Some people spend decades chasing a dream only to discover, once they finally catch it, that the catching was never really the point. Zina Wilde spent years fighting for a career in acting, navigating immigration paperwork, logging 22 theater productions in a single year just to qualify for a visa, and eventually landing a recurring role on the Showtime series Billions. She did the thing. And then the world stopped, she got sick alone in a New York apartment, and the life she had built so carefully began to ask her a harder question: what do you actually need?
That question, and the journey it set off, is one that anyone approaching a major career transition will recognize. Whether the shift is forced or chosen, whether it comes after a layoff or a lockdown or a moment of private reckoning, the experience of leaving something you worked hard to build is rarely as simple as walking away. For Wilde, it was a complete unraveling and rebuilding, one that eventually led her to create a global retreat company that combines somatic healing, community, and immersive travel. Her story is not a cautionary tale about acting or ambition. It is a story about what happens when the career you wanted stops being the life you need.
The Career That Was Worth Fighting For
Wilde knew she wanted to act at 17. She studied at NYU, started in New York theater, and spent years navigating a path that most people would have abandoned long before she did. The obstacle that defined her early career was not rejection from casting directors but the U.S. immigration system.
Because she was not a citizen or a permanent resident when she finished school, her ability to work in film and television was restricted in ways most aspiring actors never have to consider. She held an artist visa that allowed her to work only in her field, but landing on-camera television work required a green card, a distinction her lawyer explained bluntly.
“The first month I booked my first gig, which was The Blacklist,” Wilde said, describing what happened almost immediately after her green card came through.
To earn the credentials that would support her visa applications in the first place, she spent a year doing 22 theater productions. Not because she loved theater less than television, which she did not, but because the credential-building required volume and visibility.
“I will never forget it,” she said of that year.
The path to Billions was similarly circuitous. A casting director friend mentioned an audition for a secretary role. Wilde went in, wanted the part badly, and did not get it. About a month later, she got a call. A second secretary character had been added. Would she come in?
“I had no idea if that was going to be one episode or the rest of the show,” she said. It turned out to be the rest of the show. She was on Billions through its final season.
What Security Really Looks Like From the Inside
One of the things people assume about landing a recurring television role is that it must feel stable. Wilde’s experience was more complicated than that. Even into the fourth season, she described waiting for the call that didn’t come, the one that would signal her character was gone.
“There is no real safety anywhere, in any job, wherever they tell you that there is,” Wilde said. “Everything always changes.”
That realization, rather than being a source of ongoing anxiety, became something she describes as a practice. The work was not to manufacture certainty but to find a way to show up fully without requiring it.
“It’s not about the security,” she said. “The point is to be present and to do the best job that I can every day that I show up.”
She also credits her immigration experience with giving her a different relationship to gratitude. Having worked so hard for basics that other people took for granted, she found it easier to be genuinely glad to be in the room at all. “I was just happy to be here,” she said. “Like real gratitude.”
Amy Stone pressed her on this directly during the interview: “I think that in the performance and creative industries, there are so many people who want to do it, so many people with huge amounts of talent and so few really, really home run type opportunities. So all of that is setting this up, right? This is the dream. You worked hard for years and years and years to do this.”
Wilde agreed. And then acknowledged that the dream, fully realized, still left something unresolved.
The Pandemic as a Before and After
When COVID-19 hit, Wilde was in New York. She got sick with the first strain, alone in a small apartment in a city that was hit harder and earlier than almost anywhere else in the country. The production on Billions shut down. The “playground,” as she described the set, disappeared.
“We went from this incredible playground where everybody’s together all the time and we do the thing that we love,” she said, “to just being like, now you go and be on your own.”
She eventually moved to Los Angeles, looking for space, nature, and a different environment to wait out the uncertainty. But the stop-and-start nature of returning to work after lockdown took a toll. When another break hit between seasons, she said things got dark.
“I tried everything,” she said. “I did all the wellness things, and nothing was really working.”
She decided to return to Greece, to water and family and something that felt foundational. It was off-season when she arrived. She went into the sea. “I felt something in my body change,” she said. “I felt relaxed for the first time in maybe two years. It was almost like the depression was leaving my body.”
The moment did something else. It gave her an idea.
Building Something New From What Healed You
Standing in the water off the coast of Greece, Wilde had a thought that would change the direction of her career: she could not be the only person who needed this.
“I want to share this with people,” she said. “I want other people that have struggled to come here and experience this with me.”
What followed was the creation of a global retreat company that now runs programming in Greece, California, Japan, New York, and Bali, with more in development. The retreats are intentionally small, capped around 20 participants, and they combine themes that reflect Wilde’s own recovery: somatic work, movement, psychodrama, writing, and what she describes simply as community.
Her acting background, her dance training, her years of somatic work done quietly in Los Angeles gyms and studios, all of it converged. “It was like combining my feelings as a human being, as an actor, as a dancer, as putting these somatics together and creating my own version of it,” she said.
She is also candid about the reception she got when she announced the pivot. “Most people think I’m crazy all the time,” she said, laughing. Her friends, her family, people who had watched her build an acting career, all expressed doubt. Some asked who would come. Some told her it would not work.
“That’s my fuel,” she said. “When people doubt me, it’s fuel.”
She added, with a characteristic honesty, that the same hyper-independence that pushes her through doubt is something she is actively working on. The ability to move through the world alone, without needing permission or validation, got her very far. It also has a shadow side. “The good news is that I get myself out of it every time,” she said. “The bad news is that I get myself out of it every time.”
The Shape of a Real Career Change
What Wilde’s story offers anyone in the middle of a transition is not a blueprint so much as a permission slip. The permission to take the long road seriously while it is the road you are on. The permission to feel the loss of something you fought hard for. And the permission to notice when your body, or the sea, or a moment of stillness is trying to tell you something that your mind has not caught up to yet.
She did not leave Billions. Billions ended. But even before it did, something had started shifting. The pandemic stripped away the scaffolding and made visible what had already been quietly loosening. What came next was not a consolation prize for a career that did not pan out. It was a different expression of the same core need: to be in a room with people, doing something real together.
“I wanted to create community,” she said. “I wanted it to be on my time schedule.”
The career she wanted turned out to be a chapter. The life she needed turned out to be the next one.
This article was inspired by an interview with Zina Wilde and Amy Stone on The Art of Imperfect Adulting podcast.https://imperfect-adulting.captivate.fm/listen and / or https://www.youtube.com/@imperfectadulting To hear more compelling conversations like this one and receive special offers from our guests directly to your inbox, join our email community today.
Career: Interview Transcript Zina Wilde with Amy Stone | The Art of Imperfect Adulting | May 2026
Amy Stone [00:00:01]:
You’re listening to The Art of Imperfect Adulting. I’m your host, Amy Stone. Here I share stories from real people navigating the adventure that I call adulting. Are you ready? Me too. Let’s do this.
Amy Stone [00:00:15]:
Hello friends. In this episode, I’m going to introduce you to Xena Wilde and we talk about career change. But I want to share with you that this is a story That is like it was written for a TV show. It’s got ups, it’s got downs. Okay, I’m being cute. Xena worked hard for her dream of being an actress and her hard work paid off, you guys. And then a lot of things came together so that that dream job was no longer working the way it had. It was no longer the perfect thing. Xena had to shift and oh my goodness, did she make a big shift. This is a conversation that I think might inspire you that even when sometimes if we find ourself in a spot where things feel like they’re going totally wrong in what feels like every single way, that inspiration, joy, and adventure might be right around the corner. So also, you guys, Xena is a trooper, and I was actually trying a brand new tool for the first time in this recording. So if you happen to be watching this and thinking to yourself, oh wow, this looks a little different, that is not your imagination. I think it all worked out okay. I’ll find out in the editing room. Okay, let’s do it. Welcome to The Art of Imperfect Adulting. Xena Wilde, are you ready for a fun chat today?
Zina Wilde [00:01:34]:
I am so ready. Thank you for having me. I’m so excited.
Amy Stone [00:01:38]:
Oh yay! All right, so I have my two warm-up questions I ask everybody that I talk to. What part of the world are— do you call home?
Zina Wilde [00:01:47]:
Oh, um, good question, because that’s a tricky one for me. Um, I guess I have many homes. Uh, I call New York my home. I call Los Angeles my home. I call Greece my home. But more important, and this might sound cheesy, but I call this my home because that’s what comes with me at all times.
Amy Stone [00:02:16]:
All right, so very good. So where are you now? Because I’m going to ask my next question. So where are you now?
Zina Wilde [00:02:21]:
So I’m in Los Angeles.
Amy Stone [00:02:22]:
You’re in Los Angeles.
Zina Wilde [00:02:23]:
Very sunny.
Amy Stone [00:02:24]:
Very sunny. Tell me something. Tell us something that you enjoy or you love about Los Angeles. It’s one of my favorite cities.
Zina Wilde [00:02:32]:
Oh, good. Well, it’s interesting. I love— some people, when I say this, they’re like, what? Are you sure you’re talking about Los Angeles? And I’m like, yep. I love that I actually feel like I have a lot of time in Los Angeles. I feel like the pace is so much slower than what I was used to in New York. I feel like it’s just a place where where I mean the weather really helps. It’s like, it feels like you’re getting a lot of energy from the sun. So I mean, obviously everybody says that about LA, but for me it’s really the time and the luxury of doing the things that I love to do. So I really enjoy it.
Amy Stone [00:03:15]:
Yeah, I would put that under the category of the West Coast vibe, which is, you know, it’s very, you definitely feel it when you go from east to west for sure. All right. Zena, we’re going to talk about something super fun today. In over 200 interviews, you are on a very short list of 2 guests where my pre-interview research has included looking people up on IMDb. So we are going to talk about you stepping away from your dream job, and your dream job happened to be being an actress on a TV show. So are you ready to talk about that?
Zina Wilde [00:03:51]:
Sure. Absolutely.
Amy Stone [00:03:54]:
Well, I’ll lead you through it. I’ll lead you through it so you don’t have to run with it quite yet.
Zina Wilde [00:04:00]:
Okay, cool.
Amy Stone [00:04:02]:
How old were you when you decided that you wanted to be a professional actress?
Zina Wilde [00:04:08]:
Oh, I was young because I was— I want to say I was definitely 17 because I went to— for my undergrad, I went to NYU to study acting. So I already knew back then, it’s just that it started more in theater. So I was in New York, so I did a lot of theater first, and then, uh, it crossed over to film and TV.
Amy Stone [00:04:29]:
That is fantastic. So I have a question about your dream, and this actually might be a silly question. In every conversation, I throw in one question that I’m really not sure if it’s a good question. So I’m curious though, you’re— in your pitch, you said that the dream was to be a TV actress, and my question was, I was curious because I don’t know anything about this industry. Is this a kind of thing that you can choose as an actress? Like, you can say, I’m just gonna go for TV and I’m not gonna look for film roles? I mean, if somebody had handed you, like, a film and said, hey, come do this feature movie, would you have taken it? Or were you, like, set specifically on film— on TV?
Zina Wilde [00:05:11]:
Oh, I definitely would have taken it, that’s for sure. And I mean, film and TV is kind of similar in a way. I mean, it’s kind of like the same It’s becoming more the same world. But, uh, to answer the first part of your question, you can definitely focus yourself in that way. So yes, it’s— there are kind of two different worlds. So the theater world and the film and TV world are quite separate. Um, they tend to blend in as you go and do more of— let’s say you do a show that becomes a huge success, a theater show, then it’s more possible that can cross over to film and TV, whereas from film and TV to cross over to theater, it’s more tricky actually. It’s, unless you’re like a huge star, it’s more difficult because it’s a different skill set. It’s almost like saying a different language. So it’s, even though, think about it like you, it’s like gradations of the same thing. One is like at 100, one is like, you know, you’re acting like here or you’re acting with your full body. So it’s very, it’s different skills. Both difficult, both wonderful, but different skills.
Amy Stone [00:06:27]:
I had not— Yes, it’s not my industry. So when I think of it as an outsider, yeah, Broadway seems like a totally different beast. Yeah, it seems crazy. But then for— Especially now that everybody— I watch movies and television on my phone and on my laptop. I can see that it is blending, but I was super curious about that.
Zina Wilde [00:06:48]:
All right.
Amy Stone [00:06:50]:
You mentioned the grades. So many, many, many, many, many, many, many people dream of being professional actresses and actors. It is a highly competitive and selective career. That is the understatement. I’m laughing because that is like such a massive understatement. You have a lot of credits that showed up when I looked you up, but you were on the show Billions. Um, for several years, that was a consistent gig. I know that was a few years ago, not a long time ago, but a few years ago. I was wondering if you could tell us how it felt, um, when you got the news, um, that you got that repeating role, um, and that was what you had been working towards.
Zina Wilde [00:07:39]:
Um, well, a few things. First, I will say that I didn’t particularly choose to leave the show. I was on the show till the very end. I loved being on that show. It was the best experience of my life. It changed my life forever. It was truly a dream come true. So, but I’ll, I’ll get into what was the choice of me making a different choice for my career afterwards. But, um, I still act. I still do it. Uh, it is something that I, I’ve done my whole life. Some— I don’t think I will ever not do it, to be honest.
Amy Stone [00:08:15]:
But wait, so I think you jumped forward, though. Take me back to the beginning when you found out you— oh, you’re going to the—
Zina Wilde [00:08:21]:
yes, I interrupted you.
Amy Stone [00:08:24]:
Sorry, because I want to know. Yeah, before we talk about the end, I want to talk about the beginning.
Zina Wilde [00:08:28]:
No, no, for sure. Oh, I will tell you. All right. So for me, it was a couple of things. So first, being on TV and film was complicated because I was not a citizen. I was not a resident at the time. I had a green card. I had not even a green card, I had an artist visa. So after school, because I, I’m not American, I, I— after school I was allowed to get a year of a visa that I could, uh, work towards things and then decide what I wanted to do. So I, uh, the way to do it was student visa. That was the student visa. So after After your student years, you get one year that you— it’s called the practical training. So you get to do this and you get to pretty much work only on your field. So I could only act, I couldn’t do anything else to make money. And, um, and that’s what you get from the government. So within that year, you have to decide, do you want to stay or do you want to go? If, uh, so, but in order to decide that, you also have to prove afterwards, you have to apply for new paperwork that says OK, great, you have the credentials to stay. So the credentials were like this visa that you had to take that was called an outstanding artist. An artist of outstanding abilities was the name of the visa. So you have to pretty much prove that you are better than anybody else in the country to do this job. So it’s like ridiculous requirement. But I remember at the time that my lawyer was like, OK, the way to do this is you need to be on everything that you could possibly be, whether it’s voluntary or not. Like, like, you know, even if you don’t get paid, get like clippings, writings, this and that, and that way you can get your visa. So I decided to do that. I, I was in one year, I, I did 22 theater productions. I will never forget it. I will never forget it. So anyway, I got my visa, but funny enough, um, after I got that visa, I was like, great, I’m ready to do— go TV, film, do everything. I was such a young kid and naive, I didn’t know anything. And, um, and then, um, they’re like, oh well, you know, you can’t be on TV unless you have a green card or you’re a citizen. So I was like, wait, what? Wow, I didn’t know that part. So I ended up having to continue this process because they pretty much called the green card or citizenship like the O-1 on steroids is the way that they call it. So I had to—
Amy Stone [00:11:13]:
I had no idea.
Zina Wilde [00:11:14]:
Oh, there is. Very complicated. So for me, like the film and TV career started later because there was this huge gap that I couldn’t work on film and TV like I wasn’t allowed to. So, so first it was theater stuff. I loved also the theater. I learned so much. I was so committed to it. It was an amazing experience. Then afterwards, after I got— I mean, there’s a whole other immigration story that I won’t bore you with, but it’s pretty fascinating. Then I got my green card, and then right after I got my green card, I think the first month I booked my first gig, which was The Blacklist.
Amy Stone [00:12:02]:
I probably saw that. I watched The Blacklist, so I probably saw that. I did see that on your list of credits, and I was like, okay, I bet you I saw her.
Zina Wilde [00:12:10]:
Probably. Maybe it was season 1. Then I did the series Madoff where I played Richard Dreyfuss’s secretary for the whole miniseries. Afterwards, my friend who’s a casting director, she was so lovely and she’s like, “We’re looking for someone to play a secretary on Billions.” “Uh, do you want to come in and audition?” And I was like, “Of course I do, that sounds amazing.” So then I did, and I auditioned for the first secretary originally, and I got a callback. I remember, and I went in, and I, I was in the room with everybody, and I was— I wanted it so badly. And I remember that I didn’t get it. So then I was kind of crushed, and I was like, well, But something about it, I was like, I kind of remember envisioning it for about another month or so. So I was like, it was still inside of me and I was like still picturing it. And, and then I get a call about a month later and they’re like, you know, they’ve added another secretary and they want you to play this role. Would you want to come in and do it? And I was like, Oh my God, that sounds amazing. But at the time, I had no idea if that was going to be one episode or the rest of the show, which is what happened. I didn’t know anything. I didn’t know anything. Like, I, I even up until season 4, I was still nervous, which, I mean, that’s a lot of seasons, a lot of time. But I was still nervous that I was like, I don’t know, I don’t know, maybe not. Maybe this week they won’t call me back. I don’t know. But it was, it was kind of amazing. It was the best experience ever. It was great.
Amy Stone [00:14:07]:
Well, that is the thing because it is such an interesting industry and such an interesting job. Anything in the performance and creative industries is so hit or miss. Is the funding going to be there? Is the show going to get picked up? All the way down to people who are freelance writers for magazines and people who are working on commercials. And so that was sort of where that question was rooted because now you can look back and say, I had these years on this show, but I was wondering whether or not, never having been in that spot myself, whether or not in the middle of it, whether or not it feels secure and it feels like you’re going to make it, or whether or not you are kind of always wondering, how long will I have this role? And when is this going to disappear?
Zina Wilde [00:15:00]:
I think that that was the biggest lesson for me to understand that there is no real safety anywhere, in any job, wherever they tell you that there is. You know, it— everything always changes. Like, we change from morning to night. Like, we change, our cells change, everything changes. It’s the same. It’s a live organism. And there was— there is no safety. No, no. And whatever job I choose. So for me, that was the place where I learned it. And I practiced this feeling of, okay, there is no security, but it’s not about the security, that this is not what I’m here for. This is not the point. The point is to be present and to do the best thing I can, to the best job that I can every day that I show up. So that, that was my, my goal. And it, it really was a tremendous experience for growth for me, for every way as a human being, like understanding that. Because as when I was younger, I had a lot of that of like, I need to do this to prove, I need to be, I need to so that people recognize me, so that people understand, so that I prove everything. And it, it just doesn’t work like that. And even if it does, it’s a miserable way to live. So I I don’t— it’s— I don’t subscribe to that, and I didn’t even back then. I remember that I just— I, I had adopted this way of being of like, I’m just happy to be here, and like real gratitude. Because also understanding it’s all relative too, because the, the, the struggle of things that could be considered, um, granted for— like you could take for granted for some people. For me, the fact that I had to work so hard to get basics. My paperwork was— it was a different thing. So it was easy to go there and not be like, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, are you going to take me back? You know, and if I was like that, they would be like, get her out of here. Rightfully so.
Amy Stone [00:17:16]:
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you met— it is a part of your story, which is not the interview, but you did go through the immigration process process, which is in the news. Like, we’re recording this in February 2026, and it’s a really interesting thing. I have not gone through the process of moving and emigrating to another country, so the longest thing I’ve ever done is a school visa for a year. But I live in Miami where you’re surrounded by people going through the process, um, and it’s so interesting because there are so many people— you just touched on it in the highlight— there are so many people who, good for them, have never had the experience and have never had it touch them to know how long it takes because it is a complicated process. And it’s also, it depends on where you start. It depends on where you start. And so yeah, you really, really hustled, which I think is—
Zina Wilde [00:18:14]:
I did.
Amy Stone [00:18:14]:
And I think that performing and acting, TV, theater, that is a profession that is known for people who are having to hustle. You know, you really— there’s, there’s so many people who want to do it, so many people with huge amounts of talent and so few really, really home run type, um, opportunities. So all of that is setting this up, right? Because this is the dream. You worked hard for years and years and years to do this. So, and at some point you come to the conclusion And maybe it’s because the show ends, but that the career you wanted was not the career you needed is the way you phrased it. And so— and it also looked to me like this might have happened, if the timing is right, maybe around the pandemic. Is this all happening around that? Okay. So I wasn’t sure, but it’s interesting how many people’s transition stories 6 years after lockdown still tie back to that. I find that just a— thing. So help us understand what was going on in your mind when you were making this decision. Like, even though I— even though this was the dream, and even though I really hit something so many people want, it’s not actually the thing that serves me best.
Zina Wilde [00:19:27]:
Well, one of the things was that because of what you were saying during the pandemic, and I was in New York at the time, and New York was really hit hard, um, I also— I got sick with the first strain, and I alone in this apartment, in a tiny apartment in New York City. And it was just not a great time. It was, it was rough. So I remember that eventually, and the show had stopped, of course. So like, it was like we went from this incredible playground where everybody’s together all the time and we do the thing that we love and we have a good time, to just being like, and now you go and be on your own and by yourself, by yourself, be in your corner. And, um, I remember that Eventually, the show had stopped. So my brain also in general is an— I have an active brain. So I was like, okay, well, I got to start thinking of what am I going to do? Because I don’t know how long this is going to last. I don’t know when.
Amy Stone [00:20:36]:
It was only going to last 2 weeks, remember?
Zina Wilde [00:20:37]:
Originally, they were like 2 weeks. Yeah. Totally, 2 weeks, sure. And, um, at the time I remember I was like, when I think it was June hit, I was like, I’m gonna— we’re still not back, of course, at work. And, um, I was like, okay, I’m gonna, I’m gonna go to LA. I’m gonna try and go to LA just because it’s another place where the industry is obviously flourishing. It’s here, um, or it was, um, and, uh, and, uh, they were— I was like, okay, I’m gonna try it. If nothing else, at least I will have this experience while every— the world has stopped. And to just see, um, what— I can’t be spending the rest of my life in these four walls. Like, I, I just can’t do it anymore. So it’s like, at least I’ll be in nature, at least I’ll be outside, and, uh, maybe in a bigger space and and go from there. I mean, I still had my place in New York. I, I was just trying it out. So it started like that. I mean, soon enough we went back to work, but the, the, the thought had started in me already. And then when we went back to work, we finished that season, then we had another little break for until the next season. And then I remember I was— that was when things got dark for me. Like, it was like Again, it’s like a stop and start, and I felt like I didn’t have, uh, something that I could put my energy into. I didn’t have something that I could, um, focus on. And I, I— it hit me hard, and I was like, okay, I tried everything. I did all the wellness things, and nothing was really working. And then I remember I was like, I think I need to go back home. To recalibrate.
Amy Stone [00:22:32]:
And where is home at that point?
Zina Wilde [00:22:34]:
Home is in Greece. I mean, Greece, okay, just where I go. I mean, my family’s still back there, and I spend all my summers there. Like, I’m— I literally have all my friends, or like, a lot of my friends are still there. And so I remember being like, I gotta go back and just kind of connect with the water. I felt this need to be close to the water and to be in those specific waters. And I remember going in at that time, and it was even off-season, and I was like, I felt something in my body change. And I was like, oh my God, I feel relaxed for the first time in maybe 2 years. And it was, it was almost like the depression was like, like of, like leaving my body, like effervescently. It was like, like that. So I I remember having the thought that I was like, this can’t be the first— I can’t be the only person feeling this. I, I, I can’t be. So I just— in that moment, this birthing happened of this idea of like, I want to share this with people. I want other people that have struggled to come here and experience this with me. This is a place in Greece that most people don’t know, so it’s a bit of a secret location. So I wanted to give them this local experience. And one of the reasons why I also love acting so much is community. So I was like, I wanted to create community and I wanted it to be on my time schedule. So I therefore created this company.
Amy Stone [00:24:19]:
So, uh, yeah, I love, I love the so many things that you said in there. First of all, I just, the, when you described working on the show and you describe it as a playground where you were doing the thing that you loved, it just sounds like such a wonderful space to be in. It really shows through. And I mean, I think that that’s— I think that, you know, in so many places people talk about collaboration and working with people. And one of the things I’ve really thought a lot about this past year is that there is a difference between like you and I just are talking for the very first time today. But for those really true creative collaborations where you do something special, It makes such a difference when you have an actual connection with people and you’re having a good time. Like, that’s when you really can sometimes do some amazing things. And I’m not like, you know, that— so now it makes sense a little bit because initially when I was reading about the shift from being an actress on a TV show to a travel company, I just had this inkling that there was something else that was from the past. Like maybe it was like, you know, travel as a kid or what. But this is you going, it’s actually you taking people back to someplace that was special for you is what.
Zina Wilde [00:25:41]:
Yeah. And that’s how it started. That’s how it started. But truly it’s kind of what you were just saying. The whole idea for me in general is connection, is to connect with other people. And I think that that was the COVID part that I’ve started realizing that that everything was becoming online, and I wanted it to be like, what about creating this place that was an adult summer camp? So I— that’s what I wanted to make, and that’s what I eventually made, that it’s a place where we— it’s thematic retreats that they go all over the world, but the idea is to connect with each other, connect with yourself, and see different places in the world. And I was realizing that people were either not traveling because they were alone, they didn’t have partners, they were too scared to do it, they didn’t have money, they, they were too— it was too overwhelming for them, all these factors. So I took all these factors together and I was like, I want to create this summer camp, this— the thing that we had, this connection that we had with my cast members also like that, that to do that and just to go through an experience because I feel like what we were lacking in that point and still, and I think it’s getting worse, is experience, like a real experience, not just to show to someone or to, to do something that’s a means to an end or a stepping stone for something else, but just for the sake of doing it. Because it’s—
Amy Stone [00:27:20]:
Yeah, true shared experience.
Zina Wilde [00:27:21]:
Yeah.
Amy Stone [00:27:22]:
There was a book I read a million years ago. My mom gave it to me and I’d spend a lot of time in— like many people, I have a complicated relationship with my mom and I spent a lot of time avoiding reading this book. But then I did finally read it and the theme of the book was, it was actually about an aid worker who was working on a nonprofit. He was trying to build schools. In some country, but he was an American and he just went charging in. And the theme of the book is that he learned from the locals that he couldn’t ask them to, like, jump in and do things until he had sat down and had, I think, 3 cups of tea. So the custom of actually having these 3 encounters over tea with locals was needed before he proceeded. And it really is, it’s an interesting thing because there’s a different— not that that’s the thing, but there’s a difference when we do something together. We travel together, we, you know, knit a scarf together, we create a show versus just having a conversation. I think it’s a different level of connection. So, okay, so I do have a question. Okay, so the question— so I once knew a professional athlete that, like, professional long course athlete, and then he retired because he aged out because you can’t do it forever, right? And he became a realtor, but he kept his email address. And so I had been on his email list getting these notices, “I’m going to race over here, I won this race,” blah, blah, blah. And then he became a realtor and the emails just became, “Open house on Saturday, come see my townhouse.” I think I still get them actually. But so the question is, what did people think when you said, when you began to announce these retreats, did you tell people, you were like, “Okay, I’m not going to do as much acting for at least a little while or forever.” And how did people respond? When you said, I’m gonna, I’m gonna host these retreats?
Zina Wilde [00:29:14]:
Honestly, most people think I’m crazy all the time, so they, they just thought that I was crazy one more time. It wasn’t anything new. They’re like, you’re gonna do what now? And everyone was like, who’s gonna come? Are you crazy? That’s not gonna work. La la la, this and that. But it’s like, it’s— that’s my whole— honestly, sometimes that’s my fuel, uh, when people doubt me. It’s fuel. Um, and they did. I was doubted by everybody from the people that I grew up with to the people that I, uh, my family to, uh, but yeah, it just, it was like, it’s okay. They, I, that’s the part that it’s a little bit, that’s the good and the bad news. The good news is that I get myself out of it every time. The bad news is that I get myself out of it every time. But, but, um, it’s something that also— it’s like this part of like this hyper-independence, um, that, um, is— I’m learning that is something that this is what I’m working on, that this hyper-independence is, is not, uh, necessarily great.
Amy Stone [00:30:28]:
Sometimes it can be, right? Like sometimes it’s the thing that is like, oh well, I don’t know anybody who’s gonna hike the Grand Canyon, so I’ll just go. And then I’m going to do it, right? Or I’m going to— nobody— hyper-independence, probably you needed that to go to auditions because— and to have the— at some point you had to step out by yourself. You didn’t get to take your friends with you. But yeah, that is the thing. People do tell us that the hyper-independence, it’s okay to ask for help. And I think many of us are working on it all the time. So, okay. So this is a good segue because at some point you— so you mentioned the dark space. Greece, and that you are working on this. You have this wonderful experience, restorative on a personal level, connecting with the open— I guess it’s open sea in Greece, which just makes me want to sign up right away for the retreat because it’s on my list of places to go. At some point, you connect this with somatic work. And so I was wondering if this was something that you had been working on with yourself or that you discovered as a part of putting together the retreat.
Zina Wilde [00:31:34]:
It was a little bit of both. I mean, I also have a dance background, so I was always interested in movement.
Amy Stone [00:31:42]:
Performers are never just one thing. It’s like everybody sings and dances and acts. It’s just amazing that all the talent is concentrated in all the same people.
Zina Wilde [00:31:53]:
I am a terrible singer. I mean, I shouldn’t say I’m terrible, but I’m not a singer. I should say that. Like, uh, but, um, but yeah, I will say that movement was always part of my life. I’ve always loved it. I, I mean, ever since I can remember, I like— I work out a lot, I go to Pilates every day, I do somatic work, I do this. And part of the thing of like what I was trying to do to get myself out of that depression was a lot of it was like everyone was pretty much saying that you, you can’t do talk therapy anymore. It’s kind of what everyone was telling me, that it’s not gonna— it’s, it’s done. You, you did it, you get it, but now you gotta get it in your system, in your body. So, so like, in order to bring change, you have to get it in your, in your mind, body, and spirit sort of a thing. So like, it’s like, so I— that’s when I started getting really into it, and I did see that there was a difference. There was like— it was a whole other world that I got super interested in between the Peter Levine work and like all these somatics, that, uh, breathwork, all kinds of stuff that I started finding more and more. Especially Los Angeles is a great place for that stuff as well.
Amy Stone [00:33:13]:
It is very much— it is like the mecca of—
Zina Wilde [00:33:15]:
it’s the mecca. So it was really good to do it and combine my feelings as a human being, as an actor, as a dancer, as putting these somatics together and creating my own version of it. And that’s when this happened. And also this idea of like the connecting to nature, because how I find that for me, I get into problems. I get in when I’m shutting that out. It’s almost like I take it so much for granted, and that’s where the answers are. So Yeah, it was a combination of all these things. And then when that happened with in the water, with that experience, I felt like I— something changed and I couldn’t reverse it. So I didn’t want to reverse it. I was like, there’s— it’s right here and we’re, we’re not taking, taking that into consideration instead of we’re trying to do more. And that just doesn’t work.
Amy Stone [00:34:16]:
I love that. I love that. Okay. So in a minute, we’re going to do the final questions, but and wrap it up, even though I could talk to you all day. But I want to give you a chance to talk specifically because we’ve been talking about the retreats, but I want to give you a chance to tell people what you really do and how you want them to connect with you afterwards. You have a very generous offer of a 50% off discount at one of the retreats, and people can connect with you on social media or by email. So tell everybody what you do and how to reach you.
Zina Wilde [00:34:47]:
Absolutely. So, so I now also run these retreats. They are all over the world. Uh, the ones that we have coming up, one of them is in Greece in September. It’s an amazing retreat with these two incredible people. There’s four of us actually that are the facilitators, but two of them are longboard dancers, so they are experts in longboarding. Then there is a therapist who is doing psychodramas, and then there’s me that I’m doing the somatic work. And it’s It’s in a private area in Greece. It’s 160 acres. It’s a huge spot that is completely private, all in nature. It’s very much like you— it is a summer camp. It is my summer camp actually that I went to as a kid, that I’m very excited that they have given me permission to use it for that, for that time. It’s humongous. So for a very small amount of people, like we’re going to be not more than 20 people, so it would be in September. So if they want, if people want to show up, it would be a company. It’s truly adult summer camp. So we do everything there. It’s in nature. There’s, we’re on the water, but it’s also in the forest. There’s no cars. We don’t, there’s like, there’s no need to exit the place if you don’t want to. We eat everything there. There’s like meals prepared, everything is done there. There’s a full program. And also, if you just want to chill by the beach that is private by yourself, you can. So that’s fine. And yes, I do— I’m offering this for your listeners only, 50% discount if they want to get in touch with me. We’ve started getting people in, so we should be— we should have some spots I’ll keep some spots because for, for your people as well, specifically because I know it’s not going to air until later. Um, and, uh, and yeah, that’s, that’s the one coming up right now. There’s another one coming up that we’re doing in February that is in California. Then there, and there’s another one that we’re doing in Japan in October. There’s a writing retreat that we’re doing in October in New York.
Amy Stone [00:37:05]:
Um, so they’re all really all over.
Zina Wilde [00:37:08]:
They’re all over, and there’s one that I’m working on right now that will be in Bali. Uh, they, they will be all over, and the, the theme is always different. So, um, it’s— if, if people are curious, they can always get in touch with me and I can give them more information specifically for each one. But in general, most of the retreats have a theme that is about something that we can— we do together There are also certain trips that are just for fun, that are literally based on community, based on let’s get together and go and explore this space. And most of the times for those trips are places that I know very well, so I take them to places that I, I feel like people would enjoy and connects with each other and connects with ourselves. And, um, so yeah, they’re all different. Uh, so people can get in touch with me on Instagram is probably the best way. It’s the easiest I find. It’s my Instagram is @xenawhite. Child. They can DM me, I’ll DM them back. I always respond. I’d be very happy to hear from people.
Amy Stone [00:38:15]:
That is such a generous offer, and I really appreciate it. So the information for how to connect with Zena will be in the show notes if you’re listening on the audio platforms. It’s on the description in YouTube if you’re watching it there. And the easiest way to get the links, um, if you’re listening, is to be a subscriber to the email list, because then it just shows up in your email box, you can click on it. Thank you so much, Dina, for that generous offer. Are you ready to wrap this up with my final 3 questions?
Zina Wilde [00:38:41]:
I am ready.
Amy Stone [00:38:43]:
All right, so share with us a food that you do not like, something that even if you are a guest at somebody’s house, you are going to decline or just push it around on your plate and try and avoid it.
Zina Wilde [00:39:00]:
Maybe Tongue.
Amy Stone [00:39:01]:
Oh, okay.
Zina Wilde [00:39:02]:
Yeah, maybe that.
Amy Stone [00:39:04]:
There you go, there you go. Some people say it’s, you know, it’s like one— things that some people like, other people do not, and that’s a wonderful example of that, right? Some people love it and other people are like, no way, never gonna do it. Um, and so that— I love that answer. All right, so of all the places— this is gonna be hard for you, I’m just warning you, but I, I think you’re up for it— of all the places that you have lived and traveled, If you had to pick one that was the most beautiful spot so far, what would you choose?
Zina Wilde [00:39:33]:
Oh my God, that is a really hard question. I, I will say, and again, I, I really have like trouble picking just one. It’s almost like picking your favorite flavor of ice cream. I will say maybe Paris is probably my favorite of all.
Amy Stone [00:39:57]:
There you go.
Zina Wilde [00:39:58]:
No, that’s—
Amy Stone [00:39:58]:
I mean, it’s a really hard question. The other one, it’s like, you know, what’s your favorite movie? It’s like you need categories and subcategories.
Zina Wilde [00:40:04]:
Yeah, yeah.
Amy Stone [00:40:05]:
You know, day of the week and seasons.
Zina Wilde [00:40:07]:
Sure.
Amy Stone [00:40:07]:
But no, thank you for playing along with that. I appreciate that. So, okay, so now can you share with us something entertainment-wise, a book, a TV show, or a movie that you’ve enjoyed lately that you think the audience would like to check out?
Zina Wilde [00:40:21]:
Well, for books, one thing, one book that I keep coming back to, and lately I’ve been listening, I’ve been reading it again, is Women Who Run with the Wolves. It’s a great book. I read it every couple of months, but I’m also weirdly going back to the classics a lot these days, and I’m really into Henry Miller and Bukowski. Like, they’re my favorites. So I go back, like, right now I’m rereading Tropic of Cancer. And again, going back into the Paris theme, I guess. So it’s, it’s, uh, it’s all, uh, yeah, like those two are like things that I’m, I’m reading right now.
Amy Stone [00:41:01]:
That— those are wonderful suggestions. That’s it. Thank you so much, Zina, for being a wonderful guest today on the show.
Zina Wilde [00:41:08]:
Thank you so much. It was so fun.
Amy Stone [00:41:11]:
Thank you for listening today.
Amy Stone [00:41:13]:
I hope that you enjoy the show.
Amy Stone [00:41:14]:
And before I Before we go, I want to encourage you to become a bigger part of the conversation. Obviously, subscribe wherever you’re listening to the show.
Amy Stone [00:41:24]:
Listen to more episodes.
Amy Stone [00:41:25]:
That’d be great. Obvi again, please write a review and tell your friends about the show.
Amy Stone [00:41:30]:
That truly is a great help for getting the show in front of new people.
Amy Stone [00:41:35]:
Okay, but more fun for you yourself, head over to imperfectadulting.com and join the email community. You’ll get some free stuff right away, and that way you’ll begin to get the emails about the podcast. This includes the links for the special offers from the guests, and it’s the only way to get that. Also, if you aren’t in the mood to listen, I actually include an article directly in those emails. Wee! Now, if you love this and you crave more time with me, Amy, as a coach, a mentor, or just adult to your adult numero uno, Check out The Village.
Amy Stone [00:42:08]:
If you have a story you want to share with the listeners, I’d love to hear from you.
Amy Stone [00:42:12]:
I have an open application.
Amy Stone [00:42:13]:
Just let me know you want it.
Amy Stone [00:42:15]:
And that’s a wrap for today. Until next time, remember, the journey is the destination. Ralph Waldo Emerson said that, not me.
Amy Stone [00:42:24]:
Well, until just now. I did just say it.
Amy Stone [00:42:26]:
But what I want you to hear today is that if your adulting journey isn’t going the way you expected, But that may not mean that you’re lost. It may just mean that you’re on your way. This is Amy Stone signing off. The Imperfect Adulting Podcast is created and produced by Amy Stone and Amy Says So. Anything expressed on this show is offered as entertainment and the views of the guests may not always represent the ideas and viewpoints of Amy Stone. Points of the host.
Amy Stone [00:42:59]:
That’s me.
Amy Stone [00:43:00]:
Amy does not intend or hold herself out to be— provide professional advice or recommendations of any kind. In the end, you and you alone need to make those kinds of decisions based on your personal and individual situation, needs, circumstances, and comfort level.