy Hunter. It just, it just flowed because I got out of the way. Yeah. So it was, it's been an exciting run. I'm still doing it since moving up the ranks and I ultimately got to executive level, a vice president of original production and development over at Wii TV in all black for a few years. And then last year I launched out on my own and I started a company called the B Group. It's a yeah, it's an organization where independent filmmakers come not just to produce their films, but for us to really help them find the funding and the distribution options they need and equip them as producers, as content creation, as content creators, as people. So we're not just producing stuff, we're producing the people too. And that is what I believe all of this stuff has been building up to because I've been able to use all the experiences I've had as an executive assistant all the way up to an executive to really feed what this is and how it can continue to serve other people. I think the best place you can be in is not knowing. Because you won't lean into your own understanding. You won't try to like orchestrate something that was never meant for you to orchestrate. So when you can really accept that you don't know, like Job, he just didn't know why any of this happened to. And it wasn't until he got shut down that God was like, Let me just tell you who I am. I can do whatever I want to do, however I want to do it, what I want to do it. And you don't have to know. All I'm asking for you is to trust me. Trust that I always have good intentions in store for you because you're mine. You're here to glorify me. I don't want you just out here acting a fool. I'm trying to like create in you who I am so people can see me. For God, this is very self-serving. Like, let's be clear. All of this is for him.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_01And so the not knowing, I think, is a very key point of what you're doing here. And I know, and I'll take a moment to give you your flowers, like the kids say. I know you have traversed a lot of twists and turns in your life. Same as me, same as anybody else listening to this. None of us can ever say we are, you know, not responsible or we're not like a lot of, we always like want to blame the devil. Like, oh, Satan is really doing it today. Like, like my sister says, you're sitting in decisions. We made, we've all made some choices. There are always going to be consequences to your choices. They always impact everybody, including yourself. But I think what I am recognizing today, that I just want to say, I'm super happy for you, is that you didn't stay there. And you're doing the work now to not redefine who you are, but actually discover and spend the time with yourself to see what God wants you to be, who God needs you to be in this moment, despite it all. You we can't go back and change a thing. I've I've done some stuff in my life, I'm like, man, that screwed that up. But today, I'm who I'm supposed to be, becoming, I call my company the B Group. Yes, being who I am expected to be. Even if I wasn't that before, even I may not be that two minutes from now. Right now, I'm it. So I just want to say, right now, you're doing it.
SPEAKER_00Thank you so much. You can tell me what the chapter and verse is, but there is a word in the Bible that says, lean not into your own understanding. And so this is no roadmaps. Not knowing might be the best thing to know.
SPEAKER_0110% for that. It's been a lot of fun. It's it's becoming even more fun. And if you guys want to learn how to contact me, what I'm doing, how I can best serve you. I talked about that show New Amsterdam. The line I love is how can I help you? That's usually what I start my conversations off with. How can I help you? You can hit me up on Instagram, Miss M I-S-S, Ashley Mac, and the number one. I'm on Facebook as Ashley McFarlane. I'm on LinkedIn as Ashley McFarlane. And you can always go to my website, AshleyMcFarlane.com. And there's a chat feature there. So if you just want to talk to me on the fly through the chat, it's really me. It's not a bot, it's not an assistant. And I would love to serve you in any way that I can to help you succeed.
SPEAKER_00So, Ashley, yes, I love what you're doing. All right. You are a bridge builder. And I want you to repeat one more time. Yes. All remote channels. Yes. So people know how to cross the bridge.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Crossing the bridge. Crossing the bridge. I will hold your hand. I will help as best I can. I'll ask Jesus what he wants me to do for you. You can hit me up at on social media. Instagram is Miss Ashley Mac and the number one. M-I-S-S-A-S-H-L-E-Y-M-A-C and the number one. You can DM me. It's really going to be me. And you can find me on Facebook at Ashley McFarlane. Find me on LinkedIn as Ashley McFarlane. Or you can just go directly to my website, AshleyMcFarlane.com. On the website, you'll learn more about all the classes I offer. We do mentorship programs. We do production boot camps. We do pitch boot camps. I do one on one consultations. I do script reading reviews. All sorts of services are available.
