We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jill Pavlov Vazquez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jill, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
People always see me as this confident, fearless person, and I think it’s hilarious, because I’m the most anxious, phobia-filled person in the world. The trick is to fake it until you make it. That sounds simplistic, but it works. If I walk into a room full of strangers, I don’t have to be the timid, unsure, scared Jill. I can put on my confident face, light up the room, and act as if everyone is there to see me. These people don’t know you, so you have a blank slate to tell them who you are (and how badass you are!) It’s a mindset shift that I’ve been working on almost my whole life, because appearing confident was one of the first steps to raising my own self-esteem – at some point, you stop faking it and it becomes real.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I’m a copywriter by day, comedian by night, and what that means is… that I’m tired. But seriously – I own a copywriting business called Your Creative Concierge, where I provide engaging, psychology driven copy in the form of blogs, emails, newsletters, landing pages, social media, and more. It’s really unique because as a comedian, I get to bring my humorous flair to my clients and deliver to them really out-of-the-box style marketing. Every day is a new opportunity to get creative! My ultimate dream is to take my writing skills to Saturday Night Live, and I am working towards that behind-the-scenes.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
These three things have gotten me this far both in comedy and copywriting:
1) Tenacity – My theater background and the constant rejection taught me to be tenacious. Getting used to the word “no” is never easy, but it’s necessary. Know that you aren’t going to be for everyone, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have something incredible to offer.
2) Authenticity – I’m an empath but also a straight shooter – so I have this great ability to be honest and transparent while still making feedback digestible. People can tell that I genuinely want others to be happy, and people want to work with people like that.
3) Targeted Talent – Know your strengths in and out and focus hard on the best ones. It’s better to focus your energy into one thing that you’re freaking phenomenal at, versus a bunch of things that you’re only good at.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
My therapist keeps me sane (I mean, that’s her job!) and I highly recommend everyone seek out therapy, even if you don’t think you need it! I’m a very self-aware, insightful person because of therapy, and that has helped to round me out in all areas of my life. You may have so many blocks that you aren’t aware of, and therapy can bring that and more to the surface so that you can become the best version of yourself.
Contact Info:
- Website: yourcreativeconcierge.com
- Instagram: @comedyjill and @yourcreativeconcierge
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jill-pavlov-63aa7585/
Image Credits
Emiliano Brooks Jodi-Kay Edwards and Ajai Jackson
