In just six years, the “Yoga With Adriene” channel has drawn in over 4 million YouTube subscribers from around the globe, with the platform helping encourage individuals to strike a yoga pose or two — all from the comfort of their own home.
Yet this huge following and global success may have not materialized to the extent it has done, if it wasn’t for an important conversation that its host, Adriene Mishler, had years ago.
Growing up, Mishler had two dream jobs in mind: acting and teaching. Luckily, when “Yoga With Adriene” came along, the opportunity allowed her two passions to intermingle. Before the channel really took off, however, Mishler was at a crossroads in her career.
When talking over coffee with a person Mishler now considers as a dear friend and mentor, the yoga teacher was torn over whether she should relocate from Texas, to live in another state.
“I was trying to decide whether or not I should move to LA (Los Angeles) — this was after I’d been in a big movie with a big, huge American actor, celebrity,” Mishler, the yoga teacher, actress and entrepreneur told CNBC Make It.
“And I was like ‘Should I move? Should I stay? What should I do with my life?'”
And what her friend suggested was something the YouTube star considers as some of the “best advice” she’s received.
“She said, ‘The best advice I can give you is, obviously, listen to your guts. But for an actor, and I think this goes for all artists: try to find one thing — and that’s not to take away from this passion you have of your art — but try to find one voice outside of that, while you’re building this.'”
In some respects, what Mishler’s friend was saying was “don’t throw your eggs all into one basket.” While some actors go on to star in several Hollywood blockbusters, many others fail to hit it big and end up having to find alternative ways to make ends meet. And the same can apply to a lot of professions that people want to pursue.
While she had worked in the entertainment industry, Mishler described this practical advice as “so wise” as it allowed her to consider other parts of her life that she was focused on — including teaching yoga.
“That (advice) stuck with me. And then, that’s when I knew that the yoga wasn’t just going to be a side job,” the YouTube star said.
With a background in professional theater, Mishler has done voicework for video games, acted in TV shows such as Rooster Teeth’s “Day 5,” and in movies like “Joe” and “Good Night.”
While “Yoga With Adriene” has become a global phenomenon, Mishler admits that she still wants to get back into acting, in some capacity or other — but for now, her focus is on providing people of all shapes and sizes with high-quality yoga.
With Mishler realizing that teaching was more than just “a side job,” it allowed her channel “Yoga With Adriene” to grow, and with that, Mishler’s influence in the space helped expand the brand into doing international roadshows, e-commerce, and co-founding “Find What Feels Good,” a video subscription service that offers a vast library of yoga lifestyle content.
And not only has this advice stuck with Mishler, the YouTube sensation now passes on these wise words to other people she crosses along her journey.
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